Missing You
by kal1
Summary: After the End Game, Lucy and Amy lived together. After 7 months, they separated. D.e.b.s
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own DEBS or any of the characters used from the movie. They belong to Angela Robinson. This disclaimer applies to all chapters in this story.**

**A/N: This is my first try to write anything. I have the scenes in my head but found that writing them is extremely difficult. I believe that the only way to improve is to read and write more. **

**Chapter 1**

It was a beautiful day. One could see brown geese walking across the road in groups, healthy trees with lush and green landscapes, birds flying in flocks in a v-configuration pattern, and a blue sunlit sky with soft clouds. The scenery was so beautiful, so peaceful, one could just stand there for hours admiring the view.

She stood in front of a large window on the 8th floor of an office building, staring straight into the blue horizon. In front of this magnificent view, however, there was sadness on her face. She closed her eyes and let the memories flow into her mind.

3 years ago

They had been together for 7 months, living a simple life in Barcelona. Lucy had quit her criminal life to be with the DEB. While Amy took classes in the Barcelona Academy of Art, Lucy spent her time managing her sailboat rental business. Business was not great but they were able to live comfortably with her father's "retirement" funds.

"Are you all packed?"

"Lucy, you asked me that ten times already." Amy answered, with a little frustration.

"Here, let's go over the checklist again." Lucy asked while holding a pen and a list filled with Scud's inventions.

"Lucy!...I'm not planning a heist. I'm just going on a field trip with my class to Paris for a school project. It's just going to be 3 days."

"I know. I know. It's just that...I'm going to miss you so much."

Amy walked over to the brunette who wore a worried look and wrapped her hands around her. "I promise...I'll call every day."

Resting her chin on the blonde's shoulder for a few seconds, Lucy quickly realized that she had forgotten something. "Oh..one more thing." She held out a jewelry box.

Surprised and with jaws wide open, Amy opened the box and found a bracelet inside. "Lucy, this is beautiful. What's the occasion?"

"I had Scud made this. If you press this button here, you can use it like a pepper spray. And here, you can pull a 5ft wire that's stronger than steel. Would you believe they discovered this material in Yale?"

(_search under stronger-steel-novel-metals-are-moldable-plastic yalenews)_

"No way!" Amy said, pretending to be shocked and interested.

"Yup. I had Scud transformed the material into a wire. If you press these 2 buttons together, it will emit a tiny laser that can cut through metal...and sliding this little lever here will release a drop of serum, sort of like a sleeping pill, only 10 times more effective."

_As if all the gadgets she had me bring weren't enough..._Amy rolled her eyes while listening to the brunette.

"OK…Luce, let's go to the airport. I don't want to be late." Amy did in fact like the bracelet from her overprotective girlfriend. Even though it's not a regular bracelet that one would give to their love one, but it's the thought that counts.

Outside the airport

Holding each other tight, both ignored everyone around them. It's the airport. That's what people do. Lucy didn't care even if it's not the airport, but Amy...she would mind.

"Have fun, honey." Lucy said while resting her head on her lover's shoulder.

"I will." Amy said softly while leaning their forehead against each others' for a moment before sharing a long slow passionate kiss.

"Mom, look!"

Startled by the sudden shout out from a little boy standing a few feet away, the lovers broke the kiss immediately. They glanced at the boy, then followed the direction of his hand pointing upwards. It was an amazing sight. Birds, lots of them, were flying in a V-shaped formation, from left to right. They then flew out of formation, flying in circles together, becoming extremely loud. Finally they formed the v configuration again and flew away…

…and that was the last time she saw her.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Chapter 2**

* * *

Chapter 2

Back to present, Paris, France

Several rings on the office phone brought her out of her deep thoughts. As she wiped away a single tear rolling down her cheeks, she answered the phone.

"Hello…yes…I didn't forget…uh huh…see you there."

She picked up her handbag and headed out the door.

"Jen, I'm going to lunch now." She said to her secretary. "I'll be back in an hour."

Café de Paris

Café de Paris is located in the center of Paris near the La Seine. Outside the restaurant, several round tables and seats were placed where customers can enjoy traditional meals or American meals and fantastic cocktails while watching the world go by.

As Lucy sat herself across from Scud, a pretty, young waitress walked to their table to take their orders.

"Would you like to try today's lunch special? Today's special is __Escargots_ à la Bourguignonne._" After hearing today's special, Scud shivered at the thought of slimy, squirmy slugs in a shell drowned in butter on a plate. Having lived in Paris for 2 years, he still couldn't understand how people can consider them as delicacies. So Scud ordered himself a well-done steak with mushroom and a dry martini.

"I'll have the usual and a….." She hesitated for a moment. "...a peach smoothie."

"The usual?" the waitress questioned.

"Excusez-moi, mademoiselle Holmes, she is new here." Anton, the manager interrupted.

Lucy thanked Anton while giving a smile and nod to the waitress.

After the waitress and Anton left, Lucy propped her chin in the palm of her right hand and leaned her elbow on the table. Her head turned slightly to the left, her eyes stared blankly at nothing, lost in her own thoughts.

Having been Lucy's right hand man for more than a decade, Scud noticed this look. Without saying a word, he glued his eyes on her.

* * *

It was an explosion on the plane that killed her blonde lover. That day, Amy was on the flight back to Barcelona. Last words heard from her was: "I'll see you in about 2 hours. Love ya…" But her promise was never kept.

The airline stated it was an accident. They said a flock of birds had flown into the plane's engine causing the engine to malfunction and ultimately led to an explosion in the air. A hundred passengers died along with Amy's classmates. After the incident was broadcasted around the world, Lucy and Scud took the next available flight to Paris. It was the most agonizing 2 hour trip she had ever taken, just sitting, waiting, and praying. They confirmed from the airline in the Orly airport in Paris that Amy was indeed on the plane at the time.

After Amy's death, the brunette drowned her sorrows in alcohol. Each night when she came home drunk, Scud comforted her, cried with her, and pleaded with her to stop but all attempts failed until one day her continuous drinking landed her a visit to the emergency room. After that night of near-death experience, seeing her friend in tears, Lucy found the strength to live on. They decided to settle in Paris, France with their new identities: Keira Holmes and Scott Watson.

* * *

"Lucy, what's wrong?" Scud asked, after 5 minutes of silence.

It took a moment for Lucy to respond. "...Nothing..."

"Peach smoothie? Did the doctor say the problem is back?"

"No, Scud. My liver's fine. I haven't had alcohol since…" Lucy trailed off. "You see. I'm in great shape." Lucy said while flexing her biceps. "I'm in better shape than you are."

Scud rolled his eyes at this comment.

"Then what is it?"

Lucy had thoughts about Amy again. If she told Scud, she would get another long lecture from him. So she decided to hide the truth. She couldn't tell him what she was thinking. She couldn't tell him that she didn't believe that Amy's dead. There was something inside of her, something she couldn't explain, something that made her feel that Amy is still alive. Was it all in her mind? Was she in a state of denial? If she told Scud about this, she was sure he'd send her to a psychiatrist.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about the meetings for tomorrow." Lucy lied.

"Take it easy. Our businesses are running smoothly. This is the time to relax." Scud leaned back, stretched out his hands and placed them behind his head while rocking his chair back and forth.

It had been about 3 years now since they quit their criminal life. They are in different country and they had new identities. With the increasing crimes in US, they were no longer on the list of the America's most wanted criminals. Scud had somehow got the information that the DEBS had stopped looking for them because they didn't have enough resources. With the current deficit crisis in US, they were surprised that the D.E.B.S organization still exists.

After they settled in Paris, it was Scud's idea to open a business specializing in security surveillance systems, gaming and security software. After all, these are his interests and "the God of Bingo" wants to do what he loves.

Paris is known as "The City of Love". But like any large city, it has its fair share of crimes: petty theft, kidnapping, burglaries, etc. Opening a company that sells security surveillance systems was definitely one of Scud's best ideas. Their company is doing so well, it now employs a hundred people. With other investments on the side, they're living in a "carefree" life.

"How about a blind date?" Scud asked out of the blue.

"What?" Lucy questioned.

"Come on, Luce. It's been 2 years. You have to get out there." He paused, his eyes rolled up, a brief moment of deja vu crossed his mind.

"I am out there. You know what happened to the last blind date I had."

"She was gorgeous, Lucy, and when I say 'get out there', I don't mean going to the gym, taking sparring classes and taking cooking lessons."

"Yes, Scud. She is gorgeous. But there were no 'sparks'. I felt like.. like she's my sister."

"Lucy, you don't have a sister. So how would you know what having a sister would be like?"

"Yes, but I have you. You're like my brother and I don't want to kiss you. That's how I felt with her. I didn't want to kiss her. Comprendre." Lucy said calmly, shivered at the thought, and leaned back with her arms crossed.

"Excuses, excuses." Scud rolled his eyes again.

While they were having their conversation, they didn't notice that their waitress was staring at them the whole time. About 15 minutes later, the waitress brought the food and placed two napkins on the table and 2 glasses of water on the napkins.

"And an extra napkin for you. If you need anything, please let me know. My name is Alexis." The waitress said and walked away with a seductive smile.

Both Scud and Lucy, without blinking, watched the waitress walked to another table, then slowly turned their heads toward each other. Their eyes, at the same time, changed direction and focused on the napkin. She picked up the napkin, turned it over and found 10 digits written on it. Their jaws dropped simultaneously.

"Next time, I'm going to order a peach smoothie too." Scud said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down with a smile.

* * *

Halfway through their meal, as Scud was about to ask a question, Lucy suddenly sprang to her feet. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Her eyes focused on something far away and she quickly darted across the street.

"W-what, wait, where are you going?" His question was unanswered and his eyes followed the brunette to the other side of the street.

Lucy turned left around the corner, ran several more yards and made a sudden stop. Her eyes searched and scanned everywhere. The streets were filled with cars, scooters, and people. She turned herself around, looked everywhere but she could not find what she was looking for. To refocus, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths before opening them again.

After waiting for a few minutes, Scud was relieved when he saw his boss walking back to the table.

"What happened?"

"Oh, I saw a pickpocket so I ran after him." Lucy lied..again.

"Did you get him?"

"I gave him some money and let him go."

"You did what?"

"He's only 7 years old. What am I supposed to do?" Lucy said. _If I keep this up, I might just be the next perfect liar. _

As they were about to continue eating, a man dressed in a dark blue suit approached them.

"Keira, Scott, what a coincidence to see you here. I just called your secretary to leave a message."

"Bonjour, Michel." Scud and Lucy said simultaneously and invited him to sit.

"This is not about business. I'm having a party tonight at the Hotel Ritz Paris. I was wondering if you would be interested." Michel asked.

After hearing the word party, Scud immediately accepted the invitation. Lucy stared at him and kicked him in the shin causing him to yelp, causing Michel to wonder what was wrong.

"Is this a formal party?"

Michel gave out a small laugh. He knew how much Lucy had hated formal gatherings. There were many times when she was invited to them, but he had never seen her there. It had always been Scud who attended them. "Actually, it's going to be a small semi-formal with some close friends and family and few business associates." After he explained that it was a surprise birthday party for his daughter, Lucy happily accepted the invitation.

Michel Couric is a good-looking and wealthy man with dark hair; a man in his early 40's with the looks of a 30 year old. His father is a well-known businessman. Following his father's footsteps, he also made a name for himself in the financial world. He had known Lucy and Scud for a few months when he bought security surveillance systems from them for his multiple properties, investment firms and restaurants. The retired criminals always enjoyed talking with the entrepreneur because not only does he seem to be a down to earth kind of a guy, his vast knowledge on real estate, securities, asset management and investments made every conversation very interesting. With the information that they learned from him, they were able to make good judgments on their own investments.

* * *

Hotel Ritz Paris, the day of the party  


Dressed in black flare pants with a grayish silver v-neck top, the former criminal mastermind stepped out of her black BMW M5. Accompanied by his loyal henchman who wore black khaki slacks and dark blue shirt, Lucy and Scud walked to the entrance of the famous Hôtel Ritz Paris. Once inside the hotel, they were greeted by the hotel's staff and led to the banquet hall. The hotel was truly a masterpiece. The exquisite French decor was unparalleled. There were security guards inside and outside.

The first thing Lucy noticed inside the banquet hall was the high cathedral ceilings. It reminded her of the first time she saw her girlfriend gliding down at the Les Deau Amours.

"He's more loaded than I thought. All this for a birthday party for a little girl." Lucy whispered. Scud, with his mouth and eyes wide open, nodded in agreement.

"Thank you for coming." Michel greeted them and walked them to their table. As they sat down, he glanced everywhere as if looking for someone. Meanwhile, Scud handed the present to Lucy, who handed it to Michel.

"I'll make sure she gets it." Michel thanked them again and politely excused himself to meet other guests.

"Well, we can't just sit here. Let's mingle." Scud said as he walked over to someone he recognized. There were a few familiar faces. Not wanting to make small talk or talk about business for that matter, Lucy just waved at them. After a moment, Lucy walked over to the open bar and ordered herself a drink.

On the dance floor, there were old and young folks dancing to soft rock. The music wasn't too loud, so people could have a conversation without yelling over each other. Kids gathered in another side of the room to be entertained by a magician. What captured a lot of peoples' attention was a little girl about 6 years old dancing with a young pretty woman in a blushed color ruched strapless cationic chiffon dress. Males, young and old, can't take their eyes off her. Guests gathered around them and clapped as the little girl did her own silly moves. _I wondered if that's the birthday girl._ After the music stopped, she clapped along with everyone else, spun herself around and focused on her drink.

A few minutes later, hearing someone saying 'Hi' next to her, Lucy turned and immediately recognized the woman. Standing next to her was a young woman with medium length auburn brown hair, big dark brown eyes, a dazzling smile with pink lipstick, and a look as confident as Dominique and as beautiful as her lover.

"Hi." Lucy replied and waited for the young woman to speak first.

_I can't believe she's here. What a coincidence? But it doesn't look like she recognize me. _After several seconds of silently staring at each other, the young woman said, a statement more than a question. "You don't recognize me."

"Sure I do. You were just over there dancing with the little girl." Lucy said with a smile, pointing to the dance floor.

The young woman immediately froze for a moment when she saw those dimples, gorgeous smile with sparkling white teeth_, _and hypnotizing eyes looking at her. "Yessss, but that's not what I meant." As she was about to compliment on her smile, she was interrupted by the bartender. "I'll have….what she's having." She pointed to Lucy's drink. The bartender nodded and went to prepare her drink.

"I don't think you want what I'm drinking."

"And why not? You don't think I'm old enough or you don't think I can hold the liquor?"

"No…that's not what I meant."

The young woman stepped closer to the brunette and leaned towards her; her face an inch away from Lucy's. She whispered seductively in her right ear. "I may look young but I can assure you that I am old enough to do a lot of things." She slowly glided her fingers onto the brunette's beautifully tanned right forearm down to the hand that held the drink. She smoothly took the drink away from her hand and moved it towards her pale pink glossy lips. After taking a big gulp of her drink, she gave the brunette a questioning look.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders and smirked with raised eyebrows.

It was a **virgin** sea breeze.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Chapter 3**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

As the slender young woman was about to speak, she was once again interrupted.

"There you are." Michel spoke as he stood next to her.

"I see that you've met my daughter."

"Your daughter?" Lucy asked, a little surprised.

"she's my oldest."

Lucy offered her hand out and grinned. "Nice to meet you...Alexis."

Alexis accepted the handshake with a big grin. _So she does recognize me. Liar…and a very attractive one._

"Alexis, this is Keira Holmes. Keira owns her own business and she's only a few years older than you. I'm sure you can learn a lot from her."

_I'm sure._ Alexis thought to herself as she kept her eyes glued on the former criminal mastermind.

It doesn't take a genius to know what Alexis was thinking of. Lucy knew exactly what that is from the way the young woman was looking at her.

After her father finished the introduction, he pulled Lucy to the side to speak privately.

"I was wondering if you can do me a favor." Michel asked. "You see, Alexis just graduated from college a few months ago and she just got back. She doesn't have any close friends here and I was wondering if you could spend some time with her….you know…go shopping, movies, girl to girl talk, do whatever you girls do. I have a feeling that she's comfortable talking to you."

_I think she wants to do something more than go shopping with me._ Before Lucy could protest, Alexis interrupted and spoke in a soft voice.

"Papa, it's almost time. Is Ashley here yet?"

Michel looked at his watch and looked around. He then took out his cell phone and excused himself.

"So…you do remember me."

"I never forget a pretty face." W_hy did I just say that? Say something else, damn it. _Lucy cleared her throat. "Ummmh…why were you working at Café De Paris?"

"I just got back from vacation. My father said his restaurant needed temporary help, so I thought I work there for a while to make some extra bucks. I'm currently looking for a job in fashion design.

Lucy wasn't sure if she was making a joke. _ A few extra bucks_. If she wanted money, all she had to do was ask her father. "I would think your father should be able to help you with that."

"He could, but I don't want him to. I want to do it on my own. If I could get a job myself without any of his help, without any of his connections, that would be so much more satisfying."

Without realizing, she continued to take a sip of Lucy's drink, while keeping her eyes locked at the beautiful tanned brunette in front of her. "Who's the guy you came here with?"

_SO, she noticed me the moment I stepped into this room_. "Oh, umm…that's Scott, a friend of mine, my business partner." Both looked over to where Scott was standing. It seemed like he was having a good time, showing off some of his small toy inventions to some kids, which attracted a few female guests.

"What school did you graduated from? Your father just told me…"

"Central Saint Martins in London." Alexis placed the drink down on the table, took two steps back and spun herself around showing off her dress. When she came to a full circle, she stopped and noticed how the brunette was looking at her from top to bottom, from bottom to top, satisfied with the effects she made on the brunette. "What do you think?"

_..I think that is one sexy …strapless…bodacious curves…radiant skin, smooth and toned…long silky smooth legs…_

_Shit, what the hell are you doing…Diamond…focus, focus… _

Lucy shook herself out of her inner thoughts. "I…I think it's beautiful. It fits you perfectly."

"I made it myself."

"Wow…you truly have a talent." Lucy was surprised to hear that it wasn't made by a famous designer.

"Merci." She stepped closer to the brunette and looked into her eyes. "Just out of curiosity, would you have given me a call if we haven't met tonight?"

Lucy wasn't expecting that. _ What should I say? I don't want to hurt her feelings. _Lucy hesitated. Before she could answer, she was interrupted by a little girl who grabbed onto Alexis's hand.

"C'mon, let's go dancing." Said the cute little girl who pulled her towards the dance floor. "My brother wants to dance with you too."

As Alexis was dragged involuntarily to the dance floor by the 6 year old, Alexis mouthed "help me."

The former master criminal just smiled and waved her hand. After a moment, Lucy walked back to her table and was later joined by Scud. It looked like all the guests had arrived. Most of the seats were filled. Some were still on the dance floor. She noticed that Alexis was looking at her, rolling her eyes, while dancing with a man. Must be the little girl's brother. It had been half an hour already. They wondered when the birthday girl is going to show up.

"Did you know Michel has 2 daughters?" Scud shook his head. After telling him that the waitress at Café De Paris was Michel's daughter, he too was a little shocked.

"Does he know his daughter is ..into woman?" Scud asked out of the curiosity.

Lucy shrugged. "I don't think so." She thought for a moment. _How did she even know that I'm gay?_ She made a mental note to ask her that next time.

"Testing 123, testing 123. Hello everyone." Michel got everyone's attention as he spoke thru the microphone. "It seems that my little girl is a little shy tonight. Actually, she just flew back this morning from Italy and caught a cold." A sound of 'awwww' was heard throughout the room. "She's fine. No worries. She's at home resting. I would just like to thank everyone for coming. Thank you for your presents. Please, everyone enjoy the party." He handed the microphone to a waiter, greeted everyone he passed by, and left the room in a hurry.

"Hmmm…that's odd." Scud said.

"Well, since the birthday girl's not here. Do you want to go?" Lucy asked, since she rather stay home to watch dvds.

"Oh look, they're serving dinner. Let's eat first. I'm starving." Scud said when he spotted waiters carrying trays above their shoulders.

* * *

1 day later

Michel paced back and forth in his furnished office in his house. His assistant, Jehan, anxiously waiting, stood near him. Sitting on the sofa was Alexis with swollen eyes, folding her hands and clasping the palms together. She had been crying since last night. A look of worry covered their faces. Everyone suddenly jumped at the sound of door knocks and looked towards the door. Jehan quickly opened the door and a man in a gray suit handed him a suitcase.

"Do we have enough?" Michel asked.

"We're short €400,000, sir."

"Damn it." As he slammed his fist on the desk, the loud noise made Alexis jump.

"We have to call the police." Alexis urged.

Michel walked over to the sofa and knelt before her. He held her trembling hands and spoke softly to his daughter. "Honey, we can't call the police. They'll do something to Ashley if they find out. Listen to me, sweetheart, we can't let anyone else know about this. We'll just give them the money and they'll let them go. Please promise me, you won't let anyone else know about this."

Alexis nodded.

"Sir, maybe we can ask her for help." Jehan suggested.

"Who?"

"Ms. Holmes."

At the mention of the brunette's name, Alexis looked up.

Michel pondered for a moment, then started to pace back and forth again. He sighed heavily and stopped before taking his phone out.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Chapter 4**

* * *

Chapter 4

Bois Notre-Dame (25 miles from Paris, France)

"When is papa going to be here?"

"He'll be here tomorrow, sweetie. He said he's getting you a big gift for your birthday and he wanted to surprise you. Why don't you go watch some cartoons and we can play some games later. Okay, Ashley?"

"Okay, mama." The little blond girl walked over to the tv and pressed the play button on the dvd player.

They had been in the house since yesterday. When she woke up, she was terrified and confused. She found herself lying on the bed with Ashley sleeping next to her. They were in a 1200sqft house with 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, a small kitchen and a large play area. Everything looked normal except that the windows had steel bars outside and the door was locked from inside. Multiple surveillance cameras were set up in every corner in every room. The refrigerator had food; enough for a week.

That was the day they came back from Italy. She was supposed to bring Ashley back to the banquet for her surprise party after shopping. This was not the surprise that everyone had in mind.

When she found the note in the kitchen cabinet, she understood why they were brought here. The note said 'As soon as we get the money, you are free to go. For the little girl's sake, please don't do anything foolish.'

They took her cell phone. The house was surrounded by trees; not a person in sight. They were being watched. They were trapped. There was nothing she could do except keep Ashley from knowing the truth and pray.

* * *

Lucy's office

8AM

Michel and Alexis sat on the couch while Lucy and Scud sat on the armchairs. She noticed that Alexis did not look as cheerful or confident as she did from the party. The look of worry and fatigue on both the father and daughter was apparent.

"What can I do for you?" Lucy asked.

Michel looked towards his daughter. "Alexis, can you go outside while I talk to Keira and Scott privately?"

"Papa, please…I want to be here."

Previously, Michel had tried to convince his daughter to stay in the house but was unsuccessful. His attempt to have a private conversation failed again. He sighed heavily.

The former criminals looked at each other. Lucy walked over to Alexis and held her left hand.

"Alexis, will you excuse us for a moment? I would like to talk to your father alone."

"But..but…" Alexis protested but ultimately gave in to the beautiful brunette with that killer smile in front of her. After all, this was her office. Lucy led her out of the office and closed the door behind her.

With his hands holding his forehead and elbows leaning on each of his thighs, he lowered his head as he thought about what to say next.

"This is really difficult for me, but I need to ask you for another favor. I need to ask if you have €400,000 in cash. I can wire you the money immediately. I just need to have it in cash."

After a few seconds of silence, Lucy asked calmly. "I assume that you are in some kind of trouble and you cannot let anyone else know about this."

Michel nodded.

"May I ask what you need this for?"

Tears brimmed his eyes as he spoke. "I rather you didn't….because…because…..I promise I will tell you after this is over."

Lucy pondered for a moment. "When do you need it?"

"By 12PM."

"Scott?"

"That…is a problem. We don't have that much cash lying around."

Michel, unhappy with the response, covered his face again, and became more worried.

Lucy walked over and put one hand on his shoulder. "We'll see what we can do." She gave him a reassuring smile.

After hearing this, a small grin appeared on his face. He shook both of their hands and thanked them.

Scud walked him out of the office and closed the door behind him.

"Papa?" Alexis asked.

After Michel gave her a nod and a smile, she knew it was a good sign.

"Wait here, I want to thank her myself."

Hearing the knock on the door, Lucy invited Alexis to come inside.

As soon as the door was closed, Alexis jumped onto Lucy and wrapped her hands around her shoulder tightly. The sudden impact almost caused the brunette to lose her balance. "Wooooe..."

"I just want to say thank you." Alexis tightened the hold, feeling the closeness of their bodies, taking in the vanilla scent of the brunette's hair, not wanting to let go.

"umm….you're welcome." Lucy patted her back gently. Their bodies were so close together, her heart began to beat a little faster because the last time she had been this close to a woman was with Amy._ Amy_. Before she tried to break free of the embrace, there was a knock on the door, which caused Alexis to release the hold.

"You should go home and get some sleep." Lucy said sympathetically and Alexis agreed.

* * *

"Is that really going to be a problem, Scud?" Lucy said after Alexis left.

"No." He said confidently. Lucy looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Well, we can't let anyone know how much we have lying around. Now, can we?" He chuckled.

"Should we look into it?"

"See what you can find out."

Scud nodded and opened the door. "So what were you guys doing just now?"

"What?"

"You and Alexis...both of you...your girls were a little...strange."

"Nothing...it's none of your business..."

"Did she kiss you?"

"Scud!"

Scud quickly closed the door behind him, but not before giving her a wink.

* * *

~12 PM Afternoon -Couric house

"They're here, sir."

This is the first time Lucy and Scud has been to the Couric house. Walking inside the main door, they were met by Michel and Jehan. They were quickly led to the office on the second floor. Michel looked extremely tired, like he hadn't slept for days. As Lucy handed him the duffle bag, he thanked them again. While the assistant counted the money, he had the butler brought in some coffee and pastries for his guests. The former criminals noticed that Michel was very tense; his hands were shaking; he was constantly moving, he looked as though he was going to have an anxiety attack any minute.

After his assistant finished counting, he nodded to his boss. "I thank you again for your help." Michel said and escorted them to the main door.

As they were about to leave the house, they heard Alexis calling. "Keira, you're here...Papa, I want to talk to Keira for a few minutes." Michel agreed and went back upstairs.

"Scott, I'll meet you in the car."

Scud took the hint and left the house.

Alexis slowly reached out and held Lucy's hand. "I just want to say thank you again."

"It's not a problem. I'm glad I could help."

Lucy felt awkward as the young woman gazed wordlessly at her.

"Ummm, where's the birthday girl?" Lucy asked, breaking the silence and the gaze.

"Who?"

"Your sister. I was wondering if she like the present I got for her."

"Oh…umm…she's taking a nap…and she hasn't opened her presents yet. uhhh…..I shouldn't keep your friend waiting. So, I guess I'll see you some other time."

"Sure, okay." Lucy waved good-bye.

* * *

"The birthday girl got kidnapped." Lucy said as soon as she got into the passenger's side of her BMW and closed the door.

"What! How do you know?"

"I just asked her where her sister was and she took too long to answer."

"Maybe, she's just tired."

"She also said her sister didn't open any of her presents yet. Now I don't know about you, but when I was a little girl, the first thing I do when I get my presents is open them."

Scud stayed silent to think for a moment because it made sense.

"Maybe she's still sick."

"...And she let go of my hands when I mentioned her sister. I didn't even have to make an excuse."

"Maybe she's not into you anymore." Scud realized later that he shouldn't have said that.

"OWWW!" Scud yelped when Lucy punched his arm.

"OK, OK. You could be right." He said, rubbing the bruised area. "She didn't show up last night and he left the party early. He asked us for help this morning." Scud had a feeling that his boss could be right. "Should we follow him?"

"We can't do anything now. It seems like he's ready to make the drop. We don't even know if we're being watched." She looked outside and did a quick scan. "Let's go back for now."

* * *

**Chapter 5: Chapter 5**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Back inside the house, Michel, Jehan, and Alexis were anxiously waiting for instructions from the kidnappers. It's 2:00PM. They didn't know if they were going to get a call or get a mysterious note like last time. All they could do was sit and wait. Silence filled the room until suddenly, the phone rang. Michel didn't recognize the number and quickly picked it up.

* * *

**Lucy's office**

"What did you find out, Scud?"

"Aside from his businesses that we already know about, here's his other personal information." He handed her a folder and sat down on the couch. "Couric is married twice. His girlfriend got pregnant at 19 and they got married after Alexis was born. After 3 years of marriage, they divorced due to irreconcilable differences. He and his parents had been taken care of Alexis ever since. His ex-wife later remarried, moved to England and now has her own family."

"So…Alexis didn't get to see much of her mother, then." Lucy said softly. "That must be difficult for her."

_England. Is that why she chose to go to college there?_ She thought to herself.

"At 35, Michel remarried and Ashley was born 2 years later. This is even more heartbreaking…After giving birth, his second wife died due to complications."

"Jesus…poor guy." Lucy said in a sympathetic tone. If anyone would know the feeling of losing someone, it would be her. When she heard about Amy's demise, her heart ached so much, it felt like someone had stabbed her with a knife…again and again and again…

"Yeah…poor Ashley."

"Is he currently dating anyone?

"Nope, no news on that. He isn't exactly a celebrity, you know... and he isn't that rich to be stalked by paparazzies."

"But he is rich enough to have someone kidnap his daughter." She paused and thought about what she had just said.

"He also donates to several charities each year." Scud added.

"He's not famous…he's not a celebrity…there are a lot of others who are wealthier than him, so why would someone kidnap his daughter?" Lucy questioned.

They both pondered for a moment.

Then at the same time, the former criminals called out, "Revenge!"

* * *

Following the kidnapper's instructions, Michel instructed Jehan to put the money into 2 garbage bags; Jehan drove to one location with one bag and he himself drove to another with the other bag. At the destination, Michel dropped the garbage bag into the designated trashcan. It was garbage day on a busy area with cars parked on one side of the street. The area was occupied by low-income houses, apartments and small stores. As he watched the garbage workers emptying the trashcan that contained the money, he waited for his next instructions, with his eyes following the garbage truck. Then the sound of his phone startled him.

It was Jehan on the other line. "Sir, I have the instructions. I have to go to Montesson within an hour."

"Ok, keep me informed."

The garbage truck took a turn at the corner and he could no longer see it. After 10 minutes, he was approached by a young boy on a bicycle who handed him an envelope and rode away. He wanted to ask the boy, but he stopped himself from doing so. Hearing from Jehan, there was a time limit. Trembling with fear, unable to keep his hands steady due to lack of sleep and worry, he had trouble opening the envelope without tearing the note inside.

Stuck in the middle of traffic, Michel nervously checked his watch every 5 minutes. Sweat rolled down his forehead. His heart pounded in his chest. His breathing became quicker and sweaty palms covered the steering wheel. It's 3:30PM. It had taken him about an hour to drive to the first destination and now he had to drive to the final destination before 4:00PM. _I have to get there on time to save them. _He checked the time on the car. He needed to go to Saint-Denis and he wasn't sure if he could make it.

"There's not enough time. There's not enough time_." _

Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France, about 20-minute drive from the center of Paris. It doesn't have a great reputation in terms of safety, as it has one of the highest crime rates in the country.

* * *

Lucy's Office

"Hello….yes…yes….got it…I understand…I will." As Lucy spoke on the phone, she wrote something down on a Post-It note.

"Who is it?"

With a serious look, she turned to Scud. "That was Michel. He needed our help. We have to get there in 20 minutes…I'll get the GPS ready…you bring the guns."

They had been together in many dangerous situations. Scud recognized the look on her face and detected the tone of her voice to know that this is the time to do as asked and not the time to ask questions.

As she drove to the destination in her 575-hp BWM M5, it reminded her of how she felt back in the old days when she tried to avoid being captured after each heist; her heart pounding in her chest, the excitement, the thrill of it after getting away. But this was different. There was no one chasing after her this time. There was no excitement, no thrill, only the beating of her heart; twice as fast. A little girl is in danger. An innocent little girl whom she never met needed her help. There was only one thing in her mind; get there on time and save her…save them.

"Damn it, I can't believe there's no highway to there." Lucy cursed.

Scud pressed a button on the GPS. "There's no traffic jam, we should be able to get there on time."

"Let's hope so."

Scud knew there was something else that Lucy didn't have time to mention to him. Since he didn't want to distract her, he stayed silent.

She swerved to the right to bypass the car in front of her; then to the left. She did that several times. When there was no clear road ahead, she had to stop. "Michel said they might be trapped in a car with a time bomb. If we don't get there by 4PM, the car will explode."

"Holy shit!" Scud exclaimed.

"He also said there will be a woman with the little girl."

"A woman?"

Lucy continued, knowing what his next question would be. "I didn't ask. There's no time."

After 5 minutes, they were in the city of Saint-Denis. There were people, mostly males, hanging around the streets; talking, smoking, drug dealing, and staring at them while driving by. It's like Harlem, NY.

"Oh geez. We should have driven a less fancy car." Scud said.

As she turned into a dead end street, she saw an old black car surrounded by 3 guys. One of the doors was already opened. "We're here. Get your guns out. We're going to need it."

There was only one car at the end of the narrow street; surrounded by old buildings with graffities on the wall, trash everywhere, and god-awful stench that smell like dead rats.

The guys slowly approached them. One was holding a bat, another holding a crowbar and the third was holding a knife.

"I don't think those are the kidnappers." Lucy said.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Scud asked as Lucy was about to open the car door.

"Well, first I'm going to ask them nicely to step away from the car and if they don't, I'll just use this." Lucy held her gun next to her face. Scud rolled his eyes.

"We don't have to do that. Watch this." He reached into the glove compartment and pressed a button. The loud sound of a police car siren went off. Flashing red and blue lights came on from the front headlights and a loud French voice could be heard. The guys looked around and quickly ran into an alley between the buildings.

"See…." Scud smiled at her.

_When did he alter my car?_ She made a mental note to ask him about that later.

Lucy quickly drove behind the parked car and got out. There they were. Inside the back seat of the car were an adult and a child; both had a black cloth covering the entire head with big hole in the middle exposing the mouth and nose. Both were unconscious and their hands and legs were not bound.

They did a quick scan of the inside and underneath the car but didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

"Hurry, we only have 6 minutes left." Lucy said. Without removing their head covers, they carried the victims to the backseat of the bmw and quickly backed out of the dead end street. She stopped at the end of the street and waited.

"Five…four…three…two…one…" Scud counted.

Silence.

Bang!

"What the hell was that?" Both shouted out. That wasn't an explosion. They turned their heads to the back to where the noise came from.

"Oh shit!" Scud called out. "Let's move!…move!...move!" They saw about ten guys coming at them, some holding bats and some throwing rocks. Another group of men came out of the alley at the other end of the street, yelling and running towards them. She quickly stepped on the gas pedal, avoided a hit to her car from the rear, and made a quick left turn causing her tires to screech.

When they could no longer see the guys behind them after driving a few blocks, Lucy spoke. "You and your bright ideas."

"What?" Scud shrugged his shoulders.

"We're in Saint-Denis. It's a "no-go" zone. They're not afraid of the police." Lucy reminded him.

Seine-Saint-Denis is divided into 40 administrative districts called communes. It has one of the highest rates of violent crime in France and also has one of the highest unemployment rates. Because of the widespread drug dealing, a rampant black market, and riots, 36 of the districts are on the French government's official list of "no-go" zones.

"Feels like old times, doesn't it?" Scud asked as his heart started to beat normally.

"Sure does…" Lucy said as a few past memories of being chased by cops and enemies crossed her mind.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of an apartment building, a woman dressed in black, holding a semi automatic rifle, spoke on her cell phone. "They have them...I'll see you there."

* * *

As they drove back to Paris, Lucy instructed Scud to call the Doctor to go to their place since it was closer and let Michel know. About 20 minutes later, they arrived to their apartment in Paris. Lucy took the cover off the little girl and carried her upstairs to the guestroom. After she placed the girl on the bed, she checked her heart rate and listened to her breathing. There were no bruises and she had not been harmed. Her breathing was calm and heart rate was normal.

"What's taking him so long?"

Realizing that she had forgotten her gun, she quickly went underground to where her car was parked. There she saw Scud standing still next to the left side of the back seat, with the door opened; his back facing her.

"Scud.." Lucy said in a low volume.

He slowly turned towards her as if some magical force prevented him from moving fast. Tears rolled down his cheek and a small smile slowly appeared. He stepped aside to allow the brunette to look inside. Frowning in confusion, Lucy took 2 steps closer.

She stopped.

"Amy?…"

* * *

**Chapter 6: Chapter 6**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

'Where…am I?"

Surrounded by complete darkness, she had no idea where she was or what she was stepping on. All she could do was to keep walking, hoping to find an opening.

"What is that?"

Far away, a small glowing object caught her eye. Faster and faster, she ran towards the object. Faster and faster, her heart pounded. Then she stopped. She could see it now, right in front of her. Breathing heavily, she slowly bent down to pick it up and was completely mesmerized by its brightness, flashing, fiery effect. In between her right thumb and finger was a pyramid-shaped diamond with something glowing inside. As she moved the object closer to her eyes to get a better look, the brightness became stronger and stronger; so strong it blinded her for a moment. She blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the light. When she managed to keep her eyes open, in front of her, she saw a beautiful face, with big brown eyes and dark brown hair, surrounded by white glowing aura, smiling at her with pearl white teeth. Everywhere else was filled with whiteness and shining stars.

"WOwww…She's…beautiful.…but why is she crying?"

The gorgeous woman said something but she couldn't hear a single word.

"I can't hear you."

The stranger continued to move her mouth but she couldn't hear a thing.

"Oh god…Am I dead?….Am I in heaven?"

No sound, except her own. She looked around.

"Ashley.…Where's Ashley?" She asked, hoping the woman would answer her. When she did not get a response, she tried to move but found that she was unable to do so. Someone was holding her left hand. Two pairs of hands were holding her right arm down.

"Let me go…let me go…I have to find Ashley."

In a state of fear and confusion, her breathing became quicker. She closed her eyes for a quick moment, took a deep breath and screamed as loud as she could, using all of her energy to free her appendages.

"AHHHH!"

* * *

"Jesus!" Lucy cried out after being punched and tackled by the blonde who had been unconscious and placed on the bed in the guestroom next to the little girl.

"Oh my god!" Scud and another woman cried out at the same time.

"mama..mama.." Ashley called out as she ran to the other side of the queen size bed.

On the floor, the blonde had her right knee on top of Lucy's chest, her left hand pressing her right wrist down against the floor, and her right hand squeezing the brunette's throat. Ashley jumped onto the blonde and hugged her tight; causing her to release the grip she had on the woman's throat under her.

After a moment, the blonde finally realized that she had woken up from a dream. Extremely happy to see Ashley, she embraced her with both arms. When she saw the two strangers in front of her, she realized that she still had her knee over the beautiful brunette, the one she saw before she woke up, who was gasping for breath underneath her. Lifting Ashley up, she quickly got up and sat on the edge of the bed. While she scanned the little girl's body and face for any visible bruises, Lucy, who was breathing hard, got up with Scud's help.

"Are you ok?" The worried blonde asked.

Ashley nodded. "Did you have a nightmare? You scared me. You were screaming."

"Ohhh…I was?…."

The little girl nodded again. "Uh huh…and you hit her". Ashley said while pointing to the brunette who was now sitting on a chair with her back a little slouched, her eyes locked on the blonde.

With Ashley on her lap, the confused blonde looked at the three strangers in front of her.

"Who are you?"

Lucy and Scud both had a questioning look, turned towards each other before returning their eyes on the blonde.

Ashley, who had woken up before the blonde, surprised all of them by speaking first.

"These are Papa's friends. Papa said he's going to pick us up later."

When the little girl woke up, Lucy convinced her that they were friends of her father by calling Michel. Seeing Ashley's merry behavior, the former criminals knew that the little girl had no idea about what really happened that day and the day before. They felt that the blonde was extremely clever to hide the truth from her.

Lucy and Scud found out from Ashley that the blonde was her baby-sitter and her name is Kristin Lang. They were shocked to hear that her name wasn't Jade Knightley, Amy's new identity after she left USA. There were so many things that they didn't understand. Why does she looked so much like Amy? But there was no beauty mark on her right side of the face and she was so much more toned than Amy.

Lucy regretted selling her house in Barcelona. If she hadn't, finding Amy's hair in the house would be possible, thus DNA testing would be possible. At first, they had hoped that all these questions could be answered when the blonde wakes up. But now it seem that it's going to take awhile for them to find out…...somehow.

Lucy offered the blonde her cell phone to call Michel to confirm. After a short conversation with Michel, the blonde understood. Feeling relieved and calm, her heart rate began to normalize.

"Hey kiddo, do you want to play some video games?" Scud asked.

"Can I?" She asked the blonde who nodded with a smile. "Yay!" Ashley leaped from the blonde after giving her a kiss on the cheek.

After Ashley went outside to the living room, a woman introduced herself. "I'm Dr. Edith Blanchard, Keira's doctor. How are you feeling?"

Kristin hesitated for a moment. "I'm feeling a little sleepy but other than that, I feel fine." She said while noticing that the brunette, sitting in front of her, had been staring at her the whole time.

"I checked your eyes earlier when you were unconscious. Do you mind if I checked them again?" The blonde agreed. She shone a light on both eyes to make sure they were dilating.

"Everything looks ok. But I suggest you get a complete checkup including blood tests from your doctor as soon as you can. Same for Ashley." Dr. Blanchard was not aware of the events that had taken place an hour ago. Scud just told her to go to Keira's house immediately with her emergency bag. Seeing that Lucy was completely mesmerized by the blonde, she nodded to Scud, with an understanding that she cannot do anything more for them, and left the apartment.

"Do you remember what happened?" Scud asked.

"I…we were walking on Rue de Bucci that day and Ashley followed a kitten into an alley, so I followed her and the next thing I know…we were in a house surrounded by trees."

"You were on Rue de Bucci?" Lucy asked.

Surprised that the brunette had spoken, she responded in a soft tone. "Yes."

"What time?"

"Around noon…"

_So it was her that I saw that day_. _What about the other times? Was that her too? _Lucy thought to herself.

Seeing that Lucy was lost in her own thoughts again, Scud continued with the questions. "Did you see them? Did you talk to them?"

"No…there was a note …They had surveillance cameras in all of the rooms. I don't think they wanted to hurt us. I think they just wanted money."

Scud nodded. Lucy remained unmoved, still staring at the blonde in silence.

"How did you find us?"

Scud told her about the events.

"A bomb!" Kristin covered her mouth with her hand.

Scud immediately waved his hand. "no…it was a hoax. We got to Saint-Denis on time. It didn't explode….so you might be right, they just wanted the money." He didn't think the other part was relevant, so he didn't tell her about the chase in Saint-Denis.

The blonde nodded.

"That was very smart of you for not letting her know."

"That was all I could do." She whispered, looking down on the floor, feeling useless.

"You did the right thing." Lucy said immediately to comfort her, knowing that the blonde felt guilty for not being able to protect the girl from being kidnapped. "She's safe now...You're safe now."

Kristin brought her head back up and smiled at her, nodding as a gesture to thank her for her comforting words and understanding. They stared wordlessly at each other and stayed in that position for a moment.

"I'll…uhhh…just go keep the kid company…" He said while making the hitchhiking sign with his thumb towards the living room. When he noticed that no one was listening to him and was completely ignored, he rolled his eyes and just walked out of the guest room and closed it behind him.

Looking into the big dark brown eyes, the blonde noticed tears were brimming the eyes of the beautiful woman in front of her. After a moment of silence, she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"For..what?" _What is she sorry for? What is she hiding from me? _Lucy responded in a soft tone._  
_

"For hitting you."

"Oh…" Lucy said in a whisper as a tear rolled down her left cheek.

There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but she could not bring herself to do so. She didn't want to think about it at this moment. She was still shocked to see the woman in front of her who looked so much like Amy. For so long, she dreamed of seeing her again. She missed her so much. Her heart ached every time she thought of her. And now, she's right in front of her. All she wanted to do was hold her and never let her go.

The blonde could not resist and slowly extended her right hand to wipe away the tear. "Does it still hurt?" As she was about to pull her hand away, Lucy took hold of it and held it against her face. Her other hand moved to her own heart while caressing the back of the blonde's hand. "Not…anymore."

At the gentle contact, the blonde's heartbeat began to race, feeling her own cheeks getting warmer. _Why is my heart beating so fast? What did they put in the food? _She could see that there was a lot of pain in those brown teary eyes of the brunette. From what, she had no idea.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Lucy's mind was totally focused on the person in front of her and had forgotten everything that happened an hour ago.

"For saving us." Kristin said in an obvious tone.

Lucy, still staring and holding the blonde's hand against her face, did not respond. Tears began to roll down on her other cheek. Spontaneously, the blonde extended her other hand towards the brunette's other side of her face. But before she could reach her face, they were interrupted by Michel who barged into the guestroom; followed by Scud and Ashley. The startled blonde quickly pulled both her hands away as if she was caught cheating with another man, in this case, a woman. The loss of contact broke the brunette's gaze and she quickly turned her back towards everyone to brush away her tears, hoping no one else noticed.

"Kristin…are you ok?" An exhausted Michel ran towards her and wrapped his hands around her while Lucy, who's a little upset over the interruption, gazed at the blonde.

"I'm fine."

Michel put his hands on her shoulders, stepped back and looked at her from top to bottom to make sure she was indeed unharmed. Again, he hugged her tightly and did not let go until Lucy, who was a little jealous of the scene in front of her, cleared her throat loudly.

Taking the hint, he released the hold. "Keira, this is Kristin Lang, my daughter's baby-sitter."

Happy to hear that he did not introduce her as his girlfriend, Lucy grinned and extended her hand out.

"Kristin, this is Keira Holmes. She's a business associate of mine and a friend." As she took the offered hand, her eyes locked onto Keira's and both did not let go until Scud who noticed that the handshake was a bit too long, interrupted them and introduced himself.

"I'm Scott. Nice to meet you." He shook the blonde's hands.

"Papa, can we go now? I want to go home to open my gifts." Ashley tugged on her father's pants.

"Ok, honey…we can go now." He turned towards Lucy and Scud and thanked them once again.

As Michel approached the bedroom door while holding Ashley's right hand, he felt light headed and almost fell before Kristin caught his right arm.

"Michel, let me drive you back home." Scud offered, seeing how exhausted he looked.

"Scott, why don't you drive Michel and Ashley home and I'll drive Kristin home." Lucy suggested, wanting to spend more time with the blonde. This way, she could also find out where Kristin lives. Her henchman looked at her, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"Kristin…You shouldn't stay home alone tonight. Why don't you stay in our house for a few days?" Michel suggested, with a concerned voice. He didn't want to say too much in front of Ashley after Scud had told him beforehand that his daughter had no clue about what happened.

Not liking on how this was turning out, Lucy was about to suggest that they stay for dinner. It was a stupid idea but she was willing to try anything to see the blonde a little longer.

"Papa, can mama sleep with me tonight? Can she…Can she…please…I want her to open the gifts with me." Ashley asked in excitement while jumping up and down.

Slowly, Kristin bent down and said in her sweet voice. "Ashley, if you want me to sleep-over, then can you stop calling me mama?" The little girl pondered for a moment; smiling and tapping her finger on her mouth. "mmm…ok."

"Good…now go put your shoes on." She waited for Ashley to leave the guestroom first before speaking. "We have to go to the hospital first to take some blood tests. I'm afraid they might have put something other than sedatives in the food we ate this morning."

"Right, I already called my doctor and he's at the house now."

"I'll go get some things from my apartment and I'll meet you there." Kristin said and Michel nodded.

"Keira, if you don't mind." Michel asked.

"Not at all." She smiled at the blonde.

* * *

It's about 5PM in Paris. The sky was beginning to darken. Gray clouds were moving fast, wind blowing fairly strong. Kristin sat on the passenger side, looking out the side window of the BMW. Each time Lucy stopped at a red light, she took a few glances at her passenger. What she didn't know was that Kristin had also stole a few glances at her when she wasn't looking.

"Looks like it's going to rain." Kristin spoke softly, not expecting a response. Lucy did not say anything.

It was rush hour. People were getting off work. This time, Lucy was happy to see that traffic was at its worse.

"Oh..look..." Kristin pointed to the sky and both set of eyes followed the flock of birds flying a v-formation across their window, from the left side to the right. Unbeknownst to Lucy, the blonde was looking at her while she was looking at the birds fly by. That view had brought the former mastermind a lot of memories. When she turned to see what kind of reaction it had on the blonde, she found none. The blonde had already turned, looking outside the side window once again.

Since traffic was moving at a turtle's pace, she felt this is the right time to ask her first question, something she was curious about. She didn't want to ask her where she's from, what she's doing here, how long she's been here, or if she had any siblings. Now that they have her name, Scud can find out all about that. Last thing she wanted to do is ask her more about the kidnapping; which will certainly make her feel uncomfortable. She thought it would be best to leave that alone for now. What she wanted to know was her personality: her likes and dislikes, her behavior. She'll need to get close to her, become her friend, get her trust and eventually, she'll find out who she is.

"So…why does Ashley call you mama?"

"Oh…" Kristin straightened her back and turned towards her. "She was just being silly… Everywhere I go with her, people thought that I was her mother. The first few times, I told them that I wasn't, then after that, I just got tired of explaining…and she got tired of explaining…so we just don't bother to anymore….she just kept calling me after that…that silly girl…"

"I see…well, that's not good…If anyone hears that, they'd think you're already married and unavailable." Lucy didn't see any ring on her finger and hoped that she didn't have a boyfriend.

"Oh… I don't care about that."

"Oh…so you currently have a boyfriend?"

"No…not really….maybe, I don't know…" Kristin noticed the confused look the brunette was giving her. "It's complicated."

"..okaaaay..."

Kristin sighed and covered her face with hands.

"Sorry…I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"What?…no…it's not you...it's just that I don't know what I want. I mean, he seems like a nice guy, but I don't know if I want to…"

"Him?"

"Michel.."

_What!...Damn it. I knew there was something going on with him… That explained why he seemed so happy before the incident…..that...that cradle robber._ Lucy thought to herself.

Kristin noticed the sudden change in the brunette: her tight grip on the steering wheel as if she wanted to strangle someone, her strong defined jaw line appearing due to teeth grinding, her chest heaving, and the way she blew her bangs up as if she was upset about something. "…Is something wrong?"

"huh?…aahh…no, just never like to be stuck in traffic.." She lied and tried to calm herself down. "So how long have you known Michel?"

"About a year. You?"

"Just several months…" _Shoot…they've known each other for a year already…that's more than me and Amy._ She wondered what stage they were in. "How long have you guys been dating? "

"Dating?..oh no, we're not dating…" She quickly explained. "I mean we went out several times but it's always with Ashley."

"So you guys never went out alone?

"No."

"Then how do you know if he's interested in you?"

The blonde hesitated. She had no idea why she's telling the brunette all of these things, but she did feel comfortable around her. "Well…there were hints and he made some moves here and there."

"Moves…?" She looked at the blonde for a quick moment and looked back on the road.

"Oh no, it's not what you're thinking." The blonde quickly replied making sure she didn't misunderstand.

"He just tried to hold my hands."

"Oh…then he's definitely interested…Did you let him? If you did, then he'll think he have a chance." _Please say no….please say no._

"No…" Lucy was relieved and let out a deep breath and wasn't sure if Kristin noticed that. "…not the first few times…." Lucy wasn't happy with that response. "...but after that, when we went to the zoo with Ashley...we were all having fun. I didn't even noticed it when he was holding my hand."

"So how do you feel about him?"

The blonde flipped her head backwards, sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before speaking. "I don't know. I mean he's a nice guy. I do like him. But I feel there's something missing and…."

"You're not in love with him." Lucy said as she stopped the car at a red light and turned her eyes towards the blonde.

The blonde let out another sigh. "I...just think that...when you're in love, that person should constantly appear in your mind. Love should be..." She paused and tried to think of the right words.

"irresistible….." Lucy whispered. "like a drug"

"Yeaaaah….." The blonde said softly and slowly, smiled and looked into those mesmerizing dark brown eyes.

"…and when it happens, you should not be able to help yourself." Lucy continued.

"Yeaaah…" _She took the words right out of my mouth. _The honking of the car behind them startled them and Lucy returned to her driving.

* * *

Trying to change the subject, Kristin asked. "Are you and Scott a couple?"

"What!..no..no..Scott is my best friend and my business partner."

"Oh…I thought you two were…"

"He lives next door….so a lot of times we eat dinner together and keep each other company…"

"So you guys never dated?"

"NO...…he's not my type."

"Oh…" She paused. "Is Michel your type?"

Lucy laughed and shook her head.

Kristin became more confused, not knowing what she said was so funny.

"That's not what I meant. I meant...I have no interest in men."

"Oh…" Kristin felt a little embarrassed, her cheeks turned red. _I should just stop asking her personal questions._

* * *

After a moment of silence, Kristin asked. "Do you mind if I put on some music?"

"Of course not."

Both reached for the radio button at the same time, Lucy's finger on top of Kristin's. At the contact, Kristin quickly retracted her hand as if she'd had been burned. Well, in this case, shocked, from static electricity.

"Sorry." Both apologized at the same time. Kristin's face turned red again; which was very noticeable on her white skin and would be noticed if it wasn't dark inside and outside of the car.

"American or French?" Lucy asked.

"American."

Lucy pressed a few buttons and the first song from her cd started to play. It was one of Amy's favorite songs. She looked at Kristin to see if there was any reaction hearing this song; there was none.

After 5 minutes, they arrived to their destination. The sky had turned gray, rain was pouring down and flashes of lightning illuminated the sky.

"Park here…you won't be able to find any spaces up there at this hour." Kristin pointed to the empty space.

As Kristin was about to open the door, Lucy stopped her. "Wait here." She lifted a lever next to her seat and stepped out of the car. After taking an umbrella from the trunk, she walked over to the passenger side and opened the door for the blonde.

"C'mon, it's getting dark. Let me walk you to your apartment." Lucy extended her hand out, a little wet from the rain.

"You shouldn't leave your car here. It's not safe. Wait here for me."

"I'll take my chances. C'mon." Lucy said loudly, making sure the blonde could hear her as the rain poured heavily. Unbeknownst to Kristin, her car cannot be easily stolen or damaged like other cars. Scud had altered it so that the windows are bulletproof and the body contains a special coating that's stronger than steel. If anyone even tried to put something in the keyhole, they're going to get a little surprise.

Kristin took the offered hand and got out of the car. Lucy held the open umbrella with her right hand and the blonde stayed close to her grabbing onto the brunette's right arm.

"Ready?" Kristin nodded and both walked as fast as they could to the main door.

Inside the entrance of the building, both were breathing heavily. Kristin noticed the left side of the brunette's body was completely drenched and the only part of herself that was wet were her shoes. She had wanted Lucy to stay there while she get her stuff. But seeing the soaked woman in front of her, she changed her mind and led her inside her apartment on the 3rd floor.

The apartment is about 600 sqft with 1 bedroom, bathroom, small kitchen, and living room. Even though it was small, she kept it nice and neat with only the essentials.

"Let me get you a towel." Kristin quickly went into the bedroom. Lucy stood where she was and scanned the living room for any pictures. Surprisingly, she didn't find any. Hung on the wall were drawings and paintings of landscapes.

Kristin came back with the towel and helped Lucy wipe away the water from her back and her sides. Once again, memories of Amy flooded her mind. Lucy stood motionless, hands hanging by her side, staring at the person in front of her. As the blonde was about to dry her hair and face, she noticed the brunette gazing at her at the corner of her eye. She stopped when her hazel eyes locked onto dark brown ones. Her heart once again pounded faster and faster; a 'fluttery' feeling in her stomach started to form; her cheeks started to get warmer. She was unable to stop herself from looking at the beautiful brunette in front of her. They stared silently at each other….until…

**BOOOOOOM!…..**

The lights went out. The loud noise of thunder frightened them both. Kristin jumped and wrapped her arms around the brunette's shoulders when she heard the unexpected powerful sound. Lucy wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist tightly to hold onto her. Their cheeks touched. With their bodies so close together, Lucy could feel the blonde's rapid heart beat. Not wanting to let go, Lucy closed her eyes and tightened the hold. _Amy …I missed you so much. _She said in her mind. The blonde, in turn, tightened the embrace. Both experienced a moment when time stalled completely.

When the lights came on, Kristin slowly pulled away and Lucy reluctantly did the same.

"You okay?" Lucy said in a gentle tone.

Kristin nodded and handed her the towel. "I'll…go.. get my things." As quickly as she could, she walked back into the bedroom door and closed it behind her. She leaned against the door and placed her hand to her heart. She had never felt this way before. _What is wrong with me? I need to go see a doctor. Doctor…right…have to go to Michel's house. _

Meanwhile, in the living room, Lucy decided to look around for anything that could tell her more about the blonde. She went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and cabinets. There wasn't much there. _Looks like she lives alone. _

"Kristin, do you mind if I use the bathroom?"

A head peaked out of the bedroom door. "No, go ahead. Do you need any more towels?"

"aaah no, I'm fine. Thanks."

Kristin smiled before closing the bedroom door.

After Lucy locked the bathroom door, she searched the medicine cabinet, hoping to find some prescribed medicine bottles, but there were none. There was nothing unusual except how organized and clean the bathroom looked. It was so clean; it looked like it's rarely used. _How long has she been living here?_

As she walked past the bedroom door, she thought she heard something. Sounded like Kristin was talking on the phone, but couldn't hear what she was saying. Even if she put her ears against the door, she wouldn't be able to make it out, so she decided to walk back to the door and wait for her.

After 15 minutes, they were all set to go. As they were about to exit the building, Kristin stopped. "Wait, I'll go get another umbrella."

Lucy grabbed her arm, preventing her from moving. "Kristin, an extra umbrella won't help us in this situation." She pointed to the glass main door. The weather was even worse than before. Inches of rain had flooded the streets.

"Right." Kristin sighed. Lucy held out her arm for her to grab onto and they walked quickly back to the car.

* * *

There were only a few cars on the streets. In front of them, they could see flashes of lightning and the rain was pouring so heavily the windshield wipers could not wipe the water away fast enough. They could feel the car being moved sideways from the strong wind blowing and could hear the rumbles of thunder inside the car. Lucy put on some soft American music.

"Are you tired?" Lucy noticed that Kristin had just yawned.

"A little."

"You can take a nap…I'll be your chauffeur today. It's going to take awhile to get there."

Kristin nodded and within minutes, she dozed off and Lucy turned off the music.

Half hour later

"Yes…we're alright…we'll be there in 10 minutes…." Lucy turned off her phone.

"Who was that?" The noise had woken up Kristin.

"Sorry…" Lucy apologized as the blonde stretched out her arms.

"That was Scott. He just wants to make sure we're ok. We should be there in about 10 minutes." Lucy turned on the music.

"Oh…how long was… I…out?" She said slowly while yawning.

"…half an hour…"

"wow…that long..."

"Yea…you were talking in your sleep..."

"What?" Kristin immediately sat straight up, her eyes wide open. "..w-what did I say?"

Lucy was surprised at the blonde's reaction. _Looks like she's hiding something._ "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." She winked at her with a lopsided smile.

"What?…no, tell me….what did I say?"

Lucy shook her head, smiling.

".tell me..."

Lucy ignored her completely.

"Ok, fine…don't tell me…I was probably mumbling something stupid anyway." Kristin crossed her arms, lay back on her seat, and pretended that she didn't care. _Damn it. Does she know? Aahh..I can't believe I fell asleep next to a stranger. _

After 10 minutes of silence, they arrived in front of Michel's house. It was still raining outside but not as heavy as before. The storm hadn't got there yet.

"We're here." Lucy didn't expect the blonde to ignore her. _She looked kind of upset._ As Kristin was about to get out of the car, Lucy stopped her.

"Okay...okay, I'll tell you." Kristin immediately closed the door, eager to hear what she has to say.

"on one condition"

"What?…_I can't believe it...she seemed so nice and so understand, how could she …_

"Go out with me tomorrow."

Go out? Not believing what she just heard and no longer upset, her tone changed. She said shyly and softly. "You…want me...to go out with you?…you mean...like a date?" If she had not found out that the brunette is gay, she wouldn't have said that.

"Well, yeah…if you want to call it that…look, I haven't been to the movies for a very, very long time, so long I don't even know how much a movie ticket cost these days…...so how about it?"

Her heartbeat began to race and she wasn't sure why. Thank goodness for the darkness inside the car, the brunette did not notice her cheeks turning red. She wasn't sure why her body was reacting this way. It was an unfamiliar feeling. She had been asked out before many times but never by a woman. She swallowed a lump that was rising up in her throat.

Lucy did not wait for the response and got out of the car. She slowly walked over to the passenger side, giving her enough time to think about it.

Inside the car, green eyes followed the brunette.

With one hand holding the opened umbrella, Lucy opened the door for the blonde and extended her other hand. Kristin placed her hand onto hers, stepped out of the car and kept her eyes to the ground. As they walked up the stairs to the main door of Michel's house, the light near the door automatically came on.

"Kristin…" Lucy said softly.

Finding the courage, Kristin slowly turned to look at the drenched brunette.

"If you don't think Michel is right for you, then you should let him know how you feel." Looking deeply into her eyes, Lucy hoped that the blonde would understand what she was referring to.

After a very short moment, a small smile slowly appeared on Kristin's face when she realized the secret the brunette was keeping.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Chapter 7**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Inside Michel's home, Lucy and Kristin were welcomed by Scud, Jehan and Michel's butler who quickly went to the bathroom to get them towels. Jehan shook Lucy's hands and thanked her.

"Kristin, I'm glad you're okay." Jehan said while giving her a hug.

"Wow, you're all wet…" Scud asked, seeing that the brunette's clothing and hair were all wet.

"it's going to get worse soon." Lucy looked around. "Where's Michel?"

"In Ashley's bedroom with the doctor. Looks like he's having a hard time convincing her to get a blood test." Scud said.

Lucy thanked the butler who came back with the towels. As soon as she heard, Kristin quickly ran upstairs to Ashley's bedroom. Since they were in Michel's home, Lucy did not feel comfortable talking about her findings about the young woman who looked like Amy. Scud also felt that this wasn't the time or place to talk about it, so they both followed the blonde up the stairs.

Inside Ashley's bedroom, Michel was sitting on a chair next to Ashley on the bed while the doctor stood behind Michel.

"Ashley!" Kristin called out as she ran over to the bed and gave her a big hug. Both were extremely happy to see each other.

"eeuwh!..you're cold and wet" Ashley said while hugging her favorite blonde.

"sorry…"

As Michel was about to explain the situation, Ashley interrupted him.

"papa said I needed to get a blood test. He wanted to put a needle in my arm." She pointed to the doctor.

"I know, Ashley…it's going to be ok. This nice doctor just wants to make sure you're ok."

"I don't want to. It's going to hurt." Ashley said, making a sad face that looked like she was about to cry.

"It's just going to hurt a little. If it makes you feel any better, he's going to put a needle in my arm too."

"You too?"

"Uh huh... and if I can do it, I'm sure you can do it too because you know why?" Kristin placed her hands over her head while gently stroking her hair.

"Nno..."

"Because you're so much stronger than I am and so much more courageous, just like that girl who rescued the helpless blonde girl in the village…remember the story I told you about…"

Ashley pondered for a moment. "Yes…but I'm still scared."

"I'll be right here with you and you can hold on to my hand. And if it hurts, you can squeeze it...as hard as you want. After that, we can open the presents together." She pointed to all of those presents on the floor. Ashley thought about it but still shook her head.

Scud and Lucy were standing at the door while listening to the blonde. She thought it was extremely adorable how Kristin tried to persuade the little girl. _The girl who rescued the helpless blonde girl in the village? _She made a mental note to ask her about that later. Both Scud and Lucy walked closer to the bed.

"Hey kiddo, if you do that now, we can play some video games later, ok?" Scud said. Ashley shook her head and the extremely exhausted Michel sighed while rubbing his temples.

"May I." Kristin nodded and moved away from the bed to allow Lucy to get closer to Ashley.

"Hey…. " Lucy said with her dazzling smile. "If you do that…" She whispered into Ashley's ear and pulled back after a short moment. Everyone's jaws dropped after Ashley nodded her head and all wondered what the brunette said to her. Sitting close to Ashley, Lucy held the little girl's hand while the doctor took 2 tubes of blood.

"You...did great!" Lucy gave her a high five and Ashley smiled back. "I'm all wet. I'm going to go dry myself up."

"OK."

Staring at the brunette with her mouth slightly opened, Kristin was still in awe. Lucy winked at the blonde as she passed by her. Kristin's eyes followed the brunette as she walked towards the door.

"Kristin." The doctor called but the blonde was concentrating on someone else. "Kristin" The doctor repeated.

"huh." Kristin finally heard and managed to take her eyes away from the brunette.

"It's your turn."

As Lucy was about to walk out, she bumped into Alexis walking in.

"Keira!" Alexis was so happy to see her, she jumped and wrapped her hands around her, ignoring everyone inside the room.

Startled by Alexis' loud voice, Kristin flinched as the doctor was about to put the needle in her arm.

"Ouch!" Kristin cried out, causing Ashley to chuckle.

"Are you ok? I heard what you did. Thank you…" Alexis said as she tightened the embrace. All eyes focused on them, especially Kristin's, except for Ashley who had begun unwrapping her gifts.

"Kristin…you need to relax." The doctor ordered.

Kristin did not realize that she had tightened her hands into a fist.

"um…you're welcome…I'm glad I could help." Lucy tried to pull away but could not. "Alexis, I'm all wet…"

"I don't care." Alexis ignored everyone in the room until Michel cleared his throat and called her.

"Alexis….can you see if dinner's ready?"

"it's almost ready." Finally releasing the hold on the brunette, she saw Kristin staring at them. Alexis had only met Kristin a few times. Being away in college, the only time she came home was on holidays or school vacation. She was extremely happy to see how well she and Ashley bonded and was grateful to have found someone who cared so much about her sister. She walked over and gave her a quick hug. "I'm glad you're ok."

Then a sudden burst of sneezes caused everyone in the room to look at Lucy.

"Oh my god…we need to get you out of those clothes." Alexis said as she quickly walked towards the brunette.

"huh…no….that's ok…" Lucy said while waiving both of her hands and moving a few steps back to avoid being touched.

"Papa, I'll show Keira where the bathroom is." Not waiting for any responses, she grabbed Keira's hand and dragged her out of the door while Kristin just watched the reactions between the two. _What was that about? _Kristin thought to herself._  
_

"I'll get these to the lab and I'll let you know as soon as I can." Michel nodded and the doctor started to pack up.

"Michel, I'll go take a shower first." Kristin said.

"Ok…..c'mon, Ashley, let's go eat." Michel, Ashley and Scud left the bedroom.

As the doctor was about to leave, Kristin stopped him. "Doctor, do you have a minute? I have a question."

"Of course, what is it? Are you feeling alright?"

Her hair was a little damp. Her face looked tired. Other than that, the blonde didn't look sick to him.

"I'm not sure. Today, my heart…. is feeling a little….abnormal. Sometimes it's beating extremely fast and then after a minute it's back to normal."

He took out his stethoscope and listened to her heart. "Sounds like everything's normal. How many times did this happen and when?"

"About 4 times today and then my neck, face and scalp …felt like it's burning…then there's one time I had this weird feeling in my stomach but it lasted only for a short while. I think they put something in the food we ate."

"I see...is this weird feeling painful?"

"No...it's sort of like the feeling you get when riding a roller coaster, going up and down."

"What were you doing when this happened? Were you running? Were you sitting down?"

She thought about the question for a moment. "I was sitting down…talking to Keira, that brunette that was here before,…. all four times when it happened, she was there."

"…and the time you felt something in your stomach, what were you doing then?" The doctor asked.

"I was…" She paused to think for a moment. "I was…" _Should I tell him? _"I …don't remember."

"..and your breathing, was it normal when this happened?"

"uummm…it was fast and short…but it goes back to normal after a while."

"How do you feel now?"

"I feel fine."

"I see…well...I don't think it's anything you need to worry about. But I would do some more tests on the blood to make sure."

"What do you think it is, Doc?" The blonde asked in a worried tone, but noticed that the doctor wasn't worried at all.

"hmm….All I can say is that the next time this happens again, ask yourself what you want to do at that moment and just do it, don't think, just do it….and see if you feel any better." The doctor responded while zipping up his bag.

"What?" _What the hell is he talking about?_

"Ok, I got to go now before the storm gets here." The doctor grabbed his bag and left the bedroom, leaving the blonde even more confused and worried.

* * *

Inside Alexis' bedroom

While Lucy was taking a shower in the bathroom, Alexis had placed her clothing in the washer/dryer.

Twenty minutes later, Lucy, wearing a white robe, stepped out of the bathroom door and was surprised to find Alexis waiting for her sitting on the bed. Michel's house was huge. Most of the bedrooms had a bathroom in it except for the guest rooms.

"Oh…hi….um…do you have a hair dryer I could use?" Lucy said while drying her hair with a towel.

_Wow, she looks gorgeous even without makeup._ Alexis shook herself out of her thoughts. "umm…yea…" She went over to the cabinet to get the dryer. "Here, sit…let me help you."

"oh…that's ok…I can do it myself."

"Let me help you…this is the least I can do for you….for helping us…I insist.." Lucy gave up resisting and sat in front of the mirror dresser set. "and don't worry, I've done this before."

"You've...done this before?"

"Yup, when I was in college, I did some part time here and there…I did waitressing, hair dresser assistant, masseuse, and…

"Why? Didn't your father help pay for your college?" Shocked to hear that the child of a successful businessman had to do those jobs.

"Yes, he did. Why... Oh, I don't know. I guess I just want to experience what the world is like out there. I learned a lot from it." She squeezed some of the thermal protection heat serum on her palm and spread it evenly thru Lucy's hair. Then she clipped up the top layer of her hair on the right side and started pulling the bottom portions over a small round brush while blowing some warm air against the strands.

"..and what did you learn?" Lucy was interested in what Alexis had to say.

"…that life is tough out there…especially when you're all alone…that people sometimes end up doing things that they never thought that they would do…" Once she was done with the bottom layers, she worked on the top layer.

Hearing those words caused Lucy to think about how she had fallen in love with a DEB, something she never thought would happen in her lifetime and how Amy changed her whole life. She snapped back out of her thoughts when Alexis whispered into her ear. "..and people aren't always who they appear to be…"

"What...do...you mean?" Lucy tried not to show any emotion.

"Well, one time I was giving this guy a haircut. I was new at it but it wasn't my first time. He told me I did a good job and left me a big tip….you know when someone gives you a £100 tip for a haircut that costs £13, you just don't forget his face." She began blow-drying on the left side using the same method.

"…he must be rich."

"that's just it…the store I worked at usually serve customers around the neighborhood, people with low and median income… There wasn't anything unusual about him. Then the next day, I recognized his picture in the newspaper. That's when I found out that he was actually the head of some big criminal organization. He was killed that same day I gave him the haircut."

"Really…wow….guess you're right about that, people aren't who they seem…" She felt relieved that Alexis wasn't referring to her real identity. Even though she had quit her criminal life, the former criminals were cognizant of what's going on in the dark underground. They needed to make sure their enemies not just cops weren't close by. She wondered who the unlucky guy was.

"Like you.." Alexis said softly.

"Like me? What about me?" Lucy said, straightening her back.

"When I saw you at the Cafe, I would never have guessed that you could be the owner of a company."

"oh...because I look too young?" She relaxed her shoulders.

"Yes..."

The mentioning of the Cafe reminded her of the first time she met Alexis. She remembered that day when Alexis handed her a napkin with her phone#. "There's something I wanted to ask you about." Lucy was curious about this for a long time.

"What is it?"

"How did you know that I'm…gay?"

Alexis chuckled. "Remember that blind date you had, the one with the gorgeous blonde."

"…how did you…..?"

"She just happened to be a friend of the waitress who worked there, so she told me."

"Oh…I see...small world.." Lucy smiled. _Too small…No more blind dates ever._

Alexis turned off the dryer. "Do you want your hair in a ponytail?"

" sure"

She took a hair band from her dresser and tied it on. "Ok, all set."

"Thank you. I feel much better now." Her hair looked and felt so silky smooth, she was very impressed with Alexis' work.

As Lucy was about to get up from the chair, she sat back down when Alexis placed her hands on her shoulders. "wow, your shoulders are really tense. Would you like me to give you a massage? I have experience in that too."

As Lucy was about to reject the offer, Alexis took her hand and led her on to her bed. When she tried to get up, Alexis forcefully pushed her down, crawled on top of her and straddled her. Looking at the beautiful woman clothed in white robe, showing a little bit cleavage, underneath her, Alexis felt her heart beating faster and faster. All she wanted to do was kiss her at that moment. _What would she do if I kiss her now? Am I moving too fast?_

Lucy, however, felt a little embarrassed about the whole situation. Being in that in that position, she couldn't help thinking of one thing because she hasn't had that for a very, very long time.

"ah…I don't think this is good idea." Lucy tried to get up, but was pushed back down again.

"Roll over."

"What?"

"Roll over." Alexis repeated and helped Lucy rolled over to the center of the queen size bed.

"Now...close your eyes….clear..your mind…. and relax." She said softly.

"Alexis, I…."

"Shhhhhhhh…." Her hands slowly and softly squeezed the brunette's shoulders to relax the muscle tissue, then pressed around the tight toned arms. She then moved her hands on the neck with each thumb on the side, massaging and rubbing away the muscle spasm and soreness. Spontaneously, the brunette's eye lids slid down and she let out a soft involuntary moan. Satisfied with the effect she gave the woman under her, Alexis continued with the massage, from the left shoulder to the right, and back up the neck.

"that feels gooooood…"

"I'm glad you like it." Alexis whispered and moved her head closer to Lucy's ear. "...and don't worry, you don't look gay, you look...HOT" Unable to control herself, she gave the brunette a kiss on the cheek, a kiss that lasted a little too long to be considered just a friendly kiss. At the contact, Lucy's eyes opened wide and at the same time, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in." Without thinking, Alexis responded without realizing the position they're in and Lucy rolled herself around, trying to get off the bed.

"Alexis, Keira's clothes are done." Kristin was shocked to see the scene in front of her. She didn't know what to make of it. _Oh my god! _Keira was lying on the bed, her front facing Alexis, her robe slightly opened, showing some skin, with Alexis straddling her. Lucy's eyes were wide open like a deer in the headlights.

Surprised at what she saw, Kristin dropped the clothing on the floor unintentionally as her heart rate suddenly beat faster and faster. She quickly lowered her eyes, bent down to pick up the clothing, and put it on the nearest table. "Sorry…" Partially covering her eyes with her hand, she walked out the door in lightning speed and closed it behind her.

"Kristin…wait!.." Lucy said as the door closed behind the blonde. _…this is not happening. _

"Uumm…Alexis, we need to talk."

"Are you hungry? I'm hungry…I'll meet you downstairs." Ignoring Lucy, Alexis quickly got off the bed and left the bedroom.

_Damn it…now she'll never go out with me. _Lucy thought to herself.

* * *

Downstairs, in the dining room, Alexis sat across from Kristin on the rectangular dining table. Lucy chose to sit on the end between the two young women.

"Thank you." Lucy said to the butler as he set her plate down. All three women sat silently while eating their meal. _How am I going to explain this?_ She thought to herself as she looked at the two quiet women in front of her.

Alexis kept her head down and focused on her meal. In her mind, she chastised herself for moving too fast and not being able to control her emotions. Even though she's a person with a lot of confidence, she was afraid that her straightforward approach might have backfired. _I shouldn't have done that. Maybe I can talk to her later. _She thought to herself.

"haa chuu!…Excuse me…"

"Bless you" Kristin and Alexis said simultaneously.

"Thank you." She looked at Kristin, then at Alexis.

"Do you need some medicine?" Alexis asked.

"No, I'm alright. It's just a little sneeze."

"Are you sure? You were completely drenched."

Kristin looked at the brunette, feeling a little sorry, knowing full well how she got the cold. Lucy sneezed again.

"I'll get the medicine." Alexis quickly left the dining room.

Lucy saw the opportunity after Alexis left the room and quickly grabbed on to the blonde's hand when she noticed the blonde getting up.

"Wait….let me explain."

"About what?"

"About what happened in the bedroom."

"You don't have to. "

"She was just givin…" Lucy tried to explain, but Kristin interrupted.

"What you do with…is none of my concern."

Taking Lucy's hand away from hers, she calmly said. "Really, you don't have to tell me."

With that, she went to the kitchen, leaving the frustrated brunette all alone in the dining room.

"Haa chuu…"

"Hey, are you alright?" Scud said as he walked into the dining room.

"Fine…just a little sneeze...let me finish eating and we can go."

"aah…that's what I came here to tell you….looks like the storm's getting worse and there's a hurricane warning. Michel told us to stay for tonight."

"Where is he?"

"Sleeping…he's knocked out, took some sleeping pills."

Alexis came back with the medicine and Kristin put a box of tissues in front of the brunette.

"Thank you." Lucy said.

"You're welcome." Both women responded at the same time.

"So are you staying here tonight?" Alexis asked, hoping she would have a chance to talk to her in private.

Lucy and Scud both responded at the same time but their responses were different.

"We're not?" Scud looked at her with a questioning look.

"We made it here, I'm sure we can make it back."

"But there's a hurricane warning." Alexis said in a worried tone.

Lucy looked at Kristin who didn't say anything, then at Alexis, then at Scud, then back at Kristin again. "A little hurricane won't kill us, we've been through worse, haven't we, Scott?"

"That's true, we have..a lot worse..."

Lucy lowered her eyes and went back to eating her dinner. In her heart, she had hoped Kristin would want her to stay, to give her a chance to explain. But since the blonde didn't say anything, she thought it would be best to leave. Besides, she didn't think it would be a good idea to be sleeping in the same house as the recent college grad who had been extremely upfront about her intentions.

"Ok, just let me know when you're ready." Scott left the dining room. He had no idea what the brunette was thinking since he was under the impression that she wanted to find out more about Kristin. Now that they have an excuse to stay, this would be the best opportunity for her to get close, to become friends with the blonde.

Kristin looked at the brunette and remained silent. Since she too was a guest in the house, she had no right to ask her to stay. She did feel bad about the brunette getting a cold because of her. What she didn't understand was why Keira was so insistent on leaving and risked the chance of getting stuck or even getting hurt while driving thru a storm.

"Keira, before I forget, I made dessert." Alexis said.

"You know how to make desserts too?"

"ah huh…I knew you were coming today, so I made it especially for you. Let me go get it."

After Alexis left the dining room, Lucy took the opportunity to explain again. "That girl sure has a lot of skills. She had a part time job as a masseuse, so she was giving me a massage earlier." She hoped the blonde would not misinterpret their situation earlier. But the blonde didn't look at her and continued eating her dinner.

_Damn…this is not going well at all. Now she's ignoring me. _Lucy thought to herself and blew her bangs up in frustration.

"Ok…here it is…Crème Brulee!"

"Wowwww…that...looks delicious…" Lucy complimented. That was the truth. She, herself, learned how to cook by taking cooking lessons in her spare time in Paris, so she knew how time consuming it could be. Making it look good is one thing, making it taste good is even more difficult. The Creme Brulee looked so good, it looked like it was made by a professional pastry chef.

"Thank you. Let's eat. Tell me how it tastes." She offered one to Kristin.

As they were eating, Ashley came in and stood next to Kristin.

"Are you done with dinner? Can we open the presents together now?" Ashley had already started opening some of the gifts. There were so many. She felt that it would be more fun to open them with her favorite blonde.

"Of course, sweetie….Let's go upstairs now."

Seeing Keira had also finished eating her dessert, the little girl asked. "Can Keira come with us?"

"Umm, actually we have to get going. " Keira responded. "This is absolutely..delicious, Alexis."

Not taking a no for an answer, Ashley forcefully took Lucy's hand and pulled her up the stairs. "C,mon, let's go upstairs." Kristin and Alexis giggled at the little girl's action. Alexis was happy to see that the brunette was staying a little longer.

* * *

Torn gift wraps filled the floor inside Ashley's bedroom. All sat on the floor in a circle with Lucy sitting across from Kristin and next to Alexis. About 10 gifts had been opened.

"Ashley…we can open one more gift and I have to go…ok?" Lucy said while looking at Kristin who had her eyes somewhere else.

"OK…I'm going to open this one." She picked up a small box from the floor and tore the gift wrap in pieces leaving it all over the floor with other gift wraps. When she opened the box, all eyes opened wide and they were mesmerized by what they saw; the brilliance, sparkle, and radiance of the gemstone. It was a necklace with a pyramid shaped diamond.

"Wowww….it's beautiful…" Kristin said softly. W_here have I seen this before?  
_

"It sure is." Alexis said.

"You like it?" Ashley asked her baby-sitter.

"It's beautiful, Ashley. Here, let me help you put this on." Kristin took the necklace out of the box.

"You can have it."

"What? No..…this is your present, honey. They bought it for you, for your birthday."

"…but I want you to have it…look how many gifts I have…"

"Oh no, this is too expensive. I don't think the person who gave this to you would want you to give it away."

"You should take it." Alexis urged. "It's her way of showing how much she loves you."

"But…"

"I don't think that person would mind." Lucy interrupted, smiling at the blonde, who completely ignored her.

"Who's it from, Ashley? Maybe we can call him to see if he would mind." Alexis said.

As Ashley looked around the floor for the torn gift wrap, Scud walked into the unclosed bedroom.

"Hey girls, looks like we have to stay here after all." Scud said.

"What? Why? What happened?" Lucy asked.

"Car won't start."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope"

"Does that mean Keira can sleep-over too?" Ashley asked.

"Yes, Ashley, and we can open all the presents together." Alexis responded in the brunette's place.

"Yay!" Ashley clapped her hands while jumping up and down.

"Hey, since all the guest rooms have been taken, you can sleep in my room tonight. I'll go get everything set up." Alexis said happily as she got up from the floor, thinking that this would be her chance to talk to the brunette privately.

"What? Haaa chuu!…excuse me" Lucy sneezed loudly, covering her mouth with a tissue. "I…I have a cold. I don't think that's a good idea. I'll just sleep on the couch in the office."

"Actually, Jehan is sleeping in the office, so there's one more room left." Scud explained.

"…and I'm sleeping with Ashley tonight…" Kristin said, looking at Alexis.

"Oh…Ok….that works out then…" Alexis said as she sat back down on the floor. She was a little disappointed and tried not to show it.

"You know what, I think I'm going to go to bed. I think the medicine is taking effect." Lucy yawned and stretched her hands out. "Ashley, do you mind if I go to sleep first?" The little girl shook her head.

Lucy hugged her before leaving.

* * *

12:00AM

Everyone had gone to sleep except for Kristin. Since a lot had happened that day, falling asleep was difficult especially in someone else's bed. She tried not to think about it. But as soon as she closed her eyes, events that happened that day appeared in her mind; especially the moments she had with Keira. How could she not think about her when she just spent almost an entire day with her? _Stop it_. She yelled at herself in her mind. _Stop thinking about her_. Lying still on the bed with a pillow over her head, she tried to let her unconscious mind take over. Finally after 20 minutes, unable to control her thoughts, she opened her eyes and sat up, frustrated with herself. Slowly she got up, being careful not to wake up Ashley who was sleeping next to her, she walked out of the bedroom and decided to get a drink of water. As she walked down the long dimly lit hallway on the second floor, she heard noises from the office. She remembered that Scud had said that Jehan was sleeping in the office. _Who's he talking to at this hour?_

Kristin had been in Michel's house many times and knew that there were surveillance cameras outside the house and not inside. She glanced around to make sure that no one was in the hallway. Slowly, she tiptoed towards the office and placed her ears against the door, hoping to be able to hear something. "Yes, I think I know who …are. I'll send someone.. tomor…. Uh huh.. I'll hire more bodyg..s. I'll make ...this won't happen again." What she heard wasn't clear, but she was able to understand some of it.

Suddenly she heard a noise behind her on the other end of the hallway. She turned around and saw someone coming out of the bathroom. _Is that...Keira? _She walked closer to get a better look. The closer she got, she could see that person holding her stomach, her back slouched, and her legs moved one by one as if she didn't have the strength to lift them up.

"Keira, is that you?" Kristin asked softly.

"Oh…hi" Keira said in a weak tone.

"OH MY GOD, what's wrong?" In front of her, she could see that Keira's face and lips were as pale as snow.

Keira had been in the bathroom for over half an hour. Her legs felt numb and weak. A tingling sensation prevented her from moving her legs. Kristin quickly held her arm to support her when it looked like she was about to fall.

"Nothing...I just...got a stomach ache…I'm alright.."

"Stomach ache? Looks like you have an allergy reaction to something. Let me help you to your room."

Kristin assisted her into the guest bedroom, supporting her every step of the way. She helped the brunette lie down softly on the pillow and covered her with a blanket.

"Thanks." Her voice was weak and faint.

"What are you allergic to?" Kristin said, sitting on the bed.

"lactose"

"Oh…the crème brulee.."

"Yea" Lucy said, full of regret.

"Then...why did you eat it?"

"because it looked...so good… and she..spent so much...time in... making it….it doesn't...always...make me sick…"

Her whole body trembled. Her teeth started to chatter.

"Are you cold? You're shivering." Kristin placed her hands on the brunette's forehead and felt the coldness all over her face.

"…thiiissss…alwaaaays…haaappeeenss….after… I'll…be…..ok."

"Let me get you some more blankets." She looked inside the closet but could not find any. All she found was bath towels, so she placed them over the brunette.

Feeling weak, Lucy closed her eyes; her whole body trembling and cold. Kristin sat there to make sure she's alright. After awhile, seeing how the blankets weren't helping, she moved her body closer to the brunette over the blanket, hugging her. Her palm placed on the other side of her cheek to keep her warm.

"Wh..whaaaatttt…areee…you..you…doiiing?" Lucy asked, unable to stop her teeth from chattering.

"I'm trying to keep you warm. Is this any better?"

"yes…" She mumbled, her eyes still closed.

A moment passed and Lucy tried to speak again.

"We…wwweren't doiiing annnyything…. she..was giivvviing meee a maassaaage."

The blonde pulled her head back to look at the brunette who still had her eyes closed and wondered why the sick woman in front of her was still trying to explain what happened when she clearly had no energy to speak.

"yoouuu…haaaveee…tooo..be"

"ssshhhhhhh…...I believe you…" She didn't say it just to stop the brunette from talking. She truly did believe her. If the brunette had any interest in Alexis, she would have agreed to sleep in the same room as her, but instead, she rather sleep in the office. That alone convinced her that what she saw wasn't what she thought it was.

"I..I... ddon't….th..think …I can go… to… the mov vies…toomoor." Lucy said, knowing full well that the blonde had not yet agreed to their 'date'.

Kristin pulled back again and this time she could see that the brunette was trying to open her eyes but was unable to do so. She was too weak.

"ssssshhhhhh…...stop talking...…get some rest..." She whispered into her ear. "I'll take a rain check."

With that promise, a small smile appeared on Lucy's face and disappeared as fast as it came.

After 5 minutes, there was no improvement. Lucy was still shivering. _This isn't helping. _Slowly, Kristin got up and took away the towels. She lifted the blanket and slid herself underneath it, next to the weak brunette who was wearing a robe. She snuggled next to her body as closely as she can to transfer her own body heat. Her left hand rubbed the brunette's right arm, moving up and down to keep her warm. After a while, Lucy's trembling stopped, but the blonde did not notice when both had drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Chapter 8**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

10:00 AM

Awaken by the glare from the sunlight, she yawned and slowly sat straight up, running her slim fingers through her hair. With eyes barely opened, she managed to take a peak at the clock on the table next to her bed.

"Oh my god…it's ten o'clock already!" Alexis said loudly. It was Saturday. She realized that she was late for work at the Café De Paris. Last night, she and Kristin ended up taking an hour opening all the presents and half an hour cleaning her sister's room before going to sleep. Quickly, she got up and got herself ready to go to work. As she walked hurriedly down the hallway, she suddenly stopped. _Keira slept over last night._ She wondered if she's still here. Quickly, she walked towards the guest room door and slowly turned the knob to see if it's locked. It wasn't. She smiled. Little by little, she opened the door to take a peak. Her curiosity pulled her inside the guest bedroom and she tiptoed towards the bed. She walked closer and closer hoping to catch a glimpse of the brunette before going to work. She stopped. Then her eyes opened wide, her jaws dropped, shocked at the scene in front of her. _What is she doing in here?_

Underneath the blanket, Kristin looked like she was sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face; snuggling a pillow.

"Kristin, wake up." Alexis said repeatedly while shaking her arm lightly.

Awaken by the noise and movement, Kristin slowly opened her eyes, no longer smiling.

"What…what is it?" She said softly, squinting her eyes.

"What are you doing in here?" Alexis asked, a little upset.

Not fully awake, Kristin did not understand the question and looked around. After a moment, her memory of last night came crashing back to her. _Oh my god!_ _I slept with Keira._ She couldn't tell Alexis what happened last night. From the events of yesterday, she noticed Alexis' behavior and believed that Alexis had a crush on the brunette. If she told her the truth, there definitely would be some misunderstanding and misunderstandings would lead to problems. She didn't need any more of those right now since she had plenty to think about, first the kidnapping, then the abnormal heartbeat, then the thoughts of the brunette constantly appearing in her mind, in her dreams.

"Where am I?" She pretended not to remember.

"You're in the guest bedroom where Keira was sleeping last night." She frowned as her thoughts of Keira and Kristin 'sleeping' together on the same bed crossed her mind.

"I am?…oh my god!…I must have been sleep walking again."

"Sleep walking?"

She placed her hands over her head as if she had a headache. "I… I have this problem ever since I was a kid. It's more likely to happen if I sleep in a different environment."

"Oh…." Alexis said softly, realizing what she was thinking was completely wrong. "I see."

"Where's Keira? I hope I didn't frighten her."

"I don't know. I didn't see her when I came in." Alexis explained. "Well, I'm late for work." Realizing that it was a misunderstanding, she left the guest bedroom.

After Alexis closed the door behind her, Kristin flopped back on the bed and let out a deep breath; her hands covering her eyes. Once again, she blamed herself for allowing herself to fall asleep next to someone whom she had met for only a day. When she noticed what time it was, she couldn't believe how long she'd slept. That was the longest, most comfortable, restful, unbroken sleep she ever had. _She was sick…I couldn't just leave her alone by herself._ Kristin tried to come up with explanations of why she did what she did. _She looked so weak, so vulnerable … _As thoughts of the brunette's state from last night crossed her mind, her heart started to beat faster. Her eyes opened wide_. _Immediately, she sat straight up; she gasped when she realized that there might be a chance that she was talking in her sleep again and that the brunette might have heard something. _Does she know? _ _Is that why she left early? _She flopped back down onto the bed, covering her head with the pillow she was snuggling with earlier. _I shouldn't have been here last night._ _How did I not notice her leaving? What did I get myself into? I have to find out what she knows. _

* * *

Lucy's apartment

12:30 PM

In the living room, Scud was watching tv by himself. It was Saturday so both the former criminals didn't have to go to work. Lucy came out of the bedroom and walked across the living room to the kitchen.

"Are you feeling any better?" Scud asked.

On the way home, Lucy told him about the stomach ache she had, but she did not tell him about finding Kristin next to her in the bed. They left Michel's residence around 7AM. When she got home, she took some cold medicine and went back to sleep.

Slowly, she walked back into the living room, holding a cup of hot water and sat next to Scud.

"Much better." She responded after taking a sip from her cup. Her voice sounded different due to her stuffed up nose.

"What did you find out?" Scud asked, staring at the brunette.

"I'm not sure, but there is definitely something going on with her." Scud stayed silent and waited for her to continue.

"When we were driving to Michel's house, she fell asleep. When I told her she was talking in her sleep, the way she reacted…I can sense she's hiding something."

"Really, what did she say when she was sleeping?"

"Nothing…I was just teasing her. But she thought she actually did say something and she got very upset with me when I won't tell her." Lucy put down her cup and got a tissue to cover her sneeze.

Scud pondered for a moment trying to remember the events from last night.

"Was that why she didn't talk to you in the dining room and was that why you wanted to leave when there was a hurricane warning?"

"No…that was because of Alexis." She stopped, realizing what she had just said would prompt Scud to ask more questions. _Shoot._

"What? Why?" Scud became more interested.

"uhh…nothing…forget what I said…it's not important."

"C'mon, Luce…you have to tell me everything. How are we going to figure this out together if you don't tell me everything?" Scud asked, a little frustrated at the brunette for not sharing all the information.

There was no way she was going to tell him about what happened last night. Kristin was supposed to be sleeping with Ashley and somehow ended up sleeping next to her. He would surely get a laugh out of it and he'd probably want more details.

"Really, that's not important. What's important is that I saw her eavesdropping on someone's conversation last night. Didn't you say Jehan was sleeping in the office last night?" Scud nodded.

"When I got out of the bathroom last night, I saw her standing next to the office. It was kind of dark, but I'm pretty sure she was eavesdropping…."

Lucy told him about the apartment Kristin lived in and learned from Scud that she had been living there for about a year by herself.

"Were you able to find anything about her background?" Lucy asked.

"she's from Iowa, no siblings, parents dead…she came to Paris about a year ago. Currently, she's enrolled in the Paris College of Art."

"Art school? What's her major?" Lucy questioned.

"Drawing and painting…I know, it's too coincidental. Either she's Amy's identical twin or her doppelganger."

"What about the kidnappers?"

"Nothing on that, we'll need some more information from Michel."

"See what you can find about Jehan…there's something going on with him."

"Ok….." He looked at the weak brunette in front of him. "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?"

"could you go out and get me something? No cold stuff. No fried stuff. I need to get rid of this cold fast." She said as she took a few more tissues.

As soon as Scud left, she lied down on the couch and placed a cushion under her head. Her eyes closed and her arms wrapped around another soft cushion. Memories of that morning flowed into her mind.

* * *

This morning:

Sweat rolled down her forehead. Her face was burning hot and her body was sweating. The heat from her body woke her up. She blinked a few times and after a moment, she was reminded of what happened last night. Her head turned slowly to the left and she found Kristin snuggling close to her. The blonde's left arm draped around her ribs. The tall blonde had a smile on her face and was sleeping peacefully. She looked so much like Amy even when she was sleeping. Amy, is that you? She whispered. Every time she thought of Amy, she felt a sharp pain in her heart, unable to hold back the tears. She stared at her for a few minutes and moved her face closer to the blonde. An inch from her lips, she stopped and pulled back. She really wanted to kiss her but decided not to. What if the blonde wakes up at that moment, how would she explain it and she's sick, so she didn't want to spread it to her. Careful not to wake up the sleeping beauty, she slid herself out of bed and placed her pillow under the blonde's arms. She decided to leave early to avoid any awkward situation. Besides, the last thing she wanted was have Alexis walk in on them.

Saturday 1 PM

Kristin had wanted to go see Keira that morning. But since Michel had plans to take Ashley and her out to the Aquarium de Paris that afternoon, her plans had to wait. Besides she can't just show up at her place. She needed an excuse to see her and find out what the brunette knows. During the trip to the aquarium, Kristin noticed that there were a few men looking at them and following them. When she told Michel about this, she learned that they were men hired by Jehan to protect them. Jehan had also sent a few people to look after Alexis. She felt relieved to know that they were being protected, but at the same time, she felt uneasy because she didn't like being watched. After the aquarium trip, they headed to the Café de Paris for lunch.

The storm from last night caused a lot of damages. Tree branches and trash were everywhere. Some stores and apartments had their windows broken. Some utility poles and street signs were slanted due to the pressure of the powerful wind.

Seeing that there were still a lot of mess around the Cafe, they decided that it was best to sit inside. As they were eating their lunch, the manager, Anton, walked to their table to talk to Michel, the owner of Café de Paris.

Anton informed him that there were a lot of takeouts because a lot of people had lost electricity.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Ashley asked.

As Kristin was about to speak, Alexis came to join them. "I'll take her."

"Are you sure? "

"No problem." She smiled at her sister. "I think you need a break from this kid." Ashley looked up and stuck her tongue out at her big sister who returned the same gesture. She quickly walked to the bathroom with Alexis following behind her.

Michel sat uncomfortably, but Kristin did not notice. As she continued eating her lunch, Michel nervously asked.

"Kristin, do you….have any plans tonight?….I was wondering if you would like to go see a movie with me."

Kristin looked up at him and stopped what she was doing.

"I know I asked you out before and we always ended up taking Ashley with us. But this time it would be different….just you and me, I promise."

Not expecting this, she didn't know what to say or how to react. All that came to her mind was what Keira had told her yesterday. _Tell Michel how you feel. _But what the brunette didn't know was she couldn't tell him that. If she told him she had no interest in him, would he fire her? That would definitely ruin her plans. She didn't want to hurt him either. Having known him for a year, she believed that Michel was a genuinely nice guy.

"Actually, I do have plans today….but can I take a rain check?" She noticed that she'd been saying that a lot lately, once to Keira and now to Michel. _Aah hah…Keira did ask me out, didn't she? Maybe I could use that as an excuse to see her? _She smiled to herself at the idea, lost in her own thoughts.

Seeing Kristin's sweet smile, Michel knew that she wasn't just saying that to avoid going out with him. "OK, sure….just tell me when you have time and I'll drop everything." He extended his hand out on the table and as he was about to touch the blonde's hand, Alexis and Ashley came back from the ladies' room. Michel immediately pulled his hand back but Alexis caught a glimpse of what her father was trying to do.

"Alexis, do you have time to join us for lunch?" Kristin asked.

Before Alexis could answer, Ashley pointed to the front desk. "Look, Papa, there's Scott." Both Alexis and Kristin quickly turned towards the front desk. They weren't interested in seeing Scott. They wanted to see if Keira was with him, for different reasons. Michel called out and got his attention and Scott walked towards their table.

"Hey guys. How's it going?" Scud asked.

"what are you doing here?" Alexis was the first one to ask. What she really wanted to ask was if Keira was with him.

"Ordering takeout."

"Did you lose electricity in your apartment too?" Michel asked. When Scud and Lucy left this morning, the only person they saw was the butler. Everyone else was still sleeping.

"Thank goodness no…we just don't feel like cooking…and Keira's sick at home."

Kristin quickly stood up. "Keira's sick?" Both Alexis and Kristin said at the same time, a little too loud. They both looked at each other and then turned towards Scott, waiting for him to respond. They knew she was sick but the way Scott said it sounded like the brunette was more sick than last night.

"she…just got a cold…no big deal…she's fine…" He looked at both of them who had a concerned look on their faces.

"Hey, do you guys know what a sick person should be eating? She said she doesn't want any fried or cold stuff." Scott asked while looking at the menu.

Alexis immediately took the menu away from Scott. "I know. I'll order it for her." She said happily and went to the front desk. He was surprised at how quickly she responded.

"Hey Ashley, did you go to the aquarium today?"

"How did you know?" Ashley said, surprised. Scud pointed to her hand with the aquarium logo stamp on it. "Ohhhh…Can we go to your place to visit Keira?"

"ummm…not right now…she's still sick and we don't want you to get sick too…maybe when she feels better, you can go to our place to play…ok?"

"Promise?" Ashley said.

Scud held out his pinky but Ashley did not know what to do with it. Intertwining his last finger with hers, he said. "Promise." And the intelligent little girl understood.

"Scott, how sick is she? Does she have a fever?" Kristin asked.

"This morning she did, but not anymore. Right now, she just have a stuffy nose…nothing to worry about." He assured her.

_The fever must have woken her up._ _Should I go see her tonight?_ Kristin thought to herself.

Alexis walked over with the order.

"Food's ready…let's go, Scott." She pulled his arm towards the exit.

"Wait…where are you going?" Scott asked.

"I'm going over to your place to see Keira." All eyes including Ashley's focused on her.

"I don't think that's a good idea. She doesn't like visitors when she's sick." Scott explained. This wasn't a lie. The former criminal mastermind really didn't want anybody to see her weakness.

"I need to make sure she's alright. I just took a 2-hour lunch break. C'mon, the food is going to get cold."

_Are all Michel girls this pushy? Shoot, how am I going to get out of this? _Scud thought to himself.

Suddenly, his phone rang and Scud immediately picked it up to stall time so he could think of an excuse to prevent Alexis from coming along.

"yea, uh huh..ok." Scud hung up. "That was Keira. Looks like there are some problems at work, so we have go to work. I'll take the food." Scud took the lunch from her. "Thank you. I'll make sure she knows you ordered it for her. Don't worry. She's ok." He said goodbye to everyone leaving Alexis standing there, a little disappointed.

* * *

Back in Lucy's apt

Lucy was taking a nap on the couch. As soon as she heard the door open, she sat up, extremely happy to see Scud back with the food. She was really hungry. This morning, she had eaten only 2 slices of bread and took some cold medicine before going back to bed. When she heard what happened at the Café, she thanked him for preventing Alexis from coming over since she didn't want anybody else to see her weak side. After all, she used to be the most wanted badass criminal mastermind.

"Thank god for telemarketers….just at the right time." Scud said.

Lucy was so hungry; she gobbled up the tasty chicken noodle soup in minutes.

"Wow, this is goo..." She said unclearly, with a mouthful of food.

"Alexis ordered it."

"Oh…" Lucy felt a little guilty for not wanting to see her. What she wanted right now was rest and food. "I'll go thank her when I get better." She took the last bite of her bun. "What about Kristin?" She looked at Scud.

"What about her?"

"Did she say she wanted to come over to see me?"

"No, but she asked about you and I assured her that you're ok…

"Oh…" Lucy was a little unhappy with the response and lowered her head.

"Ashley wanted to see you, though." He looked at her with a smile. He knew that's not what she wanted to hear when the brunette looked at him without any emotion. "I also noticed that there were some men following them."

"Men?"

"I think they're just there to protect them…you know…bodyguards…"

* * *

Jehan sat in front of a man in his 70s in a spacious office, furnished with expensive furniture and paintings on the wall. With his head full of hair, he doesn't look his age.

"We're still looking for the place where Ashley was held." Jehan said.

"How are they?"

"They're fine…the doctor didn't find anything wrong with the blood test and Ashley doesn't know what happened."

"..and him?"

"Looks like it could be him because he sold the house several months ago and none of his friends know where he went….his sister and brother are gone as well."

He stood up and walked around.

"That boy, why didn't he tell me? I could have helped him."

"He didn't want to worry you sir and he was afraid it would put them in danger. He didn't tell anybody. Just Ms Holmes, but that's because he had no choice."

"Holmes? What's her background?

The businessman walked around again in silence as he listened to Jehan talked about the brunette.

"Do you want me to contact…? Before Jehan could finish, he was interrupted.

"No…. not yet. Find them, persuade them. Take the last resort only if you have to." He sighed. "Only if you have to, understand." He repeated.

Michel's father, Benjamin Couric, was not always wealthy. He grew up in a medium income family and went to a business school with his family's support and working odd jobs. With hard work and determination, it took him a lot of years to be where he is, a billionaire with a notable reputation. Like any father, he wanted the best for his son. He sent his son to the best private schools and wanted him to follow his footsteps and take over his businesses someday. But his plans didn't work out the way he wanted.

When Michel told him about his girl friend's pregnancy, he was furious with him. Michel was only 19 then. Benjamin had a lot of plans for his son. But all of that was ruined when Michel announced his plans of marriage at age 19. He had tried to persuade him to talk to his girlfriend about abortion. But every conversation led to arguments; and arguments led to bad father and son relationship. The thought of threatening his son to disown him crossed his mind, but it was only a thought that was never carried out. Because he knew Michel, even at a young age, had a lot of integrity and he would not have succumbed to it. It would have only ended their relationship badly and he couldn't let that happen. After all, Michel was his only child and his wife would not have allowed it. Their relationship became distant after what happened. Michel's mother helped take care of his child, Alexis, while he continued with his studies. When he grew up, Michel would visit them on special occasions only if his mother was there.

A lot of people thought Michel succeeded in the financial industry because of his father's assistance. But this was not entirely true. He never worked for his father and he did not use any of his parent's money to open his businesses. Michel was a self-made millionaire. However, some of his clientele trusted and invested in him because he was the son of the well-known Benjamin Couric.

* * *

Monday 6PM

After two and a half day's of rest, Lucy felt much better, more energized. She did not go to work and had left everything for Scud to handle. Still not feeling like cooking dinner, she decided to go to Café de Paris to eat. It would also be a good time to thank Alexis if she sees her there. If she's not there, well then there's always tomorrow.

Lucy sat by herself inside the café eating her dinner while reading the newspaper. She learned from one of the waitress that Alexis had just left for the day. _Oh well_. As she was eating her dinner, someone called her.

"Keira, what are you doing here?"

She wiped her mouth with a napkin. _Well, what do you know? She is here. _"Hi, Alexis."

"How are you feeling?" She said ecstatically.

"Much better…Thank you." She smiled. "Actually, I was looking for you but they told me you left already."

"you're looking for me, why?"

"To thank you for the lunch...the other day."

"Oh…I wanted to see you that day…but Scott said you had some business to attend to."

"aah yes…that's right…" Lucy changed the subject. "Hey, have you eaten yet?…Let me buy you dinner as a thank you."

"You…want to buy me dinner to thank me?"

Lucy nodded but didn't understand why Alexis had a questioning look. If someone did you a favor, you thank them…as simple as that…

"Actually, I'm not hungry. How about you take me to the movies to thank me?"

_Here we go again. Movies would mean a date. She wanted me to take her out as if we're on a date_. _Should I fake food poisoning? That would be really mean. She doesn't deserve that. What if she wanted to follow me home?_ She thought to herself. "Uumm…I don't think…"

Before Lucy could reject her, Alexis immediately cut her off and sat down on one of the chairs across from her. Since they were all alone, this would be a good time to apologize. " I'm sorry…"

"For what?" Lucy was surprised.

"umm… for the other night… when I kiss you." She said, looking into the brunette's eyes. "I just couldn't help myself. It won't happen again…unless…you..want to."

"Alexis…."

"I know…I know…I'm moving too fast. We only met for a couple of days but I feel like I've known you forever. Sounds cliché, but I can't help how I feel."

"I understand that." Lucy said calmly.

"You…do?"

"I do….I've been there."

Alexis reminded her a little of herself actually. When she saw something she likes, she goes after it….just like how she kidnapped Amy to go out with her the first day she met her.

"You have…what happened?" Alexis became very interested in her story.

Lucy hesitated and shook her head. "It's…..a long story."

She extended her hand out and took one of Alexis's hands. "Alexis, you…are a very nice girl and I'm very flattered."

_Oh no…not the nice girl speech_. Alexis thought to herself.

"I'm not going to lie to you. I was in a relationship before and I'm not sure if I'm ready to start a new one."

Alexis stared at her for a moment. "Is that why it didn't work out between you and that blind date….because you're not ready?"

Lucy pondered for a moment, trying to remember why she didn't go on a second date with that gorgeous girl. She couldn't remember why. "Yes…exactly."

Alexis reached out her other hand and held Lucy's hand. "You must still love her, then…"

"I do…and I always will." Lucy said in a serious tone while looking deeply into Alexis' eyes, hoping she would understand.

Alexis could see she was telling the truth. It was her eyes and the way she said it. She wondered who it was that captured the heart of this amazing woman in front of her.

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long has it been since your last relationship?"

Lucy didn't understand why Alexis would want to know. She responded anyway. "Over two years."

Alexis could not believe it. _Two years…and she still couldn't forget her…She must really love her. _

_"_Where is she now?"

Lucy did not want to answer the question. She didn't want to lie to her either. She paused. No longer looking at Alexis, she pulled her hand back. Alexis could tell the brunette didn't want to answer but she really wanted to know. Lucy could not bring herself to say it because in her heart, she believed Amy is still alive. But according to the airline records, "She's..she's.…dead." Her heart ached at the sound of the word and she tried very hard to hold back the tears. Every time she thought about that day, she just couldn't control herself. Even when there is a possibility that Kristin could be Amy, she just wasn't sure.

"Oh my god…I'm so..so…sorry.." Alexis apologized for bringing up her painful past and quickly walked next to her side, bent down and wrapped her arms around her. Everyone has bad memories that they don't want to be reminded of. She understood that when her mother left her when she was just a child. _That was so stupid of me. Why did I bring that up?_ She thought maybe they broke up. Never in her mind thought that the one she loved could be…dead. _I have to think of something to make her feel better. _

After a moment, Lucy came back to her senses. This was not what she had in mind when she came to see her. _What just happened? _She was supposed to say thank you and then goodbye. How did she end up being in Alexis' embrace? Realizing that Alexis was hugging her, she pulled away. "Alexis, it's ok."

"I'm sorry." Alexis apologized again and Lucy nodded.

"I just wanted you to understand."

Alexis nodded, looking at her in a way to let her know that she does.

To break the silence, Lucy offered. "It's getting late. Do you have a ride home? If not, I can drive you."

Alexis shook her head.

"OK, I'll drive you home." Lucy got up.

"No, I mean I don't want to go home yet….but I would still like to go watch a movie."

"Alexis…" Lucy tried to reject her.

"…as friends…" Alexis added. "C'mon, there's this movie I really wanted to see but I have no one to watch it with…." Not hearing a response from the brunette, she tried to persuade her. "When is the last time you went to the cinema?"

Lucy tried to think of the last time.

"That's what I thought." She took Lucy's hand. "I promise…this is not a date. We're only going out as friends, ok?" She smiled at the brunette.

It has been a very long time since Lucy watched a movie in the cinema. Even though she would feel more comfortable watching dvds at home on her 78inch LCD tv, she had to admit the sound effect would not be as good as the systems in the cinema. There was one movie she wanted to watch but it's very new so she had to wait for the dvd to come out. Going alone to watch a movie would be just too weird. She wondered why she never thought of going with Scud. Guessed they were just too busy with work and all. There were a couple of movies that she wanted to watch. _Guess I'll take Kristin to watch the other one since she did promise me a rain check on the date._ _That will work. _"Okay."

"OK…Great!….Let's go."

She grabbed Alexis' arm. "Wait…are you sure you're not hungry?"

"Well…I am a little hungry." Alexis made a hand gesture with her thumb and forefinger. They smiled at each other.

* * *

"So anyways…the guy just won't leave me alone and I told him it wasn't just him that I wasn't interested, it's the whole male population." While they were driving to the cinema, Alexis was telling stories about her past.

"Did he believe you?"

"No. He thought I was making excuses not to go out with him. He was my friend's brother. Then he asked me to prove it…"

"Prove it?….prove that you're gay?…how?" Lucy laughed. She hasn't felt this way for a long time…just talking about the silliest things and laughing about it.

"That's what I said. Then he asked me if I think her sister was pretty…and I said yes. Now her sister and I have been friends for a long time. When we first met, I did have a crush on her. I knew she wasn't gay, so I just kept it to myself and chose to be friends with her instead."

"Was her sister there?"

"she was standing next to me. Then he asked me to kiss her."

"What? He asked you kiss his sister, your friend, to prove that you're gay." Lucy asked.

"Yea, can you believe that?"

"What did his sister do?"

"She thought her brother was nuts. I did too and I still do."

"What did you do?"

"I wanted to walk away, but her sister stopped me. Then she told me if I don't do it, her brother will never leave me alone. She did have a point."

"She let you kiss her even though she's not gay?"

"Yup…so I looked into her eyes and I gave her a nod and she nodded back. Then I stepped closer to her and gave her the most passionate kiss that her brother has ever seen. You should see the look on his face. It was hilarious."

Lucy couldn't resist, laughing loudly. "I can imagine. I'm guessing he believed you."

"Yup."

"Are you still friends with her sis?"

"Yea…nothing's changed and her brother apologized at the end. I did wonder if she was bi, though."

"Is she?"

"No…she told me she just wants to feel what it's like to kiss a girl." Alexis sighed and sat back, relaxed. She turned her head to look at the brunette, who had a big grin on her face, after hearing her story. _I made her laugh. _She felt relieved. She was truly sorry for reminding her of her painful memories. It'll take time for her to heal. _I'll wait._

"Alexis…." Lucy called out. "Alexis"

"huh…" Alexis shook herself out of her thoughts.

"Does your dad know?"

"Know what?"

Lucy had asked her 2 times already. From her response, Lucy knew she must be thinking of something and did not hear a single word she said.

"Does your father know that you're gay?"

"Oh…um…I think so…but we've never talked about it."

"You think so?"

"Well, he knows I never had a boyfriend and I never talked about boys the way his friend's daughters do…and he never asked me if I have a boyfriend…so I think he does know in a way."

_Is that why he told me to take her out shopping? _Lucy now realized what Michel was trying to do at Ashley's birthday party. _He was trying to set me up with his daughter._ _Wait...how does he know that I'm gay? No, that couldn't be it. That doesn't make sense._ Lucy shook her head to get the thoughts out of her mind.

Out of the blue, Alexis thought of something that was bothering her. "Did you know Kristin has a sleepwalking problem?"

"What? No. How do you know?" Lucy was curious about everything related to Kristin. She wondered why Alexis suddenly brought this up.

"Remember that night you slept over…"

_Did she see us? _Lucy didn't show any emotion. "Yes"

"Did you see Kristin when you woke up?"

_Is that a trick question? Does she know?_ She wondered if Kristin told her what happened. "No. Scott and I left early. We didn't see anyone except your butler."

"Well, I found her sleeping in your bed that morning."

"What? Why? Did you ask her why?" Lucy played along.

"She said she has a sleepwalking problem."

"Oh…I see…must be scary waking up in someone else's bed." Lucy was happy to hear that the blonde didn't tell her the truth. _Guess I made the right choice of leaving early. _

"Yea…thank goodness she didn't walk into my father's bedroom…that would be really embarrassing." Lucy agreed. "I think my father really likes her."

"Oh really…how do you know?"

"I saw him trying to hold her hand at the restaurant the other day."

_Damn it!…he's trying to make a move on her again. _Lucy tried to stay calm.

"What about Kristin? Do you think she likes him?"

"I'm not sure.….God…I hope not…the thought of her being my father's girlfriend and maybe stepmother someday…just don't feel right."

_You and me both. _Lucy thought to herself.

"I mean she's just a few years older than me….that would be just too weird."

"Yea, weird…" Lucy had nothing else to say. But she knows she'll never allow that to happen whether she's Amy or not.

* * *

"Here we are." It was Monday. The parking lot was somewhat empty. _Fantastic, less people, less noise. _Lucy thought to herself.

The cinema had 7 screens showing English language films. Once inside, they agreed on watching a superhero film. Lucy went to buy tickets and Alexis went to get soda and snacks. Unlike Alexis, Lucy didn't like to eat while watching a movie. It would be too distracting. At home, she would watch her movies and eat at the same time. It didn't matter because if she missed a scene, she could always rewind it. She knew Alexis didn't eat much at the Café, so she'll probably need some snacks during the 2-hour movie.

Alexis actually wanted to see Spiderman 2 but she heard from some friends that the main female character dies in the end. Since she didn't want to remind Keira of her lover's death, she chose to see Captain America instead.

It was still early, so they didn't want to go into the rooms yet. Two bodyguards were following Alexis but not too close, so she didn't mind them being there. Lucy understood and just ignored them. As they were walking around, there was a large Spiderman-2 poster hanging on the wall that caught her attention. Lucy always liked superhero stories. That was the next movie she wanted to watch with Kristin. There were also other couples admiring the colorful poster in front of them. She decided to get a closer look and walked towards the wall, with Alexis next to her.

"Kristin, maybe we could come back and watch that next time."

Hearing the name, Lucy looked to her right and there she saw Kristin standing next to her and Michel standing next to Kristin.

"Keira…Hi" Michel said. This caught the attention of the blonde and she immediately looked to her left and saw the brunette staring at her.

"Hi." Lucy and Kristin said simultaneously. Kristin was surprised to see her there and she was even more surprised to find Alexis next to her.

"…what are you doing here?" Alexis asked.

"Oh…umm..Alexis…I'm….we're just going to watch a movie." Michel responded.

"Where's Ashley?"

"She's at your grandmother's."

Lucy saw the frown on Kristin's face when she looked at Alexis. _Shoot…I know what she's thinking. _Quickly, she said to Kristin. "We were just going to watch a movie." _That was stupid. Of course we're here to watch a movie. Why else would we be here? She must think we're on a date. How am I going to explain this?_

"are you guys here on a date?" Alexis asked.

"ummm…no…we were just going to watch a movie…that's all…" Even though they were on a date, Michel couldn't tell her that. He wasn't sure she would approve. Besides, it's just too early to tell if Kristin felt the same way he feels about her.

Alexis nodded but didn't believe him.

"Keira, let's go inside…it's almost starting…we'll see you later, …bye Kristin" As she pulled Keira away from them, Keira turned her head to keep looking at Kristin who was watching them leave without saying a word.

"Kristin, let's go…it's starting."In her mind, she was wondering if Alexis and Keira were on a date. _I thought she wasn't interested in her. Did she lie to me? Did she asked us both out? _

Inside room #7, Alexis and Lucy chose to sit in the center of the room. There were a lot of empty seats. Lucy sat there, staring at the blank screen. _Why is she here with Michel? I thought she wasn't interested in him. I thought she was going to tell him the truth. _She was no longer in the mood to watch a movie. All she wanted to do was to explain her situation to the blonde; hoping the blonde won't misinterpret again.

"Oh shoot…" Alexis said.

"What?"

Alexis pointed her finger and Lucy saw that Michel and Kristin also bought tickets for the same movie.

"I hope they don't sit next to us…." Alexis covered her eyes, hoping her father won't notice them.

But he did and so did Kristin. Luckily, they chose to sit a few rows in front of them near the right side of the screen. After a few minutes, the movie started and the lights switched off. Her head was facing the screen but her eyes was focusing on the blonde. Once in a while, Lucy glanced back at the screen, but her mind was just not into it.

Sitting to the left of Michel, Kristin stared at the screen. She wanted to turn her head to look at the brunette, but she was afraid Keira would see her.

Michel also sat still during the entire movie, not making any moves on the blonde. If Alexis wasn't here, he would have tried to put his arms around Kristin or tried to hold her hands.

9PM

After 2 hours, the movie finally ended and people started to leave. Outside the ticket entrance, Lucy and Alexis saw Michel talking on the phone. He waved to Alexis for her to come over. When they approached him, he hung up.

"What's the matter?" Alexis asked.

"Jehan just called. Your grandma is in the hospital."

"What!"

"It's ok…she's alright…she's in no serious danger. But she wants to see us now. Ashley is with her."

Alexis felt relieved and agreed.

"Keira, Kristin is in the ladies room. Do you mind telling Kristin and give her a ride home?" Michel asked. He did not want to leave the blonde, but had no choice. He was worried about his mother and wanted to be there as soon as possible.

"No problem." Lucy said. Alexis and Michel left the cinema and the bodyguards followed.

She was happy that she finally got to be alone with Kristin. "Now how should I explain this? What's there to explain? I should just tell her the truth. We weren't on a date. I told her how I felt and she understood."

Meanwhile, behind her, Kristin saw that Alexis and Michel were not around. _Should I ask her why she's out with Alexis? _Kristin noticed the brunette was talking to herself. _I should find out what she knows about me._

"Who are you talking to?" A voice from behind spoke.

"Oh…Hi…" Startled, Lucy turned around.

"Where's Michel and Alexis?"

"Her grandmother is in the hospital…and"

"What? Is she alright?"

After telling her what happened, Kristin managed to calm down. "Are you ready to go home?" Lucy politely asked.

"Actually, do you mind if we walk around? I don't want to go home yet."

"Sure…" Lucy thought this was a good opportunity to explain to her why she's with Alexis; although the blonde didn't seem to be upset about it. _That's odd._

On the streets, there were a lot of people walking around and stores were still open. There were a lot of stands on the sidewalk and people gathered around them to look at what they're selling. Outside the restaurants and cafes, people sat on the tables eating dinner, talking, and admiring the beautiful night sky.

As they walked slowly around a small park where it was a lot quieter and a lot less people, Kristin started the conversation.

"So...it looks like you're all better." She said, looking straight ahead.

"Much better…thank you…thank you for that night."

Memory of that night flowed into their minds.

"Yea…sure…I just wanted to make sure you're all right…..guess I fell asleep myself." Kristin lowered her eyes, feeling a little embarrassed about it.

After a moment of silence, Kristin asked. "So you and Alexis…how did you two…?

_Here we go. _Lucy stopped. Kristin stopped talking. They looked at each other.

"I told her how I felt and she understood…She wanted to watch a movie because she had no one to watch it with…..We were just going as friends." Lucy said in a serious tone, hoping the blonde would believe her.

Kristin gave a little nod and continued walking. But she noticed the brunette did not move. She stopped and turned around. There was seriousness in the brunette's face. "I believe you…." She let out a smile. That was not a lie. She really did believe her.

Hearing that, Lucy started walking again next to the blonde. "What about you and Michel?" Lucy asked.

Kristin stopped. She knew that was coming. "What about us?"

"Did you tell him how you feel?"

She looked into Lucy's eyes for a short moment and decided to turn around and started walking again.

"It's...not that simple."

Lucy did not understand. _How complicated can it be? I told Alexis how I felt and she's ok with it. If she told Michel how she feels, the worst thing he could do is fire her. So what? There are other babysitting jobs out there…unless…unless…she has other plans…What is she hiding?_

"He's a nice guy. I just don't want to see him get hurt in the end." Lucy said as she followed behind her.

Kristin stopped and turned around. W_hat does she mean by that?_ _Does she know? _"What do you mean? I'm not going to hurt him."

Lucy walked towards the blonde.

"You're giving him hope. The longer you're with him, the deeper he'll fall. In the end, he's going to find out and he's going to get hurt."

Kristin couldn't think of anything to say.

"You can't play with someone's emotions. He might not survive it."

_She's right but what can I do?_

"Have you ever fallen in love before?" Lucy asked.

"What?" Kristin was still thinking about what Lucy had just said about Michel.

"Have you ever fallen in love before?" Lucy asked again.

The blonde slowly shook her head and whispered. "No"

"If you have…you'll understand what I'm talking about."

Lucy stepped closer to the blonde and looked deeply into her eyes. All Kristin could think about was that she has no intention of hurting Michel but she couldn't tell him she wasn't interested.

"When you love someone, you want nothing more than for her to be happy." She paused and move one step closer. "When you love someone, you always want the best for her and you would never hurt her."

Lucy stepped closer and closer as she was talking. Her face was a few inches from the blonde.

"When you're in love, your heart races and you can't control it...When she touches you, you'll feel butterflies in your stomach. You would feel incomplete without her...When she kisses you, it takes your breath away and you'll get this wonderful sensation…and…"

Lucy could not continue because Kristin surprised her with a kiss.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Chapter 9**

* * *

Chapter 9

Her heart was beating so fast, it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest. That weird feeling in her stomach started to appear again. She couldn't take it anymore. 'Ask yourself what you want to do at that moment. Don't think. Just do it.' That's what the doctor said. And so…she did.

Kristin leaned in and kissed her. She closed her eyes and moved her lips over the brunette's. After a few seconds, she felt Keira's smooth lips moving along with hers. Both of their hands were by their sides. The only part of their body that was touching was their lips. _She tasted like strawberries._ When breathing became an issue, she slowly pulled back and in that instant, she saw Keira with her eyes still closed, clearly enjoying the kiss as much as she did.

Lucy swallowed and slowly opened her eyes, not believing what just happened. _She just kissed me._ Kristin felt her cheeks getting warm and she knew she was blushing. Smiling at each other, they leaned their foreheads against each other's.

"What were you about to say?" Kristin asked.

"I…I…I don't remember."

A big grin appeared on Kristin's face, happy to see the effect she had on the brunette.

It had been a long time since Lucy kissed anyone. It was unexpected. She was more out of breath than the blonde was. She tried hard to remember what she wanted to say earlier before she was interrupted by the kiss. "I was going to say…when you're in love, you'd think about her all the time."

"I know that feeling." Kristin replied.

"…and you'll always…" Lucy was about to continue to tell her what it's like to be in love.

"Keira.."

"yes?"

"Shut up." With that, Kristin smiled and once again locked her lips onto Keira's. At the same time, Lucy put her arms around her waist, holding her even more closer.

They were so engrossed in the heated kiss; both did not hear the footsteps approaching from behind the brunette. When Lucy felt a sharp object pointing to her back, she gave out a short moan which the blonde thought it was a response from the kiss. Kristin pulled her in closer and continued to kiss her. When Lucy pushed her away gently, Kristin opened her eyes and saw the startled look on Lucy's face and immediately noticed the man behind her.

"Sorry to interrupt …but you should really be doing that inside….now nobody move…or she's going to get hurt."

"Don't hurt her…I'll give you what you want." Since Kristin didn't know whether he had a gun or a knife, she immediately pulled out her wallet from her purse.

"Are you kidding me? 20 euros?"

"That's all I have." She opened her wallet and showed it to him.

"What about you, lady?" His left arm was wrapped around Lucy's neck and his right hand was holding a knife behind Lucy's back.

Lucy took out her wallet from her jacket. "Here, take this and go." If she was alone, she could have taken care of him. But she did not want to risk the chance of getting Kristin hurt. Lucy handed her wallet into the thief's left hand that was wrapped around her neck. When he was about to leave, a shiny object on the blonde's neck caught his eye.

"Take the necklace off." He demanded.

Afraid of getting Keira hurt, Kristin followed his order without a second thought. As she was about to take it off, Lucy said. "Don't…."

"Just take my wallet and go. There's a lot of money in there." Lucy said to the thief.

The thief moved the knife closer against her back, making Lucy winced in pain. "Shut up…do you want to die?"

Kristin turned her eyes towards the thief. "Don't hurt her…I'm taking it off."

Lucy had a plan and hoped that it would work. She blinked once to Kristin, hoping she get the idea. After Kristin took off the necklace, she extended her trembling hand out, holding the necklace. The thief switched hands quickly; his right arm wrapped around Lucy's neck, holding a 10-inch sharp knife closer to her neck. He put the wallet into his left coat pocket. The position of the knife was now next to Lucy's neck, which was even more dangerous than before.

As he was about to grab the necklace from the blonde's hand, she intentionally dropped the necklace.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry…I'm just scared." _Shoot, it didn't work._ She thought that Lucy wanted her to drop the necklace so that she could get herself out in that moment of surprise.

As the blonde was about to get closer to pick up the necklace, he quickly placed his left arm behind Lucy's back and stepped back a few steps pulling her with him, and pushed the knife against her neck even harder. He was afraid that the blonde would try to attack him from below.

Seeing that Kristin was no longer as close to them as before, Lucy pulled the thief's right wrist down with both of her hands and bent her body at the same time. While twisting his hand, she ducked her head under his right arm, thus escaping the hold he had on her. The twisting of his wrist forced him to open his hand and she was able to grab the knife. Once she was in the back of him, she kicked the back of his right knee, forcing him to fall down flat on the ground. Immediately, she placed her right knee hard on his back, her left leg stepped on his left hand and she held the knife with her right hand close to his neck.

Kristin was amazed at what she saw. As she was about to come closer, Lucy held out her left hand to signal her to stop.

Lucy turned towards the thief. "Look buddy, I know how hard it is out there, but stealing is not the solution." She took her wallet back and took 300 euros out and put it into this coat pocket. "I hope you'll try harder and change after this. There's always a way out."

Going to the police station was the last thing she wanted to do, so she decided to let him go.

"I'm going to let you go…so don't move or I can't promise I won't hurt you." The thief, who had his left side of the face against the ground, agreed.

Lucy slowly got up and walked back a few steps. It was dark so she couldn't really see what he looked like. The thief stood up and before he started to run away, he thanked her.

Kristin quickly ran towards the brunette. "Keira, are you alright?" Kristin asked with a worried look on her face.

"I'm fine. Are you ok?" Kristin nodded and hugged her tightly for a few seconds. "How did you do that?"

"Oh…I've been taking self defense classes." It's true. Lucy had been taking sparring and martial arts classes as well as cooking classes during her spare time.

"C'mon, let's go home." Kristin had a lot of questions to ask her. But seeing that this place wasn't safe, all she wanted to do was to leave with the brunette.

"Wait…did you get the necklace?" The blonde shook her head and Lucy walked back to try to find it. It was dark and the light from the light poles helped a little.

After several minutes of looking, they still couldn't find it. "Oh my god, Keira, you're bleeding." Kristin could now see the blood on her neck.

Lucy placed her hand on her neck and winced in pain. "It's just a little blood...I'm fine…" She continued looking for the necklace, touching the ground with both hands.

"We have to get home and take a look at that." Kristin said but the brunette ignored her.

"Keira, the necklace is not important. We have to take a look at your wound."

"It is important. It's one of a kind…..Ah hah! I found it."

"Ok, can we go now before you faint from the bleeding?" Kristin said jokingly. It was getting dark and cold. Kristin looped her hand through Lucy's left arm and both walked quickly back to the car.

Once inside the car, Lucy started the car and was about to shift gears.

"Wait, Keira…." She wasn't sure what the blonde wanted to do but she did as told.

Kristin switched the lights on, opened the glove compartment and found some tissue inside.

"Here, let me take a look at your neck." She leaned over and the brunette held her hair away from her neck.

As Kristin blotted the wounds dry with the tissue, Lucy uttered a short sharp cry of pain.

"Sorry, it's a little deep…do you have any bandades here?"

"In my car?…I don't think so…I'm ok…"

"….Sorry, I thought you wanted me to drop the necklace..so you could…"

"I did….I figured he would step back after you tried to pick it up so I could do my thing and there won't be any chances of you getting hurt."

"Oh…" Kristin now realized what the brunette was trying to do. Lucy was holding her hair and her head was facing the front of the car. Kristin placed her hand over for her face. At the touch, Lucy dropped her hair and turned to look at the blonde. Gently rubbing Lucy's cheek, Kristin said in a gentle tone. "You...are so sweet."

Lucy took the blonde's hand from her face and gave it a gentle kiss. "I won't let anyone hurt you." She said in a serious tone while gazing into her eyes.

Hearing those words, Kristin's heart started to race again. She knew she was totally falling for her and she didn't allow her mind to think of anything else but what's in front of her. Slowly, she leaned in and Lucy did the same. Before she was able to touch her lips, Lucy yelped again.

Kristin noticed the brunette had placed her hand over her back. "Let me see."

Lucy turned her body to the right and the blonde lifted her shirt and jacket.

"Keira, you have another wound on your back." She quickly placed a tissue over it.

"Is it deep?"

"A little deeper than the one on your neck." She took more tissues to dry the blood. "I am so sorry…If we just went home, this would never have happened."

Lucy immediately turned around. "Hey, …I'm glad we didn't, otherwise, this would never have happened…" She hoped Kristin would understand what she was referring to. "Do you have any regrets?"

After a moment, Kristin understood and shook her head. "No." Seeing that Lucy was in pain before, she leaned in more towards her and gave her a short kiss while touching her cheek.

"Before I forget, here." Lucy pulled out the necklace with the pyramid shaped diamond from her pocket. "Let me help you put this on." The blonde lifted her hair and stared at Lucy while she put it on.

"How did you know it was one of a kind?" Kristin asked.

While busily trying to hook the ends of the necklace and not thinking too much about the question, she spontaneously responded. "I had it custom made." Realizing what she had just said, she looked at the woman in front of her.

"This was your gift to Ashley?"

"Well, yea…I designed it." There was no need to hide it from her.

"So…that's why you said the owner won't mind when Ashley gave this to me." Everything's clear to her now.

"I'm glad she did. I also wanted you to have this."

Deep in her thoughts, Kristin now remembered where she'd seen the pyramid shaped diamond. It was in her dream. The brunette and the diamond both appeared in the same dream, the day when she met her. _It was her. But why? How?_

"Kristin…Kristin…" Lucy called out and pulled her out of her reverie.

"I hope you still want to wear this."

"Of course I will…I'll treasure it even more." She said in her sweet voice.

* * *

During the ride, Lucy noticed that Kristin kept touching the diamond on her necklace and was lost in her thoughts again. Whatever she was thinking of, Lucy knew that the blonde loved it very much. _What a night? So many things have happened…so many good things…it happened so fast, so unexpected..She's falling for me… _Lucy smiled to herself.

Deep in her thoughts, Kristin stared at the sky filled with stars that shined like diamonds. Her fingers holding, touching and feeling the diamond on her necklace. _Who is she? Why is she appearing in my dream? Why am I falling for her? How am I going to explain this? They don't have to know. If they ask, I'll just tell them she's a friend. It's part of the plan, that's all. So many things have happened tonight…oh my god, I totally forgot why I have to see her. _She frowned. _I have to find out if I was talking in my sleep._

"So…did Alexis tell you that she saw me that morning?" Kristin asked.

"that morning?…which morning?" Lucy knew exactly which day she was talking about, but she just wanted to have some fun with her.

"You know...that morning when you slept over."

"Oh!…that morning….she did….she said you had a sleepwalking problem."

"Oh…that's all I could think of at that moment." Kristin smiled, still embarrassed about that night.

"Why didn't you tell her the truth?" Lucy asked.

"What?…tell her the truth? Did you tell her the truth?"

"No" Lucy said.

"Why not?"

"I don't want her to get the wrong idea."

"and what idea would that be?" Kristin asked. She knew the brunette was just teasing, so she played along.

"that you slept with me…" Lucy stated.

"Oh…I did?…I thought I just slept next to you."

"well…yes…that's how I found you…but I was so out of it that night, I wouldn't have known if you did anything else to me….You didn't do anything else to me, did you?"

"Keira!" Kristin slapped her arm playfully and Lucy laughed.

"Did you see anything or touch anything?" Lucy continued with her silliness.

Kristin was blushing immensely. "I was too tired and I fell asleep."

"Ohhhh…so if you didn't fall asleep, then you would have?" Lucy took a quick glance and saw the look in her face. She knew that she got her when she didn't speak. She smiled and continued. "You know I did find your arm over my body when I woke up."

Hearing that, Kristin thought of something to say. "Oh, that's right, you did woke up before me, didn't you? Did you see anything or touch anything while I was sleeping?"

_Shoot…she got me there._

"Well…did you?" Seeing her hesitation, Kristin now wondered if the brunette did do something to her.

"I…no…I didn't."

"I don't believe you….you hesitated." Kristin said loudly. "What did you do?"

"I didn't. I swear. I had a fever that morning. I wanted to…but"

"You wanted to?"

_Geez, why did I say that? What did I get myself into? _Lucy thought to herself."Can you blame me? I woke up with this beautiful woman next to me."

"What did you do?"

Seeing that there's no way out of this, Lucy said slowly. "I…wanted…to..kiss..you."

"Oh…" Kristin was embarrassed and lowered her head.

"But I didn't"

"You didn't?" Kristin's head shot up.

"I was sick…I didn't want to spread it to you."

"aaww…how considerate of you?..."

Lucy was glad that she understood.

"so…if you weren't sick, you would've kissed me, then, without my permission, while I'm sleeping?"

Lucy swallowed hard. _She got me._ _I can't get out of that one, that's for sure. _She stayed silent for a moment. "Oh look…we're here."

Kristin looked at her, smiling. She was relieved to know that she didn't talk in her sleep that night.

* * *

Since it's getting dark and it's not safe in that neighborhood to walk at night, Lucy walked the blonde to her apartment. Kristin wanted to protest at first, but seeing what had happened before, she believed Lucy could protect herself from any kind of danger.

They stopped at the door of her apartment.

In front of the door, she noticed something on the slit of the door. She stopped and quickly turned around.

"uumm…Good night…thanks for today." That was all she could come up with this short amount of time.

Lucy was surprised that the blonde did not offer to let her in after everything that had happened. _Is there something inside I shouldn't see?_

"Can I use the bathroom?" Lucy asked.

_I was afraid she would ask that._

"Ummm…yeah..sure." She turned around and took out her keys. She tried to make more noises than usual and took a longer time to open it.

Once the door was opened, she took a peak first before opening the door wide. "Come in…help yourself." Lucy walked in and did not notice anything different except that the bedroom door was closed. _For someone who lives alone, why would she close the bedroom door before leaving the apartment?_ Once inside the bathroom, she searched around again and did not find anything unusual. She placed her ears against the door but did not hear anything.

She walked out of the bathroom and found Kristin waiting for her in the living room.

"This is a nice apartment." Lucy said.

"it's all I could afford….you know…with school..and..all." Kristin figured that, by this time, Lucy already knew about her background from either Alexis or Michel.

_I shouldn't have said that._ "Right…" She looked into the blonde's eyes and took both of her hands. "If you need anything, you just let me know….ok?"

Kristin nodded and let out a gentle smile.

Lucy walked around the living room admiring the pictures on the wall. "Did you draw these?"

"…I did those several months ago."

"Nice…" She walked to another wall and saw another picture. It was picture of a human figure sitting on a beach staring at the sunset. "How about this one? Where is this place?"

Kristin walked over next to her. "I'm not sure. That just appeared in my head one day so I just drew it."

"Is that sunrise or sunset?"

"hmmm….I don't know…" She thought that was a good question.

"Is that a woman or a man?"

"I….don't know that either…"

Lucy continued to walk around. What she really wanted to see is her bedroom.

"Hey, is this your bedroom?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned the knob and opened it.

"Wait…" Kristin said a little loudly and held out her hand. The blonde quickly walked over and was surprised to see that no one was there.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy." Lucy apologized.

"It's…alright. I just didn't want you to see how messy I am." She lied. Both looked inside the bedroom and it was as clean and organized as an unused bedroom in a hotel. Lucy looked at her with a questioning look. "If that's messy, you should see my bedroom."

"I forgot I cleaned it this morning. It's not always this clean." She yawned. "Hey, it's getting late…you should go home and take care of that wound before it gets infected."

_Ok, now she's trying to kick me out._

Before Lucy allowed Kristin to close the door behind her, she asked. "When can I see you again?"

Kristin couldn't think right now. All she wanted to do was close the door. "I'll call you."

Lucy smiled and nodded.

"Good night." Kristin said.

As Kristin was about to close the door, Lucy placed her foot to stop the door from closing. "You still owe me a date. Today doesn't count….Okay?" She flashed a diamond smile on her.

_Oh my god..she is so adorable. _Her heart instantly melted looking at her gorgeous smile. Kristin leaned in and kissed her on the lips to assure her that she didn't forget about the date. "Good night." She whispered.

And with that, Lucy was finally satisfied and took her foot out of the doorway. "Good night."

* * *

**Chapter 10: Chapter 10**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Kristin closed the door and leaned her back against it. She let out a satisfying sigh and closed her eyes and reminisced the events that happened an hour ago. In the past, she had never felt anything like this before. During the years in college, there were a few guys who had asked her out but she wasn't interested in any of them. She could not believe that she had fallen for someone she had only met a few days ago and that someone just happens to be a girl. _I don't even know anything about her._

On the opposite side of the door, Lucy stood still and wondered who else was inside the apartment. _The only way to find out is wait downstairs. _She decided to get out of there before Kristin sees her through the peephole.

After checking the peephole and opening the door to see if Keira was still there, she quickly closed the door. "Okay, you can come out now."

"Finally. Do you know how small that cabinet is?" A woman with brown hair struggled out of one of the bottom cabinets in the kitchen. "Thank goodness you don't have much in here."

"Thank goodness you're small enough to fit in there. Kat, what are you doing here?" Kristin asked, a little frustrated with the unexpected visit.

"Nice to see you too." Appeared in front of her was a 5 feet thin woman in her 20's. "They want to know if you found anything new." She said while stretching her hands and legs and bending down to touch her toes.

"You came over just to ask me that. You know…I do report to them every other day." Kristin said sarcastically. "You almost got me caught." She said loudly, frowning at the shorter woman.

"But you didn't." Kat looked around. "And they also want me to see how you're doing, mentally." Kat had been in the same agency as Kristin for about the same amount of time. She's about the same age as her and has the same rank.

Kristin immediately responded. "I'm fine….Did they find the kidnappers?"

"No…they're still looking into it. You know, you're lucky to still be alive."

Kristin walked to the kitchen sink and turned on the faucet to wash Keira's blood from her hands.

"Tell me about it. Thank god Keira was there_."_ She mumbled to herself. The thought of the beautiful brunette brought a smile to her face.

"Who was that?"

"Nobody…just a friend who wanted to use the bathroom." She quickly responded without looking at her coworker.

"Here." Kat held out a small box.

"A gift...for me…you shouldn't have." Kristin said mockingly. She had nothing against Kat. It's the ones who're in charge she didn't like. Even though she was assigned to do a job, sometimes she didn't like their plan. But orders are orders and she had to follow them.

Inside the box was a necklace with a silver pendant in the shape of a heart. "This will replace the one you lost."

_Another necklace. _"I'm not wearing this."

"Why not? It's a tracer…It'll save your life." Kat explained.

"Ohhh...like the last one. For your information, I didn't lose it. They took it from me. Unless you want to surgically implant a tracer in my body, then nothing's going to work." Kristin said loudly in a frustrated tone.

"Ok, ok…calm down…don't shoot the messenger." Kat raised her hands up in surrender.

Kristin let out a few deep breaths and calmed herself down and rubbed her temples. "I'm…sorry."

"It doesn't look like you're fine. Do you want to talk about it?"

Kristin walked to the living room and slumped onto the couch while Kat followed and sat next to her. "It's been so long. This mission. It's almost a year now and I just feel so tired...so tired of lying." She flipped her head back and let out a big sigh.

"I know and I understand. But that's our job…to get the bad guys…to protect the ones who can't protect themselves."

"I know…but it's been a year now and I can't find anything wrong with Michel. He's a good guy. I just…I just don't want to lie to him anymore." She remembered what Keira had said._ In the end, he's going to get hurt and he might not survive it. _

"Is this what it's all about?"

Kristin narrowed her eyes towards her.

"You've falling in love with him and you're afraid he won't forgive you when this is all over." She stated.

"What!"

"You know, these things have happened before….playing the role of a seductress and actually falling in love with the one you're spying on. I mean, as long as he didn't break any laws, then I guess it would be ok."

Keira sat straight up, shocked at what Kat was implying. "NO…I am NOT in love with him." She said loudly with such frustration, it made Kat jumped.

Kat moved back a little. "Ok, ok…" She paused for a moment and let the blonde calm down. "Then what is it?"

"It's because...he's falling for me. The longer I do this, the deeper he'll fall and I don't want to end up hurting an innocent man."

Those were the words from Keira an hour ago. She said it with so much emotion, it made Kristin feel even more guilty for leading him on and it made her think of the possibilities of what could happen if she allowed their fake relationship to go any further. People in love could do crazy things for each other. A one-sided love could change a person mentally and could lead to unimaginable consequences.

She thought back to what Keira had said. _It sounded like she had experienced something like that before._ _Something awful must have happened to her and she must not want anyone else go thru what she did._ She lowered her head and rubbed her temples again.

"Oh…" Kat had nothing to say to that and just patted her back.

After a moment, her head shot up. "Hey, do you think they will allow me to change the plan?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"I...want to tell him that I'm not interested in him."

"If you tell him that, then how do you expect to get close to him? It took you months just to get his trust and now you want to throw it all away."

"His daughter loves me and I don't think he would fire me. He'll understand."

"Even if he doesn't fire you, do you think he would invite you to his house anymore for rejecting him? Man has pride. He's not going to trust you as much." She paused. "It's going to be awkward. He's going to try to avoid you in any way he can. Even if we can't find anything on him, how are you going to get close so you can find out about Jehan?"

Kristin let out a big sigh and slumped her back against the couch. _There goes that idea._ She paused for a moment. "What did you guys find out?"

"Well, Jehan used to work for his father, but we're not sure if Michel knows that. Maybe you can find out about that. He had a meeting with his father and looks like he's having people searching for the kidnappers."

She looked at the blonde who just stared at the ceiling.

"If it makes you feel any better, from what I heard, this is going to be huge. There are so many departments involved, it's going to be on the front page of every newspaper and everyone's going to know about it when this is all over."

She saw the frustration in the blonde and sympathized with her situation; placing a hand on Kristin's lap. "Look, why don't you try to relax by going out with your friends, go watch a movie or go shopping. Go with someone where you don't have to pretend you're having fun. It'll take the stress away. Then when the time comes to do your job, you can just switch mode." She snapped her fingers. "That's all."

"Just like that, huh?"

"Yup…just like that." Kat snapped her fingers again and smiled at her. "We're trained for that and they understand we're human too."

She stayed silent for a moment, looking at the blonde.

"So how's school going?"

"fine. I can't wait to go back." Kristin said with her eyes closed.

"Good…see…they're not that inconsiderate. At least they allowed you to use that as your cover. Now you can do what you love AND get the bad guys." Kat tried to cheer her up and she knew it was working when she saw her smile.

_Have fun with friends, sounds like a good idea. Now I don't have to make up an excuse. _Kristin thought to herself and smiled.

"They want someone to follow you so that that incident doesn't happen again."

She opened her eyes wide and sat straight up. "Wait…what? That's not a good idea."

"Why?"

"Because Jehan have men, bodyguards following us. If they find out that they're not the only ones watching us, then it's going to affect this mission. Besides, the kidnappers were after Ashley not me."

Kristin wasn't worried about the bodyguards. She was worried about them finding out about Keira. And she hated being watched.

"Okaaay.., makes sense, I'll let them know."

"Before I forget, here." Kat handed her an envelope.

Kristin opened it and found 300 euros inside. "What's this for?"

"It's from headquarters…for your birthday. Well, not your real birthday. Kristin Lang's birthday. They understand how stressful this must be…so they want you to have some fun. This isn't much, but it's something."

Kristin wrapped her arms around her. It was really nice to talk to someone on the same side as hers where she didn't have to pretend anymore. "Thank you."

"That's why they sent me here." Kat patted her back. "Hang in there. It's going to be over soon. When we get them, you'll see this is all worth it."

Kristin nodded on her shoulder and let out a deep breath.

It was getting very late. Lucy had been waiting in her car for half an hour. To keep herself from dozing off, she turned on the radio to hard rock. She just hoped whoever it was didn't go out the backdoor. Luckily, there were a few people going into the apartment but nobody came out. By this time, people should be going home to sleep. Another half hour went by and she didn't notice any suspicious person that came out of the apartment. She realized that it was also possible that the person decided to stay over for the night. _This is such a bad idea_. Seeing how late it was, she decided to drive home.

* * *

Lucy's apartment 11:00PM

Back inside her apartment, Lucy found Scud sleeping and snoring on her couch. He fell asleep while waiting for her to come home. He had not seen her all day. Careful not to wake him, Lucy slowly put down her keys on the coffee table and quietly walked to the bathroom to get the first aid kit. As soon as she walked out of the bathroom, Scud already woke up, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, you're back. Where have you been?" Scud asked in his husky voice.

"Hey." She sat down on the couch and put the first aid kit next to her.

"Are you hurt?"

The brunette did not respond. She opened one of the antiseptic pads and wiped over the wound on her neck. When he saw the neck wounds, he quickly moved next to her and helped her. "What happened?"

"It's been one crazy day." She winced in pain from the stinging sensation caused by the antiseptic.

"Looks like a knife wound." He said as he taped some bandage on her neck.

When he was done with the neck wound, she lifted her shirt and showed him the wound on the back.

"Jesus, Luce!" Scud said when he saw the dried up blood over the deep cut. "The reason I don't want you to go to work is so you can get some rest, not get hurt.

"Ouch!…" She yelped as Scud tried to wipe the blood off with the pads.

After he was done cleaning and dressing up the wound, Lucy got up and went to the kitchen to get some snacks and water. He patiently waited for her to come back. She told him about meeting Kristin and Michel at the cinema, the thief and the possibility of Kristin hiding someone in her apartment. And the part about her and Kristin, well, she felt that he didn't need to know that, so she intentionally left that out.

"Should we have someone follow her?"

Lucy pondered for a moment. "I don't think we'll be able to find anything that way. She's being very careful." Scud nodded in agreement. "I'll try to get close to her, see what she's been hiding." She said as she munched on a cookie.

"I'm sure you will." This response earned him a smack on the shoulder.

"So you saw Michel and Kristin at the movies….are they dating?" Scud said while rubbing his shoulder.

"Nope…she's not into him, but I know Michel likes her." Lucy immediately responded and turned on the tv.

"And how do you know that?"

"Alexis told me." She put another cookie into her mouth.

"Wait…Alexis told you Kristin doesn't like her father?" Scud was now extremely confused.

"No, Kristin told me that…Alexis told me that her father likes Kristin."

"Wow…Thank goodness Kristin isn't into him…I mean, that would be just weird…the guy may be good looking and rich, but isn't she a little too young for him?"

"Tell me about it…." Lucy shivered at the thought. She had nothing against Michel. If he were dating some other young chick, she wouldn't care. But this is Kristin they're talking about, she could be Amy, she's not going to let someone take the blonde away from her. Since they were on the subject of talking about Michel, she remembered something that was bothering her.

"How does Michel know that I'm gay?"

"He does?"

"I think Michel was trying to set me up with Alexis. Because at Ashley's birthday party, he told me to take her out shopping and go to the movies and…he said…." She held both of her hands up, each hand holding up the index and middle finger and crooking them as she spoke. "…do whatever you girls do." Scud's jaw immediately dropped.

Shocked. "He did not say that?"

Lucy nodded "mmm hmmm…he did….the more I think about it now, it does seem like he was trying to set me up."

Scud pondered for a moment. "No…that's not like him. I've never heard him swear or talk about women when we're alone. It doesn't sound like him. Maybe he didn't mean it that way.

Lucy shrugged. "Maybe..." She didn't really care since she had no interest in Alexis. _If he did know I was gay, then he must have liked me enough to set me up with his daughter._

"So Michel knows his daughter is gay?"

"That's what Alexis told me."

"How does Alexis know you're gay?"

"Oh…Alexis said one of the waitress at the Café de Paris knows the girl from my blind date." She said while chewing on a cookie.

After eating a few cookies and drinking some water, her stomach was no longer growling. "Well, I'm going take a shower and go to bed. I'm going to go surprise her in the morning, see who she's hiding."

"Wait, you're just going to her apartment early in the AM to see her….Don't you need an excuse?"

"I'll think of something." Lucy said smiling and went to her master bedroom.

Just a couple of days ago, he was told that Kristin was upset with her and it didn't seem that they were that close that she could just show up in her apartment. Now from what Lucy had just said, it seemed that that was not the case anymore.

"Looks like I'll be going to work alone again." He said but no one heard. From the way she was smiling, he knew Lucy had once again left some juicy details out of the events that happened tonight. He rolled his eyes and let out a big sigh. After a moment, he got up and yelled loudly so that she could hear him from her bedroom. "LUCY, YOU HAVE TO TELL ME ALL THE DETAILS OR I AM NOT GOING TO HELP YOU…YOU GOT THAT!" With that, he walked towards the door and slammed it hard behind him.

Inside the bedroom, Lucy just smiled at her friend's outburst.

* * *

In the hospital

An elderly woman lay on a hospital bed in a private room. Next to her sat Michel and Alexis, both had a look of worry. On a comfortable sofa slept a very tired Ashley.

"Alexis, it's getting late, Jehan will take you and Ashley home. I'll stay with her tonight." Michel held his mother's hand.

"Dad, is grandma going to be ok?"

"Doctor said she's stable now. She's going to be ok." Michel tried to assure her, but deep down he wasn't so sure himself. In Michel's eyes, his mother was the most caring and understanding woman. When he told her about his plans of marrying his girlfriend at age 19, she never tried to talk him out of it. All she did was supported him and helped him through the difficult times of his life. In order for him to continue with his studies in college, she even quit her career to take care of his first born, Alexis.

Elizabeth Pascal, the wife of Benjamin Couric, worked as an art teacher in a middle school when she was younger. She met Benjamin Couric through a friend in her 30's and married him after 3 years of dating. What attracted her to him were his hardworking qualities, intelligence, and kindness. The fact that he helped support his parents even after graduating from college showed her that he was very caring and family oriented. After giving birth to Michel, she continued to work in the job she loved while her husband worked as a financial analyst working his way up in a large financial company at that time. Even after her husband became financially stable and was able to fully support the family, she did not quit her job. As an art teacher, she had no interest in her husband's businesses. Both loved to have more children but unfortunately, she was not able to give Michel any siblings due to health issues and had miscarried twice. However, with Michel as her only child, she was able to devote all of her attention to him and was extremely happy with the way he turned out.

When Benjamin Couric walked into the private room, he was ignored by Michel and Alexis.

As a young child, Alexis noticed the cold attitude his father had towards his dad. All these years, she never experienced the love that other granddaughters have from their grandfather. It was her grandmother who gave her the motherly love that she never had and taught her how to become an open-minded, lively, confident, creative, and caring person. It was her grandmother who got her interested in the field of art that ultimately led her to pursue a career in fashion design. It was her grandmother who had encouraged her to seek her birth mother. She was the reason why she worked odd jobs so she can learn new things. Her grandma had taught her that the only way to live fully, to experience life, to find yourself is to not walk the easy path, a path that somebody else has chosen for you. Without her, they would never visit her grandfather on special occasions. Still today, she wondered what the reason was that set off their bad relationship.

"Michel, I just spoke with the doctor. She's going to be all right. Why don't you take the girls home and come back tomorrow? I'll be with her tonight."

After a moment of silence, seeing that her father did not respond, Alexis pulled her father's arm. "Papa?"

Michel got up and looked at his dad. "Alright, if anything happens, I mean anything, you have to call me." His father nodded. Michel walked over to the sofa and carried Ashley in his arms and left the room. Before leaving, Alexis saw how sad her grandfather was. She believed that he too was worried, so she decided to walk towards him to give him a hug. Wrapping her arms around him, she did not say a word. After a moment, she let go and walked out of the room, leaving the elderly man standing silently with a small smile slowly appearing on his face. That was first time he felt her embrace.

* * *

Breathing heavily, she ran up the stairs. She could hear them following her. She ran as high up as she could go and there in front of her, was a steel door. Luckily, the door was only locked by a barrel bolt. The lock was tight. After jiggling it several times, she was finally able to slide it open. Kicking the door with all her strength, the door slammed hard against the wall on the other side. She ran to the ledge looking for any ladder or anything to help her escape. Sweat was dripping down her forehead. Her heart was pounding and she was panting heavily. There was no escape and she couldn't find anything on the roof to defend herself against those who were catching up to her. She stood on the ledge of the roof looking down. _Is this the end?_

"Give up, you have nowhere else to go." One of the men yelled out behind her. There were five of them and all had guns.

"Stand back or I'm going to jump." She warned.

"Don't do this." The men spread out and tried to get close to her.

The man on one end spoke to try to get her attention. "We're not going to hurt you." He said while putting his gun away. The others did the same.

"We just need you to come with us." He continued.

When the man on the other end saw that she wasn't looking his way, he ran up and tried to grab her arm. Feeling the grip on her left forearm, she violently flung her arm to break free of his grasp. As a result of using too much force, she lost balance.

"Aaahhhh!" She cried out as loud as she could as she fell from the top of the Eiffel Tower. The drop was so long, it felt like there was no end to it. After a while, she could no longer scream and just closed her eyes, waiting for the end to meet her. Suddenly, she felt one arm behind her legs and another arm on her back, carrying her. She was no longer falling hard, just slowly descending at a turtle's pace. She opened her eyes and turned to look at her savior.

"Hi"

"Keira?"

The brunette was wearing a dark outfit with a black cape with an image of a pyramid shaped diamond on her chest. The suit was so tight, it showed her defined muscles. After looking around and realizing she was still in the air, she panicked and grabbed hold of anything around her, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"Easy…I've got you." She flashed her signature diamond smile at her.

"You – you've got me, who's got you?" She said in a high pitch voice.

Without saying a word, she kept her eyes locked onto the brunette's dark brownish eyes as the cape crusader slowly flew down to safe ground.

Once they landed, the brunette carefully let her down on the ground. "You're safe now."

"My hero." Kristin whispered and leaned in to kiss her…passionately.

She wrapped her hands around her neck while the brunette held her tightly around her waist. Tasting the smooth sweet lips of her savior, her heart began to beat faster. After a while, out of breath, Kristin pulled back, panting heavily to get air into her lungs. Keira, however, was still breathing normally, and continued to place gentle kisses on her cheek then along her neck, making her shiver. She had no idea what was going through her mind at the moment. What Keira was doing to her was driving her absolutely crazy and she didn't want her to stop. Then she heard something. Two short sound. "Did you hear that?" She whispered, her eyes still closed. The brunette did not respond and continued to place a trail of small kisses down her neck. When she felt warm hands on her abs, slowly gliding up to her chest, she could feel goose bumps rising on her arms, body, and neck. Her breathing became quick and she let out an involuntary moan. _Oh God!_ She could feel herself getting 'started.' The brunette once again captured her lips. After a moment, when the annoying sound kept repeating, she finally couldn't stand it any longer and reluctantly opened her eyes. Sonofabitch! She shouted when she found herself on her bed, snuggling a pillow.

"Who's ringing the bell so early in the morning? " She yelled. Frustrated with whoever interrupted her wet dream, she angrily got up and walked to the door to see who it was. Dressed in her sleeping clothes and with her hair all messed up, she opened the chained door. She was so angry, she forgot to look through the peephole first.

Surprised with whom she saw at the other side of the door, she immediately slammed the door shut. Quickly, she used her fingers to brush her hair and rubbed her eyes clean. Before opening the door, she let out a deep breath.

"Hi Keira, what are you doing here?" She said calmly, smiling. "Sorry about that, the chain is...kind of stuck."

"Hi...sorry to disturb you, were you still sleeping?"

"Yea…I was actually….but I'm happy to see you." Kristin invited her inside.

Once inside the apartment, she noticed that Kristin was a wearing a blue tank top and blue boy shorts. Her hair was still a little messy and she could tell that she must be sweating in her sleep since the tank top was a little wet. Unable to control herself, her eyes scanned the beautiful woman with the perfect body in front her, from her chest to her long legs and back up again, swallowing a few times.

When Kristin noticed the way she looked at her, she realized what she was wearing and quickly excused herself and walked to the bathroom. Once inside the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror, she noticed how red here cheeks were. _Oh my god! _Keira obviously noticed it as well. Trying to calm herself down and hoping to get her normal skin color back, she breathed in and out, in and out repeatedly. _Damn it, it's not working. _As she walked out of the bathroom, she covered one side of her face with a hand towel.

"Hey Keira, I'm going to take a quick shower. Help yourself in the kitchen." Quickly, she walked into the bedroom, grabbed her clothing, shut the door and walked back into the bathroom.

Seeing that the blonde had shut the bedroom door, Keira didn't think it would be a good idea to go in there. The blonde did say it was going to be a quick shower. So she went into the kitchen instead. She opened one of the kitchen cabinets and saw how empty it was. _She must be hiding in there last night. _It looked like it could fit a thin female. That mystery person couldn't have slept on the small couch. She couldn't have slept in Kristin's bed because she knew that the bedroom could only fit a twin-sized bed. So she must have left last night. Unable to find anything else unusual, she decided to go back to the living room to watch tv.

After a few minutes, the bathroom door opened.

"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting. Did you find everything ok?" She asked while drying her hair. She was wearing a white short sleeve shirt with horizontal pink lines with some pictures in the center and a gray ¾ length pants with side and back pockets. The outfit was perfect for the summer time.

Lucy nodded and kept her eyes on the blonde as she walked over to sit next to her. "So…what brought you here so early?"

"Oh…right…Since I don't have your number, I thought I dropped by to see if you're free today. I was wondering if you would like to go to Disneyland with me."

Last night, she promised her to go out with her, but she didn't realize it was going to be this soon. "Don't you have to go to work?" Kristin asked.

Lucy wasn't sure if she ever told her what she does for a living, so she decided to not give her all the details for now. "Not today….I took a day off. "

_She took a day off so she could go out with me._ _That is so sweet._ "Let me call Michel to see if he need me to take care of Ashley today." Since it was still early, they decided to go eat breakfast first and call later.

At a small diner, Lucy ordered herself scrambled eggs, toast, breakfast potatoes and coffee. She wondered what the blonde would eat for breakfast. If she were Amy, she would order a tofu scramble or some sort of vegetarian meal or drink.

"I'll have the same with orange juice." She said to the waitress.

"So, I'm guessing you're not a vegetarian." Lucy asked after the waitress left.

"Me?…no…I don't think I could ever become a vegetarian…I just don't know how others do it."

_So she's not a vegetarian._

"I don't think I can last a week without eating meat. But I do know someone who's a vegetarian and she sure loves her smoothies. Can you imagine eating tofu scramble for breakfast? ...Yuck…I don't know how she eats that stuff."

"Tofu scramble? I wonder what that would taste like." Kristin noticed the way she talked about her friend.

Lucy was disappointed to learn that she's not a vegetarian. "Do you want to try some?" Lucy motioned for the waitress to come to her table and asked for tofu scramble. Unfortunately the waitress had no idea what that is.

"Maybe you could get the recipe from your friend?"

"Actually, I haven't seen her for 2 years, so I don't know where she is….we lost contact." Keira said, looking at Kristin, hoping she would believe her. She had wanted her try the tofu scramble to see her reaction.

When Kristin was about to ask more questions, the waitress came with the food. Keira knew she had to change the subject and fast. _I'm here to find more about her, not the other way around._ She reminded herself.

"So where are you from?" Lucy asked after taking a sip of her coffee.

"Iowa, you?"

"Spain, have you been there?"

"No, but I would love to go someday. You know, that's where a lot of the famous artists get their ideas. If I get a chance to go there," She looked at nothing, just thinking about the places she wanted to visit. "I would want to see everything: the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Museo del Prado, Picasso Museum, and try their paella." She inhaled deeply and let out a happy sigh. "That's one of my dreams."

The way Kristin talked about art, it reminded her of Amy. She and Amy had been to all of those places. But she didn't find it as interesting as Amy did. What she did thought about when she was at the museum was thinking of ways to steal the paintings. She would never steal again, of course. It was one way to keep her mind active and occupied while Amy spent her time admiring the paintings.

As Lucy placed her hand over hers, the blonde stopped eating and slowly turned to look at her.

Lucy said softly. "If you would like to go, I can take you…tomorrow. Maybe we can spend a few days there. You don't have to worry about money. We can go to Madrid for one day, then Barcelona, then…"

Kristin's green eyes bored into the chocolate brown eyes as the brunette continued talking about her plans. She could not believe that this woman whom she just met for a couple of days was already trying to fulfill one of her dreams.

"…after that, we could ride on one of those gondola boats, just you and me, with the guy singing in the back. What do you think?"

After a moment, the blonde burst out laughing. She was laughing so loud, she attracted the attention of everyone in the restaurant.

"What's so funny?"

"You just said the gondola. That's in Venice, not Spain." She said while holding her stomach. She laughed so hard, her belly hurts.

Lucy realized that Kristin had been staring at her but had not been listening. The blonde didn't hear the part where she said she would take her to Italy after the trip to Spain. Not wanting to embarrass her, she said.

"Oh…well, maybe they have one in Spain since they have one in Las Vegas."

When she was finally able to control her laughter, she extended her hand out to touch Lucy's face. "You are just so sweet." She pulled her hand back. "Thank you…but I don't think I can."

"Why not?"

"For one thing, don't you have to go to work?"

"Ummm...about that, I never told you what I do for a living. Did I?"

Kristin shook her head.

"I…own a company and I have Scott to manage it with me. So I don't have to go to work if I don't want to."

Kristin knew she could afford a lot of things when she saw the type of car she was driving and the apartment she was living in. But she didn't know that she could be the owner of a company, at such a young age.

"Oh…but I have to work."

"Can't you take a few days off? I'm sure Michel wouldn't mind. We could take the plane and we'll be there in 3 hours." The blonde did not say anything. Lucy noticed her hesitation and did not want to push her. "Think about it and when you feel you can, just let me know." Hearing that, Kristin nodded and smiled.

If she didn't have something else to do, she would have said yes at that moment. _I wonder if they let me. They did tell me to have some fun to get the stress out. _She thought to herself.

After breakfast, they decided to walk around the block before calling Michel since it was still early. Walking side by side, both did not say anything and just enjoyed the beautiful sunny morning, breathing in the fresh air. Both took a glance of each other from time to time and smiled. They were like kids walking with their first love. Several times, their hands touched when they tried to avoid people passing by them. Kristin thought the brunette was going to hold her hand but was disappointed when she didn't. They continued to walk side by side, just wasting time.

As they walked through a more crowded street, someone bumped into Kristin from behind. After he apologized and before he started to walk away, Kristin grabbed a hold of his wrist and twisted it so that his arm was on his back. While he screamed in pain, she kicked the back of his knee causing him to kneel on the ground. Everyone around them watched as she yelled out 'pickpocket' to let everyone know what was happening. Lucy was stunned at what she saw. The blonde took out the wallet from his coat pocket and asked Lucy to hold it for her. In another coat pocket, she found another wallet and gave it to Lucy to check.

"Looks like he's been busy." Lucy said.

When Kristin turned her head towards Lucy, another man from behind ran towards her and pushed her aside and into the brunette. He quickly helped the other 'pickpocket' get off the ground and both ran away. Luckily, Lucy was able to hold her balance and wrapped her arms around the blonde to prevent her from falling.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked.

"I'm fine."

Lucy asked holding another wallet. "Should we go to the police station?" In her mind, she hoped she didn't have to.

As Kristin was about to speak, a women in her 50's walked up to them and they were able to confirm that the wallet belonged to her.

"So, looks like I'm not the only one with some self defense skills." Lucy asked as they started walking back to the car.

"I took a few Tae Kwon Doe classes when I was a kid." She lied.

"Oh?…what color belt?"

"black"

"Which level?"

"8th"

Lucy stopped walking, shocked at what she just heard.

8th dan is the second grandmaster level. There are 10 dan levels and the last level is the honorary grandmaster level. It takes many years to reach that level. For her to reach that level at her age is very impressive.

When Kristin said she wasn't a vegetarian, Lucy wasn't happy about it because Amy had always been a vegetarian. But then she thought if a person could convert to vegetarianism during their lifetime, then the other way around could be possible too. Now finding out that the blonde does have some martial arts skills, there is a strong possibility that she could be Amy. "So I guess you could have taken out that guy the other night too."

Kristin looked at her and told her the truth. "Yes…if he didn't have a knife against your throat." She extended her hand out to touch her neck. "Does it still hurt?"

Taking the opportunity, Lucy reached for her hand, held it firmly and brought it to her chest.

With the back of her hand against the brunette's chest, the blonde could feel the rapid beating of her heart.

"Not anymore." Still holding her hand, Lucy lowered it to her side and both started walking slowly towards the car. With palm clasped together, they swung it back and forth like a swing. Both were smiling.

"I think I should I call Michel now."

Lucy nodded and reluctantly let go of her hand.

Hiding her hands behind her back, Lucy crossed her fingers hoping that the blonde wouldn't have to baby sit Ashley today.

"Hi, Michel. I was wondering if you need me to take care of Ashley today." She said while looking at the brunette. "uh huh..okay..okay….I'll be right there." She hung up.

Hearing the last sentence, Lucy's heart dropped and her smile quickly disappeared. Her plans just got ruined.

"Hey, how about we take Ashley with us?"

"Sure…that'll work." She said with a fake smile. _Well, I guess it's better than not seeing her at all. _She started walking and the blonde followed from behind.

In front of the car, Lucy took out her keys. She wasn't too happy about taking the kid with her. Even though she liked Ashley, she was looking forward to their date. _A date should be just the two of us._ She can just picture it now. She probably can't even hold her hands with the kid tagging along. Every ride in Disneyland, the kid would be between them. She wouldn't be able to touch her, to feel her, or even kiss her. _Well, I probably can't kiss her anyway with all those kids around._ _Today is just going to be awful._ _It would be like…like…babysitting. _She looked up and sighed out loud.

From behind her, Kristin noticed she was standing next to the car for a long time. She knew what the brunette was thinking.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Kristin asked from behind.

Lucy turned around. "Yeah…fine…just fine." She turned back to what she was doing before, fumbling with her keys.

With a smirk, Kristin walked up behind her and whispered into her ear. "Got ya." Lucy's head shot up and saw Kristin smiling at her as she walked to the other side of the car. Realizing that she had been totally fooled by the blonde, her disappointment turned into a smile and she started to chase after her. _Who says blondes are dumb? _Running in circles around the car, playing the cat and mouse game, she could see that the blonde was having a lot of fun when she stuck her tongue at her. Lucy wasn't even sure what she would do when she catches her. They've been running for a few minutes now and both were breathing hard. _Somebody has to give up and it's not going to be me._

Seeing that the blonde had stopped to take a rest, Lucy took this opportunity and ran after her again. "Owww!" She cried out and dropped to the ground.

Kristin quickly ran towards her and knelt down next to her. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah…just hit my knee…" She winced in pain while rubbing her 'injured' knee. She had accidentally bumped her right knee against the corner of the bumper.

Kristin helped the brunette up and walked towards the driver's side. When she saw the brunette limping, she held out her hand. "Give me your keys, I'll drive."

"You know how to drive?"

"I might not have a car, but I do have a license." She wiggled her fingers as a signal to have her hand the keys over.

The brunette hesitated.

"Trust me."

Lucy took her keys out and slowly dropped it onto her palm. "Be careful, she's my baby." She said and Kristin rolled her eyes.

Disneyland

9AM

"We're here." It took an hour to get there. She turned off the engine and took the keys out. "See…not a scratch on your baby." Lucy was extremely impressed with her driving, no sudden stops, no sudden turns that could make people nauseous, just a smooth ride all the way. Compared to Amy, she was a better driver. She wondered how long the blonde had been driving.

"Have you been here before?" Lucy asked.

"I have…with Ashley…maybe this time, I can get to ride the space mountain."

"Sounds good to me."

As she walked over to the driver side to open the door, the blonde stared at her. Kristin got out of the car and pointed to it. "Your knee?"

Lucy stretched her leg a few times. "Well, what do you know? It doesn't hurt anymore." She winked at her and smirked and the blonde realized that she had been tricked.

"Shall we?" The brunette offered her hand out which the blonde happily accepted.

At the ticket counter, Lucy asked for two 1-day tickets to all the parks with fast pass. As she was about to take out the money, Kristin stopped her. "Wait…let me pay for it."

"What?…no…you don't have to….I asked you out, remember?"

"That doesn't mean you have to pay for everything."

Seeing how insistent she was on paying, Lucy agreed.

* * *

It was a long day. The first ride they took was the space mountain. It was as fun and exciting as Kristin thought it would be. They rode on the Big Thunder Mountain, the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, the RC Racer, and other rides that she never been on when she was there with Ashley. Thank goodness she bought the fast pass, otherwise they'd have to stand in line for half an hour to get on each ride.

"Do you want to go on the Buzz Lightyear ride before lunch?" Lucy asked.

"The loser pays for lunch. Ok?" Kristin suggested.

"Deal." _Now I can see how well she shoots. Amy may be a good shooter, but not as good as me._

Once inside the ride, each started shooting as soon as they were allowed to. The ride lasted 5 minutes and Lucy won the bet. Kristin was stunned silent when she saw the score…over 800,000 points.

"What?" Lucy said when she saw the shocked look on the blonde's face.

"2 out of 3."

"You're on."

They went on the ride another time and this time Kristin won….over 600,000 points.

"Not fair…my laser was broken…there is no way I could get less than 10,000 points." Lucy complained.

"Maybe the laser was broken the first time." Kristin countered. "All right, one more time and no complaining. Whoever loses buys lunch."

"and the winner gets to ask a question, the loser has to respond truthfully." Lucy added. "Deal?"

Kristin hesitated. She did not expect that. She had so many secrets. She pondered for a moment.

"Deal?" Lucy repeated.

"and the loser has to do whatever the winner says" Kristin decided to add more to the bet. It's sort of like playing poker. She was hoping the brunette would back out.

Now it was Lucy's turn to hesitate. _Looks like she thinks she's going to win._

"…just for today…" Lucy added.

"Deal!" Kristin decided. _I just have to make sure I win._

Inside the dark room, they aimed for the targets with the most points: Diamond (5000 points) and the Triangle (10,000 points). Halfway through the ride, Lucy was on top with Kristin not too far behind. The blond shifted the joystick to rotate the omnimover space vehicle to shoot a Triangle. Success. They're almost at the end of the ride and Kristin now had more points. All Lucy needed now was a diamond and that would put her on top. The ride began to slow down and the blonde kept shooting everything she sees, mostly round targets (100 points).

"Ah hah…found you." Lucy shouted.

Hearing her shout out, Kristin turned to look at the brunette. She saw the brunette aiming her laser with the right hand and her left hand holding the joystick. She can't let her win. Quickly she dropped her own laser, shifted her body next to her, and crushed her lips onto the brunette's, hoping to distract her shooting. That worked. When the ride was over, Kristin finally pulled away with Lucy staring at her, eyes wide open, motionless.

Still stunned at the unexpected kiss, Lucy did not move and kept her gaze at the blonde.

"Are you coming?" Kristin asked as she got off the vehicle.

In the exit queue, she could see her score was one of the top 10. Behind her, Lucy whispered into her ear. "That wasn't fair."

Kristin turned around and cupped her cheeks. "As I recall, we didn't set any rules. Now stop complaining and let's go eat." She grabbed her hand and pulled her outside.

It was a beautiful day. Sitting on a round table outside the restaurant eating hamburger and fries, Kristin noticed that the brunette was still upset with the whole thing_. I would too if I'd lost._ _She's so cute when she's mad. _She chuckled to herself.

What started out as a little chuckle turned into loud uncontrollable laugh. Hearing the blonde laugh so hard, Lucy could not help but look at her. _She even laughs like Amy. _A smile slowly appeared on her face and she was no longer upset. Nothing mattered anymore as long as she could see her again.

"Sorry..." Kristin apologized. "I just can't help myself."

"Okay, I lost. Now what would you like me to do for you and what do you want to ask me?"

Kristin tilted her head and tapped her lips with her fingers, thinking. She didn't want the brunette to do anything for her. She just didn't want to lose the bet.

"I can't think of anything right now."

"Well, just remember, it's only for today. It expires at the stroke of midnight, Cinderella."

Lucy flashed a diamond smile at her.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Chapter 11**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**6PM**

Having gone through most of the rides, they decided to take a stroll through the large park at Disneyland, hand in hand.

Seeing how well the blonde did at the Buzz Lightyear ride, Lucy thought this would be a good opportunity to find more about her. "Where did you learn to shoot like that? "

Kristin knew that she would eventually ask this question. She did get over 900,000 points. No one could do that without having some kind of training or unless the ride stopped in the middle of the course and the space vehicle just happens to be in front of a triangle target. So, she made up a story after the ride was over.

"I learned it myself actually. When I was a kid, my parents would take me to a carnival each year. They have this game where they would give you a stuffed animal for shooting a number of ducks but every year, we would come home empty handed. So when I was about 12, I asked my dad to get me one of those bb guns and I did a lot of practicing in my backyard.

"I'm guessing you came home with a lot of prizes that year." Lucy interrupted.

"mmm..hhmmm…" She nodded. "..so many, it filled my whole bedroom….we ended up giving away most of them…"

"I'm surprised your parents would buy you a bb gun. Most parents would consider that inappropriate for girls and so young."

"Well, I am their only child, so I always get what I want…" She looked down on the ground. "…well, not always." She suddenly thought about her dead parents.

Keira noticed the blonde's mood had suddenly changed.

"…I know full well what the advantages and disadvantages of being the only child."

"You too?" Kristin asked, surprised at the coincidence.

Lucy nodded with a smile.

Kristin debated whether to ask about Keira's parents. Her own parents died from a car accident. If it turned out that her parents were also no longer living, that would definitely ruin the mood. They were in Disneyland. They were on their first date. It was supposed to be fun. So she decided to ask this question some other time.

"What about you? Where did you learn to shoot like that?" Kristin asked, still walking holding hands.

"Unlike you, I learned to shoot using real guns in a shooting range. Have you ever shoot with a real gun?" Lucy asked.

"I have, actually….I tried it a couple of times but I didn't like it. The power of it…throws my target off."

Lucy could not tell if she was telling the truth. The only way to tell was to see her in action. "Maybe I could show you…when you're not busy…we could go to a shooting range to practice."

Kristin hesitated. She wanted to go with her. But if she did go, she would have to pretend she didn't know how to shoot. What would be the fun in that? Although, that would mean that they would go on another date. She guessed she could pretend for a few sessions and then after that, she could let the brunette see who the better shooter really is. And maybe they could do some betting then. Bets always make it more fun, especially if she wins. Kristin smiled at her plan.

"Ok, I love to." She said as she turned to look at Keira, whose eyes were focusing on something or someone else.

Something caught the attention of the brunette and her eyes followed two pretty young women in extremely short denim shorts walking towards them. Kristin followed Keira's line of sight and noticed what had her mesmerized and immediately pulled her hand away and stopped walking. At the sudden loss of contact, Lucy turned and directed her attention back to her date.

Seeing Kristin standing in front of her with her arms crossed, it looked like she was upset about something.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked, confusion all over her face.

The blonde moved her head to motion her to look at the direction where the two young women were and Lucy turned her head to look at that them.

Still confused, she asked again. "What?"

"You were staring at them." She stated with a slight frown and upset tone.

Finally understanding why the blonde's mood had suddenly changed, she responded in a gentle voice. "I wasn't looking at them, I was looking at what they were holding."

Kristin looked at the two women and realized that she made a mistake. Feeling her blush rising up her neck and over her face, she quickly started walking at a rapid pace to hide her embarrassment.

With a big smile, Lucy caught up with her and once again held her hand firmly.

"C'mon let's go." Lucy said.

"Where?"

"To get some ice cream, looks like they got them over there." She pointed at the store.

"Wait…you can't eat ice cream…"

"It's ok…A little bit of ice cream won't bother me."

Kristin realized that when it comes to deserts, the brunette has no will power.

"Keira…" She cupped her right cheek. "Remember how much pain you went thru last time…the stomach ache, the cold, the trembling…." She reminded her as if she was talking to little Ashley.

"mmm hmm.." Lucy nodded. "I also remember what happened afterwards….and I wouldn't mind if that happened again." She wiggled her eyebrows and flashed her diamond smile.

Kristin rolled her eyes and grabbed her hand. "C'mon, let's go home…"

* * *

While driving back to Paris, Lucy took a glance at her date, resting comfortably in the passenger seat, holding on to a 17 inch Minnie Mouse plush toy that she had won for her at the claw machine. She was lucky enough to win it with only 3 tries. The man who played it before her tried it so many times and spent so much money, he finally gave up when his girlfriend got tired of waiting and walked away.

"Are you free on Friday night?" Lucy asked.

"I was wondering if you would like to watch Spiderman 2 with me?" Seeing how well things went today, she thought it would be a good time to ask her out again. She really wanted to watch Spiderman 2 on the big screen before they take it down.

Kristin pondered for a moment. Spending time with someone other than the Courics would definitely take the stress away from her mission. Besides, she really wanted to watch the movie with her. Watching it with anyone else would just not be the same. She hoped that Michel wouldn't ask her out to watch a movie again. If he did, she had no idea how to get out of it. Her mission was to get close to him. How the heck was she going to get his trust if she kept rejecting him? Today had been extremely fun, so she decided not to think about work.

"Okay…I think I'm free that night." She said happily.

"Then maybe on Saturday we can go to the beach?" Lucy continued.

Smiling at the brunette, she couldn't believe that she already had plans for their 2nd and 3rd date.

"I don't know what my schedule is yet…I might have to work…we'll see."

Lucy nodded and was satisfied that she agreed to their 2nd date. There will be other opportunities to take her to the beach. She wanted to know if she could swim. If she says she doesn't know how, then that would be pretty easy to find out. Just carry her to the water and drop her. But if she says she knew how, then she'll just pretend to have leg cramps while swimming and then have the blonde rescue her. Amy could do that. If Kristin could, then that just adds to the possibility that she could be Amy. And it would be a good chance to see what the blonde has on her body: scars, tattoos. Amy didn't have any of those.

"Hey, look over there." Kristin said as she pointed at the huge Ferris wheel in front of them. "Can we go there?"

"You want to go up there? It's going to get dark soon."

"It's going to be even more beautiful in the dark."

"I don't think it's a good idea. Maybe we should just go eat."

It was still early and the blonde didn't want to go home yet. She had such a good time today just being herself, she didn't want to end it so early. "Do I need to remind you who won the bet?"

"Rrr..ight…" _I guess my plans will have to wait. _Lucy thought to herself.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the carnival where the ferris wheel was located. It was truly a magnificent sight when the 200 feet high wheel, consisting of about 30 unenclosed cars, lit up in front of them. Everyone was in awe.

Once inside the passenger car, Lucy could see how happy and excited the blonde was. As the car moved higher and higher, she could feel the car swinging more and more. Looking up, she could see the night sky with glistening stars. Looking down, she could see the ground moving further and further and further away. No longer able to see the ground, her heart suddenly began to pound faster and faster. Suddenly she was afraid to move and she quickly turned her eyes away from the ground. She grabbed onto the lap bar with both hands. She shut her eyes tight. _What's happening to me? _She thought to herself.

She had been on a Ferris wheel before when she was a kid and it never bothered her. Having climbed on buildings during heists in her past criminal days, she knew she wasn't afraid of heights. She wasn't afraid of flying. But this was different somehow. It was 200 feet high and she was sitting in a 2-passenger unenclosed car with squeaking sound coming out of it as it swung back and forth. Knowing that there was nothing attached to her body to secure her from falling and only a tiny bar to hold onto, her mind started to panic on its own. Maybe she was out of practice or maybe she was getting too old for this. She had no idea. When she tried to take a peek at her surroundings, she couldn't even keep it open for a few seconds. With her eyes shut, she could feel the car swinging even more. _Oh god. Don't move. _Her breathing quickened and color drained from her face. Her whole body became stiff and her palms began to sweat. If this were an enclosed car, this wouldn't be happening. She thought. But it was too late to stop now.

"Keira, isn't this beautiful?" Kristin said as she looked around the night sky with shining stars and the city with lights underneath.

Not hearing a response, she looked to her left and noticed that the brunette had her eyes shut tight, sitting very still against the side of her seat.

"What's wrong, Keira?"

Seeing the sweat dripping off her forehead, she realized that the brunette might be having a panic attack.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Kristin asked with a concerned look.

It's been only 1 minute; 6 minutes to go before the end of the ride.

"No…I…I…don't know what's happening to me…." The brunette managed to speak with her eyes closed.

"Oh God…" She cried out as she felt her heart suddenly rise when the car began to descend.

"Oh my God! Why didn't you tell me?"

She drew a deep shuddering breath. "I…I…I'll be fine….just need to hold on…." Her eyes still closed. Her body was stiff and glued to her seat.

Kristin could tell how scared she was when she felt the stiffness of her forearm.

"Here, grab onto me." She said as she moved to closer to her and struggled to loosen the brunette's right hand from the bar and placed it around her waist.

The blonde did the same and wrapped her right arm around her waist and held on to the top of the seat with her left hand. She then placed her head on top of her right shoulder and allowed the brunette to move her face into the crook of her neck. "It's ok…I got you." She tried to comfort her.

With her body so close together, Kristin could feel the brunette's rapid heartbeat.

"I'm sorry…I…don't know why this is happening." She took in a few deep breaths, trying to slow down her rapid heartbeat.

"It's ok…It's almost over." She said as she placed a kiss on the brunette's head. "But if this is one of your tricks to get close to me, you are so going to get it when we get off this." She knew this was not a joke. She was merely trying to distract the brunette from her thoughts by talking, hoping that it would help.

Lucy let out a small laugh. "I swear…this isn't…" With her teeth clenched, she stopped speaking when she felt her heart ached once again as the car started to descend. The blonde could feel how much this was affecting her when she felt the brunette's tight grip on her waist. "This…is not…how I want to impress my first date."

The blonde smiled but the brunette could not see. "What did you have in mind?"

Lucy said in a trembling voice as the car started to ascend. "A day of…fun and a romantic…dinner…afterwards."

"A romantic dinner…that sounds nice…I'm getting hungry already." As the wheel made it to the top, she continued talking to distract her.

"Tell me…Keira, why did you design the diamond in the shape of a pyramid? Did you fell in love with the Egyptians or something?"

Lucy knew what the blonde was trying to do. So she also tried to get her mind to focus on her question. "It's the Louvre."

"Ohhh…"

"Was that the question for the day?..from the bet?"

"Oh no…you're not getting off that easily." Kristin smiled.

"Ok, but the next question you ask will be it." Lucy said, holding her breath when the car descended again. She found that her heart doesn't ache as much when she held her breath.

"One more turn, Keira, and we can go have our romantic dinner." She whispered into her ear.

"Okay" When the car moved up, it did not bother her that much. It's when the car get to the highest point that make her heart beat out of control.

As if someone up there wanted to teach her a lesson for all of those bad things she's done, the car suddenly stopped at the highest point. A screeching mechanical sound was heard and the unenclosed car swung back and forth widely like a pendulum; screams were heard from other cars.

"What's happening?" Lucy asked, afraid to look, afraid to move. Her breathing became quick.

Kristin had no idea what happened. All she could see were the bright lights on the wheel. She looked down but couldn't see much. "Nothing…the ride's over…they're just letting the people get off." She lied.

"Then why are the people screaming?"

"It's going to be ok." She could feel the brunette breathing in and out rapidly on her neck.

"Look, Keira…look at how beautiful the sky is." She tried to distract her from their current situation.

After a moment, Keira slowly lifted her head and found the courage to open her eyes. As she looked up, she could see the dark sky filled with distant stars, stars that looked like diamonds. It was beautiful. As she drew in a deep breath, inhaling the warm summer evening air, she felt a hand on her right cheek, bringing her face to look at the glimmering green eyes in front of her.

"See…there's nothing to be afraid of." Kristin whispered as she looked into those mesmerizing chocolate brown eyes.

At the corner of her eyes, Lucy could see the spectacular view of the city with lights. Her eyes, as if it had a mind on their own, slowly moved down.

When the blonde noticed this, she quickly cupped her other cheek with her other hand, preventing her from looking down, and moved her face closer to the brunette's.

"Look at me….there is nothing to be afraid of." She repeated.

For a short moment, Kristin had her date under control. She felt Keira's body starting to relax.

Suddenly they felt another jolt. Keira's eyes started to wander everywhere. Kristin could tell that the frightened woman was about to go into panic mode again. "Keira, look at me." This time, the brunette did not listen. With sweat dripping from her forehead, the brunette closed her eyes and grabbed firmly onto the lap bar again.

If they don't get this thing moving soon, Kristin was afraid that Keira was going to pass out. She couldn't have that happening, not now. If she passed out, she wouldn't be able to hold on to her. So she had think of something quick. She leaned in and kissed her.

Lucy opened her eyes and Kristin continued peppering kisses on her lips.

"What are...you doing?" Lucy mumbled between kisses.

"Trying…to…distract…you." The blonde continued to kiss her. "Is…it…working?" Lucy did not respond. When she felt the brunette's lips gently move onto hers, she knew it was working.

With her eyes closed, Lucy continued to kiss her deeply. When out of breath, she pulled back and wasted only a short of amount time to get air into her lungs before planting sensual kisses on Kristin's cheek and neck. After a moment, the car started to move but the brunette did not notice.

Kristin shuddered as she felt the brunette's smooth lips over her neck. Goose bumps started to rise all over her arms and neck. Her own heartbeat pounded faster and faster. "Oh…God…" _Did I just say that out loud?_ She opened her eyes. She was beginning to think that this was a bad idea. This is not the right time nor the right place to do this.

"Keira…" Hearing no response, she spoke a little louder. "Keira"

"hmmmm" The brunette moaned as she continued to leave trails of kisses down her neck.

"You're..safe…now."

Lucy stopped. Her eyes opened and she lifted her head to look at the blonde who was blushing immensely. Looking around and realizing that they were close to the ground but not so close where people could see them, she let out a deep breath and thanked the blonde internally for stopping her ahead of time before they become the center of attention.

* * *

On their way to the restaurant, neither of them spoke a word. Lucy took a few glances at the blonde and saw that she was deep in thought with a grin on her face. She couldn't believe what just happened. Even though she was happy with the outcome, she knew she had to overcome her fear somehow. She could see it now…the infamous Lucy Diamond…afraid of heights…her enemies…her friends…If word gets out, she'll be the laughing stock of the Underground. _Yup._ _I definitely have to take care of the problem. _

"What are you thinking about?" Lucy asked to break the uncomfortable silence.

Kristin immediately turned towards her. "Nothing…I was just thinking about what to ask you." What she was really thinking about was how she could allow herself to do what she did back there. They were practically making out on a Ferris wheel on their first date and she was the one who initiated it. She did it to help her, to save her, to distract her from having a panic attack. She kept telling herself. She hoped that no one saw them. She couldn't help thinking of that wet dream that she had that morning and how crazy it was. _She's afraid of heights...and I saved her_. She internally laughed at herself.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"mmm….I know what you do. I know where you live and where you're from. I know what you're allergic to and what you're afraid of."

_Is it too soon to ask her about her past relationships? _Kristin thought to herself.

"That night, when you said you were in love before. What happened?"

Surprised that she had asked this question, Keira started to slow down the car. She wondered if she should tell her about Amy.

After a long moment without hearing a response, Kristin apologized. "Sorry, if that's too personal. I take it back. You don't have to tell me."

"She left me."

Kristin did not say anything. At that moment, she realized it was an unrequited love that the brunette had experienced. That was the reason Keira had wanted her to tell Michel the truth the first day they met. She thought to herself.

"I had a difficult time letting go and…I …" She slowed down to make a turn.

_Did she try to hurt herself? _"You what?"

"I secluded myself in…" She paused. She wondered if she should tell her about Reykjavik. "…in another country for 2 years."

Kristin was shocked after hearing the brunette's confession. Having been on this mission for a year, she felt lonely sometimes, she couldn't imagine what it would be like to be away from friends and family for 2 years and with a broken heart. "What did you do in those 2 years?"

"absolutely…nothing.…just dwelled into useless thoughts…."

"What about your friends and family? They must be worried about you." As soon as she asked the question, she regretted and wished the brunette didn't hear her.

"My parents….they passed away many years ago." Lucy said.

_Shit. _Kristin blamed herself for asking the question. Having lost her own parents at a young age, she felt depressed every time someone brings up memories of her parents. Keira must have felt the same way. But at this point, it was too late to take it back. So she didn't say anything and allowed Keira to continue.

"Friends…I have Scott. He called me from time to time to make sure I'm ok."

Kristin now understood why she was so emotional that night, why she didn't want her to lead Michel on. She was hurt and depressed for 2 years. She must have really loved her.

"Do you still love her?" Kristin asked.

Keira did not respond. _Maybe she still does and didn't want to tell me._ She thought to herself.

Lucy heard the question but did not want to respond until she finished parking her car. After successfully parallel parked her car, she shut off the engine. "We're here." She said as she stared at Kristin.

Kristin looked down on the floor. She wondered if she should ask the question again. _Maybe she didn't hear me the first time_. She really wanted to know. _Why would she ask me out if she is still in love with her?_ Some people do that. One way to get over your last relationship is to start a new one. _Am I the rebound girl? This will be the first and last date if that's the case._ She shook herself out of her thoughts. "Keira, do you…?" Before she could finish, Keira responded.

"No. I stopped loving her a long long time ago." Lucy said in a serious tone. She wondered if she should say more to convince her. She paused and looked to see the blonde's reaction.

Seeing the blonde's smile slowly appearing, Lucy knew Kristin was satisfied with the answer.

* * *

Once inside the restaurant, Kristin could see that it definitely had a romantic feel to it. It had dim lighting, individual booths against the walls, tables in the center, soothing music and a small stage in the front with a piano.

After they ordered their meal, Kristin looked around.

"This is a really nice place. Does this place require reservation?" Kristin asked.

"…a few days in advance..." Lucy said as she flipped open the menu.

"Were you thinking of taking someone else here?"

Lucy looked up at her and realized what the blonde was thinking. "Usually it requires a reservation, but I know someone who works here, so I was able to…you know…pull a few strings." She whispered and winked at her.

"Oh…I hope you didn't have to give him any extra tips…I mean…we could go somewhere that…"

"I didn't….but if I have to, I would…..I want tonight to be special." Lucy whispered.

It was their first date. She had it planned from this morning, but things turned out differently than she expect it. If Plan A didn't work, then there's Plan B. Plan A was to go to a romantic French restaurant with a dance floor, but since they were late, she lost the reserved table. Plan B was an American restaurant that she co-owned. It didn't have a dance floor, but the place still has a romantic atmosphere. As for the reservation part, she was lucky that it didn't have a full house. Otherwise, they would have to go to Plan C. Even as a co-owner, she can't just boot someone out of a reservation.

As Lucy was about to reach for her hand, a waiter came back with one drink.

"Wait…we didn't order this." Kristin said. She noticed right away that the drink didn't belong to them because they didn't order any, not even wine. The last thing she wanted to do was get drunk in front of her date. She didn't want to risk the chance of spilling out her secrets under the influence. She had a high tolerance for alcohol, but just to be on the safe side, she decided that all she needed was a glass of iced cold water with a slice of lemon, in case her cheeks started turning red again for whatever reason.

"This is for you from the gentleman over there." Both looked over and saw a man in his 30's. He raised his drink and smiled towards Kristin.

Back in the old days, Lucy would have probably had her men do some damage to that man for showing interest in her date. But she's a different person now. She doesn't have her men following her. Even so, she still could beat the crap out of him if he tries to go after her date.

Lucy smiled and reached out to touch her hand. "He has good taste."

The blonde let out a small sigh and smiled back. "…and you are just so sweet…"

When the waiter came back, Lucy let go of her hand, which the blonde shyly moved it under the table.

"This is from the same gentleman." The waiter said as he placed a business card in front of the blonde.

Lucy saw her frustration as her brows creased.

"Do you want me to take care of it?" Lucy asked softly.

"What are you going to do?"

"I was thinking of just going over there and give him a peace of my mind." She said with a lopsided smile.

"...and if that doesn't work?"

"then I'll ask him to take it out outside and show him some of my self defense skills and kick where it hurts the most."

Kristin covered her mouth as she began laughing. "Are you sure you can handle him?"

"If I can't, then I'll probably need you to save me…again."

Kristin smiled as she shook her head. "I have a better idea." She took the card, held it up and made sure the guy was looking at her, gave him a smile, and tore it in half. Luckily for the man's sake, he took the hint. He covered his heart with both hands, pretended to be hurt and dropped his head on the table.

"I think he got the idea." Lucy said and both started laughing at his actions.

* * *

After they finished with their dinner, Lucy gave a signal to the manager, which Kristin didn't notice.

The piano man, who had been playing the piano the whole evening, spoke through the microphone. "This piece is for all of you whose birthday is Today. Happy Birthday to you and….may all your dreams come true."

As the piano man started playing the Happy Birthday song in C Major, Kristin looked around to see whose birthday it was. She turned to face Keira who smiled at her and her eyebrows raised. She sensed that the brunette was hiding something.

"What's going on?" She whispered.

A few seconds later, a waiter brought in a small cake with one candle lit while 2 waiters outside the booth let down the curtains that hung on the sides of the booth, giving them more privacy.

With eyes wide open, Kristin stared at Keira who simply shrugged.

Inside the private booth, Lucy reached out to hold her hand and whispered. "Happy birthday."

"How did you know?" Kristin asked. Today wasn't her real birthday. It was her fake identity's birthday as Kristin Lang.

"I saw your ID when you gave me your wallet." Lucy said as she rubbed the back of her hand with her thumb.

The blonde pondered for a moment, trying to remember when she gave her the wallet. It was when she took the wallet back from the guy who stole it from her, she had handed it to Keira.

"…so you had this planned from this morning?"

"Yes…but it didn't go the way I planned it since you wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel."

"Oh...sorry….for ruining your plans"

"No apologies….I'm glad we did. I actually enjoyed the end of the ride."

Being reminded of what happened earlier, Kristin felt a blush creep over her cheeks. She shyly pulled her hand away from Keira's and took a gulp of the iced cold lemon water to cool herself down.

Lucy could tell from the color of her cheeks that suddenly changed to a rosy color that she felt embarrassed by it. Lucy never got to celebrate Amy's birthday. Hers was in December. Planning this surprise for the girl in front of her, she felt she was actually celebrating it with Amy. "Make a wish."

Kristin closed her eyes and spent a few seconds in silence before opening them and blew out the candle. As Lucy started slicing the cake, a waiter came with 2 cups of different flavor ice cream.

"Did you order that?"

"Yup, cake tastes better with ice cream on it."

_Not again._ "You know you can't have ice cream."

She nodded with a spoon in her mouth. "I'll just have a tiny scoop." She said as she took the spoon away from her mouth to scoop up the ice cream.

Kristin rolled her eyes and grabbed her hand. "It's not midnight yet, remember, so anything I say, goes." She said softly.

Like a good little kid, listening to her mommy, Lucy dropped the spoon. Kristin smiled at her adorable pout.

* * *

After dinner, Lucy drove her home. They stopped at the front of the apartment. Before going inside, Kristin turned to look at her. _This is where I'll say good night. No more kissing, otherwise she'll think I'm too easy._

"Thank you for tonight. I had a great…." She was interrupted by the ringing of Lucy's phone.

"Excuse me…." Lucy said and picked up the phone.

"Hello…yes…when?….Can't you take care of it?… ….I understand." Lucy hung up.

Seeing the disappointed look on Keira's face, Kristin asked out of concern. "Is everything alright?"

"Yea…that was Scott. I have to cancel our date on Friday. I have to go to a business trip with him."

"Oh…well…business is more important. We can go some other time." Kristin was a little disappointed but tried not to show it.

Lucy held both of her hands. "I'm sorry. I can't get out of it."

"It's ok. I understand."

Lucy was frustrated with Scud for the interruption. He usually could take care of business all by himself.

Suddenly, an idea hit her.

"I know what we can do. The trip is to Venice. Maybe we could go together on Friday night. Then after I get done with business on Saturday, which shouldn't take a whole day, we can spend the weekend touring the museums. It's a weekend. Michel can take care of Ashley himself. Then we can fly back on Monday morning. What do you think?"

They had talked about going to Spain this morning. It was decided that she couldn't go on a weekday because she had to baby sit. In her mind, she really wanted to go even though it wasn't Spain. Venice also has a lot of art museums. She debated whether to ask 'them' for permission or just go with the brunette. From the conversation she had with Kat, it sounded like they would allow her to get away to get her stress out. They had been following Jehan, so there's really not much that she could do even if she stayed in Paris. She was just a small part of the mission, anyway. They already have others infiltrated into his companies.

"You, me and Scott?"

Lucy nodded. "We'll leave Scott in the hotel….then we can go visit the museums…just you and me."

The blonde pondered for a moment.

"OK" She decided, her eyes opened wide in excitement.

"OK?" Lucy was surprised with her response. "Really?"

Kristin nodded.

Lucy stepped closer, looked up at the tall blonde, still holding her hands, and spoke softly. "Then maybe after the museum visits, we can take a ride on the gondola on the quiet, back canals."

Kristin swallowed as Keira moved her face closer to hers. "That…sounds…nice."

Lucy spoke slowly. "We just have to make sure the gondolier can sing because not all of them can." She moved in closer. Kristin tried to move back but her back was already against the door. Her face was now 2 inches from Kristin's.

"Ok." No more kissing. The blonde reminded herself.

Lucy slowly moved her right hand up to brush away the hair that covered over the blonde's eyes.

"Then we can just sit back…relax…enjoy the serenade…just you and me…" Lucy whispered.

Falling into those mesmerizing brown eyes, she couldn't think of anything else to say except repeat what the brunette just said. "..just you and me…"

"Just you…and me…" Lucy said and felt the urge to kiss her. Her eyes darted to Kristin's light pink glossy lips. Kristin noticed this and she knew what the brunette was going to do. Her heart raced out of control. Lucy leaned in closer. Kristin did not move and was still thinking if she should allow this to happen.…closer…it was about to happen, Kristin still did not move…closer…_I should move away._.…closer….She gave in and closed her eyes as she waited for the brunette's lips to touch hers.

As her lips was about to touch the blonde's, the door suddenly opened, causing Kristin to fall back a few steps.

"Hey…you're back…I thought I heard someone at the door." Kat said, holding the knob on the door.

Luckily, Kristin was able to keep her balance. She was shocked to see Kat in her apartment. She was not supposed to be here. If Kat needed to speak with her, the proper procedure was to leave a note slipped into the edge of the door, so that she would know someone was inside the apartment, just like last time. But this time Kat didn't do that and had casually opened the door herself. She had no idea what was going on. Was there a change of plans?

Lucy was surprised to see someone at Kristin's apartment.

"Hi, is this your friend?" Kat turned to Kristin.

"Yes…this is Keira." She paused and allowed Kat to introduce herself since she had no idea what's going on.

"Hi, Keira….I'm Kat, Kristin's cousin."

Kristin heard it but can't believe it. What the heck is going on?

Lucy shook her hand and looked at Kristin to see her reaction. Kristin just smiled at her.

"Do you live here in Paris, Kat?" Lucy asked, knowing that Kristin lived alone in her small apartment.

"No, I'm just visiting for the summer."

Getting some idea of what's going on, Kristin spoke. "Yea, she's just visiting." She turned to Kat. " I thought you would be sleeping by now." She hoped Kat would understand where she's going with this.

"Almost, I just wanted to watch some tv before I go to sleep." She said as she faked a yawn. "Now that you're back, I can go to sleep."

Both girls looked at Keira.

Keira took the hint. "It's getting late. I better get going." Keira said. Since Kristin was standing so far away and her cousin was staring at her, she couldn't possibly give the blonde a goodnight kiss, so she decided to leave.

After the door was closed, Kristin and Kat did not say a word and waited a few minutes to allow Keira to leave the building. After a few minutes, Kristin peeked at the peephole to make sure nobody's there and looked into the hallway to double check.

"Ok Kat, what's going on?…my cousin?" She asked as her frown deepened.

Kat sat down on the couch. "Orders from above. I told them what you said last time and they feel that I should be here to help you."

"What exactly did you tell them?"

"….you know…about you wanting to change the plan…"

"What did they say?"

"They said you have to stick with the plan. They know how stressful this could be working alone with no one else around, so they sent me to help you."

"Help me? How? Do they want me to introduce you to Michel?"

"No, they just think that it wouldn't make sense not to have anybody visiting you. Everyone has relatives. It would just raise a lot of suspicion if you don't have any. So I'm going to be here for a few months to keep you company."

Kristin stood there, listening. It did make sense in a way. She just wished they gave her a heads-up on this.

"Was she the same friend from last time?" Kat asked.

"mm..yea…that's her…" Kristin said as she walked to the kitchen to wash her hands and get a drink of water. She sensed that there would a lot of questions coming.

"Where did you girls go?"

"Just around…she found out it was my birthday…so she celebrated with me."

"That's nice…" She continued to watch her tv.

"How did you meet her? What does she do?"

Hearing those questions, Kristin felt that was something wrong.

Kristin narrowed her eyes at her. "Kat, did they ask you to check everyone out who has contact with me?"

"No…it was just a question."

"Is it?"

Kat nodded, but Kristin didn't believe her.

"I don't want you digging into her information using their computers…If you do, they'll know about her…and I don't want them to know. She's just a friend who I feel comfortable talking to. She has nothing to do with this mission."

"Oookay…we can find out about her using other methods."

"Kat!" Kristin yelled, frustrated with the small brownish hair woman.

Her sudden shouting made her jump. "What?" She wondered why the blonde was so upset.

"I don't want you checking her personal records, period. If I want to know anything about her, I would use the normal way. I would just ask her."

"Sorry…force of habit…." Kat smiled. She's suspicious of everyone. It's something that she learned to do when she took this job. "Just make sure you don't get too attached to her."

Kristin didn't understand what she meant. _Does she know about us?_ "What do you mean?"

"I mean you can go shopping, go to a movie and have small talks with her once a while. But don't get too close to her. Just remember you can't tell her what you do. After this mission is over, you probably won't be able to see her again." Kat reminded her. Kristin didn't say anything and just stared at her.

Kat continued to explain. "The closer you become friends with her, there is a chance that she could find out who you really are. And you cannot let that happen. If she finds out your true identity, do you think she still wants to be friends with you after you lied to her? Even if she still wants to be friends with you knowing who you are, do you want to risk the chance of putting yourself and her in danger? There will be other missions after this. If by coincidence, she recognizes you while you're undercover, she'll have to pretend she doesn't know you. Will she be able to do that? It would be just too dangerous."

"She's just a friend, someone I can talk to…to take away my stress from this mission. Don't worry, after the mission is over, we won't be seeing each other again." She said with a smile to assure her partner. She turned to hide her true feelings and walked to the bathroom and locked the door. She turned on the shower and let out a deep breath as she stared at herself in front of the vanity mirror. Knowing Kat, if she found out about Keira and her relationship, her superiors would also know about it. The last thing she wanted them to do was to interfere with her personal life. This is only a job and she shouldn't have to tell them whom she's dating, as long as it doesn't affect their mission.

But deep inside, she thought that Kat had a point. She can't tell anyone her true identity. How long can she keep lying to Keira? What if Keira finds out, does she still want to be with her? It had been a fantastic day today until Kat showed up. It's too early in the relationship to think about this. She didn't want to think about this anymore. She decided to take a hot relaxing shower, remembering all the good things that happened that day and thought about the upcoming trip with the hot brunette.

"Kristin" Kat called out as she knocked on her door. "Kristin, do you have an extra pillow and blanket?" Kristin heard her but ignored her.

Thinking that the blonde must not have heard her, she stopped knocking. Kat looked at the small uncomfortable couch and knew what she's going be getting in the morning, a bad back. "Shoot, I should have bought myself a pillow, a blanket, and inflatable bed." She let out a big sigh.

* * *

Next morning, Lucy went to work late because she overslept.

"Hey, I'm guessing you had a nice time yesterday?" Scud asked when he entered Lucy's office. Scud wasn't upset at all. For all these years in Paris, the only time Lucy was late to work was when she's sick or had an appointment. He knew she had drowned herself in work and activities to forget about Amy and he allowed her to do that. It's better than drowning in alcohol. For her to have overslept meant that she could be 'back on the horse'. Knowing where she went yesterday and whom she went out with, he had a good feeling that she did have a good time.

"Sorry I'm late…had trouble falling asleep last night."

Scud sat down at the couch. "I thought you would want another day off."

"She has to work." Lucy walked to sit across from him. "Last night, her cousin showed up at her apartment. Her name is Kat. She said she's just visiting. Can you check her out? "

"Do you have a last name?" Scud asked.

"No."

"Did she say where she's from?"

"Nope."

"That's going to be tough. I'll have to get someone to follow her."

"Be very careful. Something doesn't feel right." Scud stayed silent to allow her to continue.

"This morning, I went to surprise her. Her cousin wasn't there. Last night was her birthday and her cousin didn't celebrate with her. It looked like she didn't even know her cousin was inside her apartment."

"Maybe she arrived later in the day. I can check the airline records to see what time she arrived."

"I sensed she's been there before. She could be the mystery person from that night."

Lucy told him about her driving skills and how she was able to take down the pickpocket.

"So she knows how to drive and she knows how to kick ass. What else?"

"She's not afraid of heights." Lucy didn't mention the part where she had a panic attack since she planned to have that taken care of before he even finds out. "She can shoot...She's not a vegetarian."

Scud pondered for a moment and stared at her. "Did you leave anything else out?" Scud said, knowing full well she did.

Lucy shook her head, showing no emotion on her face.

Scud walked in front of her and sat on the coffee table. He put his hands on the arms of the armchair that Lucy was sitting on and leaned towards her. "Are…you…sure?"

Lucy nodded.

He paused for a moment and smiled. "Ok, if that's the way you wanted it, then you're on your own." Scud said as he stood up and headed for the door.

"What?" Lucy was surprised what Scud had just said.

"You heard me."

"Wait, you're not serious." Lucy said as she stood up.

Scud turned around, crossed his arms, and tapped his right foot as if waiting for her to say something more. The brunette knew she couldn't do this alone.

"You wouldn't." Lucy asked in a concerned voice and Scud stood there still waiting for her to talk.

Finally giving in to Scud, she rolled her eyes before sitting down. "Okay, you win."

After hearing that, Scud quickly walked back to sit on the couch and waited for her to talk about the details from last night.

She let out a deep breath. "We went on the Ferris wheel…and I…had a panic attack."

"What? Why? You're not afraid of heights."

"I have no idea. As soon as I got up there, my heart started pounding…I was sweating and I couldn't move."

"What did Kristin do?"

"She grabbed on to me and we waited for the ride to end and I had to take a few minutes to control myself."

"Jesus, Luce…why didn't you tell me?"

Lucy slumped back against the couch. "It's not something I want anyone to know about. I figure I could get that taken care of soon."

Scud nodded to show that he understood. That was not what he was expecting to hear.

Lucy once again managed to leave out the intimate details about her and the blonde.

Seeing that Scud wasn't asking any more questions about last night, she changed the subject.

"Who are we meeting in Venice on Friday?"

"We're meeting with the Creative Gaming company in Venice. They want to buy one of our games."

"That's your area. Can't you handle that yourself? You don't need me."

"I can. But there's something else. James want us to meet him there."

After Lucy quit the criminal life to be with Amy, she no longer had contact with any of the people who used to work for her with the exception of James. James Bianco was Scud's right-handed man. Whenever he needed help, he would go to him. The former criminals trusted him enough to allow him to follow them to Barcelona. After Lucy decided to settle in Paris with Scud, it was decided that James should stay behind with his wife, whom he met in Barcelona.

"How's James doing?" Lucy asked. She had not spoken to him since she left Barcelona. Scud was the one who kept in touch with him.

"Good, he has 2 girls now."

"Did he say why he want to meet us there?"

"He's there now with his family on vacation. He didn't say over the phone, but he said it could be important. So after I'm done with the meeting on Saturday morning, we could contact him in the afternoon."

"Shoot" Lucy said out loud as she now realized that that there would be 2 meetings.

"What?"

"I promised Kristin that I take her with me to Venice. She's never been there so I thought this would be a good chance to find more about her."

"Did she say she'll go with you?…I mean it's not like you girls know each other that well."

Scud didn't understand why Kristin would agree to go with her to another country. They've only met for less than a week.

"Well, not at first, but I talked her into it. I said I would pay for everything."

Lucy didn't realize how this sounded from Scud's point of view.

"Wait…she said yes after you told her you would pay for everything?"

"It's not like that. I offered to pay for everything and she said no at first. Last night, after you called, I got this idea to take her with us and she finally said yes."

Scud stared at her again. "You do realize this doesn't make any sense to me. She's only met you for less than a week and she already agreed to go with you to another country." Scud paused and waited for Lucy to speak.

"What's so hard to understand? I'm Lucy Diamond. I'm charming. I'm hot. Girls like me. Did you forget that Alexis asked me out the first time she saw me?"

"Yes, but Kristin is not gay." He said as he raised his eyebrows.

Scud remembered the first time they've met and Kristin did look at Lucy in a way as if she was hypnotized.

"Is she?" He looked at Lucy and saw a small grin forming on her face. "She is..isn't she?"

"I didn't ask her…but I think so." Lucy said.

Scud stood up and paced back and forth. "Well, that would explain why she's not interested in Michel."

"Right…or it could be something else. I mean, if she had no interest in him, why would she still go out with him?"

Scud stopped pacing. "Wait…don't try to change the subject. How do you know she's gay? Did she kiss you?"

Lucy wanted to say no but could not think of a reason why she would know.

Seeing her eyes looking at somewhere else, he knew something had happened between them.

"She did, didn't she?"

Lucy didn't respond.

Scud once again moved in front of her and placed his hands on the arms of the armchair where she was sitting as if he was not going to let her go until she tells him everything. "C'mon, Luce, tell me what happened."

Lucy knew that she couldn't get out of this one. "Yes, she did."

"and?"

"and what?"

"How? When did it happen?"

Lucy frowned at him, stood up and moved away from him. "Scud, I already told you she kissed me. I am not going to give you the details. That's too personal."

He knew she's not the type to kiss and tell. Well, at least he tried.

"Okay, do you think she's fallen for you? Because that would explain why she would agree to go with you."

Lucy stood in front of the large window, looking outside. She thought about Scud's question. Having spent a day with Kristin, she knew Kristin was starting to fall for her. She herself is falling for the blonde too. But is it because she looked like Amy? She had no idea. What if it turned out that she's not Amy, will she still have the same feelings for her?

"Luce?" Scud asked again.

Lucy shook herself out of her thoughts. "I think so."

"Wow! That's just too much of a coincidence. She has to be Amy."

"Why are you so sure?"

"Listen to me. I'm a computer and math wiz. The probabilities of someone who looks the same, living in the same country, who has the same interest, and who knows how to kick ass are very slim."

"That still doesn't prove it."

"I forgot to mention that she's also gay like Amy and she also fell for you in less than a week, just like Amy. What are the chances of that?"

"Have you ever heard of the story where these 2 guys, twins, separated at birth…grew up miles apart…both of them ended up marrying someone with the same name and named their kids with the same names and got a job in the same field?"

Scud shook his head. "So are you saying she could be Amy's twin?"

"I don't know...all I'm saying is that I'm not sure. Anything's possible. If we cannot find any proof, we cannot assume it's her."

Both paused for a moment.

"Maybe she's afraid of losing her job." Scud suddenly changed the subject.

"What?" Lucy asked, confusion all over her face.

"You asked why she went out with Michel even though she doesn't like him."

"That doesn't make sense. She's not that type who would do that for a job."

"Maybe she's lying to you and she actually wanted to be the next Mrs. Couric." Scud smiled.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. "No. She wouldn't lie to me about that. She told me she doesn't like him in that kind of way on the first day we met. She has no reason to lie to me. It has to be something else."

"Well, let me have someone check out Kat and maybe we can find something there." Scud walked towards the door. Before he closed the door, he had one more question. "Do you want me to reserve 1 room with a king size bed in Venice?"

"Scud!" Lucy grabbed a cushion off the couch and threw it at him, but missed since he closed the door in time.

* * *

In the hospital

Benjamin Couric sat inside his wife's hospital room. His phone rang and he stood up and walked to a corner to take the call.

On the other line: "We got his brother. We're still looking for the other two." Jehan said.

"Can he be persuaded?"

"No, we've tried everything."

"Don't do anything yet until you get the others."

"Why are you still doing this?" A low voice came from his wife lying on the bed.

Benjamin quickly hung up, walked over and sat down next to his wife.

"How are you feeling?" Benjamin said in his gentle voice.

"Stop…you need to stop…" She could not continue due to her mouth being too dry. He helped her up and gave her a drink of water.

"You need to stop now before it's too late." She continued after taking a drink.

"I…can't…" He looked down on the bed as if ashamed of looking into his wife's eyes. "They'll find out if I do. Everything I worked for will be gone."

"What happened to you? Why?"

Having lived so long with her husband, she was never interested nor understood the businesses he was in. When she found out a few days earlier, what her husband had been doing, her heart couldn't take it. She had been having heart problems for years but it was this newfound knowledge that had led to a more serious condition. She could not understand how this once kind-hearted responsible person could turn into someone so completely different. He stayed silent.

"Have you thought about how this would affect Michel?"

"As long as nobody finds out, everything's going to be fine."

Seeing that her husband was showing no remorse and had no intention of stopping, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart. A continuous high-pitched beeping sound then emitted from the heart monitor.

* * *

11AM

Café De Paris

Inside the restaurant, Lucy sat on a table eating her lunch. She had just finish meeting with someone to talk business and that person had just left to go to another meeting.

Flipping through a tour book guide of Venice that she just bought, she sat alone eating her lunch.

"Sorry…" A waitress said after bumping into Lucy's table and dropping the utensils she was carrying for another table.

Looking down, Lucy saw that it was Alexis, who was bending down to pick up the utensils from the floor. As Alexis stood up and was about to head back to the counter to get cleaned ones, Lucy called out. "Alexis?" Alexis didn't respond and kept walking towards to the back of the restaurant.

Feeling something was wrong, Lucy followed her to the back. "Alexis!" She called out again as she tapped on her shoulder. Alexis turned around and Lucy noticed the sad and worried look on her face.

"Keira." Alexis cried out. Surprised to see the only person that could make her feel better, Alexis immediately wrapped her arms around her, holding her tight and closed her eyes as she rested her head on Keira's shoulder.

Lucy did not expect the sudden embrace. When she heard a soft sniffle, she knew Alexis was crying. Unsure of what had happened, she tried to comfort her and wrapped her hands around her waist. Luckily, it wasn't noon yet and the restaurant wasn't busy at that time, so there wasn't anyone walking to the back to use the restroom. Lucy didn't say anything and brushed her hand up and down on her back. She did not expect her to be so emotional. Something bad must have happened. After a moment, Alexis slowly pulled back.

"Sorry" Alexis looked down as she wiped away the tears with a napkin.

Lucy let go of her and waited a moment before speaking.

"What's wrong?"

"It's my grandmother. She's very sick." Alexis said without looking at Lucy as if she doesn't want her to see her teary red eyes.

Lucy held her chin and moved her face to look at her. "Then why are you here? You should be with her." She spoke slowly and softly.

"Doctor said she'll be ok…but …"

"But you're not sure." Lucy interrupted and Alexis nodded in response.

"Doesn't matter what the doctor says, you should still go see her, be with her. She would want you to be there."

With those words, Alexis could feel that Keira must have experienced something similar in the past to what she was going through as she looked into those mesmerizing brown eyes. She couldn't control herself and wrapped her arms around Keira again. "Thank you."

Lucy hugged her back and without thinking and placed a kiss on her head to comfort her.

"Can you come after work? I want her to meet you." Alexis asked with her head resting on the brunette's shoulders.

"Of course." Lucy responded without hesitation. As a friend, she knew Alexis needed someone to comfort her.

"Sis…is everything ok?" Ashley asked as she tugged on Alexis's apron.

"Ashley? Who's here with you?" Alexis asked as she stepped away from Keira.

Lucy looked into the direction that Ashley pointed and found Kristin standing there 10 feet away, staring at her, not in a good way. In fact, she looked kind of upset. _How long has she been standing there?_

"Sis, I gotta go pee." Ashley said as she crossed her legs.

"Ok, let me take you." Alexis said.

With a smile, Lucy started walking towards the blonde. She hoped Kristin didn't see much. Not that she was doing anything wrong, but no one likes to see their potential girlfriend hugging another girl, especially when that girl shows interest in her. As she was about to reach her, Kristin quickly turned around and went back to her table. With that kind of reaction, Lucy knew she was in lot of trouble. Lucy let out a deep breath.

Sitting on the table, Kristin pretended to be reading the menu. As Lucy was about to reach Kristin's table, she decided to walk back to her own table and continued eating her meal, totally ignoring the upset woman.

Kristin got even more upset when Lucy did not approach her. She expected her to explain about what just happened. Why was she hugging Alexis? Why was she kissing her on her head? She put down the menu and stared angrily at the brunette whose back was facing her.. No longer able to control herself, she decided to walk over, but remained seated when she saw Ashley and Alexis walking to the brunette's table.

Without asking, Ashley sat herself next to Keira.

"Keira, I'm going to go now." Alexis said as she placed her hand over Keira's right hand. "I'll see you later?" She lingered for a moment.

Knowing that Kristin could probably see Alexis holding her hand, Lucy stood up and tried to block her view. "see you later."

* * *

After a moment, from her table, Kristin could see Ashley threw her head back laughing uncontrollably as Lucy whispered something into her ear. She wondered what they were laughing about. Angrily, she let out a deep breath and finally decided to walk over to their table. She had wanted to show the brunette that she was upset. But since Ashley was there, she sat down gently as if nothing was bothering her and locked her eyes on the beautiful brunette in front of her. She hated to admit it, but she looked even more amazing today in her sleeveless shirt showing her tan toned arms.

She turned to Ashley and said in a gentle voice. "What are you laughing about, Ashley?"

"Nothing…Keira said if I laugh loudly, you would come over to sit with us."

Kristin looked at the brunette who smiled back, wiggling her eyebrows. Realizing that she had been tricked, she felt even more upset but could not show her true emotions in front of Ashley. She wanted to ask her about Alexis but figured that this was not a good time to do so.

The waitress came with their food and they sat silently eating their meal. Anton, the manager of the restaurant, came over.

"Ms Holmes, comment allez-vous?" Anton asked.

"Ca va bien" Lucy responded.

"Good…if there's anything you need, please let me know."

"I will."

Seeing the Venice tour book on the table, Anton was curious. "Are you planning a trip to Venice?"

"I am actually, for business." She said as she glanced at the blonde and turned back to Anton. "Have you been there?"

"I have. It izz a beautiful place to visit. I went with my wife and we rode on the gondola, just sitting there, listening to the serenade, and looking at the city. My wife and I loved it and she was so happy. It wuz so romantic and we had such a good time. You must go on one of those." Anton spoke with a French accent.

"Oh…I intend to." She smiled while looking at the blonde.

Kristin felt a little embarrassed but she had no idea why. For some reason, the feeling of anger towards the brunette dissipated. Feeling a blush creeping up her cheek, she excused herself to the restroom.

Lucy turned her attention to Anton. "Do you recommend any other places to go?"

"I suggest taking a walking tour. Thoze guides are very knowledgeable."

"That's good to know." Lucy stood up. "Would you do me a favor and watch over Ashley for a few minutes?" Anton nodded and she let Ashley know that she was going to the ladies room.

Before opening the restroom, Lucy let out a deep breath. "Here goes."

Once inside the restroom, she locked the door and waited for Kristin to come out of the stall.

"Hi." Lucy said when saw Kristin.

The blonde was surprised to see Keira there but didn't respond and just walked over to the sink to wash her hands.

_Shoot, she's still upset._ Lucy hoped she doesn't have to go to Venice alone with Scud. She expected Kristin to give her a chance to explain but when it looked like the blonde was ignoring her, Lucy blocked the exit, preventing the blonde from leaving.

"Excuse me."

"Her grandmother's sick. She was crying and I was trying to comfort her. I convinced her to go stay with her grandma and that's where she went. That's all." Lucy explained in a serious tone.

"Then why did you kiss her?"

"What?" Lucy was shocked at the question. " I didn't kiss her."

Hearing her lie in front of her, Kristin rolled her eyes and reached for the doorknob.

Lucy immediately grabbed her hand. "Wait… can you give me a chance to explain?"

"I gave you a chance but you…chose to sit back at your own table."

"Right…in case you forgot, there are bodyguards around us…you know…Jehan's men."

_Damn it_. Kristin cursed in her mind. She was so upset at what she saw; she forgot that they were being watched and the bodyguards were probably listening on their conversation. She had again allowed her emotions to cloud her judgment. The last thing she wanted was to have Michel learned about her relationship with Keira.

Lucy didn't want Alexis to know about them either. Finally remembering when she had kissed Alexis, she immediately said. "It was a spontaneous response…you know…sort of like you hugging Ashley and giving her a kiss on the head when you found out she was ok. That's all it was."

Not hearing a word from Kristin, she continued.

"I just came here for a business lunch meeting. I didn't choose to have it here. When I saw her, she didn't look well, so I asked her what was wrong. She's a friend. That's what friends do."

Kristin felt better knowing that the brunette had a reason to ignore her. But she also remembered the way Alexis was looking at her and was holding her hand, not wanting to let go. She wasn't sure if she should mention what she saw. It looked like Alexis was still interested in her. She didn't want to look like the jealous type. They've only been on one date. Why was she acting this way? She had no idea.

As if the brunette could read her mind, Lucy cupped her right cheek with her left hand. "Hey…I can't control how she feels. She's a friend and that's all we'll ever be. All I care about…is how you… feel about me." She whispered as she gazed into her hypnotic green eyes. After a moment, seeing a smile slowly appearing on the blonde's face, Lucy knew that the blonde understood. She slowly leaned in and when she saw the blonde's eyes close, she continued to do what she wasn't able to do last night. As their lips were about to touch, their moment was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Is anyone in there?" A woman asked from outside.

"Not again." Lucy let out a big sigh.

Kristin smiled, remembering the interruption from last night. "We're in the restroom. This isn't the most romantic place to be doing this."

They then leaned their foreheads against each other's and let out a small laugh.

* * *

Sitting back on the table, Kristin thanked Anton for keeping Ashley company. Later, Lucy came back and went back to eating her meal as if nothing happened.

"Keira, can you buy something back for me when you go to Venice?"

She was surprised that the little girl was listening on her conversation with Anton earlier. "Of course, is there anything particular you would like me to get for you?"

"We forgot to buy a gondolier hat when we were there last time."

"You went to Venice before?"

"mhm, mama and I went last time." She turned to look at Kristin.

The blonde turned to Keira. "No, we just went to other cities in Italy. We didn't have time to go to Venice last time…" She looked at Ashley. "…and Ashley, I thought we agreed that you won't be calling me that."

"I know, but Keira said I could if I let the doctor stick a needle in my arm." Ashley pointed to Keira to let her babysitter know that she has permission to do so.

Kristin narrowed her eyes at the brunette who simply shrugged in response. _So that's how she had convinced her._

"She said I could only if you and her and no one else is around." Ashley explained.

"Well, I think my lunch time is over. I have to go back to work." Lucy flashed her diamond smile at the blonde before leaving.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Chapter 12**

* * *

Chapter 12

4:30PM

"How's lunch with Mr. Beauchamp?" Scud asked as he closed the door behind him in Lucy's office.

Standing up and getting ready to leave for the day, Lucy looked up at Scud. "Good, he had to leave early."

"What did he say?"

When Lucy was 16, her father sent her to college to get a management degree so that she could take over all his legal businesses some day. While in college, she took some investment courses that she became very interested in. Her parents, like any responsible parents, wanted the best for their only child. Her father did not want his daughter getting involved in his criminal activities. He knew that having been the head of a criminal organization for so long, it would be impossible for him to retire from it. If he did retire, his retirement would not have lasted long since he made so many enemies over the years. What he had hoped to do was sent Lucy away to another country where she could start her life, safe from his enemies after she graduated and take over the businesses he had there. But things didn't work out the way he expected. Lucy never graduated because her father was killed during her junior year in Yale. She dropped out and sought revenge on the Schaffers and inherited the keys to her father's kingdom. By the age of 21, she became one of the most wanted notorious criminal mastermind.

Having an adequate understanding of how stock investing works, Lucy made a few good judgments over the years with her father's "retirement" funds. Like everything, there were risks involved and she understood that. No matter how good you are, no one can predict the future. The US stock market crash of 2008 was a proof of that. Unlike most people who went broke during that time, she was smart enough to back out before it was too late. Unlike most people who invested a large portion of their life savings, she did not.

"He agreed with me. We're going to pull back. The bubble is going to burst soon." Lucy responded.

Scud extended his hand out, holding something in his hand. "Here's the e-ticket for Kristin. Do you want to give this to her?"

"I'll take it." Lucy looked at the ticket for a moment, thinking about her with the blonde on a gondola in Venice. It's going to be so romantic. She couldn't wait.

"Luce, we followed Kat today."

Lucy directed her attention back to Scud. "She bought an inflatable bed and some stuff. So it looks like she is going to stay for a few months. She also rented a car."

"Wait, if she's just here visiting, then she shouldn't have a license to drive."

"She used Kristin's name to rent the car and maybe she has an international drivers license. We couldn't find the name Kat on any of the airlines that landed in the last 2 months."

"So she's not from the US?" Lucy had assumed that Kat was from USA since she is Kristin's cousin and Kristin is from Iowa.

"She could have taken the Eurail or drove here from some place in Europe or maybe Kat is her nickname."

Lucy pondered for a moment.

"We could get someone to cause a car accident, then we can get her license to find her real name."

Lucy had a feeling that Kat is no normal civilian and was afraid that she would be able to trace it back to her. "Don't go that route. I'll just ask her when I get a chance."

"Are you heading home?"

"Not yet, I'm going to the hospital." She said as she tried to clean things up on her desk.

A worried look quickly appeared on Scud's face. "Why? Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm just going to visit Alexis' grandmother. I saw Alexis today and she said her grandmother is very sick and she wanted me to be there…to give her some support."

"Oh" Scud let out a deep breath and relaxed. "How's Michel holding up? " Scud asked.

"I haven't seen him. Last time I heard about it was at the movies that night and he said his mother is not in a serious condition. So I'm not sure what her condition is now, but Alexis is really worried."

"I hope she's going to be okay. Let me know when you get home." Scud said and left her office.

* * *

At the hospital

While driving to the hospital, Lucy debated whether to go over to Kristin's apartment first to give her the e-ticket or go to the hospital first. Seeing that it's only 5:00PM, it's going to take about an hour at the hospital. Then maybe she could get to Kristin's apt by 6:30PM and then maybe they could eat dinner together_. Sounds like a plan_. She hoped that the blonde has not eaten yet.

Once inside the hospital, Lucy asked the receptionist to find the room# for Elizabeth Couric. As she was about to walk towards the elevator, she saw Alexis standing in front of a vending machine in the corner and there were no bodyguards around her.

"Alexis?" Lucy called out.

Hearing the familiar voice, Alexis turned around and Lucy could tell she had been crying a lot.

"Keira, you're here." Alexis said as she jumped onto her, hugging her tight.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

Alexis sobbed quietly on the brunette's shoulder.

"She had a heart attack again this afternoon."

Lucy tried to calm her down by patting her back. "How is she now?"

"She's in critical condition."

"Is Michel up there now?" Alexis nodded into her shoulder.

"You look exhausted. Let's go over there and sit." She cupped her face with both hands and wiped away her tears using her thumbs.

Alexis nodded and followed the brunette to a seating area with several couches. Sitting next to each other on the end of the couch, Lucy turned to look at her teary eyes and handed her some tissue she found on an end table next to the couch. Knowing that she could not say anything to make her feel better, she decided to give her support by staying with her. "I'll stay here with you." Lucy said softly and Alexis nodded. "Close your eyes and try to get some rest." Alexis nodded again and did as she said.

An hour passed. Lucy sat on the couch with Alexis's head on her lap, sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face. When she told her to get some rest, she did not expect Alexis to use her lap as a pillow. But how she can reject her in this moment of need?

Thank goodness for the comfortable couches in the private hospital, otherwise, her back would be aching by now. There were people sitting on the other couches who were also taking a nap. So what they were doing did not seem odd to them. It's a hospital. That's what visitors do. They were probably also waiting for results from the doctors or just allowing whomever they were visiting to get some sleep.

During this hour, Lucy spent her time reading all the magazines on the end table. When she had finished all of them, someone on the other couch noticed and handed her some more magazines from another table. She learned a lot about the celebrities, gossips, who's currently hot. Some of them were quite funny actually. Holding a magazine in front of her face, she focused on a page that had her mesmerized. She had been staring at it for more than 5 minutes. It was a page showing a tall pretty blonde wearing a white shirt with sleeves rolled up to her elbow and short tight black leather shorts showing her long legs. She looked really hot and cool with the red guitar. _Wow! I wondered how Kristin would look in that._ She thought to herself and smiled. _…concert…hmmm…I wonder if Kristin would like to go. Last show- June 12... too late. _

"See something you like." Someone whispered in the back of her ear.

"mmhmmm" Enjoying herself, Lucy responded and nodded spontaneously.

It took her a few seconds to realize who that voice belonged to. She immediately closed the magazine and covered her face with it. Slowly she lowered the magazine to look at the person who was now sitting on the armchair in front of her to her left. She felt like she got caught looking at a nude magazine. Leaning back against the beige fabric armchair with her arms crossed and staring at her was none other than Kristin who seemed to be very upset.

"Hi" Lucy whispered.

"What are you doing?" Kristin whispered back.

"I…I just thought that she looked cool with the guitar. I wasn't really looking at…" Lucy stopped when she noticed the 'what are you talking about' look on the blonde.

Her eyes followed to where Kristin's eyes were focusing on and immediately realized what the blonde was so upset about. No, she wasn't upset about what she was looking at in the magazine. She was upset about who's sleeping on her lap. It had been so long, she totally forgot about Alexis. _Oh shit. _Lucy did not expect to see her here.

"It's not what you think. She was sad so I stayed with her to make her feel better." She spoke in a very low voice, so low, the blonde could not hear her. She was afraid that Alexis could hear them.

"What? " Kristin said with a questioning look.

Not wanting to wake up Alexis, she tried using hand signals to explain what had happened. But from the angry look on the blonde's face, either she didn't understand or she understood but was still angry with her.

A chuckle was heard from nearby. Both turned and saw that it came from a little boy, sitting on another couch, who had been watching them. Not wanting to put on a show for everyone to see, Kristin wrote on a piece of paper, handed it to Lucy and angrily left the hospital but not before rolling her eyes at her.

As soon as Lucy read the note, she turned her head around to try to stop her from leaving, but the blonde was too far away to be able to hear her unless she yelled which she didn't want to do because that would wake up Alexis. She realized that Kristin had been in the hospital all along. The note read 'her grandmother is now in stable condition.' _How am I going to explain this? Why does this keep happening to me? _She sighed.

Twenty minutes later, Michel came down carrying Ashley who was sleeping. Seeing the position she's in, he thanked her for taking care of Alexis.

"Alexis…it's time to go home." Lucy tapped on her face lightly to wake her up.

Alexis woke up and was surprised to see how long she had slept. After learning that her grandmother is in stable condition, she felt relieved and let her father know that she would like a moment alone with the brunette. Finally alone with her favorite brunette, Alexis gave her another hug. Both were still sitting on the couch.

"Thank you for being here." Alexis said.

"That's what friends are for."

Hearing the word 'friends', Alexis pulled back and smiled. Deep inside, Alexis wasn't happy because she wanted them to be more than friends. But there was nothing she could do about it.

"Right, and as friends, do you think you can come again tomorrow? I really want you to meet my grandmother." She doesn't know why but every time Keira is here, she feels that all her problems instantly go away.

"Of course. I would love to meet your grandmother."

As soon as Alexis left, Lucy took her cell phone out and tried to call Kristin. After calling 5 times, she gave up. As soon as she stood up and moved one step forward, she fell back down on the couch with a thud. Her right leg had gone to sleep. A tingling sensation slowly took over her leg. "Aaah geez" She cried out. _I knew this was a bad idea._

* * *

**Kristin's apartment**

Pacing back and forth in the living room, she debated on whether to answer the cell phone that had been vibrating on the coffee table for a whole minute.

"Kristin, are you going to answer that? It's going to make dents on the table." Kat asked while doing the dishes.

She angrily took the phone off the table and threw it on the couch. Then she slumped on the armchair and covered her ears with her hands, hoping she could block the buzzing sound from her ears. _She told me she wasn't interested in Alexis, so why did she allow her to get so close to her?_ This question kept repeating in her head. They only went on one date. _Why am I feeling like a jealous girlfriend? Is she lying to me?_

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" She yelled.

"What? I didn't say anything." Kat said.

Kristin shook her head. "Not you. I was telling the phone to stop buzzing." She lied. She was really telling her own mind to stop thinking about Keira.

"Then just shut it off."

"I can't. Michel could be calling."

"Then who's calling you?" Kat walked over to the couch and sat down.

"It's Keira."

"Then why don't you answer it?"

"Because…" She couldn't tell her what happened. "..because you told me not to become too close to her, so I'm trying not to answer every one of her phone calls so that she would get the hint."

"Can't you just tell her that you're busy?" Kat said as she bit on a nectarine.

"That would be really rude. If I say that every time she calls, then she'll stop calling all together and I don't want that. If I don't answer, then she'll know that I'm busy, and she won't think that I'm trying to avoid her. I could make all sorts of excuses if she asked why I didn't pick up."

Kat shrugged because she had no idea what Kristin was saying. "Whatever." She turned on the tv. "It stopped. You happy?"

_Not really._ The blonde said in her mind. Sitting back against the armchair, Kristin closed her eyes.

After a minute, she heard Kat laughing out loud.

"What's so funny?" She sat up.

"This show. I've been watching this drama. See that blonde girl." Kat pointed at the tv. "She got upset with that guy because she saw him hugging that other girl."

"What's funny about that? Shouldn't she be upset when she saw her boyfriend hugging another woman?"

"That's just it. He's not her boyfriend yet. They only had 2 dates and she didn't even listen to his explanation and walked out. I mean, c'mon, they weren't even kissing, they were just hugging in the hospital because her mother just died. If they want to get together, they would have done it in a hotel or some place. That woman is so stupid. She just pushed him to the other girl and she didn't even realize it."

"Well if he really likes her, then he should try to explain and get her back."

"He did but she didn't answer her phone so he gave up. I don't blame him. If she didn't even given him a chance to explain, that just tells him she's not interested in him anymore. That wasn't the first time she thought he cheated on her. Why go for the ones that make your life difficult? Go for the easy ones. Both girls are beautiful in their own ways. That's what I would have done."

She saw Kristin narrowing her eyes at her.

"What? I'm just saying if I were him, that's what I would have done…" Kristin kept staring at her. "It's not like I'm interested in those girls." Kat continued to explain to make sure Kristin understand. "I'm not gay…really…I'm not."

Kristin was now even more upset than before, not upset with Keira but herself. She came to realize that she had done exactly what the blonde girl did in the tv show. _What have I done? _She slumped her head back against the couch and covered her eyes. No longer able to control her inner feelings, she screamed as loud as she could. **"I…HATE…THIS…MISSION!"**

Totally startled and shocked with her friend's sudden outburst, Kat covered her heart with her hand. "What the hell's wrong with you? You're going to give me a heart attack. They're going to hear you." She quickly ran over to the door to look thru the peephole, then unchained the door and looked outside to see if anyone was in the hallway. "You're going to screw up this mission if anyone heard you."

"Kat, nobody is going to hear me. Do you realize how loud you have the tv on? If anyone hears me, they'll think it's from the tv." Kristin got up. "I'm going to sleep. Can you lower the volume please?"

Kristin got her phone from the couch and went to her bedroom. Quickly, she locked the door and sat on the bed. She entered a password on her phone and saw that Keira didn't leave her a voice mail. _Should I call her? What should I say? _She pondered for a moment._ I know. I just won't say anything. She'll probably start explaining as soon as she picks up the phone..then after that, I'll just say I forgive her. That'll work. _She pressed the speed dial and waited. She hung up before she could hear the voice mail message. Letting out a big sigh, she slumped on the bed. _Where is she? Why isn't she picking up?_

Five minutes earlier

Lucy arrived in front of Kristin's apartment. She wasn't sure if she should ring the bell because Kat could be inside and she didn't want to talk to her if Kristin wasn't in there. She called earlier but no one picked up. _Maybe she's not inside_. She paced back and forth in front of the door, unsure of what to do.

Suddenly she stopped when she heard Kristin's scream. Afraid of being seen, she quickly ran down the hallway and hid behind the stairs. A couple of minutes later, her phone vibrated. She didn't know what to do so she didn't answer it.

Kristin said she was on a mission, a mission to do what, to capture her or someone else. _Does she work for the government?_ _Is she pretending to be with me to accomplish her mission?_ _Does she know who I am? _All these questions flowed into her mind.

Her heart was still racing and her breathing quickened. She knew she had to get out of there before they find out. She shut off the phone and ran downstairs as quickly as she could. _I have to tell Scud. I have to tell Scud._ After she turned the engine on, a realization then hit her. She stopped to think. _She's been here for a year. She's not after me. She's after…Michel. _She tried to remember all the events that occurred within last week. _That's why she was eavesdropping on Jehan's conversation. That's why she was trying to get close to Michel. Her mission is Michel. _

Her hands grabbed tight on the steering wheel and dropped her head on it. Numerous thoughts crossed her mind. Her eyes closed tight. She couldn't control her tears falling on to her lap, drop by drop.

"She's not Amy….she's not Amy…" She repeated.

A part of her had hoped that she was Amy. Another part of her didn't care because that part of her was starting to fall for her. She was angry and hurt not because Kristin lied to her. It's because she knew that they couldn't be together. Even if the blonde doesn't know her real identity now, she will eventually find out if they keep seeing each other. And when she does, she and Scud will be in danger. Never in her mind thought that Kristin could be working for the government. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her heart. She slowly breathed in and out to calm her rapid beating heart. Confusion…anger…pain. Finally she couldn't control herself anymore and screamed as loud and long as her lungs allowed it; the sound of a heartbroken soul, only she herself could hear.

After resting for a moment in her car, Lucy decided to drive back home and told Scud what she found.

Now that they have an idea of whom she might be working for, Scud could try to hack into the computers of different government agencies in France. They were sitting together for an hour, talking about all the things that Lucy found odd about Kristin and Kat and writing them down on an erasable white board on the coffee table. They wrote down the events that happened after they met Kristin. Lucy even told him about the intimate moments that they shared and all the details that she intentionally left out before because this was the only way to have Scud help her figure this out. He needed to know exactly what she knows.

Having heard all the details, Scud was surprised at how fast their relationship moved. Both agreed that Kristin wasn't after them.

"The first thing to do tomorrow is take a deeper look into Michel's financial companies. If he's doing something illegal, the la Sûreté (The Department of Territorial Security/Safety) will be involved. I wouldn't be surprised if they already had their men in his companies looking for proof." Scud paused. "But you said Kristin's been with them for a year. It shouldn't take them that long to find proof." Scud pondered for a minute. "They have to be looking for something else too."

"Do you think that the kidnapping has anything to do with this?" Lucy asked.

"It could but we don't have any information on that."

Lucy wrote this down on the whiteboard.

"Wait…Kristin was kidnapped. Why didn't the government rescue her? If she works for the government, she should have a tracer on her at all times." Lucy said.

"Maybe the kidnappers figured it out."

_Tracers. I hope she wasn't wearing a microphone when she was with me_. Lucy thought to herself.

"She did eavesdropped on Jehan's conversation. Maybe they are looking into him as well."

"If they're looking into Michel, then I'm sure they're looking into his father's businesses as well." Scud said and wrote down 'Jehan' and 'Benjamin Couric' on the whiteboard.

"That would explain how he became a billionaire…doing illegal stuff."

Scud looked at Lucy who was focusing on the whiteboard. "So…what are you going to do about Kristin?"

Lucy slowly looked up at Scud and slumped her back against the couch. After a long moment of silence, she decided. "We need to stay away from her, Michel and his family. We may be out of the spotlight these 2 years, but there's a possibility that they could recognize us." She spoke in a serious tone. "We have to stay in Venice for a month. See what we can find from there."

Scud agreed and thought this was a good idea.

"But what if we misinterpreted? What if she doesn't work for the government? If you do this, you'll lose her."

"I wish…that was true." Lucy said sadly. "All of this tells us that we're right." She pointed at the whiteboard.

Seeing the sad look on Lucy's, Scud walked over and sat next to her. He put his arm around her back and pulled her head to rest on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." Even if they couldn't prove that she's Amy, he knew that Lucy was beginning to have feelings for the blonde.

"Can we change the flight to tomorrow night? " The e-ticket was for Friday night. Lucy wanted to go as soon as possible. It just hurts too much seeing the one she loves and not be able to be with her.

"Are you planning to break up with her?"

Lucy pulled back and looked at Scud with a questioning look. "I have to. She'll eventually figure out who we are if we keep seeing each other."

"No, what I mean is if you're the one who's doing the break-up, she's going to get upset. And you don't know what she'll do. She has access to government files. What if she starts digging into your records?"

"Why would she do that?"

"I don't know…you should know better than anyone. Remember that time you tried to sink Australia." That was the time when Amy went back to be with the D.E.B.S. She was so upset, she wanted to sink Australia because she didn't like their attitude.

"She might want to take revenge…what if she stumbles on to a picture of you while accessing government files….that could happen…we're not the most wanted now…but I'm sure they still have us on file."

Lucy hate to admit it but Scud was right. Angry females can be unpredictable. "Then what should I do? She's already angry with me because of Alexis."

"The only way is to get her to break-up with you. This way, it would be her choice and she wouldn't want to take revenge.

Lucy stood up and spoke loudly. "How can I get her to break up with me and be happy about it at the same time?"

Scud shrugged. "I didn't say she has to be happy about it. She just can't be angry about it. I didn't say it's going to be easy."

Lucy let out a big sigh and sat back down. She already felt extremely sad about having to break up with Kristin. Now she had to make the blonde break up with her was just too difficult. She had no clue how to do this. There's not enough time to do this. She thought about texting her but decided not to. Just a few hours ago in the hospital, she read an article in the magazine that a guy did that to the singer and afterwards the singer wrote a song about him and let the whole world know about it. Lucy definitely did not want the whole government to know about her breakup. She wouldn't mind if the blonde wrote a song about her, though. That would just show that she's still thinking of her.

* * *

Thursday Morning

In the next morning at work, Lucy and Scud let the managers know that they would be leaving for Venice tonight. They did not tell them how long they would be staying there.

In her office, Lucy was busy cleaning up her desk and making sure there were no important documents lying around and delegated what she can to the managers. She planned to go home and pack up before going to the hospital to visit Alexis' grandmother. Then after the visit, she planned to call Kristin. She still had no idea what to say to her. She can't think about it right now. There were too many things to do. When she took out her phone, she immediately realized that she had turned if off last night. Once she turned it on, her phone vibrated. Her heartbeat suddenly pounded faster at the unexpected call. It was Kristin. She knew she had to pick it up. But what will she say? She hated when her plans don't come out the way she planned it. It vibrated 2 times already.

Kristin sat in a coffee shop near Lucy's office. She had been sitting there for an hour and debated whether she should call the brunette or wait for her to call. She didn't sleep well last night after listening to Kat. She knew she had been acting like the jealous girlfriend. When Keira did not answer her call last night, she became nervous and wondered if Keira had given up on her. She let out a deep breath before calling her again this morning. After 2 rings when no one picked up, she almost hung up the phone until she heard Keira's voice. She didn't know what to say over the phone so she decided to ask her to eat breakfast with her.

Starbucks, Paris 9AM

Once inside Starbucks, Lucy saw Kristin sitting on a corner table with 2 cups of coffee and some muffins, smiling at her. _It looked like she isn't upset with me anymore._ _That's good._ She wasn't planning to explain what happened at the hospital anyway seeing that there was no reason to anymore. Lucy didn't smile back and Kristin knew something was wrong.

Lucy sat down in front of her and gave her a small smile. Then she moved her eyes at the coffee and muffins.

"I bought this for you. It's Hazelnut coffee with cream. I hope a little cream doesn't bother you." Kristin pushed the coffee cup towards her.

"Thank you." Lucy said with a smile, took a sip and put the cup down.

Both remained silent as if they were waiting for the other to speak first. After a minute of awkward silence, both decided to speak at the same time.

"Keira, let me speak first. I want to apologize about what …"

Lucy interrupted her.

"You don't have to apologize." Lucy said without a smile.

Hearing that and seeing the look on her face, Kristin knew something bad was about to happen. She waited for the brunette to continue.

Lucy moved her own coffee to the side and extended her hand toward Kristin and took hold of her left hand.

"Kristin…I…have to leave tonight to Venice. There's something I have to do there for business."

Kristin realized that the brunette could not take her to Venice like she promised.

"Oh….when are you coming back?"

"I…don't… know. It could be a few months or a year. It depends on how everything works out."

"Is everything ok?" She wondered if there was something wrong with her company.

"It's a business project and sometimes projects can last very long."

Kristin wanted to ask if Scott could handle it by himself but she knew she had no right to ask that question. She wanted to know if she's doing this because of what happened last night but she could not find the courage to ask her. Her heart ached when she realized that they wouldn't be seeing each other for a long time. _Is she breaking up with me?_ It sure sounds like it. She lowered her eyes and started to pull her hand away from her grasp but was unable to when Keira suddenly tightened the hold.

"Kristin, this is going to be very selfish of me but I'm going to ask anyway. Can you come with me?" This was not part of her plan. She didn't have a plan. Before she came, she didn't know what to say to the blonde. But when she saw the sad look on Kristin's face just now, she realized what she wanted. What she wanted was to be with her, just not in Paris.

Surprised at the question, Kristin looked up. Her heart suddenly beat faster. She wasn't sure if she heard her correctly. She drew in a shuddering breath and asked again. "What…did…you say?"

Lucy spoke slowly and clearly. "Can… you… move… to…Venice with me?"

With her mouth agape, the blonde didn't know what to say. This was so sudden. She thought Keira is breaking up with her.

"Venice has art schools. You can go to school there."

Kristin wanted to say yes but she knew she couldn't because of the mission.

"I have a job here." As soon as she said that, Kristin regretted and closed her eyes for a quick second. She was thinking of her real job not the babysitting job. That was the most stupid excuse.

Hearing her response, Lucy released the hold and pulled her hand back.

At the loss of contact, Kristin knew she had hurt her.

"I could visit you. It's only 2 hours away." It's 2 hours by plane. She knew this wouldn't work. Long distance relationships never work. But she wanted to try to make it work.

"Is there something you want to tell me? I don't understand why you won't quit the babysitting job."

_It's because I can't, just not now._ Kristin said in her mind.

"I don't want to leave Paris. I love it here." It was a lame excuse. She just basically told the brunette that she loved this place more than her."

"I...understand." This is what Scud had talked about last night but she did not expect it to happen like this. Kristin has just broken up with her.

After a moment of silence, her cell phone buzzed. It was Scud calling her to see where she was.

"I have to go back and get things ready."

As she stood up, Kristin also got up at the same time. They both looked at each other for a moment. Without saying word, Lucy moved closer and opened her arms. Kristin stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her as tight as she can. Tears flowed down the blonde's cheeks and she quickly wiped it away. Lucy put her arms around the blonde's waist and held her tight. She wanted to give her one last kiss but resisted the urge to do so and placed a kiss on her head instead.

"take care of yourself." Lucy whispered into her ear and breathed in to remember her scent. Kristin nodded onto her shoulder.

Finally Lucy pulled away and Kristin reluctantly did the same.

"What time is your flight?" Kristin wasn't sure why she asked since the result would still be the same.

Lucy did not answer the question.

"I have to go." She slowly took a few steps back and turned around.

Not getting an answer from the brunette, Kristin realized that this would be the last time they would be seeing each other. She just rejected her, so she understood how Keira felt. There was no reason for her to answer the question.

Once Lucy turned around, she could feel her own tears forming.

"Keira." Kristin called out.

_Did she change her mind?_ A part of her hoped that Kristin would move to Venice with her so that they could start their new life together there. But she knew she wouldn't be able to go through life lying to her. She would eventually have to tell Kristin everything and hoped that when that day comes, the blonde would still choose to stay with her.

"Your coffee."

Lucy let out a sigh and slowly turned around. _Of course, she's not going to change her mind. We've only had one date. How can she just drop everything to be with me? _She thought to herself._  
_

Kristin walked towards her and handed her the coffee and the muffin. Her heart ached when she saw the tears in the brunette's eyes. This morning, she planned to apologize to Keira and thought everything would go back to normal after that. Then they would go to Venice together. Never in her mind thought that this would be the outcome. She was the one who rejected her. She was the one who broke the brunette's heart. Unable to control herself, she stepped a little closer and gave her a long kiss on the cheek and hugged her one last time.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Chapter 13**

* * *

Chapter 13

Standing in front of her large office window, Lucy stared into the blue sunny sky. Last time she did that, she was reminiscing her days with Amy. Now parts of her thoughts included Kristin.

"How did it go?" Scud asked as he walked inside into Lucy's office and heard Lucy's sigh.

"That good, huh?"

"I just got dumped. How do you think that feels?" Lucy said as she turned around.

"You got her to break up with you. How did you do it?" Scud was surprised that she was able to do that so quickly. He walked over to the armchair and sat down.

"I asked her to move to Venice with me."

"You what!" Scud immediately stood up. He couldn't believe that she did exactly the opposite of what they talked about last night. "Didn't you say we have to get away from them?" Scud said loudly.

"Ssshh…quiet down…Jen can hear you outside." Scud immediately covered his mouth.

Lucy sat down on the couch.

"Then what did she say?" He whispered.

"She said she can't quit her job and she loves it here."

"Bingo!…"Scud said out loud and quickly apologized when he saw Lucy narrowing her eyes at him. "..sorry… At least we found out before it's too late."

Scud noticed the sad look on her face. "Look, if she had said yes, we would have more problems. They're not going to let her off the mission. Even if they do, they'll want to know why and then if Kristin told them about you, they might start looking into your records."

"I know." Lucy held her head with both of her hands. She knew she had allowed her internal feelings for the blonde to cloud her judgment. At that moment, that's what she really wanted to do and she didn't think about the consequences.

Scud felt relieved that the blonde did not agree to come along. He could just imagine how many problems there would be if she did. "Here's the ticket. It's first class. They only had 1 seat left so I'll meet you at the hotel on Friday night."

Staring at the ticket, she realized that this was it. She won't be able to see her again until she officially quits from whatever organization she is working for. _When will that be?_ She thought that Kristin had loved her as much as she did and would agree to leave with her. She was wrong. She was too overconfident. If Kristin had asked her to wait for her…a month…2 months…even 3 months…she would have waited for her. But she didn't. This just tells her that the blonde has no plans of quitting her job and that she didn't love her enough to even consider quitting. _If she didn't find out so soon, they would have more time together, then maybe this would turn out differently._ It's too late now.

This morning, Kristin had called Michel to let him know that she'll be late to pick Ashley up. She had plans on taking Ashley out to the playground after she reconciled with Keira. But right now, she wasn't in the mood to do that. She was looking forward to the trip to Venice the next day and was going to tell Kat about it tonight but there was no need to do that anymore. It was one of those days that she just wanted to stay home and go to sleep and not think about anything but she couldn't do that because Kat would be there.

Inside the taxi heading to Ashley's house, she sat quietly in the back seat, staring out the window. Riding through Paris, she saw the big Ferris Wheel that they rode on that night. Thoughts of what happened that night brought a smile to her face. Her mind went back to the first day they met, their first kiss, the day Keira got sick and how she ended up sleeping with her. She smiled when the memory of how she beat her in the Buzz Lightyear ride flowed into her mind. She had so much fun there. She never thought she could laugh so much and so hard. She smiled when she thought about how Keira surprised her with a birthday cake…her adorable her pout was when she wouldn't let her eat the ice cream. That night, she wished for them to be together forever. But she knew it wouldn't have come true because that day wasn't her real birthday.

She just didn't realize their relationship would end so soon. Her smile dissipated when she thought about how sad Keira was when she did not agree to go with her. As if she wasn't feeling depressed enough, a sad breakup song was sung on the radio. Tears formed in her eyes and she allowed them to flow down her cheeks. The taxi driver noticed her quiet sniffles and sobs but minded his own business. When she took out her cell phone to see what time it was, she suddenly realized that she didn't have a single picture of Keira. Immediately, she took her sketchbook out from her bag. She had planned on showing Ashley's grandma her own drawings that day, so she had brought her sketchbook with her. She closed her eyes for a minute and tried to remember the images of the brunette. Finally deciding on an image, she started to draw on the sketchbook. With the bumpy roads and the sudden stops, she could not get the lines to go where she wanted. Becoming extremely frustrated, she kept erasing and drawing and erasing it again. Tears filled her eyes and blurred her vision. As soon as she wiped them away, new ones started to form. Drops of tears had fallen on the paper. She tried to draw as fast as she could as if the image of Keira in her mind was slowly disappearing. After a moment, they arrived at the destination. The taxi driver already informed her 3 times but he could not get her attention. Seeing that the sad blonde was deeply concentrated on her drawing, he shut off the engine and allowed her to finish while he got out to take a cigarette break. After 10 minutes, a knock on the window broke her concentration and she apologized to the driver after realizing that they had been at the destination a long time ago.

Her drawing was not finished yet but she felt content with the way it was turning out. "Just a little bit more detail." She smiled as as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. Before going inside the Couric's house, she found a spot near the house and sat down to finish her drawing. After several more minutes, she was done, completely satisfied with what's in front of her. She slowly traced the outline of Keira's face with her finger…her mesmerizing eyes, her jaw line, her cheeks, her dimples, her mouth…It felt like she was actually touching her in real life. "I'm going to miss you so much." Uncontrollable teardrops fell on top of the drawing. She closed her eyes and hugged the drawing close to her heart.

* * *

**1PM**

Lucy had finished getting things ready in the office. She and Scud went over some things to make sure everything had been delegated. If they missed something, Scud could always fly back here since it's only a 2-hour flight. They just had to make sure the Courics and Kristin don't know about it.

"Scud, I think you should start growing a beard…just in case…."

"Do you think Janet would want me to have a goatee or beard?" He rubbed his chin.

Janet left the D.E.B.S over a year ago. Well, she didn't leave voluntarily. The government had to cut back so they laid her off and she had been working for a software company ever since. They had agree to get together after 3 years just to make sure the D.E.B.S weren't spying on her.

"Go with the beard…so you don't have to shave every morning."

Scud rolled his eyes. "I don't mind shaving. I just want to look good."

"Trust me on this. They won't recognize you with a beard. After they finished investigating Michel, you can shave it off."

"I'll think about it. Are you ready to go?"

As Lucy was about to leave the office, her office phone beeped. "Keira, Mr. Michel Couric is here to see you." Jen spoke through the phone speaker.

Lucy and Scud looked at each other and Scud shrugged since they were not expecting anyone.

_Shoot…looks like I have to change my plans again. _Lucy thought to herself.

Scud opened the door and invited him in. Michel was not in a good mood. The poor guy must be worrying about her mother.

Lucy motioned Michel to sit in front of her. "So Michel, what can I do for you?"

With a serious expression on his face, he turned to look at Scud then at Lucy. "First, I need to make sure what I am about to say does not leave this room."

Lucy looked at Scud and looked back at Michel. They had no idea why he was being so secretive. "You have our word." She assured him.

Michel nodded. "I was wondering if you can look into Jehan."

Immediately, both Lucy and Scud again glanced at each other and stayed silent to let Michel continue.

"I can't hire a private investigator because he might know...and I was wondering if you can do that...for me."

He noticed that they were confused.

"Lately, I've noticed that he's been having a lot of contact with my father. Several times, I saw him talking with my father at the hospital. They shouldn't have anything to talk about."

"How long have you known Jehan?" Scud asked.

"many many years, I hired him myself…he is my 'right hand' man."

"Do you think he's doing something illegal in your company?" Lucy asked.

"No…I know he's not doing that. What I want to know is what kind of relationship he has with my father." Michel noticed the questioning look on both of their faces as if they needed more explanation. "My father and I…we don't have a good relationship. The only time we're together was on special occasions and I only go because of my mother. I've talked to you guys more than I've talked to my father in the last 20 years. That is the kind of relationship we have. I don't want to know anything about his businesses and I don't want him to know anything about mine."

"So you're wondering if Jehan has been feeding your father information." Scud said and Michel nodded in response.

"Did he find anything about the kidnappers?" Scud asked.

"He said he didn't." Michel replied.

"Do you have your bodyguard with you today?" Lucy asked. Michel knew exactly why she was asking that. The bodyguards were hired by Jehan, thus Jehan will know about him being here today.

"Yes. I told Jehan that I would be seeing you today about personal things, which we can talk about later and if he asked for some reason, you can tell him that's what we've talked about."

Lucy had no idea what personal things they would have to talk about.

"I'm sorry but you came at the wrong time. We actually have a long business trip coming up."

"When will you be back?"

"Not for awhile. We're not sure yet. Something's come up and I have to leave tonight." Lucy replied.

Unhappy with the response, Michel wondered who else can help him. Scud gave Lucy a look and Lucy knew exactly what he wanted to say. Both nodded in agreement to tell Michel what they found out.

"Michel, we did a little investigating of our own on the kidnappers, but we couldn't find anything about that. What we did find is that Jehan used to work for your father." Scud said.

As soon as Michel heard that, he stood up. "He what?" Michel spoke loudly.

"We are very surprised that you didn't know about this." Scud said and noticed how angry Michel became when he tightened his fists.

Lucy stood up and put her hand on his shoulder to motion him to sit back down. "Now that you know, what are you planning to do?"

Michel took a minute to calm himself down. His anger turned into worry. "I can't believe he sent someone to spy on me." Jehan is his right hand man. He can't just fire him.

"You said he's not doing anything illegal in your businesses. Maybe your father just sent him to look over you." Lucy said. She was certain that this was the reason. If their relationship were that bad, then his father would have Jehan destroy Michel's businesses years ago.

Michel thought about what Lucy said and realized that she was right. All of these years, there weren't any problems with his businesses and Jehan had been a big help. But he did not appreciate the fact that his father had sent someone to spy on him all these years.

"Thank you. Both of you." Michel said calmly. This was something he had to figure out alone.

Seeing that Michel had come to his senses, she was glad that she was able to help him out.

"Now, Michel, what was that personal thing you want to talk about?"

"Aaah…yes…ummm" Michel hesitated and took a quick glance at Scud and wasn't sure he should say this in front of him. "It's about Alexis."

"What about her?" Lucy sat back and crossed her legs, still confused.

"I noticed that she's taken a liking to you."

As soon as Michel said that, Lucy uncrossed her legs and held her hand up to motion Michel to stop talking.

"Scott?" That's all Lucy had to say and Scud knew that she didn't want him to hear about her personal love life since this has nothing to do with Kristin.

Scud rolled his eyes and reluctantly walked out of the office.

As soon as the door closed, Michel continued.

"I would like to thank you for taking care of her last night. As you know my mother has been very sick and she has been very worried about her. And I noticed how she reacts when you're around.

Lucy only nodded in response. She wasn't sure where this conversation was going.

"How do you feel about her?"

Lucy was a little surprised at the question and did not know what to say.

"I apologize for asking these questions. But I'm her father. So I hope you can see where I'm coming from."

Lucy took a moment to find the right words to say. "You have a smart, beautiful, and lovely daughter. We are friends."

"I see…is there any chance in the future that you two may…become more than friends." Michel had no idea where they are at in their relationship since he never talked to Alexis about her relationships.

Lucy was surprised that Michel was being so direct. It just shows how much he loved Alexis to ask those kinds of questions.

"I'm sorry…" Lucy shook her head. "Alexis and I talked about this and we have an understanding…."

Michel nodded. "I see. I was hoping that it would work out."

_What does he mean by that?_ Lucy thought to herself. "Michel, I have been wondering about this. Were you trying to set me up with your daughter when you invited me to Ashley's party?"

"Well, I was hoping…" Michel said with a smile. "She doesn't have many friends here. I was hoping you can be her friend and if it works out the way I hoped, then that would be good for both us since I already know who you are."

_I knew it._ Lucy said in her mind. "But how did you know that I'm gay? Do I look gay to you?"

"No..no…no.." Michel let out a laugh and waved his hands side to side. "…you don't…I was quite surprised myself when I heard it from one of the waitresses at my restaurant…she said you had a blind date with a female friend of hers…"

_All right, who's that waitress? I have to shut her up. Pretty soon, the entire city would know about me. _Lucy thought to herself.

Back to his serious self, Michel asked. "Did you tell her you're leaving tonight?"

"not yet… I'm going to meet her later so I'll tell her before I leave."

"She's going to be devastated." With a worried face, Michel looked down, knowing that there was nothing he could do about it.

"I'm sorry." That was all Lucy could say.

Michel let out a sigh. "I understand. But knowing her, she's not going to give up so easily. She's like me. I'm pursuing someone myself and I'm not going to give up until she tells me she's not interested."

Lucy knew exactly whom Michel was referring to. Thank goodness she found the reason why Kristin was getting close to him, otherwise, she would have done something to make sure they don't fall for each other.

"She?" Lucy pretended not to know about this.

"Kristin…but I guessed you've already figured that out since you saw us at the movies."

"Kristin?…" Lucy feigned surprise. "..But she's so…" She stopped herself before he finds her words offensive.

"young..." Michel finished the sentence for her.

Lucy just nodded.

Michel let a little laugh. "I know that. She's about your age and she might probably reject me because of my age. But if I don't at least try, I would regret it the rest of my life. I don't want to look back years from now and think about what could have happened. At my age, I'm not afraid of rejection."

"What if she doesn't accept you, wouldn't you feel awkward to be around her? Are you going to get another babysitter for Ashley if it doesn't work out?"

"Of course not, when you've fallen for someone, you don't want to hurt her in any way, even if you're not the one she chooses. I'll just find a way to be friends with her. I would rather see her from time to time than not be able to see her at all."

Hearing these words, Lucy believed that Michel is a genuinely nice guy. _He certainly has more self-control than I do_. She wouldn't be able to do that…to be around the person who rejected her…_God…that just hurts too much_.

An idea suddenly hit Lucy. If Kristin won't quit her job, maybe she can get her off the mission. Kristin did say she hated this mission. _If I could get him to not trust her, then he'll fire her. _

Lucy asked in a serious tone. "Michel, it sounded like you have fallen head over heals for her, but how long have you known Kristin? How much do you know about her?"

"I know what you're thinking. I know I don't know everything about her…but I do trust her. Without her, Ashley wouldn't be here today and I trust her with my life. So even if it doesn't work out between us, I would still want the best for her. We went out several times and she hasn't rejected me yet."

_There goes that idea._ Lucy had forgotten that Kristin did what she could to protect Ashley when she was kidnapped. There was nothing else Lucy could say to stop him from pursuing the blonde.

Michel let out a small smile and looked a little embarrassed. "This is weird. How did we end up talking about Kristin? I haven't talked to anyone about this." He let out a deep breath. "and I never thought I would be talking to you about my love life."

_Me neither._

"I hope everything works out for you." Lucy said with a smile as she stood up. She meant the part about Jehan not the part about Kristin.

"Thank you. I hope everything works for you as well with your business." Michel stood up and shook her hand.

She led him out of her office and Michel stopped at the door and turned back. "Let me know once you get back in town."

"I will." Lucy smiled. _Don't say I didn't warn you. _

* * *

6PM

Inside the private hospital room, Kristin and Ashley sat on one side next to Grandma's bed and Alexis on the other side. They were showing her some of the drawings that Ashley had drawn. After showing Ashley's drawings, Kristin took out her sketchbook and other drawings and placed it on Grandma's lap.

"These are really beautiful drawings, Kristin."

"Thank you…here's another one I want to show you…tell me what you think." It was the drawing with a person sitting in the middle of a beach looking out at the sun. This was the one that Lucy saw in her living room.

Grandma took a long look and handed it to Alexis.

"Wow…this is beautiful. Where is this place?" Alexis asked.

"I..don't know. I had this picture in my head one day and I just drew it." Kristin said.

"Is this sunset or sunrise?" Alexis asked.

Kristin shook her head. "I don't know."

"If I had to make a guess, I would say it's sunrise." Alexis responded.

"Why?" Kristin asked.

"…because I'm an optimistic person. It's like looking at a glass half filled with water. I would say it's half full not half empty." A laugh came from Grandma and Kristin.

Alexis stared deeply at the drawing. "It's like she's waiting for someone…" She whispered in a serious tone. "…waiting for that person to join her so they could look at the sunrise together…to begin their new life together." She touched the person in the picture and thought of Keira.

"Alexis, you surprise me…that is quite a story." Grandma said.

"How do you know it's a girl?" Kristin asked.

"Oh…just a guess." Alexis felt a little embarrassed. She had no idea whether the person was a girl or not. It's because she had been thinking about Keira a lot lately.

Grandma asked Ashley for her opinion.

Ashley shrugged. "I can't tell. There's no color in it."

Grandma turned back to Kristin. "How did you feel when you drew this?"

Kristin thought about it for a moment, trying to remember how she felt at the time she drew this. It was so long ago.

"Sis, can we get something to eat? I'm hungry." Ashley said while rubbing her belly.

"I'm going to take her downstairs to eat, grandma." Alexis and Ashley both left the room.

As Kristin thought about the question, Grandma started flipping through the drawings in her sketchbook. She stopped at one particular page, a page in the middle of a lot of blank pages.

"Wow!…Kristin…did you draw this today?"

Kristin turned to see what she was looking at. When she realized Grandma was looking at the drawing of Keira, she wanted to close the sketchbook but Grandma held it close to her and was mesmerized by it.

"Who is this beautiful woman?"

"…she's nobody…she's just someone I saw in my dream…"

Grandma looked at Kristin and could see that she was blushing for some reason.

Her fingers hovered over it as she stared at each line, each curve, and each section of the drawing. "It's so detailed…so real…it's like you brought it to life….the eyes…it's so hypnotizing…" As she went over each section, she noticed some areas that were different from the rest. She flipped the page over and looked on the back of it.

"Are these water spots?" Having been an art teacher for decades, she could distinguish the tiniest difference.

"I'm not sure." Kristin lied, knowing full well those were spots left behind from her teardrops.

"This is really amazing…." She gazed in awe as she continued to examine each detail. "It just pulls you in and makes you want to touch her…"

Kristin just sat there staring at the drawing without saying a word.

"I absolutely love this." Grandma said softly. "Did you draw any more of her?" Not hearing a response, she turned to look at Kristin and noticed that her eyes were brimming with tears. She wondered why she was acting this way.

"Kristin…is everything all right?" Grandma whispered and placed her hand over hers.

Awaken from her daydream, Kristin quickly stood up and turned around to wipe her tears away. "fine…just got something in my eye…."

Suddenly, a voice near the door captured their attention. "Hey, Grandma…she's here.

Alexis took the brunette's hand and pulled her inside the room. "This is Keira." Followed from behind Keira was Ashley who was drinking a small carton of milk through a straw.

_What is she doing here?_ Lucy thought to herself. Surprised to see Kristin there, Lucy avoided looking at her as Alexis pulled her closer to her Grandma.

Kristin quickly took the sketchbook away from Grandma.

"Hi…nice to meet you." Keira said as she offered her hand out.

Grandma took the offered hand and pulled her closer. "Honey…can you come closer? I can't see that well."

Keira smiled and moved closer to the elderly. At the corner of her eye, she noticed that Kristin was still staring at her, holding her sketchbook.

One foot away from her face, Grandma slowly reached her right hand out and softly cupped Lucy's left cheek and gently rubbed it with her thumb. She then placed her left hand on Lucy's head, softly touching her dark brownish smooth hair. Her eyes scanned every section of her face.

"Oh…my…you look exactly like…" Grandma stopped as soon as she realized that she was the girl in the drawing. By now, Kristin's heart was beating extremely fast because of seeing Keira again and because Grandma found out the truth. Grandma moved her eyes towards the blonden and noticed her sudden red cheeks on her pale white face and her trembling smile. When she saw Kristin shaking her head slightly, she understood that the blonde didn't want anyone to know about it.

At the same time,Lucy stopped breathing and she could feel her heart skipped a few beats. She knew this would come up someday but she didn't expect Alexis's grandma, a 70-year old woman to recognize her.

"Exactly like who, Grandma?" Alexis asked.

"…like a friend of mine…but you look so much more beautiful."

Hearing that, both Kristin and Lucy felt relieved and Lucy gave Grandma a light kiss on the cheek and a hug.

"Thank you." Lucy whispered.

"Alexis told me a lot about you."

Lucy turned to Alexis who just smiled. "Nothing bad, I hope." She tried not to say too much since Kristin was in the same room.

"Alexis, can you go get Keira something to drink and can you get me some water as well?" Alexis understood what her grandma had actually wanted.

"I can get that." Keira immediately got up and tried to leave but Alexis stopped her by putting her hand on her shoulder.

Alexis gave her a nod. "It's ok. I'll get it. You stay here." Lucy nodded and sat back down.

"Kristin, can you take Ashley out to walk around for a moment? " Grandma asked politely. "She must be bored out of her mind." Everyone turned to look at Ashley who was lying on the sofa, playing with her hair and staring at the ceiling. As soon as she heard, Ashley jumped up and took Kristin's hand and pulled her out the door.

Noticing that Grandma had deliberately got everyone out, Lucy sensed that something was about to happen.

Grandma had a heart attack yesterday. It seemed very odd to see how good she looked today. That's never a good sign for old people. Usually when that happens, it is an indication that her time is near.

Finally alone with the brunette, Grandma spoke softly. "Alexis tells me that you own a company."

"Yes, ma'am…I own it with a friend of mine."

"call me grandma…"

Lucy nodded.

"You must be a very intelligent business woman to have your own business at such a young age."

Lucy only smiled and thanked her for the compliment.

"Do you do any investing in stocks or mutual funds?"

Lucy did not understand why she asked the question. "Yes, grandma."

"You do know that you cannot rely on it since nobody can predict the outcome of it."

Lucy was unsure of the meaning behind the statement. "I do."

"Good…" She tapped Lucy's hand twice before holding onto it again. She paused for a moment and looked over the beautiful woman in front of her.

"Now it seems that my girls have taken a liking to you."

_Not again. First Michel, now Grandma. _Lucy thought to herself. _Wait..girls?…Ashley?" _

Lucy didn't respond and just smiled.

"How do you feel about them?"

Unsure of where this question was leading to, Lucy just answered it truthfully. Every grandmother wants to hear how good their granddaughters are, so she decided to just say all the positives and leave the negatives out. "Alexis…she's very smart..beautiful….funny…a very lovely girl and Ashley is very cute and smart. She's a good kid."

"Sweetie…I wasn't talking about Ashley…I was talking about Alexis and Kristin."

Surprised at Grandma's statement, Lucy's mouth opened slightly. She was pretty sure that Alexis told her grandma about their relationship. But what does she know about Kristin? Kristin wouldn't have told her anything. Her job was to get close to Michel. If Kristin told her about them, then Michel would know. No. Can't be.

"Kristin? Oh…she's also very beautiful, lovely and smart." Lucy just smiled and didn't say anymore. Since she doesn't know what Grandma knows, she didn't want to say too much.

"I see."

"Alexis told me that you lost someone you loved 2 years ago."

Lucy didn't respond and just nodded, her eyes no longer looking at Grandma.

"…and you are still mourning her…" Lucy lowered her head even more. Memories of Amy instantly flowed into her mind.

Grandma lifted Lucy's chin to look at her. "I'm sorry…"

Lucy shook her head a little and smiled. "I'm fine."

Grandma could tell from her eyes and fake smile that she wasn't fine.

"Honey, the one you lost, she will always be in your heart." She said as she moved her hand over Lucy's heart. "Keep her in your heart. You need to let others into your life…then you'll find someone you can love again."

These are the same words that Scud had said many times. For some reason, these words that came out of this sweet lovely grandma meant so much more as if her own mother was talking to her. Every time, someone mentions Amy, she couldn't control her emotions. Tears quickly brimmed her eyes and she tried to hold it in. Grandma pulled her closer to wrap her arms around her and whispered into her ear while patting her back. "Darling, give yourself a chance to love again. She wouldn't want you to go through life alone. Give others a chance to love you." Grandma pulled back and looked into Lucy's teary eyes.

At this point, Lucy realized that Grandma had thought that she had rejected both Alexis and Kristin's love for her. This is why she was trying to persuade her to let go of her past and start allowing others into her life. Not wanting to disappoint an elderly woman whose time is near and not wanting to explain herself, Lucy just nodded.

Hearing a knock on the door, Lucy wiped her tears away before turning around to see all three girls at the door. She took a few steps away from the bed to allow Alexis to give her Grandma the cup of water she had requested earlier.

Alexis mouthed a 'Thank you' to her grandmother for talking with Keira and hoped that she had persuaded her to let go of her past love.

Kristin walked to the other side of the bed while taking glances at Keira who was giving Ashley a high-five.

"Keira…Come over here." Grandma waved her hand and Keira walked over and stood next to Alexis.

Grandma took hold of Alexis's left hand and held Kristin's right hand with her left. She asked Keira to hold both girls' hands, forming a circle with Keira in between. Keira hesitated at holding Kristin's hand but seeing that this might be the last wish of Grandma, she did as told. Both girls gripped Keira's hands tightly as if she was going to fly away if they let go.

"Wow, you three are the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my 70 years." All three laughed and looked at each other. But Lucy avoided looking at Kristin. "Promise me, all of you, no matter what happens, take care of each other when I'm gone."

"Grandma!" Alexis, Keira, and Kristin called out at the same time.

"Girls…there's nothing frightening about dying, especially when I have so many people who loves me."

She slowly turned to Alexis. "Alexis, you turned out exactly the way I had hoped. But there's only one thing you need to improve on."

"What's that?"

"You…need to stop being so forward. You'll scare people away that way." Grandma advised.

"Grandma!" Alexis rolled her eyes and Keira and Kristin let out a small laugh.

"Kristin, we've only met for a year. Do you know why I like you so much?"

Kristin shook her head.

"Because you remind me so much of myself. But you are way more intelligent…and much, much taller."

All the girls laughed.

"Thank you for being with us." Grandma squeezed the blonde's hand and took a quick glance at the sketchbook as a signal to let her know that she didn't tell anyone about the drawing. Kristin smiled back and mouthed a 'Thank you' to her.

"And Keira…we've just met and I can see that you are the strongest one here. " Both Alexis and Kristin looked at Keira, not understanding what Grandma meant. "Promise me that you'll protect them." Lucy also didn't understand the hidden meaning behind her words, but she promised her anyways.

Grandma let out a deep breath and looked at each of them for a minute before letting go both of her hands. Keira released her grip of both of her hands but Alexis and Kristin continued to hold onto her hands. Grandma smiled when she noticed that the girls were still holding hands. "Girls, go home. It's getting late." She whispered.

Before leaving, Keira hugged her one more time and kissed her on the forehead, knowing that this would be the last time she'll ever see her again. Touched by her display of affection for Grandma, Alexis walked over and did the same. Kristin and Ashley followed suit.

Outside the room, Alexis and Lucy walked towards the elevator with Kristin and Ashley following from behind.

Pulling Lucy to the corner away from Kristin and Ashley, Alexis thanked her for coming. Seeing that it was time for dinner, Alexis asked if she wanted to have dinner with her.

"I'm sorry, I can't." ." Lucy said. "Alexis, I'm leaving tonight for a business trip."

"when will you be back?"

"I'm not sure yet…It could be a month or few months or a year…It depends on how it goes."

"a year!" Alexis said so loud. Kristin immediately turned to look at them. Trying to control her emotions, Alexis took hold of Keira's hand. "Why? Where are you going?"

"It's for business. I'm going to Venice."

Alexis didn't feel as bad after hearing the location. "Oh…then I can visit you…."

Lucy didn't expect that. The last thing she wanted was getting unexpected visits from Alexis when the reason for her leaving was to get away from all of them. She had to think of something fast.

"we're just going to stay at Venice temporarily. We're going to be traveling to various places."

"Is your business ok? "

Lucy knew she had to lie, otherwise Alexis will insist on visiting them. She shook her head and pretended to be worried. "We just have to take care of some things. As soon as we're done, we'll be back."

Alexis immediately wrapped her arms around her. "I'm going to miss you." Alexis said as she rested her head over her shoulder and tried not to cry.

Lucy's arms encircled her waist. "I'm going to miss you too." After taking a look at her watch, Lucy pulled back. "I have to go."

When she noticed tears flowing down Alexis's cheeks, she cupped her cheeks and brushed the tears away with her thumbs. Lucy had a feeling that her grandmother is not going to make it. Since she won't be here to comfort her, she wanted Alexis to make her a promise. "Take care of yourself and promise me, try not to cry so much, ok?" She handed her a tissue and Alexis nodded.

"Can I call you?"

Lucy realized that this was not going to work. It was a big mistake of telling her about the trip. She didn't want anyone to know where she was going to be. But how can she reject her?

Seeing Keira's hesitation, Alexis thought she might have gone too far and might have finally pushed Keira away. She had to keep reminding herself that she's just a friend and not her girlfriend. She quickly added. "I promise I won't call all the time."

"Ok…but you probably won't be able to get in touch with me for the first 2 weeks." Lucy wanted to give her a heads up since they're going to be extremely busy the first 2 weeks trying to set everything up.

Outside of the hospital, Alexis said goodbye to Keira and gave her one last hug before offering to give Kristin a ride home.

"That's ok. I have somewhere to go." Kristin said.

"Are you sure? It's going to rain soon." Alexis asked.

Kristin looked up and saw gray clouds slowly moving across the sky. She held her hand out and could feel tiny droplets of rain falling onto the palm of her hand.

"Yes, I'm sure. You go ahead." Kristin assured her.

As soon as Ashley and Alexis left, she quickly turned to look at Keira but to her surprise, Keira was no longer there. _Where did she go?_ Panicking, she looked around and Keira was nowhere in sight. Her heart pounded rapidly as she ran towards the hospital parking lot to look for her. As the rain started to fall, there were people running towards the hospital and some were running toward their cars. It was a big parking lot and there were many cars. It was getting dark and it was getting difficult to see as the rain fell into her eyes. She had no idea what she would say to her if she found her. She just wanted to see the brunette one last time. Walking quickly from car to car, she searched for Keira's black BMW. Row after row, she ran like a crazy woman who had forgotten where she parked her car. Her hair, face and clothing were all wet. Panting heavily, she stopped and looked around. She placed her hands over her eyes, to shield the rain from her eyes, so she could see more clearly. By now the rain was pouring and the sky had changed from blue to dark gray. Soaking wet and breathing heavily, she stood in the middle of the parking lot. _Did she already leave?_ She pulled her phone out and entered her password. Her thumb hovered over the speed dial. She stopped and stared at it. She desperately wanted to hear the brunette's voice one last time, but wondered if Keira would pick up the phone.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to her before you go?" Scud asked.

Inside Scud's blue suv in the hospital parking lot, a few columns across from where Kristin stood, Lucy stared at the soaking wet blonde. Her heart ached when she saw Kristin running around looking for her. She could see the blonde wiping her eyes. Was she wiping away tears of sadness or rain that had blurred her vision? When she noticed that Kristin took her phone out, she took her own phone out and stared at it as if waiting for her to call. She had no idea what she would say to her. There was nothing else left to say. If Kristin changed her mind, she would have said something to her at the hospital. But she didn't. What else could she say except 'I'm sorry' and that would be the last thing Lucy wanted to hear from her.

"Let's go…" Lucy said and shut the phone off.

Standing in the corner of the hospital entrance away from the rain, Kristin decided to call Keira. She pressed on the speed dial and quickly moved it close to her ear. There were no rings, just the voice of a standard automated greeting, not Keira's voice. She hung up and tried to call again. _Please, pick up. _Same message. Her chest heaved. Her heart beat erratically. She hung up and tried again. Same thing. She stared at the phone for a moment and slowly dropped to her knees as she realized that Keira might have shut her phone off to avoid her. This morning, she broke her heart and a few minutes ago, the brunette avoided looking at her and now she didn't want to talk to her. Tears mixed with rain flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks. Her heart ached when she realized she had just given up her one and only true love for…a mission, a mission where she played a small part in, a mission that will be succeeded even without her. Once again, she found herself alone in a life of secrecy.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Chapter 14**

* * *

Chapter 14

Airbus A320 from Paris to Venice had over 100 seats and 30 business class seats, 2 on each side. Lucy sat quietly looking out the window in her business class window seat in the last row. It was raining heavily outside and she didn't make the flight on time. But luckily the plane was delayed for whatever reason and there were still several empty seats in the business class cabin. _Looks like I'm not the only who's late_. _But damn, these business class seats don't feel like business class at all. _It's a regular economy seat with the middle section blocked to separate the 2 seats. There was no extra legroom and no extra recline. Normally she preferred economy seats since there was no difference in the size of the seats and it was only a 2-hour flight. But having bought the ticket late, there was only one left.

Staring out the window, Lucy thought about what happened earlier in the hospital parking lot, watching Kristin running around in the rain looking for her. It was painful seeing her like that. Even if she decided to see her at that moment, the result would be still the same. So there was no point. Letting out a big sigh, she tried not to think about it anymore. Taking a glance at her watch, she realized that it was 15 minutes past the original departure time and the plane has yet to take off.

Suddenly she was distracted by a commotion in the front. She stood up and saw a young man in his 20's yelling out loud at the female flight attendant. The passenger was very upset about the late departure since he had an important meeting to attend and was afraid that he won't make it on time. The flight attendant apologized and told him that they were waiting for the rain to stop before they could take off.

"Rain! It's just a little rain! Don't give me that bullshit excuse!" He yelled and everyone in the first class cabin heard. In fact, he yelled so loud, the passengers in the economy cabin might have heard it too. Having flown numerous times, he knew planes could take off without problems even during heavy rain. So it must be something else that they were waiting for.

"I want to see the captain!" He yelled, frustrated with the flight attendant for not being able to provide him with a better reason. All eyes in the first class cabin stared at him and he wasn't embarrassed to be the center of attention.

Trying to calm the passenger down, the flight attendant motioned him to go up the front. Everyone else in the first class cabin didn't seem to be upset. Fifteen minutes really wasn't a big deal. Delays were to be expected with or without the rain. He should have known that planes never take off on time and should have planned his meetings more wisely. _Jackass. _He followed the flight attendant to the front and she closed the dark blue curtain behind her. Several minutes later, the curtain opened and the young man came out, no longer upset. In fact, he had a happy, a surprised like 'Oh my god' look on his face and walked happily back to his seat. Behind him, Lucy could see the captain letting out a big sigh and the flight attendant shaking her head. _What the heck just happened?_

Feeling a bit tired, Lucy sat back down in her seat located in the back row on the left side of the plane. She decided to let her mind rest and closed her eyes and tried to take a nap.

Half an hour later, Lucy was awakened by the need to fulfill her stomach. The plane had already ascended flying smoothly to the destination. Looking around, she noticed that the seat next to her and the seats on the right side were still empty and the seat in front of her was occupied by a cello.

Seeing that the seat belt sign was off, she got up to stretch her legs and decided to walk to the front to get some snacks and refreshments. Sliding the curtain open, she was surprised to see the same man who was arguing with the flight attendant earlier standing in front of a tall slender blonde with a pair of huge sunglasses on. His left hand was holding his cell phone and his right hand was holding onto her sunglasses. It looked like she was struggling to keep her sunglasses on. _What the hell is he doing? _The man stared at Lucy with eyes wide open as if he got caught doing something illegal and quickly brought his hand down.

Half an hour ago, the blonde was late in boarding the plane because one of her fans recognized her inside the airport. One fan led to a crowd of fans, thus causing her to check in late. She didn't think anyone would recognize her with her sunglasses and light makeup. From the moment she entered the plane, she noticed how a man was looking at her the entire time. When she walked to the front to go to the lavatory, he followed her. He tapped on her shoulder lightly to get her attention and without even asking whom he thought she was, he just told her that he was a big fan of hers and asked her to get a picture taken with her. She knew that he must have found out that she was on this flight somehow. Never one to disappoint her fans, she happily obliged. Having taken a few pictures, he then asked her to take it without the sunglasses. His reason was that his friends would not have believed him with the sunglasses on. If it was any other day, she would be happy to do that, but today something had happened earlier and she did not want anyone to see her eyes. She had been crying a lot that day and didn't want anyone especially her fans to know about it. Not taking a 'No' for an answer, the man completely surprised her when he took it upon himself to take her sunglasses off. She quickly held on to her sunglasses and tried to move away when suddenly a brunette opened the curtain.

"Is there a problem?" Lucy asked as she stepped inside the curtain and let it fall back into place behind her. The blonde immediately walked next to her away from the obnoxious man.

Before speaking, the young man looked at Lucy from head to toe. "I just want her to take a picture with me with her sunglasses off." He said innocently.

Lucy looked at the blonde and noticed how unhappy she was. "Well, it doesn't look like she wants to. Would you like me to notify the captain and maybe he could do something about it? You do realize what could happen if he finds you disrupting the flight." Lucy narrowed her eyes and stared at him and knew that he would immediately back down since he didn't want to be late for his appointment. He took a moment, staring at the brunette then back at the blonde and decided to walk back to his seat without apologizing.

"Jackass." Lucy said as she rolled her eyes.

Hearing a chuckle behind her, she turned around and was immediately embraced by the blonde.

"Are you…alright?" Lucy asked, surprised by the unexpected hug.

"Thank you." The blonde said softly as she pulled away and smiled.

"You're welcome…." Standing so close, Lucy could now see that the blonde is a very tall pretty young woman in her 20's around Alexis' age, with medium straight hair, bangs over her eyes just like hers, and around the same height as Kristin. _She looked a little like Kristin. _

"If he bothers you again, let me know and I'll make sure he won't be able to bother any woman ever again." Lucy said in a whisper and winked at the blonde.

The blonde let out a big laugh and Lucy felt a little awkward when the blonde moved forward and hugged her again. "You just make my day."

When the blonde pulled back, she was surprised that the brunette didn't say anything.

"You…don't…know who I am, do you?"

Lucy shook her head.

The blonde smiled and offered her hand out. "I'm Alyson."

"Keira." Lucy shook her hand. "I was just going to get some snacks and juice. Do you want something?" She pointed to the area where the refreshments and snacks were located.

"Can you get me some cookies and apple juice?"

Lucy nodded and walked over to the counter and grabbed 2 bags of chocolate chip cookies and a can of apple juice and handed them to her.

The blonde extended her hand and changed her mind afterwards. "I just have to go to the lavatory first. Can you put them on my seat?"

The lavatory is across from the snacks counter.

Without thinking, Lucy nodded and later realized that she had no idea where the blonde sits.

She went back to her seat and decided to look for her later.

Sitting in the seat with lots of elbowroom, she began eating her cookies. She had not eaten anything since lunch. There weren't enough time to grab something to eat since she arrived late to the airport because of the rain. Within 5 minutes, she had gobbled down 2 cookies and a half can of apple juice. "Wow…you must be really hungry." A voice spoke next to her.

Lucy turned and was surprised to see that Alyson was preparing to sit next to her. She realized that Alyson was one of the passengers who boarded the plane late. "I didn't eat anything since this afternoon." She said as she handed her snacks and apple juice.

"Do you want some more?" Alyson handed her bag of cookie and Lucy politely rejected.

Feeling so much better, she slumped back against the seat and let out a deep breath and tried to go back to sleep.

Unfortunately, she was awakened by a quiet sobbing noise ten minutes later. She turned towards the noise and found that Alyson was wiping her eyes with a tissue under her sunglasses and sniffling.

"Are you…okay?" Lucy asked out of concern.

Alyson straightened her sunglasses before turning to look at Lucy. "I'm…fine."

Lucy knew she wasn't but decided to mind her own business. A few minutes later, Alyson started to cry again, quietly, covering her mouth, hoping that no one else could hear her. If they were sitting in the economy section, other people would definitely notice. There weren't anyone sitting next to them or in front of them so nobody noticed except for Lucy. Alyson sniffled as she stared at her phone.

Lucy took some tissues and handed it to her and the blonde politely accepted and wiped her tears from her cheeks. "I…just broke up with my boyfriend a few hours ago and he just sent me a text message."

_Oh_. Lucy thought to herself. She didn't know what to say and didn't want to be nosy either.

"He said I was boring."

Lucy gasped. "He wrote that in the message?"

Alyson nodded. "Am I boring if I don't want to hang out in clubs all the time?"

Lucy quickly replied. "Of course not." _What an asshole!_

"Then why do they all say that?"

_All?_ Lucy wondered how many boyfriends she had.

"What is wrong with me?"

Lucy could see tears flowing down her cheeks. She really hated to see people cry especially seeing someone who reminded her of Kristin. It made her heart ache. It's like watching Kristin crying in front of her. Lucy extended her hand out and was about to pat her back to comfort her but decided that it was inappropriate and pulled her hand back.

"Did he…um…broke up with you after you said you didn't want to go?"

The blonde nodded.

"Well, good for you!"

"Excuse me?" Alyson said, not understanding what the brunette meant by that.

Lucy spoke softly. "Listen, if you had said yes, you'll probably end up drunk and regretting it the next day. If he was interested in having a serious relationship with you, he should have respected your decision." Lucy took another tissue and handed it to her.

When Alyson turned away to wipe her tears, Lucy eyed her from top to bottom. She could see that the blonde is a very pretty girl with an extremely fit body. Just like Kristin. She closed her eyes and shook herself out of her thoughts. Stop it. Stop it.

"Excuse me?" Alyson asked.

Lucy was unaware that she had said that out loud. "huh?…nothing…umm…I was just asking if he's about the same age as you?"

Alyson nodded. "…just about…" She lifted her sunglasses a little and blotted her eyes. "…he's younger than me…"

_Younger!…geez…he must still be in school… she must be dating an immature brat…_ "Well…that explains it. He's not interested in a relationship...not with you or anyone else."

Alyson stopped crying and was very interested in what she has to say. She moved closer and rested her forearms on the middle area.

"There are a lot of girls out there who are afraid to say no because they didn't want to disappoint their boyfriends. A lot of them ended up regretting it later."

Lucy looked directly into her sunglasses.

"You…did the right thing and there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Okay?"

Alyson hugged her again and nodded onto her shoulder. "Why does he have to be so mean?" Alyson said as she rested her head on Lucy's shoulder.

"I know…I know.." Lucy said in a comforting tone and patted on her back to console her. "…that immature jackass…give me his name and I'll take care of him for you." She wasn't lying. If she had given her his name, she'll have Scud track him down and make his life miserable, one way or another.

Hearing a small laugh from the blonde, Lucy smiled, knowing that she at least made someone feel better today. The thought of Kristin crossed her mind again.

Alyson placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and pulled back. "You…are a life saver…Thank you."

Lucy was quite surprised at the unexpected kiss from the blonde. She wondered if she does that with everyone. If she does, then her exes must have thought that she was 'easy' and that the blonde had no idea she was giving them those signals.

Feeling comfortable talking with the brunette, Alyson told her about one of her exes who cheated on her after just a few months of dating and another one who broke up with her after denying him what he wanted.

_Yup, she's definitely giving them the wrong signals_. _Either that or she's just dating the wrong guys._ Lucy thought to herself.

"Maybe I should just stop dating." Alyson said, facing the seat in front of her and letting out a sigh.

Lucy smiled and tried to comfort her. "You're beautiful, you're young…some day you'll find the person who loves you just the way you are."

Looking at the brunette, Alyson moved her hands up to cup Lucy's cheeks. "…you are just so sweet…Thank you for saying that."

Lucy's heart suddenly beat faster. _Here she goes again…the touch on the face_. _She must be a really touchy person. Does she even realize what that does to people? _

Lucy took the blonde's hands away from her face.

"You shouldn't have to change the way you are just to have him like you. That's not you and that's not love."

Mesmerized by the words spoken from the brunette, Alyson gazed at her. "You sound like you found your true love already."

Lucy looked down and let out a big sigh. "I did." She paused for a moment. "Her name's Amy." Lucy said as she looked up to see Alyson's reaction. There was none. Seeing that the blonde wasn't shocked to find out that she's gay, she continued with her story.

"She passed away 2 years ago."

Alyson gasped and covered her mouth and immediately gave Lucy another hug. "I'm so sorry."

Lucy had no idea why she's telling the blonde all of this. She guessed it wouldn't hurt since they won't be seeing other after this flight. Besides somebody's got to tell this girl what true love is or else she'll end up getting her heartbroken every time her date doesn't work out.

"We fell in love the first day we met." Lucy continued with her story and Alyson pulled away and listened intently. "She gave up everything to be with me and I gave up everything to be with her."

Lucy told her how they lived together and how she passed away, leaving out the details that the blonde doesn't need to know.

"Oh my god…that's so sad." Alyson was so touched by her story, a few tears ran down her cheeks. "So you moved to Paris to be closer to her?"

Lucy nodded and Alyson took hold of her hand that was resting on the middle area to comfort her.

"About a week ago, I met someone, someone who looks like Amy."

Lucy spent another 20 minutes telling her about how she saved Kristin, their first kiss and their first date.

Alyson laughed when she heard how Kristin cheated at the shooting game. She also told her about the Ferris wheel ride.

"So she kissed you to distract you from having a panic attack?"

Lucy smiled and looked down at her own hand that Alyson was caressing. As she looked up to glance at the blonde, an image of Kristin flashed in front of her or was it Amy? Lucy closed her eyes and reopened them and she could see Alyson with her adorable smile. "Awww…that is so smart, so sweet of her…so romantic."

Lucy smiled again. "Yes, she is."

After telling her how and why Kristin broke up with her this morning, Lucy noticed the sad look on the blonde's face as if she felt sorry for her.

"You must really love her."

Lucy looked down. She didn't know how to respond. If Alyson had asked her if she loves Amy, she would immediately said yes. But Kristin, she wasn't so sure. With Amy, there were no secrets between them. If she had more time with Kristin, then maybe she would be sure about her feelings for her.

Alyson placed her thumb and finger on Lucy's chin and tilted her head to look directly at her eyes.

"I have a feeling you two will eventually be together." She leaned in and placed a comforting kiss on Lucy's cheek.

At the gentle contact, Lucy remembered the time when Kristin had kissed her there.

After a moment of gazing at the blonde, she noticed how much she and Kristin look alike. "You…look a lot like her." She said as her eyes slowly traced the contour of the blonde's face. "She's tall…like you." Lucy reached her hand out to touch her hair. "She...has silky…straight blonde hair." She moved her hand to touch her left cheek. "She… has… smooth…skin...like yours." She moved her head closer to the blonde and tried to look at her eyes behind the sunglasses. "She…has…hazel green eyes." Alyson slowly lifted her sunglasses over her head. "just…like…yours."

Suddenly, she saw her face surrounded by a white aura and the image of Amy appeared in front of her. "Amy." She said in a whisper. Wanting to make sure she wasn't imagining things, Lucy slowly reached out to touch her face and Amy smiled back. "I…miss you…so much." Lucy said as tears brimmed her eyes.

"I miss you too." Amy responded but only Lucy could hear.

She was hypnotized by the image in front of her. Not thinking about anything except Amy and ignoring everything around her, Lucy cupped the blonde's face gently and leaned forward. As she moved in closer, she could see Amy closing her eyes. She pressed her lips against hers and after a few seconds, the blonde suddenly pulled back.

The sudden movement snapped Lucy back into reality. After rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands to see more clearly, she saw Alyson standing in front of her, looking around. "I…I'm so sorry…I thought." Lucy tried to explain what happened. Without listening to her explanation, Alyson walked to the front and went into the lavatory behind the curtain.

Lucy felt so embarrassed; her heart was beating rapidly. She covered her eyes with her hands._ Oh my god…what did I do? _She had to go apologize. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She looked around to see if anyone noticed what she did. Thank heavens no one was paying attention to them; some were sleeping and some had headphones on.

Trying not to attract any attention, she slowly walked to the front and made sure there was no one else nearby before knocking on the lavatory door.

She said quietly. "Alyson…I'm sorry…I don't know what got into me…I thought you were…" Before she could finish, the door opened and Alyson walked out of the lavatory with her sunglasses on.

Alyson looked around to see if anyone was nearby and then took a few steps toward the brunette.

Taking several steps backward, Lucy found herself in the corner. There was nowhere else to go. Lucy swallowed before speaking.

"I..umm…I want to apologize. My mind…I thought you were….her." She said while looking down on the floor, embarrassed about what just happened. She slowly lifted her head up to see her reaction.

Lucy could tell that Alyson was still upset since she didn't say anything, although her face showed no emotion.

The blonde stepped forward again and Lucy tried to step back but couldn't since there was no more room. She moved closer to her and their face was now one foot apart.

Lucy saw her slowly lifting her right hand.

_Shit…is she going to slap me? Okay, I deserve it._

Waiting for the well-deserved slap on her face, Lucy closed her eyes because if she didn't, she was afraid her reflexes would prevent the blonde from hitting her. No one hits Lucy Diamond and gets away with it, unless... she lets them. After a short moment when she didn't feel anything, she slowly opened one eye first, then the other.

Alyson had lifted her sunglasses over her head.

"You don't know who I am, do you?"

Lucy had no idea why the blonde kept asking her this question.

"No…should I?" She asked in an embarrassing tone. Lucy wasn't sure if she upset the blonde even more by telling her the truth because Alyson was now moving her face closer to hers.

"Good…let's keep it that way."

Up so close, Lucy could feel the blonde's breath on her face. She could see her chest heaving. Looking at her eyes, she noticed that the blonde's eyes were actually hazel blue not green like Amy's and they were staring at her lips. _What is she doing? _Lucy couldn't help but stare at her lips as the blonde then drew in her bottom lip and slowly letting it go, which reminded her of how Amy used to do it. _Oh God. Why did she do that? _She suddenly felt the urge to kiss the blonde again. Not wanting to get a slap in the face afterwards, she closed her eyes to resist the temptation.

A few minutes ago when Lucy cupped her face, Alyson had a lot of chances to move away from her. But she didn't and she had no idea why. All she could think of at that moment was this beautiful brunette telling her how she look like the love of her life and how much she had missed her. She was mesmerized by her chocolate brown teary eyes and got caught up in the moment and had allowed the brunette to kiss her for a few seconds when suddenly she realized that other people could be watching them and she couldn't allow that to happen.

Seeing the brunette's eyes closed, Alyson leaned in to …

Suddenly the plane started to shake heavily, causing the blonde to 'accidentally' press her lips onto the brunette's lips and her whole body pressed against the brunette's. The plane then tilted to the other side and Alyson spontaneously grabbed onto the brunette's hand. Unable to maintain her balance, Alyson fell backwards on the floor with a thud, pulling the brunette with her.

Lucy landed hard on top of her, crushing her lips on to the blonde's cheek. That's going to leave a bruise.

"What's happening?" Alyson cried out.

"Stay down!" Lucy yelled.

She took the blonde's hands to wrap around her back and grabbed on to her shoulder. It was shaking too violently for them to try to get up. They were still behind the curtain so she didn't have to worry about any luggage falling off the luggage holder. Suddenly the plane dipped and she could feel her body flying one foot upward and then landed back down hard on top of the blonde, causing Alyson to yelp and let out a puff of air.

"Jesus!…sorry" To make sure that doesn't happen again, Lucy adjusted her position so that only part of her upper body was on top of her. Her right hand hung across the blonde's abdomen. If they were at a different environment, she would definitely be embarrassed about what just happened. But right now, all she is concerned about is how to get back to their seats.

Lights flickered on and off. The curtain was closed so Lucy had no idea what the situation is like in the business class cabin. The captain spoke in the speaker. "Flight attendants and all passengers, please remain seated." _Now he tells us_.

The plane shook from side to side. Children crying, screams, and sounds of falling objects could be heard. If things couldn't get any worse, a food cart was about to roll down their way as the plane tilted.

"Oh shit!" Lucy quickly moved on top of the blonde. "Quick! Grab onto me and roll to your left!" Alyson had no idea why but she did it as told.

As soon as she felt the blonde's arms around her, Lucy used her left hand and left leg to push off the ground and both rolled across the floor until there was no more room. This time Alyson was on top of Lucy. Both stared at the food cart as it rolled down and hit the emergency exit of the plane and fell on the side to the floor. Luckily it didn't fall on their side, otherwise, both of their legs would have been smashed.

Alyson let out a deep breath. "That was close." She said as her head fell down to rest on the brunette's shoulder.

Lucy could tell the blonde was tired when her body sagged against hers. So close together, she felt the blonde's heart beating rapidly. _This is really awkward._ Being tired herself, Lucy relaxed her head on the floor with her arms still wrapped around the blonde's lower back.

After a moment, there were no sudden drops or violent turbulence, though the plane was still shaking. Lucy felt that it was time to try to get back to their seats. Her eyes were closed and her heartbeat were pounding. She could feel the blonde's breathing into her neck. She knows she shouldn't be having indecent thoughts in her current situation, but it's hard not to when she has a pretty girl on top of her. With the plane shaking, moving back and forth and sometimes side to side, she could feel the blonde's breasts gliding against her own, her lower part rubbing against her…. _Oh godddd…  
_

She called out to Alyson twice but couldn't get her attention.

Lucy whispered into her ear. "Hey, if you want to be on top, we could do that some other time, some other place. Okay?"

That got her attention. Alyson's head shot up, feeling a blush creeping up on her pale cheeks. "Sorry." She let out a small smile and quickly rolled off the brunette. She was so tired and felt so comfortable, she didn't realize how long she was in that position.

Lucy smiled and carefully stood up, using the surface of the plane to balance herself. She extended her hand out for the blonde who was still on the floor. Still a little embarrassed, Alyson glanced up and took the offered hand. As she pressed her left foot on the floor to stand, she immediately cried out and fell back down when she felt a sharp pain in her left ankle.

"What's wrong?" Lucy said as she crouched next to her.

"I think…I twisted my ankle." She said as she grabbed onto to her left foot.

_Oh shit. _Lucy thought to herself.

"Stay here." Lucy said and immediately felt stupid for saying that. It's not like she can go anywhere. "I'll be back."

She carefully stood up and turned around and opened the curtain to take a peek.

_Holy shit! _

Inside the business class cabin, she saw suitcases, luggage, musical instrument cases, blankets, pillows, bags and food in the aisle. There was another food cart blocking the aisle. The jackass must have hit his nose somehow because he's holding a tissue full of blood over his nose. There is no way to get through. Lucy could probably make it back to her seat with a few bruises by jumping over a few things, provided that there won't be any more dips and violent turbulence. But it would be impossible for the blonde to get there.

Lucy closed the curtain and looked around. On the wall near the emergency exit was a first aid kit. She carefully walked over to the other side and tried to get the first aid kit down. _Damn it. How do you get this out?_ After successfully getting it out, she sat next to the blonde. Quickly, she took the bandage out.

Alyson gazed at the brunette who was wrapping her ankle. A few minutes ago when the brunette was struggling with the first aid kit, Alyson took a look behind the curtain and realized that there was no way for her to get back to her seat. She didn't want to be alone and immediately felt selfish for wanting the brunette to be with her.

"All set…try to stand up." Lucy looked up and noticed the tears on her face. "What's the matter? Does it hurt?"

Alyson heard the genuine concern in the brunette's tone and immediately wrapped her hands around her.

"Hey, I know it hurts." Lucy said in a comforting tone and patted her back. "...but we have to get back before it starts to dip again."

Alyson gave her a kiss on the cheek and wiped her tears. "I can't make it back. Just leave me here…you go."

"Don't be silly. C'mon…get up and try." Lucy stood up and helped the blonde up. Standing on the left side of the blonde, Lucy placed her right hand around the blonde's waist and took the blonde's left hand hanging across her shoulder to support her left leg. After taking two steps, Alyson cried out and fell back down on the floor, pulling Lucy with her.

"I can't do it. I can't." Alyson shook her head, crying in pain.

Seeing her in so much pain, Lucy's heart began to ache. She immediately wrapped her arms around her head, pressing her head against her chest.

"Ssshh…it's okay…it's okay." Lucy tried to comfort her and placed a kiss on her head. She had to think of something fast before the next violent turbulence hits. It was still raining outside. Seeing the flashes of lightning through the small window on the emergency exit, she knew that there's going to be more trouble ahead.

There was one seat near each emergency exit, one across from the lavatory, the other across from the food galley. The seat across the lavatory was blocked by the food cart.

"C'mon…there's a seat over there."

Seeing that the blonde can't seem to walk even with the ankle wrap, she put her left hand under her legs and her right hand around her back.

"Hold on to me." Lucy said and the blonde swung her left arm across her shoulders.

Lucy inhaled and exhaled a few times. Holding in a deep breath, she used all her strength to lift the blonde up and exhaled. Her legs trembled as she carried her across the shaking floor. Once they got to the seat, she let her down slowly and pulled the seat down.

"Sit here." Lucy said, breathing heavily and feeling exhausted. Thank goodness she had been working out regularly, otherwise, she would not have been able to carry the 54kg blonde.

"What about you?" Alyson asked with a concerned look.

When she was crying a minute ago, Lucy could tell she didn't want to be alone. "I'll be fine. I'll just sit on the floor."

Alyson shook her head. "You sit." Not waiting for the brunette to disagree with her, she grabbed her shoulders with both hands and pressed her down to sit. She then sat on the brunette's lap sideways with her legs facing the emergency exit.

Lucy didn't expect her to do that. But it was a good idea. Smiling at each other for a few seconds, Alyson rested her head against the brunette's left shoulder, feeling safe and content in her arms. There's just one more thing to do. Buckle up. Thank heavens both of them were very fit and thin. The length of the seat belt is long enough to hold both of them. Feeling extremely exhausted, Lucy wrapped her arms around the blonde and kissed her forehead before letting her head fall back against the fabric cushioned seat.

After a moment, the plane started to shake violently again and everyone started to scream again except for Lucy. Lights went out and emergency lights lit up.

"What's happening?" Alyson cried out.

Trembling with fear, Alyson buried her face into the crook of Lucy's neck. Lucy held her as tight as she can. She couldn't see much through the small window on the emergency exit. "It's just a small turbulence. Everything is going to be okay."

Lucy's heart was palpitating but she wasn't afraid to die. If her faith was to die the same way as Amy did, then so be it. She won't be able to see Kristin again but at least she'll be able to see Amy on the other side.

Some of the emergency lights went out and some flickered on and off. She had experienced turbulence before but this was different. This was more serious.

"It's going to be okay… It's going to be okay." Lucy repeated.

Holding her tight, Lucy tried to comfort the crying blonde. "When we get out of this, you can tell your friends how you ended up on my lap and you'll all laugh about it. You'll see."

Oxygen masks did not drop from overhead, so she knew that there was no loss of cabin pressure. Not yet anyways. Shoot. Does the oxygen mask even come down in this area? She looked up and around.

The plane suddenly dropped. Lucy flew off the seats a few inches and felt the pain when she landed back onto the seat. _Damn that hurts. _That's what happens when you have someone over 50kg sitting on your lap. Thank heavens for the seatbelt.

"We're going to die!" Alyson cried out.

"Ssshhh…don't think like that…it's going to be okay." Lucy pressed the blonde's head against her neck.

The Captain of the plane spoke on the speaker again. "Flight attendants and all passengers, please remain seated."

Lucy couldn't see the business cabin behind her, but knew that it was chaotic by the panic and uncontrollable screaming she heard.

Behind the curtain, people were freaking out and crying hysterically. Some took out their phones to call their loved ones and got frustrated when it didn't work. The cabin was dimly lit. Some pulled down the shades on the window, afraid to see what was outside.

After a long moment, the violent turbulence stopped but the plane was still shaking. Passengers had stopped screaming; some were sobbing quietly and some were praying with their heads down making promises to the Lord.

Alyson started to calm down and thought about her love ones. "My parents…my friends…they're going to…"

"It's going to be okay…we will get out of this…and when we do…you can tell your friends how you wanted to kiss me."

Alyson's head immediately shot up. Her eyes opened wide. She looked around before frowning at the brunette.

"I did not…that was an accident."

"mm...hmm...What about the first time?"

"I…You kissed me." Alyson said in a whisper as if not wanting anyone to hear them. With the noise in the back cabin and from the plane, it wasn't possible for anyone to hear them.

Lucy nodded. "I did…but why did you let me?…You did close your eyes."

"I…I…" Alyson couldn't think of an explanation and knew that she got caught. Feeling extremely embarrassed, she put her head against the brunette's shoulder and mumbled into it. "I jos..mmmwon..to...wa..fe…"

"What?" Lucy asked, extremely interested in her explanation.

Alyson let out a big sigh. "Nothing."

Seeing that the blonde won't tell her truth, Lucy pretended to unbuckle her seat belt.

"What are you doing?"

"Since you won't tell me, I'm going back to my seat."

"Wait…" The blonde quickly grabbed onto the buckle. She saw the smirk on Lucy's face and rolled her eyes. "Okay..okay…I said I just want to feel what it's like to kiss a girl."

"Oh_." _Lucy wasn't expecting that answer.

"You're not going to tell anybody, are you?"

Lucy thought it was odd how Alyson suddenly became more afraid of people finding out about their kiss than their current situation. Being curious to kiss someone of the same gender was no big deal. It's not like the whole world is going to know about it. It's not like they did anything else. Lucy wondered why.

"I won't if you won't. It will be our secret, okay?"

Hearing that, Alyson relaxed a little, placed a gentle kiss onto her cheek before burying her face into crook of her neck and let out a sigh of relief. With Lucy's arms wrapped around her tightly, Alyson felt safer than sitting alone in her seat. She was no longer crying or trembling.

"We're going to survive this, right?" Alyson asked, resting her head on Lucy's shoulder

"We will, I promise….Just think of it as a roller coaster ride."

"I'm afraid of roller coasters."

"mmm...think of us riding on the space mountain."

Lucy thought about the time she spent with Kristin at Disneyland. She had so much fun there with Kristin. In fact, Kristin was so brave she rode the space mountain three times. Each time it was over, Kristin wanted to ride it again and she had to drag her out of there.

"A roller coaster in the dark. That's even more scary."

"Right…sorry…" Lucy ran out of ideas.

Alyson and Kristin may look alike but they have completely different personalities.

Both stayed silent for a long moment as they waited for the plane to stop shaking.

"I...have a confession."

Lucy shot her a questioning look.

"You...really don't know who I am...do you?"

Lucy sighed. "That's the third time you've asked me that." Then a slight frown appeared on her face. Lucy's eyes slowly scanned her face to her chest and stayed there for a few seconds then to her lower part and back up. "Don't...tell me that you're actually a guy underneath that pretty face of yours. Is that why you wanted to kiss me?…cuz I'll drop you…on the floor...**right now**."

"Keira!" Alyson slapped the brunette's shoulder. Seeing the brunette's smile, Alyson knew she was joking and shook her head. "You are unbelievable."

Lucy chuckled and pressed the blonde's head against her shoulder. She inhaled the scent of her hair and gave her a kiss on the forehead. At that moment, it felt like she was holding Kristin close to her.

Alyson continued with her confession. "Don't you read the news or magazine or watch tv?" She was a little upset about the brunette not recognizing her.

"Yes I do…but not so much tv, just business magazines…why? Are you a model? I mean, that would explain why that jackass would want to take a picture with you and you certainly have the legs for it." Her eyes scanned the length of her long legs.

"Thanks for the compliment but no…but I did play a short part in a couple of movies which you… probably… never… watched." Alyson rolled her eyes as Lucy shook her head slowly. She thought she was popular enough that everybody would know her by now. She guessed wrong.

"My name is not Alyson…Alyson is..."

"Alyson, before you tell me your real name. It really doesn't matter since we probably won't see each other again after we land."

"Don't you want to keep in touch with me after this?" Alyson was surprised that she didn't want to know who she really is.

Lucy sensed that the blonde was a bit hurt by what she just said.

"Why? Do you want to make out with me?" Lucy said jokingly, earning her another slap on the shoulder. "Ouch!…I'm joking." Lucy noticed that the blonde was no longer in a state of worry. It's like they were having a casual conversation in their own world, ignoring everything around them.

Lucy spoke in a serious tone while rubbing her shoulder. "Seriously, we have different lives. I don't know who you are but I sensed that you must have a busy life just like mine. There is really no point of keeping in touch if we never ever get to see each other again. If…one day, we run into each other again, I promise I won't forget who you are and I won't ignore you."

Lucy could see tears forming in the blonde's eyes and was a little surprised by the blonde's short kiss...on her lips. Alyson moved her face into the crook of her neck and spoke softly. "I promise I won't forget you either…and I know you will eventually know who I am…when you do and if you want to keep in touch with me…I promise I won't ignore you." She said as she caressed the spot on her shoulder where she slapped her.

Lucy kissed her head and pressed her own face against the blonde's head. Alyson snuggled closer to her, feeling content in her arms but at the same time feeling sad that they won't be seeing each other after this.

Suddenly, both were startled by the sound of a loud bang. The plane shook violently and everyone started screaming again.

* * *

Paris

Inside Kristin's apartment, Kat sat on the couch watching tv. Kristin, with her hair all messy and dressed in her sleep clothing, stepped out of her bedroom. It was an extremely emotional day for her and she didn't feel like talking to anyone. All she wanted to do was go to sleep and get some rest and hoped to complete this mission as soon as possible. What is she going to do after that? She has no idea. She thought about visiting Keira in Venice but would the brunette still want to see her? Thinking about Keira makes her heart ache and she knows she'll have a hard time falling asleep tonight. Feeling sick and tired from being drenched in rain an hour ago, she walked to the kitchen and opened one of the cabinets to get some medicine.

"Haa chu" Kristin sneezed repeatedly, feeling a cold and fever coming on.

"This will help me sleep." She said in a husky voice, holding a bottle of night cold medicine with alcohol.

After taking some liquid medicine with water, she walked back to her bedroom, rubbing her temples.

As she was entering into her bedroom, Kat spoke.

"Oh my God. They said there's a plane heading to Venice from here…it got hit by lightning and one of the engines is on fire."

Kat heard the door closed and shrugged and thought that Kristin wasn't interested in the news.

A few seconds later, Kristin came out and immediately walked to the front of the tv.

"Did they say what flight, what airline?" She asked, her heart beating profusely.

Kat was surprised at her reaction and noticed the worried look on the blonde's face. She didn't understand why she was suddenly so interested in the news when before she acted like she didn't care.

"I don't know."

"When did it take off?"

"Over an hour ago."

Sitting close to the tv, Kristin tried to listen to the news. Suddenly she stood up and paced back and forth across the living room in front of the tv.

"Can you stop moving? I can't see."

_How can I find out? How can I find out what flight she's on? _She knew she couldn't call the airline because they won't give out that information. With the cold, a headache and a racing heart, she had trouble thinking.

"Kristin, what's going on? You looked worried." Kat noticed that she wasn't in the talkative mood when she came back home. Over an hour ago, Kristin came inside the apartment with her whole body soaking wet. Seeing her just walking through the living room dripping water all over the floor with her head down like she didn't care, Kat sensed that something was wrong because Kristin is a very clean person. Making the floor a mess is unlike her. When Kristin told her nothing was wrong, she didn't believe her entirely and now with the way she's acting towards the news, Kat sensed she was hiding something from her.

"Nothing…I'm just worried for those people." Kristin quickly went back to her bedroom and locked it behind her.

She quickly took out the phone and called Keira. Without hesitation like last time, she pressed on the speed dial and held it up to her ear. Automated voice message again. She hung up and tried again. She felt hot and was sweating profusely. "…pick up… pick up…please pick up." Same thing. She called again. For some reason, she had a feeling that Keira was on that plane. Tears uncontrollably flowed down her cheeks as she waited for the voice mailbox. "C'mon..C'mon..C'mon..." Then she heard the beep sound. "Keira, it's Kristin. Can you call me please when you get this? I…I just want to make sure you're okay…call me…please." Her voice trembled as she spoke.

_"_No, she's not on that plane. She's just avoiding me. That's why she didn't pick up." She tried to convince herself.

Then a thought came to her. She sneezed a couple of times. _Alexis. She's not avoiding Alexis. _ _Michel has Scott's number. He can ask Scott._ She quickly called Alexis. Three rings. No answer. She called again. No answer. _What's going on? _She tried again. At the third ring, Alexis picked up.

As soon as the person on the other line picked up, she heard someone crying in the background on the other line. It wasn't Alexis who picked up. It was Michel. Kristin didn't want to ask Michel to get Scott's number since she couldn't think of an excuse as to why she would need to call him. She inhaled and slowly exhaled to calm herself down. "Michel, is Alexis there?" Her voice was calm.

"Kristin…she's…she can't take any calls right now."

"Why? What's wrong?" Her heart started to beat faster. She prayed internally that the cries she heard were not from Alexis.

"Did you hear the news about the plane to Venice? Keira's on that plane."

She needed more assurance, more proof. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, we called Scott and he said so. " And that was all the proof she needed. Michel told her to call Alexis later since she was crying non-stop and was watching the news.

She hung up and dropped the phone. Tears quickly ran down her face. She shook her head, not believing what she just heard. Her heart suddenly ached as if someone just poured acid on her chest, slowly melting her heart. She flopped back down on the bed, holding her heart. The memory of what happened that morning flowed into her mind. _It's all my fault. It's all my fault._ _If I had agreed to go with her, she wouldn't have been on that plane._ _She would have waited for me. _There wasn't anything she could do except blame herself.

"Hey Kristin, they're talking about it now. Do you want to hear it?" Kat called out from the living room.

Kristin quickly jumped up and as she was about to go outside to watch the news, she wiped her tears away.

She slowly walked outside and sat on the couch, pretending to be just interested in the news and not anyone in particular. "Did it land yet?" She said calmly, holding a tissue over her nose and blew into it to pretend that she was using it for her nose and not for her tears.

"No…not yet."

* * *

Lightning struck the plane. Lucy couldn't see where the plane got hit, but she knows it's on the right side, the side where she's sitting. Everyone was panicking and screaming.

"What was that?" Alyson became more frightened as the plane was shaking more than before. A pounding noise was heard accompanied by severe vibrations. She could feel her heart going up and down as if she was riding a roller coaster. She really hated those rides.

"It's just lightning…everything's going to be fine." Lucy said. At this moment, she wasn't so sure. She hoped that it didn't hit the engine. The air conditioner had shut down and it was starting to get warmer.

"Do you have your phone?" Alyson asked with panic in her voice.

"Alyson, it's not going to work." Lucy said slowly and calmly. She knew exactly what the blonde wanted to do.

"Let me try. I have to try. I have to tell them that I love them...please…" Alyson cried out in her trembling voice.

Seeing that she won't give up until she knows for sure, Lucy took her phone out from her jacket. After many unsuccessful attempts, Lucy stopped her from trying again.

Alyson stared at her, emotionless. She realized that this was it and there was nothing that anyone could do. It was useless to scream. It was useless to cry. It was useless to panic. There was no reason to be afraid anymore. No one could help them.

Lucy cupped her face and wiped the tears from the blonde's face with her thumbs. She then slowly pulled her head into the crook of her neck and held her tight with her right hand. Her left hand ran over the blonde's hair continuously to comfort her. Alyson loosened the grip on the phone and closed her eyes as she waited for the inevitable. They remained silent in that position for a while. Accepting the inevitability, Alyson felt relaxed and calm. Her mind focused on the one next to her, the one who had been next to her from the beginning, the one who will be next to her in the end.

"What is your last wish?" Alyson said softly, her head rested on the brunette's shoulder.

Lucy paused for a moment before responding. "I don't have one…because we are going to survive this. This is not the end."

Alyson let out a small laugh. "I see why they fell in love with you."

"Oh?...Why?"

She lifted her head and looked deeply into Lucy's eyes.

"Because you know just what to say to make them feel better."

Lucy smiled. Both gazed at each other for a few long seconds.

"Can you not think about them for a moment?" She said softly.

Lucy didn't understand the blonde's intention, but closed her eyes for a second and nodded.

Alyson smiled and cupped her face with both hands. She slowly leaned in, looking into her eyes before placing a short heartfelt kiss on her lips. Seeing no rejection from the brunette, she placed her hands around her neck and continued to kiss her slowly and gently on the lips. Lucy reciprocated the kiss in the same manner as they slowly alternated their head angles. Satisfied with her last wish, Alyson settled her head back on the brunette's shoulder.

Holding the blonde closer to her, Lucy placed a kiss on her forehead. _It was her last wish, to feel what it's like to kiss a girl._ She realized that the blonde had come to accept the inevitable. But deep inside, she believed that they might have a chance to survive this. It's been over 2 hours and they should be in Venice by now. Planes get struck by lightning all the time and she read somewhere that planes could land with one engine. As long as the captain is able to land the plane without too big of an impact, they could get through this with just a few bruises.

"Promise me you'll do this when you get home?" She stressed the word 'when'.

Alyson noticed that she used the word 'when' not 'if'. She didn't believe that they were going to survive through this, but she promised her anyways and nodded.

"Try to refrain from giving hugs and kisses so easily and take it slow and maybe you'll find someone who will actually care for you. It's better to start out with a handshake first."

Alyson lifted her head and locked her eyes on the brunette. She had dated several times and each time lasted only a few months. It was because she can easily fall for someone and didn't take the time to know him first, thus having her heart broken every time. She understood what the brunette was referring to and was surprised that the brunette could see right through her having only spent a couple of hours with her. She kissed her cheek before settling her head back onto her shoulder. She let out a sigh and whispered to herself. "…if only you're a guy…"

"I would be a pretty ugly looking dude, don't you think?"  
Alyson was surprised she heard that and laughed softly. "You are beautiful, inside and outside." She said as she placed her left hand on the brunette's face.

Lucy smiled and both were silent for a moment. Alyson snuggled close to her and Lucy held her tighter.

Not hearing a word from Alyson for a while, Lucy thought the heat in the airplane had tired her out until she started to sing softly into her ears, one song after another.

"You have a very nice voice. If acting doesn't work out, you should try becoming a singer."

Hearing that, Alyson chuckled and rolled her eyes, which the brunette couldn't see. She realized that even if she told the brunette her real name, the brunette still would have no idea who she is. It doesn't matter now. Smiling and no longer afraid of what was about to come, she thanked the Lord for letting someone be with her so she doesn't have to face it alone.

The temperature increased inside the cabin and both were sweating. Lucy's legs were starting to get numb from supporting the blonde. She stretched her legs to get the blood moving.

Feeling sweaty and hot, Alyson took off her own light blue cardigan and helped Lucy take off her black leather jacket. Wearing a sleeveless white shirt, she rested her head on Lucy's shoulder. After a while, she felt fatigue due to the heat and her heavy eyelids closed spontaneously.

* * *

Sitting quietly in front of the tv, Kat and Kristin both stared at the television.

"Oh my godddd…." Kat said when she saw the image of the plane on fire on tv. It looked like a fireball flying through the sky.

Kristin covered her mouth with her hand and wanted to cry but she held it in because she didn't want Kat asking her any more questions. What she wanted to know was if the plane could land safely. Feeling a little dizzy, she shook her head to clear it. She could feel her heartbeat in her head. Her eyelids were heavy. Her body even heavier. Her heart pounded as she heard more information from the news channel.

The plane lost one engine. One of the experts said it is possible to land with one engine but it depends on the plane's condition. Suddenly, it was cut to another newscaster who was just informed that the air traffic controllers had lost contact with the plane. She flipped to another channel and it said the same thing.

Hearing that, Kristin couldn't hold it in anymore. She covered her mouth and quickly went inside her bedroom and closed the door. Leaning her back against the door, she started to cry, both hands over her mouth. "No…no…no…" She said repeatedly, moving her head from left to right as she slid down on the floor. "God, please no." She prayed. Sweat soaked her neck and head. Her head was spinning. Tears blurred her vision. Her eyelids were drooping down and she struggled to open them. She couldn't see clearly. She couldn't think clearly. _I have to call her. I have to call her. _Her fingers trembled as she entered her password on the phone. Damn it. Wrong key. She tried again, sniffing up her tears. She wanted to hear her voice one last time. She wanted to tell her she loves her. But this time, she heard something different.

Suddenly, her eyes rolled back and her weakened body collapsed on the floor.

Lying next to the unconscious body, a female voice came from the phone. "We're sorry. This mailbox is full and cannot take new messages."

* * *

**Chapter 15: Chapter 15**

* * *

Chapter 15

The temperature inside the plane was about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The cabin was still pressurized and oxygen masks were still in the holders. Every time the plane dropped, Lucy heard screams behind the curtain, but they weren't as loud as before. Either a lot of the passengers had passed out or they didn't have the energy to scream anymore due to the heat. Lucy couldn't smell any smoke, so that was a good sign.

Sweat was dripping down her forehead. Feeling hot and tired, she struggled to keep her eyes open. She couldn't allow herself to fall asleep because she wouldn't be able to hold on to the sleeping blonde.

"Alyson…Alyson" Lucy called out, slapping her cheeks gently to wake her up. She could feel that the plane was descending fast. She needed her to be awake otherwise the blonde may end up with broken bones when they land. She tried shaking her, but no use. The heat was just too much for the blonde to handle. The galley was right across from her but it wasn't safe to get up to get some water. Looking around the floor, Lucy found a bottle of water that fell out from the food cart. She picked it up and put some water on her own face and neck. Then she poured some on her hand and tapped her wet hand over the blonde's face and neck. Alyson mumbled.

"Alyson…wake up." Lucy called out again and splashed some more water on her face.

The blonde mumbled again.

"I really hate to do this…but is this the only way." She wiped her hands dry before pinching hard on the blonde's upper left arm, causing Alyson to immediately cry out and spontaneously slap the brunette's right face.

"Jesus!" Lucy put her hand over her face. She didn't expect that kind of reaction from the blonde. At least it worked.

Opening her eyes slowly, Alyson took a moment to come to her senses.

"What happened?" Alyson asked as she rubbed her bruise arm.

"Sorry…I just need you to wake up."

"What's wrong with your face?"

Realizing that the blonde had no idea what she just did, Lucy shook her head. "It's not important. I'm glad you're awake. I have a feeling we're going to land soon and I need you…"

The captain's voice came over the loudspeaker. He informed them that lightning struck one of the engines and that the fire had been extinguished. "Ladies and gentlemen and crew, please prepare for emergency landing."

The captain's voice was shaking. It didn't sound like he was sure that he could land the plane safely. Passengers started to whimper. Both heard people saying 'Oh my God' behind the curtain.

Alyson realized that this was it. She stayed silent and stared at the brunette.

Lucy could tell that the blonde was having negative thoughts. She cupped her face and look directly into her eyes.

"Listen to me." She said in a serious tone. "I need you to hold on to me as tight as you can when I tell you to."

Not getting any response, Lucy tapped her face lightly to get her attention. "You hear me?"

Finally getting a nod from the blonde, Lucy pulled her head against her neck.

"It's going to be okay. We're going home." Lucy tried to make her think positively.

"We're…going…home?" Alyson said softly, in an uncertain tone.

"We're going home." Lucy assured her and placed a kiss on her head.

Alyson wasn't totally convinced. She wasn't afraid. No urge to cry. She had been waiting for this moment and it's finally here.

"Wait." Lucy reached down to grab her jacket, rolled it up and put it onto the area where the seat belt made contact with Alyson's body. She then placed her left arm around the blonde underneath the jacket.

"Okay…all set." Lucy was using the jacket and her own forearms as a cushion so that the seat belt won't hurt the blonde as much when the plane hits the ground.

Her heart melted when she realized that the brunette was trying to protect her.

"C'mon…hold on to me…we're going to land soon."

Touched by the brunette's actions, Alyson rested her head back against her neck and held onto her waist, feeling extremely grateful to have the brunette with her. After a short moment, she found the courage to say what was on her mind and moved towards the brunette's ear and whispered. "I think…"

As the plane was descending, Lucy couldn't hear too well due to the feeling of stuffiness in her ears.

"What? I can't hear you."

"I said I think…" She stopped when she heard the flight attendant's voice on the speaker.

"Please place your seat cushions in front of you. Lean forward. Place your hands under your knees."

The flight attendant continued to speak and told the passengers to jump on to the chutes and get out of the plane as soon as they landed.

"This is it. We're going to land soon. Hold on as tight as you can when I tell you too. Once we land, I'll open the emergency exit and we'll go down the chute together. Then I'll need you to get on my back as fast as you can."

Lucy just hoped the impact won't be too great so that the seat belt would be strong enough to hold them both. She hoped that there won't be any other unexpected surprises.

"You understand?" Lucy waited for her to respond.

Alyson nodded. She wanted to say something to her but decided to wait until they landed.

After a short moment, Lucy could see the lights of the airport through the small window on the emergency exit. The plane was slowly dropping. She could see the runway. _We're almost there._ _We're going to make it._ She waited for the bump of the touchdown.

"Okay…NOW!"

Alyson shut her eyes tight, held her breath and grabbed onto the brunette's waist as tight as she can. Lucy wrapped around the blonde while looking at the window, waiting for the impact.

* * *

Inside the living room of the Couric's house, Alexis and Michel were attentively watching the news about the plane. It was late and Ashley had gone to sleep.

About half an hour earlier, Michel was watching news. Breaking news about the plane came on and interrupted the regular news. While calling Scott to confirm that Keira was on that plane, Alexis heard the mentioning of Keira's name while walking by the living room. Knowing that his daughter had fallen in love with Keira, he felt that his daughter would want to know what was happening.

Alexis didn't believe it at first. She tried numerous times calling Keira and left dozens of voice mails and text messages. After getting no response from the brunette, she came to accept the fact and had been crying uncontrollably, sitting in front of the tv ever since.

Sitting on the floor to be closer to the tv, she held a tissue to wipe her continuous flow of tears. She turned up the volume, making sure she didn't miss anything. Listening intently to the news, Alexis didn't hear her phone buzzing on the couch. Michel noticed and picked it up when he saw that it was Kristin calling.

When the newscaster said they lost contact with the plan, her heart beat even faster. She changed to other channels and found that all channels said the same thing. She closed her eyes and prayed for Keira, making promises to the Lord. She is willing to do anything as long as Keira is safe and sound.

After a long moment, the image of the plane appeared on tv. She felt a little better when the plane no longer looked like a meteor flying through the sky. Ambulances and fire trucks were already at the Venice airport waiting for the plane to land. Air traffic control somehow made contact with the plane again. The plane was ready to land. Feeling nervous and scared, Alexis closed her eyes and recited every prayer she could remember.

"Alexis, look…they're showing the plane." Michel said, sitting next to Alexis.

Alexis opened her eyes and stopped praying. It was dark and the plane only showed up as a spot of light. Then they suddenly stopped showing the video. The newscaster said it was getting ready to land and the plane was getting very close to the runway. Alexis' whole body was tremble. Her sweaty palms clasped together, shaking uncontrollably. A video of the plane suddenly appeared on TV.

"It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay." Michel tried to comfort her.

The plane was getting very close to the runway. Then suddenly, they stopped showing the video again and the newscaster stopped talking. There was silence for a few seconds that felt like a long time to Alexis.

"What happened?" Alexis asked in her panic voice.

After a short moment, the newscaster then spoke. "We just received word that the Airbus A320 flight 1000 from Paris to Venice, Italy has a landing gear malfunction. The wheels did not come down. The wheels did not come down." Then the newscaster repeated what she just said and repeated what had caused the plane to malfunction.

The image of the plane crashing into the ground then appeared in her mind.

"Alexis! Alexis!" Michel called out to the unconscious body that had fallen into his arms.

* * *

Inside the airplane

There was no impact. There was no bump. Lucy couldn't see the lights that lit up the runway.

Her heart ached as the plane suddenly ascended at top speed. "Jeeeesuuussss!" She yelled. _What the hell? _Other passengers also screamed out loud as the plane suddenly zoomed up.

After a moment the plane leveled and the captain spoke on the speaker to inform the passengers that there was a slight problem. He said the air controller just informed him that the landing gears did not come down and he had no way of knowing if it did or not because of the malfunction caused by the lightning.

_Shit. Now what? _Lucy turned to look at the sweating blonde who was staring blankly and emotionlessly at her.

"Are you scared?" Lucy asked as she moved the blonde's hair away from her face.

Alyson didn't respond.

"You know, if you're scared, you can scream. Screaming helps." Lucy noticed the blonde didn't cry out when the plane suddenly ascended.

Seeing that there was no reaction from the blonde, Lucy thought something was wrong.

She slapped the blonde's cheek lightly. "Alyson, talk to me. Are you okay?"

Reaching her hand up slowly, Alyson took hold of the brunette's hand that was on her face.

"I…want to tell you something." Alyson spoke calmly.

Before the plane was about to land, she wanted to say something to Keira but every time she was interrupted. At that moment, she really believed that they would be able to get through this so she decided to wait until they landed. But now, something unexpected happened. If she didn't tell her now, there might never be another chance.

Alyson moved toward the brunette's ears. "I think I …" She stopped when the Captain spoke on the speaker again. Her head fell down on the brunette's shoulder and she let out another big sigh. "Why does this keep happening_?" _She mumbled.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We just flew over the control tower and they could see that the plane's landing gear is down. There is no way to tell if the wheels are locked into place." He paused.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We are going to have to prepare you for an emergency landing." The captain said in his trembling voice.

There was total silence on board. The plane started to descend slowly.

"Alyson, let's try again." Lucy said to the blonde who still had her head on her shoulder.

Alyson lifted her head and looked at the brunette.

"When I say 'Now', you hold on to me. Don't worry about hurting me…just hold on as tight as you can." Lucy repeated everything she said before.

"Just one more thing." Alyson said.

Lucy frowned at her statement since she was sure she didn't miss anything.

Alyson spoke into her ear and placed a long kiss on her cheek. Feeling a little embarrassed about what she just said, she buried her face into the crook of the brunette's neck and held her tight. This time no one interrupted her and she felt content to be able to tell the brunette before the inevitable outcome.

Lucy felt Alyson's lips on her cheeks but didn't think anything of it. Having been kissed on the cheeks a few times since they've met, she thought that it was Alyson's way of thanking her, so she got used to it. Lucy kept her eyes at the window. She could see the city lights. Having just heard what the captain said, she knew what could happen to the plane if the wheels weren't locked into place. The plane could land hard on the runway and there might be a chance of explosion. She guessed that the plane must not have much fuel left, otherwise the captain would have flown somewhere else to dump the extra fuel before trying to land to minimize explosion…_unless there's something else he didn't tell us about._

"Here we go." She said, unsure of whether the blonde heard her.

She could see the runway. She could feel the steady drop. She tightened the hold on the blonde.

"Now!"

* * *

Kristin's apartment

Kat sat next to the unconscious body lying on the floor. A moment ago, she heard a thud and the dropping sound of an object coming from Kristin's bedroom. After calling out to Kristin a few times from the door and not getting a response, she was shocked to find Kristin lying on the floor, unconscious. Luckily, the door was not locked; otherwise she would have to break the doorknob to open it.

Having had some medical training, Kat decided not to call the ambulance until trying a few things. First she checked Kristin's breathing and it was normal. She turned the blonde's head sideways so that her tongue doesn't fall back into her throat. She loosened her clothing and then applied a cold moist towel over her face and neck while calling out her name but did not get a response. _Poor thing. She must be very sick. _With her hand over forehead, she realized that Kristin was getting a fever.

"Kristin…Kristin." Kat called out repeatedly.

Seeing that none of this worked, she then moved to the other end and lifted her legs up to let the blood flow to the brain.

After a short moment, Kristin started to move her head and hands. Kat gently let go of her legs and sat next to her, lifting her upper body and supporting her.

"Kristin….Kristin…are you okay?"

When she opened her eyes, everything was spinning. Getting extremely dizzy, she shut her eyes again. Her body was weak.

"Don't try to move…just breathe…"

"Oww!…my head!." Kristin cried out, holding her head.

"You must have fallen pretty hard on the floor." Kat said as she placed her hand on the blonde's head and gently rubbed on it.

Kristin slowly opened her eyes and noticed that she was in her own bedroom.

"What happened?" She asked, confusion on her face.

"You fainted and you have a fever."

After a moment, Kat helped her friend up on the bed.

"Let me get you some water."

Lying on the bed with her head resting sideways on the pillow, Kristin closed her eyes to rest. Her head hurt so much, she couldn't think.

Kat came back with a glass of water.

"Thank you." Kristin said as she lifted her head up a little to drink some water. After taking a drink, her head immediately flopped back on the pillow.

"Now get some rest." Kat said as she placed a new cold moist towel on her head. "I'll check up on you later."

"Okay…Thanks" She spoke in a whisper. She was so weak, she needed Kat's help to pull the blanket over herself. Before Kat closed the door, Kristin mumbled another thank you to her before falling fast asleep. The medicine she took earlier was taking effect.

* * *

11:00AM in Venice, Italy

Standing quietly next to the blonde lying on the hospital bed, Lucy looked at the blonde while a nurse re-wrapped the bandages on the blonde's left ankle. It had been an hour already from the time the plane landed to the time they got to the hospital. She just had an x-ray done on her left forearm. Nothing was broken but will definitely be getting some bruises tomorrow. Once she reached the hospital, she called Scud to let him know she was alright.

An hour ago, the plane landed safely to the ground, but the landing was so bad, passengers would have been thrown off their seats if they did not have their seat belts on. After the plane landed, everyone started coughing. It was bad enough they didn't have air conditioning. Smoke suddenly came from the vents inside the cabin. Lucy couldn't wait for the plane to stop and quickly unbuckled the seat belt and moved the blonde aside, causing Alyson to cry out in pain because of her ankle. There was no time to worry about that, no time to be gentle. If she waited for the plane to stop, they might die from smoke inhalation and not from the bad landing. Something must be happening for the smoke to come out. She quickly opened the Emergency Exit next to their seat and looked outside. Smoke came out of the engine on that side and she could see sparks. Seeing that it wasn't safe to deploy the chute on that side, she went to the other side. She could see the ambulances and fire trucks heading their way. The plane finally came to a stop. She pulled the lever to deploy the chute. She turned around and expected Alyson to be right behind her, but instead, passengers from the business class cabin came rushing through the curtain.

"Alyson!" She yelled, coughing repeatedly. There was no response. She made her way pass through the crowd across the other side. There on the seat was the blonde lying unconscious. Later, the oxygen masks came down.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy hovered over the blonde's face and noticed that there was some dirt on her cheek. When she reached out to wipe off the dirt, Alyson's head shot up and bumped her forehead against the brunette's.

"Jesus!" Lucy screamed out loud.

Both she and the nurse were startled by the blonde's sudden outburst in pain. With her eyes wide open and tears flowing down, Alyson screamed out in pain. Her hand reached out to touch her ankle which the nurse did not finished wrapping. As the pain slowly faded, Alyson looked around and came to her senses. Seeing the brunette right in front of her, she quickly wrapped her arms around her waist. Tears of joy ran down her cheeks and she couldn't stop herself from crying.

"Ssshhh…it's okay…you're safe now." Lucy said as she ran her hand down on the blonde's head to comfort her. The nurse then left the room to give them some privacy.

After Alyson stopped crying and calmed down, Lucy sat on the bed next to her. Alyson rested her head on her chest and wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist.

"What happened?" Alyson finally asked.

"Well, my plan didn't work out. You fainted before I got the door opened."

"Sorry" Alyson said, letting out a small smile.

"It's okay. It all worked out." Lucy placed a kiss on her head.

Alyson suddenly thought of something and lifted her head up. "Were there any casualties?"

Lucy could tell how worried she was. _She has a good heart. _

"No…just minor injuries." Lucy assured her.

Alyson let out a deep breath and rested her head onto the brunette's chest again.

"They did an x-ray on your ankle. Nothing's broken."

Feeling extremely comfortable in the brunette's arms, Alyson nodded and closed her eyes.

"Hey, do you need to call anyone to let them know you're okay?" Lucy spoke softly, relaxing her back against the pillow.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! How could I forget that?" Kristin blamed herself for not thinking of her family first. "They must be so worried."

Lucy handed her the hospital phone and left the room to get her some food.

Outside the hospital room, Lucy walked around to see where she could find some food. After asking one of the nurses, she was directed to a room with a round table, a refrigerator, toaster, a microwave oven, coffee machine, and a cabinet filled with loaves of bread, cookies, condiments, etc. Not knowing what the blonde would like to eat, she got a little bit of each: bread, cookies, and juice. While waiting for the bread to pop up from the toaster, she noticed the two nurses were looking at her and talking in Italian. She heard the words United States, the word bambini, her room# and something about the blonde. Alyson did say she was popular. She guessed that nurses must know who she is. Lucy walked back to the room and was surprised to see another man inside and getting her clothing from the chair. It looked like the blonde was getting to leave.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked.

"Keira!" Alyson spoke loudly. "This is a friend of mine, Robert."

Lucy wondered how he got here so fast. He was even more surprised when the man immediately hugged her to thank her for saving the blonde.

"We have to go now before paparazzis find out." Robert said.

"This is a hospital. They're not allowed to come up here." Lucy said.

"You'll be surprised what they can do. They'll find a way to sneak up here somehow."

Seeing the windows shades were opened, he walked over to the windows and closed the shades to prevent anyone from taking pictures of the blonde outside.

Lucy knew why he did that but this is the 7th floor. _You've gotta to be kidding me. _

"And I don't trust the workers here." Robert added.

When he spoke the first syllable of the megastar's name, he stopped when he saw the blonde's eyes narrowing at him.

A moment ago when they were alone, she told him not to call her by her real name and told him that the brunette knows she's famous but doesn't know who she is. Robert let out a laugh after hearing that and thought the blonde was joking. He stopped laughing when he realized the blonde was being serious. How could anybody not know who she is? She's a megastar.

"Keira, why don't you come with us?"

Robert walked over to the blonde and spoke to her privately while Lucy stood watching them. Lucy could tell that Robert wasn't too happy about what the blonde decided.

Seeing that Alyson was trying to walk over to her with her sprained ankle, Lucy quickly put down the plate of food and walked towards her to support her.

Alyson held the brunette's hand. "Keira, come with me. We're going to stay in a hotel." Alyson said in a serious tone and hoped the brunette would agree.

Lucy noticed that Robert was pacing back and forth and was getting extremely anxious to get out of the hospital. Since they shared the same room, the paparazzis will probably try to come up here to take some pictures like Robert said and she certainly didn't want her picture taken. Besides, staying in the hotel would be better than staying here. She doesn't have her wallet or luggage and she couldn't get to the hotel that Scud booked for her.

"Okay." Lucy said with a smile.

Extremely happy with the response, Alyson instructed Robert to notify the doctor and take care of things while both changed to their regular clothes. Wearing sunglasses and a cap that Robert brought for her, Alyson sat on a wheelchair while the brunette pushed her outside to the main entrance. Once inside Robert's car, Alyson felt more relaxed.

Staring out the window, Lucy looked at the beautiful city of Venice. She's here in Venice, finally. It's crazy how things turned out. She was supposed to be here with Kristin, but instead she's here sitting in a car with another pretty young blonde, someone she met for about 3 hours, someone she experienced life and death with and someone she will never see again after tomorrow morning. Lucy turned her head to look at Alyson. It was dark inside the car but she could tell the blonde was smiling at her, their fingers intertwined.

After 20 minutes, they took the water taxi to the five star hotel. Alyson's hotel suite had a king size bed, a sofa, and a good size bathroom. It was a definitely a place where rich people would go to for vacation. Lucy walked over to the window and noticed that there was a canal behind the hotel. It was absolutely gorgeous.

"Okay girls, stay away from the window and keep the shades closed." Robert said.

As he was about to close the door, Lucy spoke out loud. "Wait!"

"um…Do you mind if I get my own room?" Lucy asked.

"Keira, this is a king size bed. There's plenty of room for both of us."

"**and** she'll need your help going to the bathroom." Robert added. At first, he didn't think that it would be a good idea to have the brunette come along. He changed his mind after realizing that the blonde had a sprained ankle and she would need help later.

Seeing that the brunette didn't have anything to say, Robert said good night and closed the door.

Standing still near the window watching the blonde sitting on the edge of the king size bed, Lucy swallowed hard. She didn't expect to be in the same room with her. She's not interested in her and she knows that Alyson is not interested in woman. But sleeping with another woman is never a good idea unless you're not gay. _Well, the sofa looks comfy._

Lucy assisted the blonde to the bathroom to take a shower. Thank goodness they took the crutches from the hospital. Otherwise, she had no idea how to help the blonde take a shower without seeing her in all her glory.

Sitting at the round table, both were eating dinner in their hospital clothing. It was Lucy's idea to take the hospital clothing with them since they didn't have their luggage.

"This is definitely better than hospital food." Lucy said as she slumped against the chair, her hand on her belly.

Alyson smiled at the comment.

"Here's to us." Alyson raised her glass of wine.

"us?" Lucy asked, not understanding what the blonde meant.

"Friends Forever." The blonde said shyly.

Lucy smiled as she clinked her glass against hers. She took a sip of wine and immediately put it down. It had been a while since she had alcohol and she didn't want to start drinking it now since she's in a foreign country in a room with someone whom she barely knows.

"Alyson, what are you doing?" Lucy reached out to stop the blonde from gulping down the whole glass of wine.

"I'm just happy…happy that you're here." Alyson said as she placed her hand over the brunette's hand.

"I'm happy to be here too. But this is not the time to be drinking so much." Lucy stood up and took the glass away from her. "You have a sprained ankle and getting to the bathroom is going to be difficult. We need to put some ice on that."

While Lucy helped her walk over to sit on the sofa without the crutches, she didn't notice the blonde was staring at her the whole time. Lucy lifted her leg up to rest on the sofa and unwrapped the bandages. She put some ice on a hand towel and placed it over the swelling area.

"Does it still hurt?" Lucy asked, looking at her swollen foot.

The blonde shook her head but didn't say anything. Lucy lifted her head and noticed the blonde's eyes brimming with tears. She thought the blonde was in pain but didn't want to admit it.

Knowing that tomorrow will be the last day she'll ever get to see her again, Alyson couldn't control her inner feelings and allowed her tears to flow down her cheeks.

There was a long moment of awkward silence and Lucy tried to break the silence.

"Are you even old enough to drink?" Lucy asked.

"Keira! I'm 24. I'm old enough to do a lot of things."

Lucy's mind immediately wandered to the past. _Where have I heard that before?_ She shook herself out of her thoughts.

"I bet I've done things you've haven't done before."

"Oh really? Like what?" Lucy let out a small laugh.

"Like…like…" Alyson tried to think of something unrelated to her job. "I've met Prince William."

Lucy let out a noise to indicate that she really doesn't care for that. "..and?.."

Alyson frowned and pouted. She thought meeting Prince William was a big deal. Not everyone get to do that.

"I've met the First Lady."

"mhm" Lucy nodded.

From her reaction, Alyson could tell she wasn't impressed.

"..and?.."

The blonde's eyebrows creased even more. "…and people look up to me. I've donated millions to help homeless kids, build schools, charity organizations, visited cancer patients, …and supported LGBT."

Lucy lifted her head immediately. That got her attention. "Well, there you go…now that's impressive."

Lucy herself donated to charities as anonymous, but that was about it.

Alyson let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding. She was glad she was finally able to impress the brunette.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" Lucy re-wrapped the bandages on her ankle and put her leg down. She stood up and got the blonde's crutches.

"Well, I just told you something I've done that you've never did before." She stood up and slowly walked to the bathroom with the help of the crutches, with Keira walking beside her.

"So...you want me to tell you something I've done that you never did before?"

Alyson stepped inside the bathroom and turned around to look at the brunette. Lucy was about to close the door but the blonde stopped her, leaving a little opening. "Well?" Alyson said, extremely curious to know what the brunette was going to say.

"You really want to know." Lucy spoke in a serious tone.

Alyson nodded vigorously.

The brunette's face turned emotionless. She moved her face closer to the blonde's.

"I…have…killed…before." She said in a whisper. A squeaking sound came from the bathroom door as she closed it. Letting out a small smile, she walked to the table to clean up the mess. She counted in her head to see how long the blonde will come out of the bathroom. 1…2…3….4

After 4 seconds, Alyson quickly opened the bathroom door. "Keira! You're lying." She yelled out loudly as her heart started to pound faster. The only way the brunette would have killed before is if she is a cop or used to be one. That's the only thing she could come up with. But a cop, with that gorgeous face, sounds unlikely. And the way the brunette said it, it could only mean one thing.

Lucy turned around and smiled.

"I never said I killed a person. I've killed lobsters multiple times. Have you done that before?"

"ugghhh!" Alyson couldn't believe she fell for that and slammed the door hard behind her.

Lucy's grin then faded slowly. Thoughts of the past flowed into her mind as she stared at the knife on the table. Lucy had in fact killed someone before. Many years ago, when she learned that the Schaffers were responsible for her father's death, she vowed to take revenge. The long feud between the Schaffers and Reynolds claimed a lot of lives even before she took over her father's place. Both families were involved in a lot of criminal activities. But the Schaffers were more inhumane. They were involved in prostitution, drug dealing, human trafficking, etc. Lucy's father never allowed his group to be involved in these. Thus the power of the Reynold's family was never as strong as the Schaffers. That was how her father got defeated.

The Head of the Schaffers didn't care what he had to do as long as it would increase his wealth and power. That power didn't come from loyal followers, that power came from followers who were afraid of him if they didn't get the job done. Lucy used this knowledge to bring him down.

After capturing the Head of the Schaffers, her men already beat him half to death. Even without her bullet to his head, he would have died from internal bleeding. She just ended his misery a little sooner. Even though she probably saved a lot of people by killing him, she was still a criminal.

Sometimes she thinks that that was the reason the Lord took Amy away from her…to punish her. Someone like her shouldn't have a happy life. Someone like her should be living a lonely life without love. Those were her thoughts back then…until she met Kristin.

"Keira…Keira!" Alyson called out multiple times, sitting on the left side of the bed.

The shouting brought Lucy out of her reverie.

"What are you thinking of?"

"Nothing…just thinking of when I should go back to the airport tomorrow to get my stuff."

"Oh…"

Lucy noticed the blonde wasn't too happy. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Room service." A man called from outside of the door.

"The laundry must be done." Alyson said.

Before Lucy opened the door, she took a peek through the peephole first.

"Are you sure? You don't think it's the paparazzi disguising as room service, do you?" Lucy asked.

Alyson shrugged.

"Cover yourself with the blanket." Lucy said.

As soon as Alyson covered herself, Lucy slid the security door guard and asked him to hand her the bag of laundry. Without showing her face, she handed him the tip, a big tip that he'll be satisfied with.

"So how popular are you here in Venice?" Lucy asked as she placed the clothing in the chest drawer.

"Not as popular as in the US or France. I was supposed to go to a radio talk show tomorrow but Robert rescheduled it for me."

Alyson had no idea why she's still keeping her identity a secret. Both of them didn't ask what each other did for a living. After tonight, they'll never be able to see other again. So she guessed that there was no point of telling her real name.

"What are you doing?" Alyson asked when she saw Keira putting a pillow on the sofa.

" sleep. I'm tired. It's almost midnight."

"But..but…aren't you sleeping here?"

Lucy continued to fluff her pillows. "I don't think that's a good idea." Lucy said without looking at the blonde.

"Keira, it's a king size bed. It's more comfortable here." Alyson said as she patted on the bed. "Besides, I might need your help going to the bathroom."

"It's fine. Really, I'm fine. This is more comfortable than the plane seat. If you need me, just yell." Lucy said as she walked over to the closet to grab a blanket.

Alyson let out a sigh and flopped her head back to the pillow and closed her eyes. Getting a little frustrated, she wondered why the brunette suddenly started to distance herself from her. Inside the airplane, they were doing more than just holding each other. It's not like she's planning to do anything else with her.

Suddenly a realization hit her. _Shit!_ Was it because of what she said before the landing that scared her away? _Oh my god! I thought we were going to die. I thought we were never going to see other again. That's why I said that._ Feeling extremely embarrassed now, she pulled the blanket over her head. Lucy said good night to the blonde and heard the blonde mumbled something back. She turned off the lights and walked back to the sofa.

Ten minutes later, Lucy jumped off the sofa when she heard the blonde screaming. Walking quickly to the wall to turn on the lights, she tripped over a chair and bumped her head against the chest drawer.

"Jesus!" Lucy screamed in pain.

Alyson turned on the lamp on the table next to the bed and could see Lucy sitting on the floor, rubbing her forehead. This is the second time her head got injured today.

"Oh my God! Are you all right?" Alyson sat up and reached for her crutches.

"Yea…I just tripped over something and bumped my head." Lucy said as she got up slowly. Feeling a little dizzy, she fell back to the floor. _Is today Friday the 13th or something?_

After a short moment, she got up and sat on the chair and placed an ice cube on her bruised forehead. "Why were you screaming?"

"My ankle..it's itchy..I was trying to scratch it."

If she screamed like that because of an itchy ankle, Lucy wondered how loud her scream would be if she got a broken leg. Lucy walked over to the bed and unwrapped the bandage.

"Let's keep this off tonight."

She then asked the blonde where it was itchy and scratched it for her.  
"Okay…all better?"

The blonde nodded with a smile. Lucy then placed her foot on top of two pillows to elevate it.

"Is it because of what I said on the plane? Is that why you don't want to sleep here?" Alyson said when the brunette was about to head back to the sofa.

Lucy sat on the edge of the bed, confusion all over her face.

"What are you talking about?"

"You…didn't hear what I said before we landed?"

Lucy shook her head. "No. My ears were blocked. All I heard was a continuous high pitch beeping sound. 'eeeeeee…' It was really painful." Lucy shivered at the thought. "Why? What did you say?"

Alyson quickly responded. "Nothing. I…I just want to thank for everything."

Lucy could tell the blonde was lying by the color of her cheeks suddenly turning red.

"To thank you for saving me, I cannot allow you to sleep on that sofa." The blonde moved her legs down on the floor. "I'll sleep on the sofa. You take the bed."

Lucy stopped her from getting up. "Alyson, don't be silly."

"Then you stop being silly." Alyson quickly responded. "Haven't you ever had a sleepover with your friends when you were younger?"

Lucy shook her head.

"Oh…" The blonde was a little surprised with her response. "Well, a sleepover is when you have your girlfriends over at your house, then talk about various things and .."

"Alyson, I may not have had a sleepover or went to anyone's house for a sleepover, but I do know what a sleepover is."

"Oh…right…good…then that's all we're going to do…just sleep…okay?" Alyson gazed at her, waiting for her response.

After an exhausting day, Lucy was too tired to think or do anything else. _The bed does look comfortable_. After a short moment, Lucy nodded and both gave each other a smile.

Lucy helped the blonde back into bed. She then walked over to the other side and slid into the king size bed and pull the blanket over herself. Feeling relaxed and comfortable, Lucy closed her eyes and waited for unconsciousness to take over. But no matter how comfortable the bed was, she just had a hard time falling asleep tonight. She turned to the left and tried to sleep. After a few minutes, she turned to the right and immediately felt a body next to her. She could feel the blonde's breathing in her face. It was that close.

"um…Alyson…what are you doing?"

"I can't sleep. As soon as I close my eyes, I thought about what happened in the plane."

Who could blame her? Who can sleep after going through what they just did?

"Yea…me too." Lucy sat up and turned on the other lamp next to her and noticed that the blonde had slid to the middle of the bed. Her injured foot was no longer on the pillows. Lucy walked over to the bathroom and turned the lights on and left the door slightly opened so that it would be dark enough inside the room but they would still be able to see where they were going. She took 2 bottles of water and placed one on the table next to the blonde and the other next to her. At the end of the bed, she moved the 2 pillows to the middle and placed it underneath the blonde's injured foot. Then she slid back into her side of the bed and turned off the lamp.

It was dim inside the room, just like how it was in the airplane, but a little bit brighter. Lucy extended her right arm up and looked at Alyson. Taking the hint, Alyson placed her head on the brunette's right shoulder and snuggled closer to her, wrapping her right arm around her waist, just like how they did in the airplane, except this time it's on the brunette's right shoulder.

"Just one more thing." Alyson said. She lifted her head up and placed a chaste kiss on the brunette's right cheek before resting her head back onto her shoulder. This time, she didn't say anything into her ear.

Lucy was getting used to her kisses on her cheek. She made a mental note to remind the blonde to stop doing that to everyone she meets. She placed a kiss on the blonde's head and both relaxed on the bed.

After a moment, both finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Kristin's apartment 9AM

Awaken by the sound of a pan being dropped, Kristin slowly sat up, holding her head. After sleeping for more than 10 hours, her fever and headache went away, but the bump on her head started to swell. Swiping her eyes, she blinked a few times to adjust to the sun light from the window. She had not come to her senses yet and she had no idea why there was a bump on her head. Feeling the need to go the bathroom badly, she quickly got up and walked outside of the bedroom and into the bathroom without saying anything to Kat. After she was done, she didn't feel like washing her face or brushing her teeth yet. She lay her body on the couch and closed her eyes.

"Hey, are you feeling better? Want some breakfast? I made scrambled eggs." Kat said happily and sat next to her, putting her hand over her forehead to see if she still has a fever.

Kristin didn't answer and just mumbled.

"Well, you don't have a fever, so that's good."

"Do you want me to call Michel to tell him you're sick?"

The blonde mumbled again.

"Wait…it's a Saturday. You don't have to work. Well, I guess you can sleep all you want."

Kristin sniffled and could feel her nose was all stuffed up. She slowly sat up. Her eyes were swollen and she struggled to open them. Her hair is a mess.

"You look like hell."

Kristin turned towards Kat without showing any emotion.

"Next time, watch the weather channel first before you leave the house so you'll know when to bring an umbrella with you." Kat turned on the tv while eating her breakfast.

"How's the bump on your head?"

Kristin moved her hand to the side of her head and pressed it gently.

"What happened?" The blonde finally asked.

"I don't know. I found you on the floor last night. Looks like the fever got to you...you fainted."

"Oh…" With her head down, Kristin got up and walked slowly to the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. _I look like hell._

She decided to take a shower to wake herself up.

After taking a shower, she felt a lot better and walked back to the bedroom to get dressed. Hearing from Kat that it was a Saturday, she felt even better knowing that she didn't have to work.

Where's my phone? She looked around her bedroom.

"Kat, do you know where my phone is?" She asked from the bedroom door.

"It's in the kitchen charging. You dropped it last night and you left it on."

"I did. Why would I do that?" She said as she walked over to the kitchen.

"I don't know. You were acting pretty weird last night after hearing about the plane crash."

Kristin immediately stopped. Her legs and hands started to tremble. Her heart beat out of control as the memories of what had happened last night came rushing into her brain. Suddenly a sharp pain shot through her brain. She reached up with both hands, applying pressure on the side of her head. The pain was too much to bear. Her eyes shut tight. She screamed out in pain. "AAAAAHHHHH!"

Startled by the sudden scream, Kat dropped her plate on the table. She quickly ran to the blonde to hold on to her, afraid that she would faint again. Kristin dropped to her knees. Kat wrapped her arms around her head. "Ssshhhhh….Ssshhhhh." Kat repeated to calm her down.

Her body felt heavy. Her head felt as though it was going to explode. She dropped to the floor and her head landed on Kat's lap. Kat tried to block the light from her eyes by covering her head, running her fingers down the blonde's hair to sooth her. "Ssshhhhh….Ssshhhhh."

After a moment, the blonde calmed down. Her eyes were still closed. Her arms lay flat on the floor as if she was dead.

"Breathe…just breathe." Kat had no idea what just happened but she felt that she had to let her supervisors know._ She must be having a mental breakdown. Poor thing._

* * *

**Chapter 16: Chapter 16**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

Awakened by the sunlight beaming through the window, she slowly opened her eyes. Feeling a little numb on her right arm, she tried to move it, but couldn't. She looked down on her right, her head immediately jerked back, surprised to find a head of golden hair resting on her shoulder. She took a short moment to remember what happened last night, then flopped her head back on to the pillow, looking at the ceiling. Her head shot up. She peeked through the blanket, then flopped back on the pillow as she let out a deep breath. Hearing a chuckle from the other person, she turned her head towards her.

"What's so funny?" Lucy asked.

"You."

"What?"

"You just checked to see if we were naked."

Lucy realized that the blonde had been awake for a while. She knew she herself wasn't naked. But she just wanted to make sure the blonde wasn't either. They were so tired from yesterday's events, their bodies never moved from their original position. Feeling a little embarrassed, she cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject.

"Did you sleep well?" Lucy asked, concerned that the blonde may have had nightmares last night after her traumatic experience.

With her eyes still closed, Alyson said softly with a smile. "mm hmm…Thank you."

"What time is it?"

"…still early…let's sleep for 10 more minutes."

Lucy looked to the right to look at the clock on the table and was surprised that they had slept for 9 hours.

"It's 9 already. We have to get up." She tried to get up but was immediately held back down by the blonde who placed her head over her chest and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Just 10 more minutes, please…" Alyson said in a whisper with her eyes closed.

Lucy's whole body was aching. Her shoulder felt stiff and soar from allowing the blonde to sleep on her shoulder last night. She flopped her head back and relaxed for 10 more minutes. Ten minutes went by and the blonde again requested to sleep for ten more minutes. After 10 more minutes, Lucy decided that it was really time to get up.

"We have to get up." She said to the blonde who was resting her head on her chest.

Getting no response, Lucy repeated. "It's 9:30. We really have to get up."

No response again.

"I have to go to the bathroom." That didn't work.

_Okay…you made me do this._

Without a word of warning, Lucy tickled her ribs, causing the blonde to let out a squeal. Alyson rolled off her and burst into giggles as the brunette continued to tickle her.

"Stop it…stop it…" Alyson pleaded while laughing uncontrollably. "Stop…I have to pee."

"Oh yea…that's what I said and you ignored me." Lucy didn't believe her for a minute and continued to torture her.

Suddenly the phone rang and Lucy stopped. She looked down at the blonde who was smiling and breathing heavily to catch her breath. Seeing the position she was in, straddling the blonde on the bed, she quickly jumped off the bed and picked up the phone.

Seeing that the phone call was not for her, Alyson went to the bathroom.

It was Scud. He had a change of plans and will need to take a later flight. After Lucy hung up, she flopped back on the bed with her forearm over her eyes. The moment that she just shared with the blonde reminded her of Kristin. She wondered what Kristin is doing at this moment. It's only been a day and she missed her already. _How am I going to get through this without seeing her for months?_

A knock on the door broke her from her thoughts.

Lucy opened the door and immediately Robert noticed that she wasn't ready to go to the airport. Alyson came out of the bathroom and walked over to the chest drawer to get her clothing. Both pairs of eyes stared at her.

"What?" Alyson said and noticed both were staring at her legs.

She looked down and noticed that her ankle wasn't swelling and it doesn't hurt as bad as last night. She had totally forgotten about her ankle when she was playing around with Keira.

"Looks like you got better…Thank God. I was afraid I have to cancel…" Robert stopped talking when he saw the blonde's eyes narrowing at him. He had forgotten that he wasn't supposed to say anything that could indicate what she does for a living. _What kind of game are they're playing? Women._

"mmm …so I'll meet you ladies downstairs for breakfast in half an hour…is that enough time?" Robert asked.

* * *

In the dining area, three of them sat on a table outside, overlooking the Grand Canal. The view was breathtaking. Blue sunny sky, buildings along the canal, and people sitting on gondolas.

Eating his breakfast, Robert noticed the silence between the girls. Alyson was wearing sunglasses and a hat and had been taking glances at the brunette. The brunette however finished her breakfast fairly quickly and kept her eyes at the canal.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Robert spoke to break the silence.

The brunette was looking at the view and Alyson was looking at the brunette. Both girls responded at the same time. "Sure is."

"So Keira, what are you doing here in Venice?" Robert asked.

Alyson immediately turned towards him and he wasn't sure why. It was a simple question.

"Just visiting some friends." Keira didn't want them to know too much about her. The less they know, the better.

"Oh…did you come alone?"

Robert noticed that Alyson was looking at him again. "What?" He whispered.

"Actually I'm meeting a friend of mine later. But he just called and said he'll be taking a later flight."

Without thinking, Alyson immediately asked. "So you can stay a little longer, then?"

"Well, I was going to meet someone else later after we get our luggage from the airport."

"I forgot to tell you. I just called the airport. They don't have everything out of the plane yet. They said to call back after 1. It's pretty messy inside, as you probably know, so they needed more time to organize the stuff."

Lucy wasn't too happy about that. She can't go anywhere without her wallet.

"In that case, can I borrow some money? I'll pay you back when I get my things." Lucy asked Robert.

As Robert was about to get his wallet, Alyson stopped him. "You don't need money. We'll pay for everything. We'll go to the airport together and you don't have to pay us back."

"I don't think …" As Lucy was about to say she rather pay for her own things, Alyson interrupted her.

"I just want to thank you for saving me. Please...I insist."

Lucy smiled and nodded. But deep inside, she wondered if the blonde had another motive. "Do you know that guy over there? He's been looking at us for a long time." Lucy noticed that a man had been staring at them for a while.

Alyson turned around and after a few seconds, she immediately turned back.

"You don't know who he is?" Robert asked, shocked again at the brunette not recognizing another famous person.

Lucy shook her head.

"He's coming this way." Lucy said and noticed the blonde was trying to hide her face.

Robert quickly excused himself and walked over to the guy.

Suddenly Alyson also stood up and Lucy quickly reached her hand out across the table and grabbed hold of her hand.

"Where are you going?" Lucy asked.

"I…I have to go to the bathroom." The blonde said nervously.

"Alyson, are you going to hide every time you see him?"

"I'm not hiding!" Alyson responded a little louder than she wanted to. But she knew the brunette saw right through her.

Lucy squeezed her hand to motion her to sit down.

Seeing that the brunette won't let her leave, Alyson sat down and looked down on the table, clasping and squeezing her hands together on the table, feeling uncomfortable and nervous.

"Take your sunglasses off." Lucy demanded and the blonde did. Surprised at the blonde not even asking why, Lucy wondered how this 24-year old young woman whom millions of people look up to, that's what the blonde said about herself, suddenly turned into a timid little girl.

"We…just went through hell last night and you weren't afraid of dying. So why are you afraid of **that**?" Lucy spoke slowly and stressed the word 'that'.

Alyson didn't say anything, her eyes still looking down at the table.

"Is he threatening you?"

Alyson shook her head.

"Does he know something about you that you don't want other people to know about?" Lucy asked in more detail.

Alyson shook her head again.

"He's my ex. He broke up with me because…because he wanted…" Alyson trailed off. She didn't want to say anymore especially to the brunette.

Lucy quickly leaned forward and took hold of her hand and held it firmly. "Did he hurt you? Tell me if he did. I'll…"

Surprised at the brunette's reaction, Alyson looked up.

"You'll what?"

"I'll make sure he wouldn't be able to bother any other woman again." Lucy said in a serious tone.

Alyson chuckled at first and then laughed out loudly, covering her mouth with both of her hands.

"That's what you said about that guy in the plane." Alyson continued laughing. She remembered the first time they met, how the brunette made her so happy with that comment.

"I meant it." Lucy wasn't laughing. Lucy did mean it. All she had to do was tell Scud to wipe out his bank account and get him in trouble somehow. He'll be so famous, no woman would want to get near him.

Alyson noticed the seriousness on her face and could tell the brunette really cared about her. At that moment, she fell like the damsel in distress being rescued and protected by Prince Charming, except that he is a she.

"He didn't and…We didn't." " Alyson said shyly. She wanted Keira to know that they didn't sleep together. Having told the brunette about dating a few guys within a short period of time when they were in the plane, she was afraid that Keira would get the impression that she's easy. She wanted to let her know that she's not that kind of girl.

"We went our separate ways. I just don't want anything to do with him."

Lucy felt better knowing that it wasn't what she was thinking. She rubbed and squeezed the blonde's hand tighter and looked directly in her eyes, to give the blonde the strength she needed to deal with her ex. At the corner of her eyes, she noticed that her ex was coming this way and Robert was trying to prevent him from coming over. She took Alyson's sunglasses and put it on and nodded as a signal to let her know that her ex is coming.

She smiled at her and Alyson smiled back.

"Hey babe…nice to see you here."

_God…Why do they all sound like Amy's ex?_ Lucy thought to herself.

Finding the courage, Alyson turned to look directly at her ex.

"Jon. What brings you here?" Alyson said with a smile.

"Just vacationing"

"Alone?"

Jon let out a small laugh. No one else found it funny.

Seeing that no one else was laughing, he cleared his throat. "See that girl over there…we met a week ago." Jon turned to look at her girl and waived. "She's hot…if you know what I mean." He was implying that her new girlfriend was hotter than her.

Alyson wasn't interested but played along.

"Good for you, Jon." She said loudly. "I sincerely hope everything works out for you." She said as she looked directly into his eyes. "I mean it."

He wasn't expecting that type of response. He was expecting her to curse at him, then get angry and then leave the scene. That's what happened every time he saw her and he got a laugh out of it every time.

He cleared his throat again. A slight frown appeared on his forehead. "umm...Thank you. I…uh…hope everything works out for you too." He turned to look at the gorgeous brunette with the sunglasses on. "Who's your friend here?"

"She's with me." Robert interrupted.

Never missing an opportunity to feel the hands of a beautiful woman, Jon extended his hand out to Lucy. As he was about to introduce himself, Lucy spoke first.

"I don't think you should leave your lady friend over there alone for too long." Lucy tilted her head and ignored the jerk's offered hand. Everyone looked back and saw another guy talking to his girlfriend.

"Shit!" Jon immediately excused himself and walked quickly back to his table.

Robert sat back down in his chair, facing the blonde and shaking his head slowly. "What was that?"

"What?" Alyson said as she took a sip of her coffee, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

"You didn't let him upset you. You've…changed….you're…different." He said as he took a closer look at her.

Every time she sees that guy, she always fall into his trap and gets frustrated and upset afterwards. That is why she always tries to hide from him whenever she could.

"If you've been through hell like we did yesterday, you wouldn't be afraid of anything." Alyson spoke, looking directly at the brunette in front of her. Both smiled at each other. If they weren't out in the open right now, she would have given the brunette a hug and a kiss right now. A kiss on the lips maybe? She wondered how Keira would react to it?

"A near death experience, huh?" Robert said, thinking deeply. "You know, they'll probably ask you about that in the interviews when they found out you were on that flight...and I'm sure they're going to eventually find out."

Alyson shrugged like she didn't care. She doesn't. "I'll just tell them the truth."

Lucy was unhappy with that response. She made a mental note to talk to her about that later.

"Well, what do you want to do? It's still early." Robert asked and immediately added. "Don't say shopping. I hate shopping."

"Keira, do you want to go shopping?" Alyson asked.

Keira took off her sunglasses. "Sounds like a good idea. I have to get myself a pair of these and some clothing just in case I don't get my luggage back."

Robert let out a big sigh but thought that it was a good idea since the chance of them not getting their luggage back was possible. "Then you girls have fun." Robert stood up and got his bag.

"Where are you going?" Alyson asked.

"I don't know…walk around…just not shopping." Robert waved as he left the table.

* * *

Feeling extremely exhausted after 2 hours of shopping in the crowded streets of Venice, Lucy and Alyson flopped their backs on the king size bed with their feet dangling over the side of the bed.

"If I've known you love shopping that much, I would have never agree to go with you." Lucy never liked shopping. She was done with buying the things she needed in an hour, but Alyson just wanted to keep looking at things she doesn't need.

Alyson laughed and turned to her right side, leaning on her elbow. "At least you got what you wanted." Her eyes on its own scanned every inch of the brunette's sexy body lying next to her.

Startled by the brunette's voice, Alyson quickly focused her attention back on the brunette's face.

"Are you really going to tell them the truth about what happened in the plane?" Lucy asked while lying down and staring at the ceiling.

"Sure…not the whole truth…just how you saved me."

That's what Lucy was afraid of.

"Can you not tell them about me?

"Why?"

Lucy sat up and Alyson did the same.

"They don't just want to know how I saved you. They'll want to know everything, every detail. If they can't find anything worth writing about, they'll make up things about you and me, together, about us and that's not good for both of us, especially you."

"You don't want anyone to know about you?"

Lucy nodded. "Can you just tell them you were by yourself and you had no idea what happened after you fainted?"

"But Robert knows."

"Just tell him what I just said. He'll agree with me. Nothing good is going to come out of this if you tell them about me."

"But...but I want them to know that you saved me…I want them to know how I've changed because of you." Alyson said emotionally.

"You and I know…that's all it matters."

Lucy could see tears brimming the blonde's eyes. It wasn't her intention to make her cry. _Why is she being so emotional?_

Alyson couldn't control herself and wrapped her arms around the brunette.

"I want everyone to know…that you…saved me."

Lucy pondered for a moment to think about why the blonde insisted on putting her on the spotlight. If she leaves right now and if Alyson tells everyone about her, the reporters would have a way of tracking her down for an interview. That would mean her picture will eventually be on tv all over the world and that's not good. She came to a conclusion that the only reason would be because Alyson wanted to be able to see her again. _Damn it. I thought we agreed not to keep in touch._

Lucy gently pushed the blonde back. "I understand why you're doing this. We've talked about this. Remember? You and I have separate lives."

Alyson wasn't surprised that the brunette once again saw right through her.

"If you let everyone know, it will ruin your career."

"I don't care." She doesn't care if the papparazis found out that they kissed or they slept in the same bed or how she really felt about the brunette. Even if the headlines say that she turned gay because of being dumped by too many guys, she doesn't care. Knowing that those stories would ruin her image and could ruin her career, she doesn't care as long as she could see her again.

Lucy frowned at her hasty response and let out a big sigh. She needed to think of something else to persuade the young blonde. She can't tell her that she's a wanted criminal.

"Didn't you say a lot of people look up to you? Are you going to let them down because of me?"

Alyson was speechless.

"I can see that you love what you do. I can't let your career get ruined because of me. I want to see you grow stronger. There are a lot of people who love you, who need you. Are you going to let them down?"

Lucy paused and let her words sink into the blonde who slowly looked down, feeling ashamed for not thinking about the ones who needed her, who supported her, who helped her to become who she is today. Working in the entertainment industry, she understood that one mistake could end her career because it happened before to a lot of actors and singers. There was one actor who got caught kissing another man and immediately no director wanted to cast him as the main character. There was a singer who made a fool of himself on stage live and everyone even his fans called him a jackass.

"I don't want to be the one responsible for ruining your career."

Alyson quickly looked up and hugged her again. "No, you won't."

Seeing that this was not enough to convince the blonde, Lucy had no choice but to make up a lie. Lucy pulled out of her embrace and the blonde reluctantly let go.

"You said you're popular everywhere, right?"

Alyson nodded.

"So all I have to do is search the internet, then I'll know who you are?"

The blonde nodded again.

"Then will it be easy for me to find out where you live?"

"Are you...going to visit me?"

"Sure, I think I can find some time. I just hope you have time to see me with your busy schedule."

Alyson hugged her again and spoke in a happier tone. "So this is not the end?"

"Of course not. We will see other again. In the meantime, I want you to do the best you can with your career and don't forget about the promise you made."

"Promise?"

Lucy pulled back and moved her eyes up to give her a hint. Alyson frowned and had no idea what she was referring to.

Lucy rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "Take…it…slow. No hugging or kissing those you just met."

"Right.." Alyson let out a shy smile.

Suddenly the phone rang and after she finished with the call, she let the blonde know that she had to meet a friend downstairs. As she was about to leave, she heard a voice behind her. "Is it because you have a past that you don't want anyone to know about?"

Lucy shut her eyes and gripped the doorknob tight. _Shit! Who said blondes are dumb? who? I haven't met one yet._ After letting out a deep breath slowly, Lucy turned around and walked towards the blonde. Both stayed silent for a moment and gazed at each other. Lucy then wrapped her arms around her shoulders and held her firmly. Without admitting what the blonde just said, she hoped to convince her with these words. "You…do…whatever you feel it's right." She whispered into her ear. Slowly pulling back, she allowed the blonde to see her face, emotionless. She walked backwards a few steps before turning around and walked out the door.

* * *

In the dining area inside the hotel, Lucy and James sat on one of the tables while his niece, 10 years old, sat on the table next to them.

"How's the wife and kids?" Lucy asked.

He let out a sigh and smiled. "A lot of headaches. I haven't had a decent sleep since they were born."

Lucy laughed. "But you look good and you look happy."

"I am." James said in a serious tone. "I never imagined that I would have a family of my own. It feels good to have a life like this…and **you **made this all possible. Boss."

James took out some pictures of his family and showed them to Lucy. She later learned that his niece is his wife's sister's daughter and both of her parents had passed away. The little girl now lives with James and his family.

"I heard about the plane accident. Are you hurt?"

"Does it look like I'm in pain?"

Lucy wore a long sleeve shirt to hide her bruises on her left arm. She actually did feel aches all over but they're tolerable.

James let out a little laugh. "You know, your father must be watching over you."

Lucy nodded and changed the subject. "So Scud said you wanted to…"

"Oh yes…" James took a yellow envelope from his bag.

"I took these pictures while I was here on vacation. I couldn't believe it myself when I saw it."

Lucy wondered what the mystery was. As she was about to open the envelope, his niece tugged on his shirt to get his attention.

"What's the matter?" James asked his niece.

"Look." The little girl pointed to the direction at the bar.

"What?" James asked.

"It's her."

Not understanding whom she meant, James asked again. His niece whispered into his ear and he finally understood why she was so excited.

Lucy turned and saw Alyson sitting at the bar talking to a guy.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked, confusion on her face.

"You see that blonde over there." James pointed. "She's very famous in Barcelona. All the kids, teenagers, young adults adore her."

"Really?…" Lucy was very surprised to hear that. _Barcelona too. She wasn't exaggerating about her popularity._

"Do you think I can meet her?" The little girl kept her gaze at her idol.

"Oh…I don't think she would like that. She must be here on vacation and she probably doesn't want anyone bothering her."

The little girl's smile quickly disappeared. "But I didn't get to go to her concert last time." She kept tugging on James' shirt.

"I understand that but…"

Seeing that the little girl was about to cry, Lucy interrupted.

"Do you really want to meet her?" Lucy said softly and the little girl nodded.

"Give me a minute." Lucy stood up.

"Boss…no…"

"I got this." Lucy extended her hand out to signal James to stay put.

* * *

At the bar, Alyson was talking to a guy in his 20's. Both of them were laughing.

Lucy wondered what he said that was so funny.

Standing behind them, she cleared her throat. "Hey, sorry to interrupt. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"I am having an interesting conversation with this gentleman." Alyson immediately focused back on the man, ignoring Lucy. Sitting next to the blonde is a good-looking man with a body of a surfer.

_What the hell?_ Lucy frowned at her strange behavior. She wanted to pull her aside by force. But seeing that they were in a public place, she decided to stay cool.

She turned to the guy and asked politely. "Do you mind if I steal this **beautiful** lady for a minute?"

She stressed the word 'beautiful' and made sure Alyson heard that. The guy did not mind.

Lucy turned towards Alyson and asked her politely. "Can you spare me a few minutes of your precious time to converse with me?"

Hearing her polite tone, Alyson agreed. She excused herself and walked a few steps away from the bar area and Lucy followed from behind.

"What was that about?" Lucy asked, a little upset that she had to practically beg her to speak with her. She's Lucy Diamond. Damn it!

"What?" Alyson feigned innocence.

"Who's that guy?"

"Him…" Alyson turned to look at the guy and smiled. The guy smiled back. "I just met him." When she turned back to look at the brunette, she could see how upset the brunette was. She wondered if Keira was jealous.

"Never mind. You see that little girl over there. She recognized you and wants to meet you."

Alyson shrugged. "I'm busy."

Seeing how the brunette played her a few minutes ago in the hotel room, she thought it was a good idea to give her a payback. If the brunette had just told her that she didn't want anyone to know about her past, she would agree to not mention her name. But instead she made it sound like she was trying to protect her image and her career. She even made her cry. She didn't like that at all…nope…not one bit. And that innocent look she gave her at the end….oh..pleeease…I know when someone's acting when I see it…I have been in a few movies…for heaven's sake…who's she trying to fool?

"She's a big fan of yours. You wouldn't turn down one of your biggest fans, would you?"

Alyson shrugged again and began to walk back to the bar.

Lucy reached out and grabbed her forearm to stop her from walking away. Not liking the grip on her forearm, Alyson narrowed her eyes at her and Lucy slowly let go.

"She really wants to meet you."

"Are you asking me for a favor?"

Lucy turned to look at the little girl who was staring at her, waiting for her to come back with good news. She can't let the little girl down. She closed her eyes for a second and turned to look at the blonde.

"Yes, I'm asking you for a favor."

"and?"

Alyson crossed her arms and waited for the brunette to apologize for what happened earlier.

_What the hell?_ _What does she want from me?_ She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.

"and I'll make it up to you…whatever you want."

"..and.." Alyson.

"…and?…" Lucy said, confusion all over her face. "…and I have no idea what else to say."

The blonde rolled her eyes and began to walk away.

Seeing the blonde won't agree, she tried another tactic.

"Okaaay, I'll just tell her that her idol is just too busy to take a picture with her fan and she rather spend time talking to that **jackass** over there."

The blonde ignored her and continued walking towards the bar. She let out a smile that the brunette couldn't see.

"Shit! I can't believe that didn't work." Lucy let out a sigh and walked back to the table with a smile.

"What happened?" James asked. Both he and his niece looked at Lucy, waiting intently for her response.

"Umm…she said she has an important business meeting with that guy over there to talk about the next concert and she'll have to catch a flight later."

James and his niece looked over at the blonde and saw that she was having a good time, laughing with the guy.

"…business meeting?" James asked.

"mmm…yeah…looks like they agreed on something about the concert.." Lucy lied and hoped that James would stop asking questions.

Seeing the disappointed look on the little girl's face , Lucy placed her hand over hers. "Hey, I know, maybe Uncle James can take you to her next concert with seats close to the stage."

"That's a great idea!" James said, trying to make his niece feel better.

"But she's right over there. Why can't I just go over there and meet her myself?"

James and Lucy stared at each other.

Afraid that his niece would get hurt from rejection, James wanted to talk her out of asking the blonde herself. "Sweetie…I don't think that…" Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the voice of a waitress.

"Here we are. One special ice cream sundae for a special little girl." The waitress said as she placed a deliciously looking sundae in front of the little girl. With eyes wide open, the little girl stared at it with the biggest smile.

James looked at Lucy to see if she ordered it and Lucy shook her head.

"We didn't order this." James said.

"You didn't?" The waitress asked.

"I did." A voice from behind the waitress spoke.

The little girl's jaws dropped immediately, looking at her idol who was walking towards her.

"Hey there! What's your name?" Alyson asked as she bent down to the little girl's level.

Still shocked, the little girl was speechless.

"I heard that you're a big fan of mine."

The little girl nodded.

"Would you like to take a picture with me?"

The little girl nodded again, stunned silent and still shocked.

"Do you have a camera?"

James immediately stood up and took his camera out. After telling his niece to smile and look at the camera instead of her idol, he took a few pictures of them.

Ignoring Lucy completely, Alyson gave the little girl and James a hug before she left.

_What's with the hugging again?_ Lucy thought to herself and rolled her eyes. She kept her eyes on the blonde who was walking towards the bathroom.

"You really had me fooled there, boss. How did you get her to come over?" James asked.

Looking at the little girl who was enjoying her ice cream sundae, Lucy responded. "I just told her that you're her biggest fan." Lucy smiled at the little girl who got up and gave her a hug to thank her.

"I'll be right back." Wanting to thank Alyson for what she did, she walked towards the bathroom to look for her. As she pushed the door open, she saw Alyson behind it.

Ignoring the brunette completely, Alyson walked out of the bathroom bumping the brunette a little without apologizing.

Lucy quickly followed from behind and grabbed her hand.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Lucy asked.

"You don't know?" Alyson responded, a frown on her face.

"If I knew, would I ask?" Lucy immediately regretted asking with that kind of tone.

"ugghhhhh…" Frustrated with the brunette, Alyson flung her hand away and continued walking towards the bar away from Lucy.

"What?" Lucy was still clueless.

Alyson angrily sat back down at the bar and as she was about to take a gulp of her drink to cool off, Lucy called out loudly to get her attention.

"Hey!" In fact, she called out so loudly, it got everyone's attention.

Startled by the sudden shout, Alyson placed her drink down and turned towards her. "What's wrong with you?" She whispered, not wanting to make a scene.

"Nothing. I just want to order a drink. What would you like? How about a Shirley Temple?" Not waiting for a response, she asked the bartender to make two drinks.

"I already have a drink." Alyson said as she reached for the glass.

Lucy leaned forward and grabbed onto the glass before the blonde did. "That has alcohol in it. You shouldn't have alcohol on an empty stomach. You haven't had lunch yet. Why don't we sit over there and get some lunch?" She slid the drink over to the guy's side.

Alyson stared at her for a short moment and turned towards the guy. "Have you had lunch yet?" Alyson asked the guy, completely ignoring Keira.

_Shit! She's ignoring me again._ Lucy knew she had to make an excuse fast to get her away from the guy.

"I have something important to tell you."

Alyson kept on ignoring her and continued her conversation with the guy as if she wasn't there. The guy slid the drink back to the blonde. It's that damn drink that Lucy was worrying about. Never leave your drink unattended. Lucy realized that the famous blonde was still too ignorant and immature. She expected her to know about these things.

"Excuse me. You don't mind if I take that drink, do you?" Not waiting for a response, she leaned forward between Alyson and the guy and reached for the drink and the guy immediately grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"You can get your own drink."

"Is there a problem, boss?" James spoke from behind and the guy immediately let go of her hand.

James is a tall muscular guy who looked like one of those football players.

"Will there be a problem if I take this?" Lucy asked the guy and he shook his head. _I didn't think so._

As Lucy was about to take the drink, Alyson grabbed hold of her wrist.

"Keira! What…" As she was about to ask her what the hell is going on, James interrupted her.

"Miss, my niece would like to thank you for the picture and she was wondering if she can have your autograph?" James may be big and muscular, but he is not one of those with muscles and no brain. That's why Scud picked him as his right-handed man.

"Of course…um…where can I sign?"

"She wanted you to sign her shirt. "Do you mind?" He motioned her to go over to his table.

The blonde agreed and walked towards the little girl.

"Here…I don't want this anymore. You can have it." Lucy slid the drink back to the guy and took the Shirley Temple drinks from the bartender.

After the guy took the drink and drank it, Lucy realized that it wasn't what she was thinking. She was afraid that the guy had put something in there while the blonde was in the bathroom.

"Everything ok, boss?" James asked.

Lucy nodded and patted his arm to thank him. If James wasn't there, she could have taken care of that guy herself but it would attract a lot of attention. With James' help, everything turned out fine and no one knew what happened. She made a mental note to remind the blonde about that.

After Alyson finished signing the little girl's shirt, she wanted to head back to that guy at the bar but was prevented from doing so when Lucy stood in front of her. "Can you give me a minute?"

Seeing how serious Keira was, Alyson thought she finally figured out why she's upset with her and gave her a chance to apologize. Alyson waited for her while Lucy said goodbye to James and his niece.

Both sat down on the table.

Lucy still had no idea why Alyson was behaving that way towards her. But it didn't matter anymore since she had to leave.

"Alyson, I have to leave now."

"What?" That wasn't what Alyson was expecting her to say.

"My friend's flight is arriving soon, so I thought I go now to meet him there and pick up my things."

"But you don't have any money. How are you…" She stopped when she realized what she just said. Feeling embarrassed, she looked down on the table.

"I borrowed it from my friend." After Lucy said that, she came to realize the reason why the blonde didn't allow Robert to lend her any money. "Is that why you…"

Alyson interrupted her. "I just want you to stay a little longer." She reached her hand to hold on to the brunette's hand. "Can't you stay a little longer?"

"I can't. I…"

Not wanting to hear the brunette's excuses, Alyson immediately stood up and left the table, walking rapidly back to the hotel room.

Surprised at the blonde's reactions, Lucy followed Alyson back into the hotel room.

Once inside the room, Alyson locked herself in the bathroom.

"Alyson, please…I don't want to leave like this." Lucy said, knocking on the bathroom door.

"Then don't." Alyson yelled.

"You know I can't. We've talked about this." _For a 24 year old, she sure acts like a kid sometimes._

The blonde didn't respond. Lucy knocked a few more times and finally gave up.

When she was almost finished packing her things, there was a knock on the door.

"Hey, I was wondering where you girls were. Where's…" Robert was about to say the blonde's real name but remembered that he wasn't allowed to. "Where is she?"

"in the bathroom."

"I just called the airport and we could get our stuff. Have you guys eaten lunch yet?"

Lucy shook her head.

"Great! Let's eat first. Then we can go."

Both turned to look at Alyson as she came out of the bathroom. Standing still in silence, Alyson locked her eyes on the brunette. The time has come. There was nothing she could say to make the brunette spend more time with her. It's time to go their separate ways.

Inside a private car with a chauffer, Lucy and Alyson sat in the back and Robert sat on the front passenger seat. Both were looking out the window next to them. Robert noticed that something must have happened after he left. Neither of them spoke to each other when they were eating their lunch and both didn't feel like talking. He tried to start a conversation but all he got was a one-word response and nothing more. Seeing that they weren't in the mood to talk, he felt that it was best to stay silent now and asked the blonde later.

* * *

Inside the airport, they took an hour to find their belongings.

"Well, I guess this is it. It's been nice knowing you. Keira." Robert extended his hand out and Lucy took the offered hand.

"Take of yourself and **please** take good care of her." Lucy said and Robert nodded.

Seeing how Robert had tried to protect Alyson from her ex earlier, she could tell that he does care for her.

"Where is she?" Lucy asked, looking around the crowded and busy airport.

"She's in the ladies room."

After a short moment, Alyson came out of the restroom, locking her eyes on the brunette as she walked towards her. Standing still in front of Keira, she ignored everyone around her and blocked out all the noises as if they were the only ones there.

"I'm going to take the luggage to the car." Robert said, taking the hint that they wanted to talk privately, but was completely ignored by both of them.

Lucy extended her hand out without saying a word.

Tears brimmed the blonde's eyes behind the sunglasses. Alyson stepped closer and as she was about to give Keira one last hug, someone interrupted her.

"…there you are." Scud called out and immediately gave her a tight embrace, happy to see his friend in one piece. "I'm so glad you're okay."

He pulled back and scanned her from top to bottom to see if she had any injuries from the accident.

"You're early." Lucy asked, surprised to see Scud.

"No delays. I already got my luggage in the car. Are you ready to go?"

"Hi, my name is Alyson." Alyson extended her hand out to Scud.

Lucy really didn't want to introduce him seeing that they weren't going to see each other anymore.

"This is Scott, a good friend of mine." Lucy said and Scott shook her hand.

"Scott, can you take these bags and I'll meet you outside?"

"Wait, have we met before? You look familiar." Scud asked, gazing at the blonde with the sunglasses on.

_Are you kidding me? You recognized her too._ Lucy thought to herself.

"I don't think so." Alyson said, smiling at Keira in a way to let her know that she might be the only one who doesn't know who she is.

"Are you sure? I mean I never forget a face." Scud said as he scanned every inch of her face. But not being able to see her eyes, he couldn't figure it out.

"Scott, she said no." Lucy said as she took her bags and threw it to Scud's chest and pushed him away from the blonde.

Carrying the bags as he walked towards the exit, Scud took a few glances back at the blonde, wondering where he had seen her before.

"Even your friend recognizes me."

"No he doesn't. He says that to every pretty girl he meets."

Alyson let out a small laugh at her comment. After a short moment of silence, she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm going to miss you."

Lucy hugged her tightly one last time. "I'm going to miss you too. Take care of yourself."

Alyson nodded on her shoulder.

"Don't forget the promise." Alyson nodded again. "and don't leave your drinks unattended."

Alyson pulled back. "What?"

"You know, the bar and that guy."

"Is that why you wanted that drink so badly?"

Lucy nodded and was expecting her to thank her…but instead…

"If you didn't make me so upset, I would not have started talking to that guy."

"What? I made you upset?"

"I'm still waiting for your apology."

"For what?" Lucy said, confusion on her face.

Alyson rolled her eyes underneath her sunglasses and let out a big sigh. She moved closer and whispered into the brunette's ear. "You… do… whatever you feel it's right."

Lucy took a moment to take it in. Then her eyes opened wide underneath her sunglasses, finally realizing why the blonde was so upset with her. She was shocked to find out that the blonde was not as naïve as she thought. She reminded her of Kristin.

Lucy let out a small embarrassing laugh. "I…ah…I…"

"Keira, all you had to say was you don't want anybody to know about your past and that would be a good-enough reason for me to not mention your name."

"Right…um…Sorry…I should have told you the truth."

"mm hm." Alyson nodded with her arms crossed.

"but what I said is for your own good. I honestly believe that it could ruin your image and your career."

Lucy was glad that everything was out in the open and that the blonde was no longer upset with her.

"So…are we okay? They're waiting for us outside." Lucy said softly.

Not getting a response from the blonde, Lucy took her hand and pulled her gently towards the exit. Alyson reluctantly followed. Lucy escorted her to her car in the parking lot before getting inside of her own private rental. Scud had rented a luxurious car with leather seats and tinted windows with a private chauffer to pick them up.

"Wait!" Alyson called out after her chauffer was about to start driving. She pushed the door open and ran towards Keira's car.

After knocking twice on the tinted window of Keira's car, Scud rolled down the windows.

"Keira, I forgot to tell you something."

Scud and Keira stared at her from inside the car, waiting for her to speak.

"privately" Alyson added.

Inside the car alone with Keira, Alyson took her sunglasses off and Lucy followed suit.

"I …ah…" Alyson looked away from the brunette and let out a few deep breaths, trying to control her pounding heart. _Why is this so difficult?_ She thought to herself.

Seeing the blonde's hesitation, Lucy encouraged her to say what's in her mind. "Alyson, we've been through a lot last night. Just say whatever you want to say."

After a short moment of gazing at her mesmerizing brown eyes, she nodded. "Right." There's nothing to be afraid of. Finding the courage, Alyson reached out and held Keira's neck with her right hand and whispered into her right ear. After she's done saying what she needed to say, she slowly pulled back. From the stunned and confused look on the brunette's face, she knew that Keira, without a doubt, heard her this time. Not wasting any more time, she leaned in and gave her a deep passionate kiss; a kiss unlike the ones she gave her in the plane; a kiss that would make Keira remember her for the rest of her life.

* * *

**Chapter 17: Chapter 17**

* * *

****Disclaimer: I do not own DEBS or any of the characters used from the movie. They belong to Angela Robinson. This disclaimer applies to all chapters in this story.****

**Chapter 17**

On their way to the hotel, Scud stayed quiet throughout the ride. One, he didn't want to say anything in front of the chauffeur. Two, he noticed that Lucy wasn't in the talkative mood. Three, he was trying to remember where he had seen the blonde before.

Once they arrived to the hotel, Lucy was thankful that Scud didn't book the same hotel as Alyson. Not that she wanted to avoid her, but it would be really awkward to see her again after what just happened. In some ways, Alyson reminded her of Amy. Amy never admitted that she was gay. She always said that she fell in love with someone who just happened to be a girl. Having just heard her confession a moment ago, she thought it would be best that they don't see each other ever again.

Lying on the couch inside Lucy's room, Scud stretched his arms and legs and relaxed a bit before speaking.

"So where did you meet her?"

Staring at the ceiling, still thinking about what happened back in the car, Lucy lay motionless on the bed.

"Luce?"

"Hmm?"

"I said where did you meet her?"

"…on the plane…"

"What does she do? Is she a flight attendant?" Scud was still trying to figure out where he had seen her before.

Lucy didn't respond.

"Are you all right?"

"Yea, why?"

"any injuries…any PTSD symptoms…nightmares, memory problems?"

"just a few bruises…we've been through worse."

Scud let out a sigh of relief, happy to see that his friend wasn't hurt mentally or physically.

"…Your dad must be watching over ya."

There was a moment of silence.

"It wasn't her time. They were waiting for her to board the plane. Maybe if she wasn't there, things would have been different." Lucy said, looking up at the ceiling. She believed that it was because Alyson was in the plane. That's why they survived the accident. She doesn't know who the blonde is but she knows that she is a good person and the Lord wouldn't do that to someone like her. "She said I saved her. I didn't save her. She saved me." Lucy mumbled to herself.

"What?" Scud asked.

She sat up and shook herself out of her thoughts. "Nothing."

After taking a drink of water from the refrigerator, she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Does anyone know what happened to me?"

"Who?"

Seeing the look on Lucy's face, he finally realized whom she was referring to.

"oh yeah, Michel called and I let him know that you're fine as soon as you called back. He said Alexis fainted when she heard."

"What!" Lucy stood up. "Is she all right?"

"I'm sure she's fine."

Lucy sat back down and let out a deep breath.

"Did you get your phone back?"

Lucy took the phone out of her bag and gave it to Scud. "It's damaged."

Scud took the sim card out and saw that it had scratches on it. "Yea, can't fix it. You have to get another one."

Lucy sat back down on the bed. "What about her?"

"Who?" Scud said as he continued looking at the damaged phone.

"Kristin! Who else?" Lucy shouted.

Startled by her sudden loud voice, he immediately looked up. "Right…umm…I don't know. Only Michel called. Maybe she doesn't know. Why don't you call her?"

"and say what?" Lucy said irritably. "Should I say? Hey, I'm just calling to let you know I'm fine. Don't worry. Then she'll say 'Who cares, we broke up, remember?'

"She's not going to say that."

"No she's not, but you do remember why we left in the first place?" She reminded her genius friend who doesn't seem to be so intelligent at this moment.

"Right again…sorry…maybe the long flight got to me. I'm too tired…" He yawned loudly. "…and hungry. You want to grab something to eat? I'll be able to think better after getting a bite."

She wished there was some way she could find out what Kristin's doing at this moment without calling her. "You go ahead."

Scud left the room and after a very short moment, he came back. "I know. Here, take my phone. See if she left you any voice mail."

That's a good idea. Lucy took the phone and Scud left to get some lunch. Staring at the phone, she suddenly froze. _Pin#? What is my pin#?_ She slumped back on the bed, covering her eyes with her hand, trying desperately to remember her pin#. She tried her birth year. That didn't work. She tried her birth month and the birth year. That didn't work. Of course it wouldn't be that simple. Last try. Locked out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Her face was pale as snow. Her lips were white and dry. Kristin lay weakly on a bed in a public hospital with her coworker sitting next to her. Four hours ago, Kat decided to call the ambulance when she was unsuccessful in waking her up. Kristin had been sleeping for 3 hours now since she woke up in the emergency room.

Looking at her watch, Kat realized that it's already 1pm and she had not eaten anything since last night.

"I'll be right back, okay?" She whispered to the sleeping blonde.

As she stood up, she heard a noise.

Kristin mumbled as she jerked her head from left to right and right to left as if she was having a nightmare.

"Kristin!" Kat called out as she shook her arms gently to wake her up. She could tell that Kristin was struggling with things in her sleep by the furrow between her eyebrows and her hands gripping tightly on the blanket. Sweat formed on her forehead and neck as she struggled to wake up.

"Kristin!" Kat called out again.

"Keira…" Kristin mumbled. "Keira"

"Keira?" Kat wondered why Kristin would be calling for her.

"No!" Kristin shouted. Her eyes opened wide. Breathing heavily, she squinted and blinked her eyes to adjust to the light. She turned towards the person who called her name.

"Kat? Where am I?" She said as she tried to sit up.

"You're in the hospital. Don't you remember?" Kat said as she helped her up.

Kristin covered her eyes with her hands to take a moment to remember what happened.

"I fainted this morning?" Kristin could only remember what happened 3 hours ago in the emergency room when she woke up. Kat had told her that she fainted this morning and last night but she couldn't remember what happened before she fainted this morning.

"I'm going to get the nurse."

"Wait….give me a minute." She needed some time to get her senses together. She can't deal with questions and tests right now.

A short moment passed by.

"Okay…tell me exactly what happened this morning before I fainted."

"You don't remember anything?"

Kristin shook her head.

Seeing that this is going to take a long time, she sat down on the chair. Guess her stomach will have to wait.

"This morning, you came out of the bedroom and lay on the couch…I made scramble eggs…and…"

Kristin rolled her eyes. "Kat, can you skip the unimportant stuff?"

"You said exactly. That's what I'm giving you. Do you want to hear it or not?"

"…please continue…" She said as she closed her eyes and caressed her brows and temples with her fingertips.

Kat continued, taking a drink in between.

Feeling hungry and dizzy, Kristin was starting to think this was a bad idea. She should have eaten first. She didn't think it would take this long.

"…and that's when you fainted."

Not hearing a sound from Kat, Kristin opened her eyes and looked up. "What?"

"Were you even listening to me?" Kat sat in a frustrated tone.

"Sorry…tell me again what happened before I fainted?"

Kat let out a deep breath and frowned at her.

"Sorry…I'm listening."

"you were screaming. It looked like you had a huge headache."

"What happened before that?"

Kat looked up, trying to remember what happened. It was easy telling the story from the beginning. But backwards is not so easy.

"Oh…I told you that you were acting pretty weird last night after you heard about the plane crash…and after that…you…"

"Wait!" Kristin quickly leaned forward and grabbed Kat's forearm. "What plane crash?"

Startled by the blonde's sudden action, Kat jerked back a little. "The flight to Venice."

"Whaa?" Kristin said in a low volume as the memory of last night and this morning flashed into her mind bit by bit. Her hand started to tremble and she let go of Kat's forearm.

She needed to make sure and asked again. "The flight from Paris to Venice?" She said in a trembled voice.

"yes"

Kristin gasped and covered her mouth as tears immediately ran down her cheeks.

"Were…there…" She said slowly, crying and sniffing, afraid of getting the response she didn't want to hear. "Were …there..any…"

"Are you all right?" Kat said, concerned that the blonde would faint again. "Let me get the nurse." As she was about to stand up, Kristin grabbed her forearm tightly to stop her.

"Were there any survivors?"

"Yes." Kat got more confused after each question.

"How many?" Kristin immediately asked. He heart pounded rapidly as she waited for Kat's response.

"No one…" Kat stopped when she heard a knock on the door.

"Hi, how we all doing?" The nurse interrupted.

"Kat!" Kristin shouted to get her attention. "How many?"

Interrupted by the nurse, she had forgotten what Kristin had asked her. "How many what?"

"How many…survivors?"

"They all survived."

Not believing what she heard, she asked again to make sure. "Are you sure? "

Kat nodded and the blonde immediately slumped back against her pillow. She covered her face with her hands and leaned against her bent knees, crying and laughing at the same time.

"Kristin…you're scaring me. What's wrong?"

The blonde shook her head as she wiped her tears. "Nothing…I'm just happy everyone got out safely."

"Are you girls talking about the plane that got hit by lightning last night?" The nurse walked over to the blonde.

"They were talking about that this morning. Thank goodness the wheels were locked in when it landed. They said if it wasn't, there could be a chance of explosion."

"Wait…the plane didn't crash?"

"No… it landed safely on the ground with one engine out. They said there was smoke inside the cabin. Some minor injuries. No casualties." The nurse said as she got the equipment ready to take the blonde's blood pressure.

Kristin snapped her head towards Kat.

"Why did you tell me it was a plane crash?" She yelled at Kat as she slapped her upper arm hard.

"Owww!" Kat cried out, rubbing her bruised area. "What's wrong with you?"

"You said it was a plane crash. You had me worried. I thought she…" She stopped. "they all died."

Kat apologized and wondered why the blonde got so emotional. She wanted to know what was going on with her, but decided to ask her later since her stomach was growling.

* * *

After eating her lunch, Kat walked slowly back to Kristin's room, thinking about what just happened. She stopped outside in front of the door. After a short moment, she let out a deep breath before going inside.

Kristin had finished eating her lunch as well, sitting on the bed with her eyes closed, wondering what Keira was doing at the moment. She looked better than before, but still pale and weak.

"Hey, did the doctor show up yet?" Kat asked in a concerned voice.

"Not yet."

Kat had wanted to ask her a lot of questions about what happened earlier but decided not too since there were more important things to talk about.

"I know you're sick and everything, but I just got a call from them." Kat said seriously.

"They want me to go to Venice right away."

"What for?"

"They didn't say. I have to meet someone there and he'll fill me in."

Kristin nodded, then laughed internally at how things turned out. It was supposed to be her going to Venice with Keira, yet Kat gets to go today…on a mission. If she could take her place, she would do it in a heartbeat.

"I didn't tell them you're in the hospital. I don't know if I should before asking you."

"Don't tell them. I'm fine. I just need to get rid of this cold."

Kat nodded, but deep inside, she felt that Kristin had more than just a cold, based on what she saw this morning. "There's one more thing. They want you to find some way to get closer to Michel and his family right away."

"Why? It's been a year now and I can't find anything wrong with him."

"They know that and they didn't tell me why. They hoped that you could get some more info by staying close to him. Remember last time you slept over at his house. You were able to find something suspicious with Jehan. Maybe that's what you need to do, stay at his house more often."

_How could I forget?_ Her mind flashed back to that night. _That was the night Keira got sick from eating the crème brulee that Alexis made and I fell asleep on the same bed with her. That was the night I promised to go out with her and she said she wanted to kiss me but didn't because she didn't want to give me her cold. That was the night…_

"Kristin? Are you ok?" Kat asked when she saw the blonde smiling and noticed her attention drifting.

Kristin snapped her attention back to Kat. "Fine. I was just thinking of how I can do that. What excuse can I give to stay over at his house?"

Both stayed silent and pondered the question. Kat stood up and slowly paced around the room.

"I can't just ask Ashley if I could stay over. I'm sick. I don't want her to catch my cold."

Kat stopped and walked back next to her.

"That's it. You're very sick. Aren't you?"

"No. I just have a cold."

Kat shook her head. "Noooo…you're very sick. You fainted this morning and last night."

"Fainting doesn't mean I'm very sick. People could faint when they have low blood pressure." Kristin explained.

Kat opened her eyes wide. "You fainted last night and this morning and you don't have anyone to look after you. I have an emergency so I can't take care of you." She said slowly, hoping the blonde would know where she's going with this.

Then after a short moment, Kristin slowly moved her head up and down.

"Riiiiight…I'm very sick and I need someone to take care of me."

Both nodded at each other and agreed that this was a good plan. This is a good plan but it would be better if she weren't really sick. Kristin thought to herself.

"I'll call him. Where's my phone?" Kristin asked.

"Wait, you can't call him."

"Why?"

"What are you going to say?"

"I'm going to say that I'm not feeling well and I won't be able to baby sit Ashley on Monday. Then he'll ask me why and then I'll tell him I'm in the hospital. He'll come right over and will ask me to stay with him since I have no one to take care of me."

Kat didn't like her plan and realized that her coworker wasn't herself. Usually, the one who comes up with great plans is Kristin.

"Today is a Saturday. How do you know if you're not going to feel better by Monday? How about I call him to come over. You pretend to be sleeping and I'll just tell him what happened and asked him to take care of you while I'm gone. You wake up after I said that and pretend you don't want to go with him. Then I'll persuade you to stay with him."

Her nose was stuffed up and the bump on her head still hurts. She's so tired and sick, she can't think straight. "...whatever…." Kristin said as she slumped back on the pillow, feeling too weak to argue.

* * *

Meanwhile

After eating dinner with James and his family, the former criminals decided to go out to a nearby restaurant to have a private chat.

Lucy took out the contents from the envelope that James had given her previously but had forgotten about it. They were pictures of James and his family. As she flipped through each picture, she smiled at seeing how happy James was with his wife and kids. Not understanding what James wanted her to see, she gave it to Scud to take a look.

"What do you want us to look at?" Scud asked after taking a quick look.

James took one of the pictures and pointed to a person in the background. The image was fuzzy and with the dim lighting in the restaurant, Lucy still couldn't figure it out. They walked over to a brighter area. Both Scud and Lucy stared at each other when they realized who it was in the picture. They quickly walked back to their table.

"Where is this place?" Lucy asked pointing to one of the pictures.

"It's a few streets near here in Venice."

"Are you sure?" Lucy asked.

"Doesn't she look like Amy? Boss, she could be alive." James said happily.

Lucy turned towards Scud. "Kristin said she had never been to Venice."

"When did they go to Italy? " Scud asked, trying to remember the date they saved her and Ashley. He remembered that Michel said that they came back from Italy on the day they were kidnapped.

"Kristin? Who's Kristin?" James asked, confused as to why they weren't as happy as he was.

"We met someone in Paris and she also looked like Amy but she's not her." Lucy explained.

Scud added. "We think she works for the government and she's working on a case. That's why we're here…to stay away…until we can find out some more information."

James nodded in understanding. Disappointment shown on his face.

"Do you have the memory card with these pictures? I want to take a closer look." Scud asked.

James took out his camera and gave the memory card to Scud who promised to give it back the next day.

Meanwhile, a commotion at the bar attracted their attention. There was a woman sitting at the bar, yelling at the bartender who told her that he couldn't give her any more drinks because she's too drunk. She could barely stand up. Her legs were wobbling. Two waiters walked over to help her but immediately backed away when the woman pushed them aside.

"I…don't…need your help. I can…walk by myself." She said in an unsteady voice. Everyone could tell she had too much to drink. Once she exited the restaurant, everyone focused back on their own things as if nothing had happened.

After a moment, the former criminals decided to leave and walked back to James' hotel, which was near the restaurant. Walking at a slow pace, James talked about the silly things his daughters did, causing both Lucy and Scud to laugh out loud. Lucy was extremely happy to see that at least one of her followers is living happily after she disbanded her organization.

"I guess you're a master at changing diapers now." Scud joked and all of them laughed.

As they walked around a corner, they saw 2 men and a woman walking towards them. The woman seems to be drunk and her arms hung around each man's shoulder for support. As the former criminals walked passed them, Lucy recognized that the woman was the same drunk woman from the restaurant.

"Where…are…you…taking…me?" The drunk woman said in a low voice, unclearly.

Having heard what the woman said, Lucy felt that something was not right. "Wait." Lucy said to Scud and James. She turned around and saw from 10 feet away that the woman seemed to be pulling and struggling to get away from the men. But in her drunken state, she was too weak to do so. The men held her tight around her waist and seemed to be walking faster than before.

"What's the matter?" Scud asked.

"Hey!" Lucy yelled, but the 2 men continued walking. They were on a dark quiet street with no one else around except for them.

"Hey, you two, I'm talking to you." Lucy yelled again to get their attention. This time, the men stopped but did not look back. Scud and James now realized that something was definitely wrong.

"I'm going to call the police!" Lucy warned as she walked slowly towards them.

"She's a friend of ours. She's drunk. We're just taking her home." One of the men said as he turned around. With the darkness, Lucy couldn't see what he looked like.

"I've already called the police." She lied.

The two men looked at each other for a moment, then dropped the woman and ran as fast as they could. Lucy, Scud and James immediately ran towards the woman. Scud and James looked around to make sure those guys weren't coming back.

"Hey, are you alright?" Lucy said to the woman.

"Who are you?…oh…my head." The woman said, rubbing the back of her head. She hit the back of her head when the guys dropped her on the ground.

"Do you want us to call the police?" Lucy asked. She had no intention of being around if she wanted to call the police. James will have to be here to tell them what happened.

"No!..No!…no police."

Lucy thought it was odd how the woman, in her drunken state, managed to respond so quickly and wondered why she wouldn't want to call the police.

"Where do you live?"

The woman mumbled something that none of them could catch. Feeling dizzy and nauseous, the woman couldn't control her queasy stomach and puked on the person next to her. Lucy immediately jumped back, but wasn't fast enough.

"Aaahhh…gross…" Lucy cried out.

"What should we do with her?" Scud asked.

"We should get out of here first. They might come back." Lucy said.

James carried the woman and all of them walked to the main street to get a taxi. First, they dropped off James to his hotel and then went back to their own hotel with the drunk woman.

Once inside her hotel room, Lucy searched her pockets and bag to see if there's anything that could tell her where she lives. She found a hotel key in her pant pocket, the same hotel where Alyson is staying. This woman must be rich too since that hotel is one of the most expensive hotel in Venice.

Instead of bringing her back to her own hotel, she decided to put the mystery woman in another room on the same floor. One. She doesn't want to run into Alyson. Two. Someone has to take care of her. Three. The only way to get to that hotel is by boat taxi. It would be difficult to get her into a boat at this hour in her drunken state.

* * *

After changing into another pair of pants, Lucy lay down on the couch, rested her head on the arm of the couch and stared at the ceiling.

"She's from France. Her name is Nadia Thoreaux. She's 26." That's all Scud could find out from the contents in her bag.

Deep in her thoughts, Lucy wasn't thinking about the woman she just saved, she was thinking about the picture of Amy/Kristin. She remembered that Kristin said she had never been to Venice. Why would she lie about that? If she didn't lie about that, then could that really be Amy?

"What are you thinking about?" Scud asked when he noticed that Lucy wasn't listening to him.

"the picture"

"I'll look into that." Scud said and Lucy nodded.

Scud told her that the guy from the software company that he was supposed to meet with that day had called to reschedule.

"You don't remember?" Scud asked seeing the blank look on her face.

Lucy shook her head.

"We were supposed to meet with him today. We're meeting him on Tuesday."

So many things have happened, she totally forgot about that. And there was something else she just remembered.

"Can I borrow your phone again? I locked my voice mail account."

Scud narrowed his eyes at her and wondered if she had hurt herself in the plane and somehow affected her memory.

* * *

Couric's house

Kat's plan worked and Kristin was invited to stay at Michel's house for a few days until she feels better.  
Once she entered the guestroom, she realized it was the same room that she and Keira had slept in that night. She laid her head down on the pillow and turned sideways to look at the other side of the bed. Placing her hand over the mattress, she closed her eyes and reminisced about the night she slept with Keira. She smiled as the memory of that night flowed into her mind. But her smile quickly disappeared when her thoughts were interrupted.

"Kristin!" Ashley called out as she came running into the bedroom followed by Alexis.

Ashley was about to give her a hug but Kristin stopped her.

"No, Ashley. I'm sick. I don't want to spread it to you."

"Daddy said you're going to stay with us for a few days." Ashley said, standing 3 feet away.

"Yes, is that okay with you?"

"you can stay here forever." Ashley said happily, clapping her hands.

"I don't think she wants to stay here forever." Alexis said and Ashley stuck her tongue out at her, knowing full well what her big sis meant by that.

"How are you feeling?" Alexis asked in a concerned voice.

"I'm feeling much better now."

Alexis could tell the blonde had a cold by the change in her voice.

"I'm glad everyone's feeling better." Michel said as he walked in, carrying Kristin's bag that Kat packed for her. "You two gave me a heart attack. First you." Michel pointed to Alexis. "Then you." Michel pointed to Kristin.

Not understanding what Michel was talking about, Kristin turned to Alexis. "What happened?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine." Alexis assured her.

"She fainted last night after hearing about the plane. She thought the plane crashed into the runway when it was trying to land without the landing gears. I had to call the doctor over."

"Papa!" Alexis shouted, extremely embarrassed about what happened.

"If you only waited a little longer, then you'll know that Keira's safe."

Alexis rolled her eyes. "I can't help it. It's that broadcaster. She shouldn't have stopped talking at that moment."

Ashley just stood there, not understanding what they're saying and left the room to watch tv in the living room instead.

"Alexis, did Keira call you?" Kristin asked.

Alexis shook her head and Michel could see how disappointed she was.

"Scott said she had minor injuries. Maybe she didn't feel up to it yet. Give her some time to get things together." Michel said as he patted Alexis' shoulder.

Kristin realized that Keira must not have called her either if she didn't call Alexis.

"Kristin, I'll have the butler bring your dinner up." Michel said as he put the bag down on the bed and left the room.

Alexis took out her phone to see if she missed any calls from Keira. Nope. Then suddenly, her phone rang.

"That's odd. I don't know that number." She picked up the call anyways.

"Bonjor"

"Keira!" Alexis shouted and Kristin's head immediately shot up to look at her. "Are you okay? I was so worried." Alexis stood still, pressing the phone hard against her ear, listening to every word Keira has to say.

"Wait a minute, Keira." Alexis said, smiling.

Alexis turned towards Kristin. "It's Keira. She's okay. I'll be right back."

As Alexis turned around and walked towards the door, Kristin extended her hand out and called out "Wait…" She wanted to stop Alexis from leaving. She wanted to hear what Keira had to say. But more importantly, she wanted to talk to Keira. But it was too late. Alexis didn't hear her and left the room.

Motionless, with her eyes staring at the door, Kristin felt a sharp pain in her heart when she realized that Keira might still be upset with her. That's why she called Alexis not her. _I broke her heart. She's not going to call me._

After a short moment, the butler brought up the dinner for her. While eating her dinner on the table, Alexis entered the room and sat next to her. She finally finished talking with Keira after 10 minutes.

_What do they have to talk about that would take 10 minutes? _ Kristin wondered.

"How is she?" Kristin asked in a calm voice, pretending not to be interested.

"She said she has some bruises on her arm and some minor aches but other than that she's fine."

Kristin nodded without looking at Alexis. But deep inside, she felt relieved to know that Keira wasn't hurt.

"Her phone broke so she's calling from Scott's phone."

Kristin nodded again.

"She asked about you and Ashley."

Kristin looked up.

"I told her you're staying with us for a few days since you weren't feeling well."

"What did she say?"

"She told me to tell you to take care of yourself."

Kristin froze after hearing that, realizing that Keira wasn't going to call her.

"She asked about everyone and just wanted to let us know she's okay."

Alexis let out a deep breath. "Now I can go to sleep."

Unlike Alexis, Kristin knew she's going to have a difficult time sleeping tonight.

* * *

**Venice, Lucy's hotel room**

Lucy stared at the phone after ending the call with Alexis.

Seeing his friend in deep thought again, Scud asked in a concerned voice. "How's Alexis?"

"Fine." Lucy said, still looking at the phone.

"and?"

"Kristin…she...fainted last night and this morning…and went into the emergency room." Lucy said slowly, still shocked.

"What? Why?" Scud asked in a worried tone. "Is she okay?"

"She's staying at Michel's house for a few days." She wondered if Kristin also fainted after hearing the news.

"Why? Can't her cousin look after her?"

Lucy turned to look at him. "What did you say?"

"Her cousin? Why stay at Michel's house when her cousin's there?"

Suddenly both stood up. Both stared at each other and knew what the other one is thinking.

"She needed to get inside his house…to spy on him." Lucy said and Scud nodded. Now she wondered if the blonde's trip to the emergency room was part of a bigger plan. She might not be sick after all.

Lucy slowly paced back and forth, looking down at the floor, trying to put the pieces together. "I called her but she didn't pick up. She must be at the hospital at that time."

"You what? You called her?" Scud shouted.

Lucy stopped pacing. "She left me a voice mail and she sounded really worried. What am I supposed to do? I can't just ignore it."

"Luce! You know you can't…" Scud wanted to remind her why they're doing this.

"I know. I know. I shouldn't have." She realized that she had let her emotions overrun her better judgment.

"So you're saying she pretended to be sick and went to the emergency room so she can use this as an excuse to get Michel's sympathy to allow her to stay in his house."

"but Alexis said she's really sick. You can't fake that."

Scud pondered for a moment and paced around the room. "She was soaking wet that night you left. Maybe she got sick that night."

Lucy nodded.

"If I'm really sick, wouldn't you want me to get some rest instead of going to work?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, unless there's some kind of emergency."

Both pairs of eyes opened wide.

"Bingo! They must be up to something." Scud called out as he snapped his fingers.

* * *

**Couric's house**

Having just finished taking a shower, she flopped down on the bed, thinking about what Alexis said. Keira is okay. It didn't matter if Keira had called her or not as long as she knows that the brunette is safe. She closed her eyes and smiled. After a short moment, her smile disappeared and she couldn't control her tears from falling down at the corner of her eyes. _She doesn't want anything to do with me._ Then suddenly she heard a buzzing sound coming from her bag. She realized that Kat had packed her phone inside one of the side pockets. It was Kat calling to let her know that she's on the plane to Venice and to make sure she's okay. After she hung up, she noticed that she had a message. She wondered if Kat had called her while she was taking a shower. Her jaws dropped when she realized who had left her a voice mail. It was a short message but she replayed it several times just to listen to her voice. After listening to it 5 times, she pressed some buttons to see when Keira had called her. It was when she was in the hospital. Sniffing and wiping her tears away, she lay back down on the bed, holding her phone to her heart, smiling and staring at the ceiling. _She still cares. _

* * *

**Hotel in Venice - Next morning**

Last night, Lucy slept in the same room as the woman on one of the beds, to look after her. She didn't want the young woman to wake up without knowing where she is.

She woke up at 5AM and had not been able to get back to sleep since. Having heard from Alexis that Kristin was sick, she wanted to call her desperately, but she knew she couldn't. Since she couldn't sleep and the mystery woman was still sleeping, she decided to go to the exercise room to work out to take her mind off the blonde.

It's 7AM. Sitting on the couch, Lucy turned on the tv to watch the news. She expected the woman to wake up any minute now with a pounding headache. As if on cue, the mystery woman woke up.

Surprised to see a stranger in front of her, the woman immediately sat up and moved back against the headboard. She looked around to see if there was anything she could get her hands on to protect herself.

"Who are you? Where am I?" She said, in a panic voice and looked around, scanning the area.

"It's okay. It's okay." Lucy stood up and moved back. She raised both hands up to show her that she meant no harm. "You're safe now. You're in a hotel."

"Who are you?"

"Do you remember anything from last night?" Lucy asked.

Memory of last night slowly flowed into her mind. "There…were these 2 men. I…I…..my head!" She cried out.

"You drank a lot yesterday." Lucy said as she handed her a warm towel and gave her a moment to come to her senses.

"Do you know them?"

Caressing her temples, the mystery woman shook her head.

"You're very lucky that we were there. It doesn't look like they're after your money. Nadia."

Her head shot up. "How do you know my name?" She asked, surprised.

"Sorry, we had to look into your bag to see where you live. You said you didn't want to call the police so we brought you here." Lucy said as she handed her a drink of water.

Nadia is a fit, 26 year old with brownish hair, about the same height as Lucy, but shorter.

Nadia took the glass but was afraid to drink it. She looked around again and saw that it did look like a hotel room.

To let her know that she could trust her, Lucy handed her the hotel phone. "Do you want to call the police?" Lucy asked.

Nadia shook her head and took a drink.

"Do you need to call anyone to let them know you're here?"

Nadia shook her head again.

"Are you feeling alright? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Lucy wasn't sure if the guys did anything to her.

"No…I just have a splitting headache."

"We didn't get a good look at those guys. But since they weren't after your money, do you think they were after you?"

She took a moment before answering. "I…don't…think so."

Lucy could tell by her look that she was hiding something.

"Maybe they just saw that you were alone."

Nadia nodded. Her eyes looked down as she took another drink of water.

Seeing that the young woman won't tell her anything, Lucy decided to leave.

"There's your bag. The check out time is 12 so you have plenty of time. I'm sure you want to get back to your hotel."

Nadia didn't respond and just looked at the brunette.

As Lucy was about to leave, she turned around.

"Try not to drink so much."

"Wait!…I don't know your name. How can I repay you?" Nadia asked.

"You don't have to…and we won't meet again. Take care of yourself." Lucy said before closing the door.

* * *

Couric's house 6PM

Kristin sat up on the bed and stretched her arms. Feeling a little better after taking some medicine and getting some rest, she turned on her cell phone and was extremely surprised when she saw the time. She had slept for more than 7 hours. Earlier this morning, she woke up feeling dizzy. After eating breakfast and taking some medicine, she went back to sleep. Feeling a little hungry, she got up and got dressed and decided to get something to eat. While walking down the hall on the second floor, she again noticed the quietness. It was so quiet and strange, it made her goose bumps rise.

"Did everyone go to sleep already?" She thought to herself.

When she passed by the office, she stopped. She had almost forgotten that she was there for a purpose. Looking around to make sure that no one was nearby, she walked to the front of the office. She could tell from the slit of the door that the lights were not turned on inside the room. She didn't have to press her ears against the door to know that nobody was inside. It was that quiet. Suddenly, she let out a loud sneeze and quickly covered her mouth. _This is not good._

On the first floor, the lights were on in the living room but nobody was inside. She made her way to the kitchen, expecting to find the butler and another worker cooking dinner, but to her surprise, the room was also empty.

What the heck is going on? Where is everyone? She's starting to think to this is a bad idea to stay at Michel's house. How can she spy on anyone when she's sick? Everyone's gone and she had no idea where they went.

There's one more room she didn't check. The Family room in the back of the house. Walking down the quiet hallway leading to the family room, she heard voices and someone crying. She stopped when she saw the butler and the chef coming out of the family room. Both had a sad look on their faces. Without saying a word, the butler kept the door open and motioned her to go inside. She wanted to ask him but decided not to, seeing that everything would be explained once she stepped inside the room.

Standing at the entrance of the room, she saw 6 pairs of eyes staring at her, Michel's, Jehan's, and Alexis'. Her heart started to beat rapidly. _Oh no, do they know?_ Her legs involuntarily stepped forward into the room when she felt a gentle push on her back. The door slowly closed behind her.

Without saying anything, Michel motioned to have her sit down on the couch while he and Jehan continued to talk softly about something that she couldn't hear. Sitting down next to Alexis, Kristin noticed that her eyes were red and swollen. The cries that she heard earlier came from her.

Suddenly, a negative thought appeared in her head. Everyone was here except for Ashley.

"Where's Ashley? Did something happen to Ashley?" Kristin asked in a panic voice.

Alexis shook her head, holding a tissue over her nose and looking down at the floor. The blonde immediately relaxed a little.

Not getting a response from Alexis, she asked again in a calm voice. "Alexis, where's Ashley?"

"She's sleeping upstairs." Michel spoke in a gentle voice. He had finished talking with Jehan and Jehan had left the room.

"Alexis, go get some rest." Michel said. Alexis nodded and walked out of the room, sniffing and trying to hold her tears back in.

"Michel, is everything ok?" Kristin can't wait anymore. She needed to know what was going on.

Michel closed the door and sat next to her on the couch.

"How are you feeling?" Michel asked. He had heard from the butler that she felt dizzy this morning and wanted to make sure she's feeling okay before giving her the news.

"Michel, just tell me." Kristin said as she looked into his tired red eyes.

Michel took her hand and looked deeply into her eyes. "It's…my…mother."

Hearing that, Kristin realized what had happened. He didn't have to say anymore. She gasped, covering her mouth. Tears immediately ran down her cheeks.

Seeing the blonde's tears, he too couldn't control his own tears. "She passed away this morning." He said sadly.

Kristin immediately hugged him. "I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry."

Without saying anything, Michel closed his eyes and held the blonde firmly. Feeling extremely exhausted having been in the hospital since 4AM this morning, he needed someone to comfort him and only she would be able to do that. He had been comforting Ashley and Alexis the whole day and resisted the urge to cry in front of them. Being their father, he had to be strong in front of them. But he wasn't afraid to show his emotions in front of Kristin, the one he loves.

"Thank you…Thank you for being here." Michel said as he wrapped his arms around her even tighter.

After a short moment, Kristin pulled back and Michel reluctantly let go.

"Does Ashley know?"

Michel nodded.

"How is she?"

"She took it well. Better than Alexis." Michel said as his eyes locked onto her mesmerizing hazel teary green eyes.

For a long time, he wanted to tell her how he felt about her. But he wasn't sure if this is the right moment to tell her. What if she doesn't feel the same way, would she leave right away?

"Kristin, I…"

Suddenly his phone rang.

Without looking at the number, he immediately picked up the call so he could get back to what he wanted to say.

"Hello…..Yes….Who is this?…." Michel hung up after the person on the other line hung up.

"Who is it?" Kristin asked.

"I don't know. It's probably a crank call." Michael said as he put the phone back into his pocket.

There was a knock on the door and the butler informed them that dinner was ready.

As they were about to leave the room, Michel stopped in front of her.

"Kristin, I know you're just staying here for a few days…and…I know I shouldn't ask…"

"What is it?"

"I was wondering if you could stay a little longer…."

Not hearing a response, he quickly added. "…for Ashley…I want to make sure she has someone here to be with her. There's going to be a lot of things I have to do and I'm not going to be able to…"

Kristin interrupted. "Of course…as long as she needs me."

It was a lame excuse and Kristin saw right through him. Now she doesn't have to think of an excuse to stay longer.

Only Kristin and Michel ate at the dinner table. Ashley was still sleeping and Alexis didn't feel like eating anything. After they were done eating, Michel took the dinner tray and went upstairs to Alexis.

"Alexis…" Michel called out as he knocked on the door. "Alexis"

"I'm fine. I just don't want to eat anything." Alexis responded from inside the room.

"Alexis, you have to eat something." Michel spoke outside the door. He noticed that she didn't eat anything since she arrived to the hospital this morning. Her grandmother's death hit her hard. She had been crying non-stop at the hospital.

"I'm not hungry."

Michel let out a sigh and caressed his eyebrows with his fingertips.

"Michel, go get some sleep. Let me take care of this." Kristin said when she noticed how tired he was.

Michel smiled and nodded.

She waited for Michel to leave before knocking on the door. "Alexis, it's Kristin. Can I come in?"

Alexis opened the door slightly to take a peek. When she saw that only Kristin was outside, she allowed the blonde to enter her room.

Kristin placed the tray on the table and sat on a chair while Alexis lay down on the bed. She noticed that Alexis had stopped crying and was feeling better than before. She didn't want to say 'sorry for your loss' because she knows that that's not what Alexis wanted to hear. So she decided not to say anything and waited for her to speak.

After a short moment, Alexis finally spoke.

"She knew it was going to happen. That's why she told to me to stay with her. That's why she made me promise her." She said slowly, staring at the ceiling.

"What promise?" Kristin asked.

"She made me promise not to cry so much."

"Then you should keep that promise to Grandma."

Alexis slowly sat up and looked at the blonde. "Not Grandma. Keira."

"Keira?"

Alexis nodded.

"That day when she met Grandma, she already knew what was going to happen. That's why she gave her a kiss before she left."

Kristin nodded in understanding. That day, Grandma had felt better than any other day she was in the hospital. All of us thought she was getting better. But only Keira knew what was truly happening.

"She made her very happy that day." Kristin tried to comfort her.

Alexis nodded. A small smile appeared on her face when her mind flashed back to that day. That was the first time she smiled after hearing the news of her Grandma's death.

"Did Keira tell you to take care of yourself before she left?"

Alexis nodded again.

"Well, not eating anything is not really taking care of yourself." Kristin spoke to her as if she was talking to Ashley.

Alexis flopped back on the bed. "I don't feel like eating."

There was a moment of silence and the blonde tried to convince her again.

"Your father…he needs you to be strong for him. There's going to be a lot of things he has to take care of and he won't be able to do that if he has to worry about you too."

Alexis stayed silent, just staring at the ceiling.

"He'll need your help." Kristin wasn't sure if she was listening but kept on trying to convince her to eat.

"She made her very happy that day." Alexis repeated what Kristin said.

"She did." Kristin said, looking down at the floor as her memory of that day flowed into her mind. That was the last time she saw Keira and will probably be the last she will ever see her again.

"I miss her." Alexis said.

"I miss her too."

Alexis sat up. "I wasn't …" Alexis stopped at what she was about to say and quickly cleared her throat and looked away from the blonde. She meant to say she missed Keira. She doesn't know if Kristin knows that she liked Keira. She knows that her father knows. But she wasn't sure if her father ever told the blonde.

Feeling a little bit embarrassed, she headed for the bathroom to hide her cheeks that will soon turn red.

"I'll eat it later, okay?" She said before closing the bathroom door.

Kristin let out a deep breath. She knew exactly whom Alexis was referring to when she said she missed 'her'. Without thinking, she also said she missed 'her', 'her' meaning Keira.

* * *

**Venice, Italy - Tuesday**

This morning, Scud and Lucy moved into a furnished apartment with 3 bedrooms in Venice, Italy. Yesterday, he had bought all the necessary computer equipment and set it up in one of the rooms. Lucy bought a new phone with a new phone#.

Scud and Lucy sat in an office with the CEO of the Creative Gaming Company and 2 other employees. Scud did most of the talking since this was his area.

The meeting lasted for 2 hours and the CEO was extremely impressed with Scud's technical knowledge of the games that they wanted to buy. Usually, when dealing with other companies, the CEO met people who would only know the general description of the product they're selling, but not the technical detail.

Scud should know. As a games fanatic, he played all the games that their company created and even took part in writing some of the programs.

After the business meeting was over, the CEO invited the former criminals to have lunch with him.

"How long are you planning to stay in Venice?"

"About a month." Scud replied. Since he doesn't know how long they'll be staying, he just gave him a random answer.

"Good…then we can contact you if we have any questions because I really prefer to talk in person instead of video conferencing."

"Not a problem." Scud replied.

When they were almost finished with their meal, a thin man in his 60's recognized the CEO. After introduction, Scud and Lucy learned that the man is well known in Italy as a philanthropist and is the owner of a major corporation.

Standing next to the CEO, the philanthropist asked. "Will you be able to make it tomorrow night?"

"I'll be there." The CEO replied with enthusiasm.

Turning towards the former criminals, he asked if they would be interested in coming to the event.

The CEO explained in more detail. "He's having a charity event tomorrow night. It's a once a year event. All donation information will be kept private."

"Will there be any reporters?" Scud asked.

"It's a private function. No reporters allowed. No pictures, no cameras. "

"Dress code?" Scud asked. He didn't mind wearing a tux, but he knows that Lucy wouldn't want to go to any event that require shopping for a fancy dress.

"no ties, no tux…no extravangant dresses… just business casual. We'll be doing something different this year and I assured you everyone will have a good time." The philanthropist said.

"…and it's a great place to meet people, so if you're still single, this is the place to be." The CEO said to Scud and Lucy.

"Anything for a good cause. Count us in." Scud responded immediately without asking Lucy. Since they're going to be here indefinitely, it's a good opportunity to meet with other people and promote their business. With or without Lucy, he was definitely planning to go.

"Great!…it's a short notice and I don't have the invitation cards with me. So just give me a call when you get there and I'll bring you in." The philanthropist said.

"Invitation card?" Scud asked.

"It's a private function. No one is allowed to enter without one. There's going to be a lot of wealthy people there." The CEO said.

After the philanthropist left, Scud and Lucy learned that the philanthropist founded the private foundation a few years ago with his wife and the funding totaled over a billion US dollars.

A billion dollars! Lucy just hoped that he wasn't expecting them to donate a million. She has a million dollars but donating that much to an organization she knows nothing about is not something she would do.

After they were done with lunch, the CEO left the restaurant. Since they were done with business and they still had a lot of things to do, Scud and Lucy decided to head back to the apartment. After leaving the restaurant, Lucy stopped.

"Shoot, I forgot my phone." Lucy said and Scud rolled his eyes. He noticed that she had been forgetting a lot of things lately. He made a mental note to ask her about that later.

Lucy quickly went back inside the restaurant and was happy to see that her phone was still on the table.

As she was about to leave, she noticed, at the corner of her eyes, a familiar face sitting on one of the stools in the bar area. She turned and realized that it was Nadia, the girl she saved. Seeing the young woman drinking again by herself, Lucy wondered what was bothering her.

Well, at least she's not drinking at nighttime. Lucy thought to herself and left the restaurant.

"Did you find it?" Scud asked.

Lucy nodded.

As they started walking down the street, her conscience was bothering her. She remembered the time when she got drunk every night after Amy's demise and if Scud weren't there, she would have died at that time.

"Wait." Lucy said and both stopped.

"What's the matter?"

After a short moment of thinking to herself, she decided to follow her conscience. "I'm going to regret this…I'm going to regret this.." She said to herself repeatedly and walked back into the restaurant.

"What?" Scud had no clue what she said and just followed her.

Once inside the restaurant, Lucy saw the young woman gulping down another shot of….vodka?

"…she definitely wants to get drunk fast." Lucy said to herself.

She walked quickly to the bar area and sat next to her.

"Hey there? Remember me."

Nadia turned her head to her left in slow motion.

"Hey…I remember you." Nadia slurred, smiling goofy at her.

"You like to drink?"

"No….." She giggled and hiccupped. "Do ya want some?" Her hand was trembling as she handed Lucy the drink.

"Sure. Let's go to another place and drink some more. Okay?"

"Okay" She said as she clumsily got off the stool. Lucy took her hand and hung it over her neck for support.

Lucy motioned Scud to come over and help her.

"Not again. Where are we going to take her?"

"Our hotel." Lucy said as they walked out of the restaurant.

"Luce…we have our own apartment, remember?"

"Right…we can't take her there."

"Why not just get her back to her own hotel?" Scud asked.

"Because I don't want to run into Alyson."

"Why?"

"Because…I just don't want to."

"She's not going to be there at this time. Besides there will be a lot of people going in and out. Maybe she left already. We're not going to run into her." Scud reasoned and made another mental note to ask her later.

Lucy stopped to take a rest, holding Nadia's arm around her neck. Breathing heavily, she blew her bangs up and was frustrated with the choice she had to make.

"I…wanna..go..home…" Nadia said, giggling and leaning her head on Lucy's shoulder.

Lucy pondered for a moment. "Okay, let's get her home." She moved Nadia's head to lean on Scud's shoulder.

* * *

**Another place in Italy**

"Are you sure he's staying at this hotel?" Kat said.

"Yes." Carlos said in a frustrated tone. That's the 10th time she asked him that. Kat learned that Carlos' mission was to follow a man. He had been following him from Paris to Venice for a week and he still had no clue why the suspect came to Venice. Kat understood why she was sent here to help him. Carlos kept losing the suspect because of his overactive bladder. His reasoning was that the food in Venice didn't agree with him.

"Where is he? We've been waiting since this morning and he didn't show up yesterday."

Carlos stood at one of the street, talking on a tiny communicator clipped to his shirt. Kat stood on the other end of a crowded busy street and realized how difficult this would be with so many people around.

"I'm hungry. Let's eat first." Carlos said.

Kat rolled her eyes. "You go. I'll wait here."

After Carlos left to eat lunch, Kat noticed a man in jeans coming out of the hotel. She took the picture out and looked through her binoculars and saw that he was the guy in the picture.

"Red Pepper…Come in." Kat spoke into the communicator. "He's out. I'm going to follow him."

"Copy that." Carlos responded.

Kat followed him, staying far away enough so that he won't notice her.

"Shoot." Kat said when she saw him getting into a car.

She quickly got a taxi and followed him.

After 10 minutes, the man stopped and parked a car near a hotel.

Kat called Carlos and informed him where she was. After 15 minutes, Carlos arrived.

"There…you see the guy in black pants." Kat pointed. "He was talking to that guy earlier." One guy was waiting at one of end of the street. The suspect was waiting at the other end. "It looks like they're waiting for someone." Kat said.

* * *

Meanwhile

Inside the hotel room with one bed, Lucy and Scud helped the drunk woman onto the bed.

"I thought you said we're taking her home." Scud asked, breathing heavily.

"We don't know where her home is." Lucy said as she flopped down on the couch, feeling exhausted.

"You know what I mean...Why are you so afraid of running into her?"

"I'm not afraid. I just rather not."

Later, Scud went back to the apartment while Lucy waited for Nadia to sober up.

Out of breath, Lucy rested on the couch for 10 minutes before turning on the tv. After watching tv for half an hour, she decided to take a walk around the city. She left a note on the table, just in case Nadia wakes up before she comes back. After a taking a walk around the city, she ended up buying a few things; a gondola hat for Ashley, she remembered the little girl wanted one of those, and some gifts for Kristin and Alexis. She had no idea why since she's not going to see them for a very long time. But at that moment, that's what she really wanted to do. A lot of things will probably change when she gets back to Paris.

"papa…papa…" Nadia cried out repeatedly; her eyes still closed.

"Nadia…" Lucy called out and shook her gently to wake her up from her dream.

"No…Alec!" Nadia yelled. Then her eyes opened wide.

After a moment, Nadia came to her senses.

"Feeling better?" Lucy asked.

Nadia looked around.

"You're in the same hotel as last time…and I found you drunk…**again**." Lucy said harshly. She really didn't like taking care of people, especially strangers. Last time was different. Last time, she was in danger.

Nadia stayed silent for a moment. Looking away from the brunette, Nadia sniffed, trying to hold back the tears.

Lucy internally blamed herself for being so harsh when saw her tears rolling down her cheeks. There must be something she must be going thru and she's probably dealing with the problems alone.

"Is it boyfriend trouble?" Lucy said in a gentle voice.

"What?"

"Alec? You yelled for him when you're sleeping." Lucy explained.

Nadia didn't respond and looked towards the window.

"Is Alec your boyfriend?" Nadia neither shook her head nor said anything.

"Ooookay, Alec is not your boyfriend….Then he must be your husband." Lucy paused and looked at her finger. "No, you're not married…ex boyfriend?"

Nadia stayed silent.

"Ex-husband?….dog?…son?" Lucy tapped her fingers on her lips as if she's thinking. "I know!…Alec is your girlfriend."

Nadia looked at Lucy as if she's crazy.

"What? Alec could be a girl's name." Lucy shrugged, then congratulated herself when the woman finally spoke.

"He's… my…brother."

Lucy slapped her own forehead, acknowledging stupidity. "Right…brother."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know." Nadia said slowly and started to cry again.

"Hey" Lucy said in gentle voice. "Do you want to talk about it?" She wasn't really in the mood to getting involved in other people's business but since she brought her here and she just can't stand the sight of woman crying, especially Nadia, with the look of innocence, she just can't leave the her here...alone without asking.

Nadia shook her head. She paused before speaking, looking down at the bed. "You can't help me."

Lucy laughed internally. There may be a lot of things she can't do, but there are also a lot of things she can with the help of Scud, of course. "Try me."

Nadia looked up and saw nothing but sincerity on her face. But how can she tell her? She doesn't even know who she is.

After a long moment of silence, seeing that Nadia wasn't going to say anything, Lucy decided to leave.

"I already paid for the room. Check out time is tomorrow afternoon."

Before she closed the door, she once again advised the young woman. "Try not to drink so much."

Well, Lucy did all she could. Her conscience wasn't bothering her. As she walked down the corridor to the elevator, she wondered if Nadia would come out to stop her from leaving. Standing in front of the elevator, she counted 5 seconds before pressing the elevator button. 1…2…3….4….5. Well, she gave her a chance. Once inside the elevator, she waited for her stop. When the elevator stopped at the 3rd floor, she was surprised to see the person standing at the door. _Oh no._

"Keira, what a coincidence to see you here."

"Hi, Robert. Nice to see you too." Lucy faked a smile. _Please no. Please no_. When the elevator door closed, she let out a deep breath, knowing that Alyson wasn't with him. "What brings you to this hotel?"

"The other one was just too inconvenient, you know, taking the boat taxi and everything. I thought it would help to get away from the paparrazis, but it was just too inconvenient." The hotel that they were staying in is one of the most expensive hotels along the Grand Canal. A lot of celebrities and famous people go there for vacation. But since they were there for business, Robert decided to change to a hotel away from the Grand Canal where land taxis and cars could get to.

"We've been here since yesterday."

"Where's Alyson?" Lucy wanted to make sure the blonde wasn't nearby.

"Alyson?" Robert realized that Keira still doesn't know her real name. He thought by now, she would have figured out who she really is, if she really wanted to know. _Maybe she just doesn't care._ "She's…umm…working. I'm going to meet up with her now. Are you staying at this hotel too?"

"Oh…no…I was just visiting someone." Lucy responded, relieved that she had moved out of there at the right time.

"Where are you staying?"

Lucy was afraid he would ask that. "at a friend's house"

Robert nodded and remembered that Keira did say she was here on vacation.

"When are you leaving Venice?" Lucy asked.

"This Friday…maybe sooner…we have to see how things go…" Robert didn't want to say too much since he had promised Alyson not to say anything about her career.

The elevator door to the lobby opened and they both stepped out.

"Do you have any plans for tonight? Maybe we could meet up later." Robert asked as they walked towards the entrance.

"Actually, I already have plans with my friends. You know, since I'm here on vacation, I want to spend as much time as possible with them and there are so many places I haven't been to yet."

Robert nodded in understanding.

Outside of the hotel, Lucy said goodbye and quickly headed for a taxi that she saw in front of the hotel.

"Keira!…wait!…" Robert called out and Lucy stopped and stood next to the taxi with the door opened.

Seeing that Keira was looking at her cell phone, he thought that she must be late for something.

"Never mind." Robert motioned to her to go and waved goodbye to her.

Sitting in the taxi, Lucy felt extremely relieved to get herself out of there. Why out of all hotels does she have to pick that one? She wondered if Robert would tell Alyson about running into her. She hoped he doesn't. There was just no point in meeting her again. She did feel bad about lying to Alyson about visiting her in the future and hoped that she would forget her as time goes by.

* * *

**Lucy's apartment**

Scud had been sitting in front of the computer all day talking with his employees about the business deal with Creative Gaming Company. After he was done with business, he had also found the hospital where Kristin stayed in and hacked into her hospital records.

"Anything on Kat?" Lucy asked.

"Nope."

"It didn't say who brought her to the hospital?" Lucy had thought that hospital records would show her name as the person to contact in case of emergency.

"Nope."

"Anything on the pictures." Lucy asked.

"That's the best I can do." Scud sat down next to her and handed her pictures with a better resolution. She still could not tell whether the person in the picture was Amy or Kristin.

She put the pictures down and slumped her back against the couch. She didn't tell Scud whom she bumped into at the hotel because she didn't want to hear him say 'You should've listen to me.'

"Maybe I should just stay inside until Saturday." Lucy said to herself.

"What?" Scud asked while watching tv.

"Nothing."

After a moment, Scud yelled out. "It's killing me!"

Startled by the sudden shout, Lucy sat up and focused her attention at Scud. "What?"

"I still can't remember where I've seen her before. Did she say where she's from? What does she do?"

Scud asked as he scratched his growing beard.

"Who? Alyson?"

Scud nodded.

"What does it matter? We're not going to see her again."

"Because it's killing me! That's why." Scud said as he yanked his hair. His eyes opened wide.

Lucy burst out laughing when she saw how weird Scud looked in his beard. His beard was growing unevenly and red areas clearly showed where he had been scratching it.

"Maybe you should grow a goatee instead."

* * *

Benjamin Couric's house

Alexis, Michel, Benjamin and Jehan sat in the living room discussing the funeral arrangements for Michel's mother. All of the arrangements have been made and will be held the following day in a church. Seeing that there was nothing else to discuss, Michel stood up and walked towards the door without looking at his father.

"Michel" Benjamin called out and Michel stopped, without turning around to look at his father.

Jehan left the house to give them some more privacy. Alexis stood next to her father.

"I'm sorry." Benjamin said in a sincere tone. Knowing that his wife was gone, he realized that his son will probably never stepped inside his house again. He hoped that his son would accept his apology and would come visit him once a while.

Michel turned around and looked directly at his father. This was the first time his father apologized to him since Alexis' was born.

"For what?" Michel spoke in an upset tone. "What are you sorry for?"

Seeing the way her father was talking to her grandfather, Alexis tried to prevent any arguments from happening at a time like this. "Papa, don't." Alexis tugged on her father's sleeve.

Michel stared at his father, waiting for his response.

"I'm sorry...I couldn't save your mother."

That was not the response Michel was expecting. He wanted him to apologize for a lot of things, but most importantly, he wanted his father to apologize to Alexis.

"You don't need to apologize for mama."

Michel turned to look at Alexis and felt sorry for his daughter. He took hold of her hand and led her slowly toward his father and stopped in front of him, with Alexis next to him.

"This is Alexis Couric, your granddaughter. She's 23 now. She's smart. She's caring. She's very understanding. She's an adult now."

Michel looked at his father, expecting him to apologize to her for all those times he ignored her ever since she was born.

Alexis looked at her father and knew what he wanted his grandfather to do.

"Papa…please….Don't do this." She didn't need her grandfather to apologize to her. Even though she didn't know the reason why he treated her the way he did, she didn't hate him. She had a grandmother and a father who loved her. That was enough.

Michel turned to look at his daughter. _If she knew the truth, she would understand why I'm doing this._

Benjamin Couric gazed at Alexis without saying a word. He had a lot of plans for his son when he was younger. But the birth of Alexis had changed all of that. He believed that if Alexis didn't exist, there wouldn't be any arguments between him and his son. It was her existence that created the rift in their relationship. That was why he ignored her completely as if she wasn't part of his family. But now, feeling all alone, he did feel sorry for treating her that way. He just couldn't bring himself to apologize to her.

Seeing that his father having no remorse, Michel squeezed Alexis' hand and both walked out the door without looking back.

* * *

**Chapter 18: Chapter 18**

* * *

**Chapter 18**

Tuesday night

The charity function was held in an expensive hotel located on a private island. The only way to get there was by taking the hotel's private boat. No one was allowed on the island without an invitation card. Luckily, the philanthropist was standing there to meet his guests and recognized them immediately. The security was tight. As guests lined up to board the boat, the former criminals noticed that the guests were carrying bags and luggage.

"Did we miss the memo?" Scud asked and Lucy shrugged.

After a short 5 minute boat ride, they were in awe of the size of the hotel. As soon as they stepped on to the island, they could feel the relaxing and peaceful atmosphere and the romantic ambience on the island. Beautiful landscaped gardens and palm trees surrounded several four-story buildings interconnected together. This is the haven of tranquility. This is the place to be to get away from it all.

"Wowww!" Scud said as he looked around.

"I bet it's even more beautiful when it gets darker."

"I'm guessing you've never been here before?" Scud asked as they were escorted to one of the hotel buildings.

"Nope."

About 3 years ago, Lucy took Amy to Venice to visit the art museums. She wanted to book a room in this same hotel, but Amy didn't allow her to because even though they had money, lots of it, Amy thought that spending over $2000 US dollars a night was just absolutely ridiculous.

Two men stood at the entrance of the function room. Through the doors is a long hallway that leads to a big stage at the end. On each side of the hallway are round tables with red tablecloths and red fabric covered seats.

As they followed the hotel staff to their seats, they noticed that each table had 6 seats so there will be plenty of elbowroom for each guest.

"This looks like a concert hall." Scud said as he looked up and noticed how high the ceiling was.

Lucy noticed how spread out the tables were, leaving plenty of room to walk around and estimated that there were will be around 80 guests.

Once they were seated in their empty table in the corner, farthest from the stage, Scud looked around to see if he could find the CEO of the Creative Gaming Company. Lucy also looked around to see if she recognizes anybody.

"Hey, look." Scud stared in the direction near the stage.

"Do you see him?"

"No…but I found a famous celebrity…that guy over there."

Lucy squinted and finally saw who he was talking about; a well respected and handsome actor from the US. As she slowly scanned the room, she also recognized a man; an elderly known as the most successful investor and a philanthropist of the 20th century.

"Well, I guess this private foundation is legit." Lucy pointed to show Scud who she saw.

The CEO finally saw them and walked over to their table.  
"Well, what do you think?"

"You weren't kidding when you said there's going to be a lot of important people here." Scud said.

"Nope." The CEO let out a small laugh. "That's why they have security guards everywhere and he booked the entire hotel just for this event."

Lucy and Scud stared at each other in shock. Lucy wondered how much it would cost to rent the entire hotel if one room cost over $2000.

"Did he book it for one night?" Scud wanted to know how much the philanthropist spent for this event.

"Two nights."

Before he came, Scud did some research on this hotel. "That's about $400,000 US dollars." Scud said.

The CEO nodded. "Yup, that's how much he has to pay if he's not part owner of this hotel."

As the lights started to dim, they realized that the event was about to begin. Guests walked back into their own seats and the staff closed the doors. As the lights got dimmer on the floor, the philanthropist walked onto the stage.

"benvenuto, tutti." (Welcome, everyone.) The philanthropist spoke in Italian. Lucy and Scud picked up a translator earpiece on their table.

"Distinguished guests. Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming to this special event." He spent several minutes talking about what the foundation did in the past year with their donations.

"I wish to thank all of you for your donations. Now, without further ado, let the show begin."

Everyone clapped at the end of his speech.

As soon as the philanthropist walked off the stage, the room darkened. A stage light shone on the door and everyone turned to that direction. When the loud music came on, some guests realized who was going to come thru that door and immediately stood up and started clapping. Other guests followed suit and Lucy and Scud also stood up and started clapping in rhythm. But they had no idea who was going to appear through that door. The double doors then opened and a sexy brunette wearing an eye mask in a golden shimmering dress appeared through the doors. Guests whistled, cheered, and screamed. It was like they were in a concert. She stood near the door for a few seconds, then lifted her microphone and began to sing….in Italian. As she danced her way to the stage, the curtain on the stage slowly rises, showing a drummer, backup singers, guitarists and violinist. Different colored lights lit up the stage.

Lucy, Scud and other guests sat back down to enjoy the performance.

"Do you know who she is?" Lucy asked.

Scud shook his head. Feeling a little hungry, Lucy took another drink of water to stop her stomach from growling. I_ should have eaten something first._ Lucy thought to herself.

After the singer finished her performance, a male singer, also wearing an eye mask, appeared on the stage.

"Do you know who he is?" Lucy asked again. Scud shook his head again.

Then someone spoke next to her. "He's a famous singer from Italy."

Lucy immediately turned to see who it was.

"Robert?" Lucy asked, extremely surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"My boss couldn't make it, so I'm representing him. You don't mind if I sit here, do you?" Without waiting for her response, Robert sat down next to her.

Lucy looked around to see if Alyson was nearby. "Is Alyson here too?"

"No. She has to work."

Realizing that the blonde wasn't with him, Lucy relaxed.

"I'm really surprised to see you here." Robert spoke softly, making sure he wasn't interrupting the other guests sitting in the same table.

"Why?"

"Because only rich people are invited to this." Robert now realized that the brunette could be wealthy. "What business are you in?" He couldn't resist the urge to ask.

"We were invited yesterday as guests." Lucy didn't want to say anymore. After this event, she planned to stay at home to avoid running into him again.

Realizing that the brunette didn't answer his question, he continued to ask more questions.

"Who invited you?"

After telling him who invited them, Lucy learned from Robert that guests paid $ 50,000 to be here.

She didn't realize she had to pay to get invited, although she was prepared to donate some money. Lucy whispered to Scud's ear about what she just learned.

After the singer finally finished his performance, everyone clapped even though some had no idea who he is; another Italian singer.

_I hoped they're serving dinner now._ Lucy thought to herself.

"Now for our next performance…."

Lucy let out a sigh.

"I'm going out to get something to eat." Lucy whispered to Scud.

As Lucy stood up, Robert said softly. "Wait…where're you going?"

"I'm not feeling well." She wasn't lying. Not only was she hungry, she was actually getting a headache from listening to the singers singing in another language.

Once outside of the function room, she headed to the dining area and ordered a small sandwich just to satisfy her stomach temporarily since she planned to head back to the function room later. After she was done eating, she decided to take a walk outside to get a breath of fresh air.

It was dark and quiet. Light posts brightened the walkway for guests to enjoy a romantic stroll on the island. Standing in a dark area, Lucy stood to admire the magnificent water view in front of her. Her eyes closed, she breathed in the magnificent aroma of the summer flowers and the summer breeze. The atmosphere was so peaceful, so relaxing, so…romantic…_I wish you were here, Amy._ Then suddenly she froze when she heard someone calling her name, her real name.

"Lucinda Reynolds"

Lucy snapped her head around. Both stood still, staring at each other. After a short moment, Lucy walked towards him and hugged him tightly around his broad shoulders. It had been so long since she last saw him. She felt the urge to cry but didn't want him to think that she's gone soft and held the tears back in. Extremely happy to see his father's long time friend, Lucy pulled back. Without him, she would never have been able to escape the attacks from the Schaafers and never would have been able to take him down.

"How are you? Uncle Nick." Her grin spread cheek to cheek.

Looking up and down at the woman in front of him, he smiled widely and happily. "My…my…look at you…you've become even more beautiful."

"Thank you…and you've haven't changed at all." Lucy said as she stepped back to look at him, holding his hands.

He laughed out loud. "Thank you…dear…I just wished I could do something about this." He said, pointing to his almost bald head.

Lucy looked around to see if anyone was nearby.

"What are you doing here?"

"Same as you…business…and vacation."

"Business? What kind of business?" Lucy was concerned that he was still involved in criminal activities.

It had been so long since they kept in touch, Lucy did not hear anything about him since she left with Amy.

"legal businesses…"

He could tell from her face that she didn't believe him. "I stayed away from that for several years now." He assured her, giving her a smile.

"I gave it all up to Anthony a few years ago." Anthony was his right-handed man, trustworthy and loyal to him, just like Scud to Lucy.

Lucy nodded. There was no reason for him to lie to her.

He took a few steps forward to admire the water view in front of him. Lucy quietly followed and stood next to him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He inhaled the summer air and exhaled loudly. "Did you hear about Joe?" He said slowly, facing the water.

"No." Lucy said as she turned to look at him.

"He was going to leave it all behind… to start a new life. He went to England to relax, but he didn't make it back." He said sadly.

"What happened?"

"Doesn't matter." He said as he shook his head from side to side. He didn't want to talk about it anymore. "I'm getting old, Lucy. I don't want my son to follow my footsteps."

Many years ago, everyone in the Underground knew that Lucy gave up everything for the DEB and they thought she was crazy. But now, he understood why she did it.

There was a moment of silence.

He turned his head to look at her. "How are you?" He spoke in a caring tone. "How is…Amy? Isn't it?"

Lucy looked away immediately, not wanting him to see tears brimming her eyes. Every time, someone mentions Amy, she couldn't control her emotions. "She…passed away…2 years ago….accident.."

"I'm….sorry…I didn't know…."

Lucy interrupted and turned to face him. "I'm fine." She said as she put on a fake smile.

After spending half an hour talking about their businesses, personal information, old acquaintances etc., she learned that he still had contact with Anthony who was doing extremely well.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Both returned back to the function room. Lucy noticed that Robert was still sitting there at her table. Everyone was in the middle of eating dinner.

"What did I miss?" Lucy said as she sat down between Robert and Scud.

"You just missed a spectacular performance. They had these huge red curtains…the singer was singing behind it…then …"

Scud was enthusiastically describing the performance but Lucy wasn't listening.

"Oh yeah, who were they?" Lucy asked.

"I have no idea. They were wearing eye masks." Scud said.

Robert rolled his eyes while listening to their conversation. He wondered which planet they're from.

"How could you not recognize them?" Robert can't help butting in.

Scud was a little offended with his tone. There are so many singers in the world. Does he really expect him to know them all? "They were wearing eye masks." He gestured with his hands.

"Still, you should recognize the songs. Don't you guys listen to any music?"

Lucy saw the look on Scud's face and knew he didn't appreciate what Robert was implying. They're up to date with a lot of things, just not music. If Robert only knew what Scud could do, he wouldn't have said that.

"We've been busy, right Scud?" Lucy winked at Scud, hoping he get the hint to just stopped arguing with Robert. There was really no point.

After dinner, when Robert left the table for a moment, Lucy took the opportunity to tell Scud about Uncle Nick. Scud was shocked to hear the news. He quickly looked around and finally saw where Uncle Nick was sitting.

"Hey, do you think that's his son, sitting next to him?" Scud asked.

Lucy shrugged. "Could be."

Robert came back from wherever he went to and sat down. Both Lucy and Scud immediately stopped talking.

"It's about to start." Robert said.

"What's about to start?" Lucy asked.

"Donation." Robert pointed to the stage.

As the philanthropist walked up on the stage, everyone stopped talking and turned their attention to him.

"I hope everyone is enjoying themselves." The philanthropist said. Everyone cheered and clapped.

"As I said before, this year, we are doing something different. We are very fortunate to have singers from different countries to donate their time to perform at this charity event. To make this night even more special for you, they are willing to donate one hour of their time to perform in front of you, the highest bidder."

Lucy and Scud both looked at each other and said in unison. "Human auction."

The speaker continued. "What I will do is pull out a piece of paper from this hat. This piece of paper has a description of the performer you just saw. If you are interested in spending one hour with this performer, you can start the bid. The minimum bid starts at 100,000 Euro and each bid will increment by 20,000 Euro."

While the philanthropist was talking, the waiters gave each guest an auction paddle with a number on it.

"Let's begin." He pulled out a piece of paper from the hat.

It was a short description. Scud had no idea who it could be. It wasn't what he had thought. It doesn't describe the physical appearance of the performer. Since Lucy missed all of the performances except for the first 2 singers, she had no clue.

As soon as he finished reading the description, a man from another table immediately raised his auction paddle. Then another, then another, then another…all were male bidders.

"Must be one of the female singers." Scud guessed.

The highest bid was 160,000 Euro.

Scud whistled and raised his eyebrows. "Not bad….160,000 Euro for an hour."

The same process continued with the next performer and so forth.

"And now we have the last performer." The philanthropist took the last piece of paper from the hat.

"This performer said 'I'm not as naïve as people might think.'"

There was one bidder, then another, then another.

When Robert raised his auction paddle, the former criminals looked at him.

"Do you know who the performer is?" Lucy asked.

"No…I just don't want that guy over there to win." He pointed to the last guy who bid, a man about 30 years old, wearing a blue striped shirt.

That guy then bid again. It's now at 180,000 Euro. Robert raised his paddle again. Then the guy bid again. They were doing this back and forth a few times. It's now at 240,000.

"Are you guys here to donate or eat for free?" Robert asked sarcastically.

Lucy snapped her head towards him with a frown. That comment really ticked Lucy off.

"Keira, don't!" Scud warned. "Too late." Lucy already raised her paddle.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at Robert to see if he had anything to say. Robert just smiled at her.

The guy in the blue striped shirt then bid again and Lucy followed suit.

"What are you doing?" Scud whispered.

"What? We're here to donate, aren't we?"

"280,000 Euro?" Scud said as he rolled his eyes. They're here to make a donation but 280,000 Euro wasn't what he had in mind.

The guy then bid again. 300,000 Euro. Hearing the last bid, Scud quickly held onto Lucy's hand and took away her paddle.

Taking a glance at the bidder, she could tell he is one arrogant dude. Immediately, she didn't like him even though she had no idea who he is. She could see him staring at her as if he was challenging her to continue. All she wanted to do is win. She didn't care who the performer is. "Give me that! I'm not going to let him win." Lucy whispered angrily.

"No, that's too much money." He whispered.

Seeing that Scud won't give him back the paddle and everyone on her table and a few other tables nearby were looking at her to see what she's going to do, she turned to Robert. "Robert, give me your paddle, I'll pay you back later."

There was fierce determination in her eyes. He immediately handed her the paddle and Lucy raised it.

"We're at 320,000 Euro. Ladies and Gentlemen." The speaker announced.

All eyes turned to the last guy who bid. Without any hesitation, he raised his paddle again.

Then Lucy raised her paddle again. Scud couldn't do anything except shook his head.

"400,000 Euro" The guy yelled out loud. The sound of "oooo…" from the guests echoed through the room. It seemed that the guests were having a good time looking at them battling it out.

"You're attracting attention!" Scud whispered into her ears. Lucy started to panic. He's right. _What the hell am I doing?_

"Looks like this will never end. Let's do it this way. Those who are interested in bidding, write down the amount, the number of your paddle on a piece of paper and give it to the staff. Then I will announce the highest bidder. If there are more than one with the highest bid, I will randomly pick one of the highest bidders. The last bid was 400,000 Euro." The philanthropist said.

The waiter gave Lucy a piece of paper. She hesitated and then slipped the paper to Robert. "I can't. 400,000 is too much money." She lied.

"I'll pay half. You get the prize." Robert said.

"What?" Lucy wondered who that guy is that Robert disliked so much that he felt he needed to win this bid.

"Okay?" Robert asked again.

Not getting a response from Keira, Robert took it upon himself and wrote down 410,000 Euro and handed it to one of the staff.

Lucy's heart pounded as the philanthropist was about to announce the winner. She and Robert had the same excitement on their faces. A few minutes ago, she told Scud to ignore him and she herself didn't want to talk to him. Now they're acting like they're buddies.

Scud looked at her as if she was crazy and shook his head from side to side.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, there are 3 bidders."

Robert and Lucy looked at each other. Both were surprised by the 3rd bidder and wondered who he could be.

"The highest bid is 450,000 Euros." The philanthropist announced.

"SHIT!" Lucy and Robert said in unison.

Hearing their curse, Scud realized that they didn't win.

The philanthropist then spoke.

"I would like to thank you all for coming and for your donations. I have reserved a room for each of you for a 2-night stay in this fabulous hotel. For the winners of tonight's event, please stay for a moment and I will provide you with the details. Everyone, please enjoy your stay and have fun."

Lucy focused on that guy whom Robert hated so much to see if he's the highest bidder. But she couldn't tell when the crowd of guests all stood up and headed towards the door.

"C'mon, let's go Keira." Robert said disappointed.

"Sorry." Lucy said. Now that the event was over, she realized what she just did was extremely stupid. She just hoped none of the guests recognize her.

"Thanks for trying." Robert said with a smile and left.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Since it's dark outside, Lucy decided not to go back to their apartment.  
"Should we wait for Uncle Nick?" Scud asked.

"There are too many people here. Let's go to our rooms first." Lucy said.

Lucy's room had a king size bed with a private balcony overlooking the lagoon. Beige colored walls and sheets matched perfectly with the brown curtains and a vase filled with purple flowers, creating a relaxing atmosphere in the room. Lucy lay down on the bed, feeling relaxed and happy while Scud sat comfortably on the sofa.

"What was that all about?" Scud asked.

"What?"

"The auction."

"I…wasn't thinking…"

"Thank goodness you didn't win, that's over half a million US dollars!"

Lucy let out a sigh. It's not like we can't afford it. She thought to herself. But she knows that Scud wasn't upset because of the money. They donated more than that before.

After spending 20 minutes telling Scud what she learned about Uncle Nick, he also felt happy to know that he retired from his criminal life.

Since they don't have their sleepwear with them, they decided to go downstairs to see if there are any clothing stores in the hotel before calling Uncle Nick.

Lucy opened the door and was surprised to see a young man in his 20's standing outside.

"May I help you?" Lucy asked.

"Are you…Keira?" The young man asked.

"Yes" Lucy slowly came to recognize that the young man was the man sitting next to Uncle Nick. "You're…" Lucy said as she pointed to him.

"I'm his son, Nathan. My father wanted me to give you this." The young man handed her an envelope.

Lucy took the envelope. "Where's your father?"

"We won't be staying tonight. He said to enjoy yourself and he wished you a happy birthday. I have to go now." Nathan nodded to both and left.

After Lucy closed the door, she slowly walked towards the sofa and sat down. Scud could tell that she was unhappy not being able to spend time with Uncle Nick.

"Luce, we can always go visit him." Scud tried to comfort her.

Lucy let out a smile and nodded. Besides Scud, she considered Uncle Nick to be her closest family.

"Open the envelope, see what he got for you." Scud said.

"I can't believe he remembered my birthday." Lucy said enthusiastically. Lucy's real birthday is a month from today. It was a golden envelope, beautifully designed with the hotel logo on top. She carefully opened it.

Inside was a golden card that says 'Congratulations. Thank you for your donation.'

Lucy immediately turned to Scud. Both jaws dropped when they realized that Uncle Nick was the highest bidder. Lucy dropped the card and quickly ran towards the door.

"Where're you going?" Scud asked.

"I have to talk to him."

"He probably left already. You can call him to thank him."

Lucy stopped, realizing that Scud was right. Otherwise, Uncle Nick would have dropped the envelope off himself.

Scud continued reading the card and looked at his watch.

"It's almost time. You better get going."

"What?"

"It says here to go to this function room. The performer will meet you there."

Lucy walked over to the bed and flopped his back on the bed.

"I don't want to go. You go."

"I can!" Scud said excitedly. He wondered who the performer would be. He just hoped it's not the male Italian singer. It would be really awkward with both of them in the same room. His smile quickly disappeared and shivered at the thought. "It's okay….this is Uncle Nick's gift to you. You should go. He told you to enjoy yourself."

"I don't want to." Lucy said while hugging a pillow.

"You do realize that Uncle Nick thought that you wanted this badly…that's why he got it for you…for over a half million US dollars!" Scud reasoned.

"mm hmm"

"C'mon, let's go together, maybe they'll let us both in. If we get bored, then we'll just make up an excuse and leave."

Scud took hold of her hand and pulled her up. Lucy reluctantly got up and followed.

The function room was in another building, so it took them longer than expected to get there. They would not be late if Lucy wasn't dragging her feet. Standing at the entrance of the function room were two hotel staffs. After Scud handed the card to one of the staff, he was allowed to enter the room. As Lucy was about to walk in, the staff stopped her.

"Sorry, Miss, only one person allowed." .

"Okay." Lucy quickly responded. Since she really didn't want to go in anyways, she started to walk away. But Scud grabbed her forearm and stopped her.

"Can you ask whoever is in charge if we can both go in?" Scud asked the staff politely.

The male staff nodded and stepped aside to make a call. After a short moment, he came back and allowed both of them inside. Both Lucy and Scud were each given an eye mask and were instructed to keep it on.

Lucy wondered what the big deal is. It's not like they're meeting the president. It's just a performer, for heaven's sake.

The function room was much, much smaller than the one they were previously in. There was a round table in the middle of the floor with 2 seats and a small stage. There were speakers on each side of the stage. A hotel staff carried in another seat for Scud. The window curtains and doors were closed. Sitting in the seat, Scud crossed his fingers and hoped is not a male performer. After a few minutes, lights were turned off on the floor.

"Isn't this exciting?" Scud asked, smiling wide.

Lucy didn't say anything and just placed her elbows on the table and leaned her chin on her hands, completely bored and uninterested.

"This is ridiculous." She took her mask off.

Then the music starts. The stage curtain rises. Stage lights lit up. On the stage were a drummer, 2 guitarists, 2 backup singers, and the lead singer with her back facing the audience. With a big smile, Scud sat up straight and was extremely happy to see that the performer is a female. Dressed in white lace ¾ length sleeve shirt and black shorts, the lead singer spun around and walked towards the microphone and started playing her red guitar. Scud was even more ecstatic when the singer started singing in English. Captivated by the performer with a red eye mask, Lucy took her hands off the table and sat straight up. She immediately turned to Scud who was smiling and clapping along with the beat. "Do you know who she is?"

Scud shook his head. "No!…But I like her!" He shouted thru the loud music. "I love the song too!"

It was a very catchy song. Lucy wasn't surprised that she never heard it before because she only listens to the cd with her and Amy's favorite songs when she's driving. Maybe I should start listening to the radio. The music, the lyrics, and the entire song were so good, she even started clapping and moving along to the rhythm. After the song ended, both Lucy and Scud stood up and applauded. Both screamed and whistled as loud as they could. The lead singer bowed and put the guitar away.

As if they weren't impressed with the first song, the second song was even more powerful. Both stood up and clapped with excitement as the lead singer danced around the stage with the guitarists and back up singers. Then at the end, several small showers of red fiery sparks were emitted on the stage.

"Yeah!" Scud shouted happily.

He didn't expect that to happen. He turned to look at Lucy and noticed that she too was surprised with the pyrotechnic special effect. After the second song ended, they wondered if that was the end because the band and the lead singer left the stage. As Lucy stood up to leave, the lead singer walked on the stage with another type of guitar and sat on a stool. Lucy sat back down. Without saying anything, the lead singer started to play the third song, a calm, relaxing song. This song has the power to calm you down no matter what mood you're in. Lucy and Scud both slumped their backs against the chair, listening and enjoying to the soft tone of her voice. The lyrics weren't bad either.

"I could listen to this song all day." Lucy whispered to Scud.

"Me too."

This song sounded familiar. _Where have I heard this before?_

"Do we have this song at home?" Lucy asked.

"Nope. I've never heard this song before."

After this song ended, the performer spoke.

"This last song is something that I wrote a few days ago...it's not finished. So you get to be the first to hear it.'"

This song also has the same beat as the first song with a catchy rhythm that makes you want to sing along with it.

After the last song ended, Lucy and Scud stood up, whistled, and applauded. The performer thanked her audience and asked them to remain seated before leaving the stage.

"That was fun, wasn't it?"

Lucy shrugged without smiling.

"Oh c'mon…you had fun too…and don't you think she's hot?" Scud said, raising his eyebrows up and down.

Lucy shrugged again. "I can't see her face."

"C'mon…even with an eye mask on, she looks totally hot!…Admit it. You think she's hot too!" Scud said as he shook her shoulder non-stop.

"Okay…Okay…she's hot…stop it already." Lucy responded loudly. She really did think the performer was hot…especially with the tight shorts and long legs.

After waiting for 5 minutes, Lucy sensed that something was wrong.

"What's going on here?" Lucy said out loud.

"It's only five minutes. Maybe she has to change. You know how long girls take."

When you sit there doing nothing, five minutes felt like fifteen. There was no one else in the room. Another 3 minutes passed.

"Okay…I think something's wrong." Lucy stood up.

"Should we get the guys outside?" Scud asked and took his mask off.

Lucy did not respond and quickly jumped on the stage. Scud followed from behind.

Behind the stage was dimly lit. There was a room with lights on and the door was opened. Voices came from inside the room. Lucy quickly walked towards it.

"What's going on?" She asked. Two women inside the room turned to look at her. Lucy recognized them as the backup singers.

One of the backup singers quickly walked in front of her, blocking her view. "Everything's okay. I'm sorry. She'll have to cancel the meeting with you."

Lucy moved around to try to catch a glimpse of what was happening behind the backup singer.

When Scud entered the room, the backup singer immediately approached him to prevent him from coming in further, thus allowing Lucy to move forward.

In front of her, she saw the lead singer lying unconscious on the floor with another backup singer gently shaking her.

"Alyson?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Outside of Alyson's hotel room, Lucy paced back and forth, worriedly clasping her hands together.

After a short moment, Robert came running down the long hallway towards them.

"How…how…is she?" Robert asked, panting heavily, out of breath, surprised to see both of them here.

Lucy ignored him and continued pacing back and forth.

"The doctor is checking her now." Scud responded.

After a short moment, the doctor came out and both Robert and Lucy quickly walked towards her.

"How is she, doc?" Robert and Lucy asked in unison.

"She's fine. She woke up a minute ago. She's just tired, that's all. She's resting now." The doctor said.

Lucy and Robert both let out a deep breath in unison. After the doctor left, Lucy quickly walked towards the door. As she was about to open the door, she stopped.

"What's the matter?" Robert said from behind.

Lucy immediately turned around. "Doctor said she needs rest. We…should let her rest. C'mon Scott, let's go."

As she started to walk down the hallway, she thought of something.

"Robert, I thought you said she's not here." She said calmly.

"She…ahh…wasn't…she wasn't in the…function room at that moment."

Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. Robert just smiled, knowing full well what she meant.

"How did you know she's here?" Robert asked.

Lucy looked at Scud, giving him a signal to ignore his question.

Suddenly a realization hit her and she snapped her head towards Robert.

"So you knew who the performer was all along, that's why you wanted me to bid on her?" Lucy realized that she had been tricked.

"No…I didn't." Robert swallowed hard when he saw the angry look on her face.

Lucy moved towards him, with clenched fists and clenched teeth as if she wanted to punch his lights out for tricking her. Hearing what Lucy just said, Scud realized what had happened.

With two angry faces staring at him, Robert spoke nervously. "I swear I didn't know. I…I just made a guess."

"I don't believe you." Lucy said in a low volume, but angrily. Scud punched his fist into his palm to show Robert that if he doesn't spill the truth, he's going to get a piece of his fist.

Lucy and Scud moved forward, backing Robert against the wall. Surrounded by them, Robert had no choice but to tell the truth.  
"Okay…okay…remember that guy we bid against." Robert asked.

Lucy and Scud nodded.

"He's her ex. So when he started bidding, that's when I realized that he knew she was the performer. But my boss only allowed me to donate up to 250,000 Euros, so I needed your help to keep bidding so that she doesn't have to meet with him."

This didn't make too much sense to Scud. But Lucy knew why. Her anger subsided as quickly as it had flared up.

"Oh…that was another one of her ex?" Lucy said calmly, realizing that Robert was just trying to protect Alyson. Lucy stepped back and turned around. She wondered if that was the guy who cheated on her.

"I did it to protect her." Robert stated.

Then Lucy suddenly snapped her head around. "I still don't appreciate how you used me. If you had told me the truth, I would have gladly bid for her."

"If I told you she was here, would you have stayed at the event long enough for the auction?" Robert asked calmly.

Lucy thought about the question. He's right. She would have left the hotel immediately and she wouldn't have run into Uncle Nick.

Not getting a response from Keira, Robert said what was on his mind. He noticed this yesterday when he ran into her at the hotel. "Why are you avoiding her?"

"I'm not avoiding her. I told you we're here on vacation and we have a lot of things to do." At the corner of her eyes, Lucy noticed Scud staring at her. Scud knew she was avoiding the blonde. And now even Robert noticed. She immediately straightened her posture and cleared her throat. "C'mon Scott, let's go."

"Keira, do you have time to see her tomorrow? She would want to see you."

Lucy stopped, her back facing him. "We already have plans. We have to leave early tomorrow morning. Take care of her, Robert." Not wanting to talk to Robert anymore, Lucy continued walking down the hallway, with Scud following from behind.

"Wait…I want to tell you…" Robert's voice trailed off as he realized that the brunette was too far away and wasn't listening.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy flopped down on her bed in her room and closed her eyes. Deep inside, she really wanted to see Alyson, see how she's doing, tell her how much she loved her music, her performance, how good she looked on stage. But what happens after that? What else could they possibly talk about? _I can't give her what she wants._ Letting out a deep sigh, she opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling.

"So Alyson is a singer….she looked even hotter on stage." Scud said, sitting on the couch.

Lucy suddenly stood up. "Let's go back to the apartment."

"What? Why?"

"For the 100th time, I don't want to run into her."

"But it's dark out, it's late."

Without listening to Scud, Lucy put her shoes on and headed for the door.

Scud immediately stood in front of her to prevent her from leaving. "Luce, she's tired. She's going to sleep through the whole night. We can leave early in the morning. We're not going to run into her." Scud reasoned.

"Are you sure about that? Did you know that I almost ran into her yesterday in our hotel?"

"What?"

Lucy shook her head. She didn't want to explain any further. "Never mind. If you want to stay, then stay. But I'm going."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour passed by and Alyson woke up earlier than anyone expected.

Backup singer A stayed with her to look after her.

"Hey, you should get some more rest."

Alyson sat up and realized that she was in her own hotel room.

"What happened?"

"You fainted backstage. Doctor said you needed to rest."

"I can't sleep." Alyson rubbed her eyes.

After a short moment, she remembered that she did not finish her performance. "Did they know what happened?"

"Who?" The back up singer said as she walked over to the table to get her a drink of water.

"the guests."

"Oh yea…they're really something…They didn't see you come out, so instead of asking the hotel staff, they went backstage to look for you."

"No, they didn't?"

"They did…and that girl…she was so worried about you, she checked your pulse, your breathing, your head. She asked me what happened…if you hit your head, if you fell hard…Oh my god! She was just sooooo….worried."

Alyson could not believe what she just heard.

"she must be one of your fans." The backup singer said as she handed her a glass of water.

"Thank you." Alyson said as she took the glass.

The backup singer sat back down on the chair next to the bed. "No…wait…she couldn't be your fan…she called you…Allie…no…not Allie…Alyson...that's it…Alyson…I think she mistaken you for someone else."

Alyson immediately spit out the water that she was drinking and started coughing.

"Whaaa…" She tried to ask but couldn't, still coughing uncontrollably to get the water out.

"Are you okay?" The backup singer stood up and patted her back.

After a short moment, she stopped coughing and calmed herself down. "What did you say she called me?"

"Alyson."

Immediately, Alyson lifted the blanket and got off the bed in a flash. Unaware that she was still in her stage outfit, she headed for the door.

"Whoa!…where're you going?"

She stopped when she realized that she had no idea where Keira could be. "Is she still here? Did she say what room# she's in?"

The backup singer shook her head. "But maybe Robert knows. He was talking to her earlier."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alone in her room, Alyson paced back and forth, waiting for Robert.

As soon as Robert entered her room, Alyson immediately asked. "Is Keira here in this hotel?"

"What are you doing up? Doctor says you need to rest more."

"Robert, is Keira in this hotel?" She asked again, getting a little frustrated.

"Keira, no…why would you think that?" Robert said, confused at how the blonde found out.

Alyson could tell he was lying.

"Because the only person who calls me Alyson is her."

"What are you talking about?"

"Robert, I know she's here. You talked to her earlier."

Robert wasn't sure how she found out, but knew that he had to continue lying. He cleared his throat. "She…was here…but she left already."

Alyson stepped back. A frown appeared on her face, wondering why Robert was lying to her. "Why are you lying to me?" She asked calmly.

"I'm not lying."

"I can tell when you're lying, Robert. You hesitated."

"Nooooo...that's because I became 40 this year…you know…once you get to that age, everything starts to slow down….then a lot problems start to come out…and…my hair…"

"Robert!" Alyson shouted, causing Robert to jump slightly. "Where is she?"

"She said to let you rest."

"What room# is she in?"

"She didn't tell me."

"Do you have her phone#?"

Robert shook his head.

Getting extremely frustrated, Alyson headed to the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to ask the front desk."

"But it's getting late. She's probably sleeping right now."

Alyson looked at the clock.

"It's only 9 o'clock. Nobody sleeps that early."

"She said she has plans and had to leave early tomorrow morning."

Alyson froze and wondered why Robert lied to her in the beginning and now saying all theses things to prevent her from looking for the brunette.

"What did she say? Did she say she'll come to see me before she leaves?"

Robert shook his head and could see her disappointment.

"Did something happen?" Robert asked.

"What…do you mean?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. But I just feel like she's…avoiding you. She said she's here on vacation and she had a lot of things to do. I ran into her at the hotel yesterday. I asked her if she wanted to get together but she said doesn't have time."

_Even Robert could tell that she was avoiding me. Why is she avoiding me?_

"She told me to take care of you before she left."

Alyson tried to control her emotions and hold back her tears. "She's probably very busy then. Okay, Robert, I'm just going to get some sleep myself then." She faked a yawn.

Before Robert walked out the door, he told her to get some rest. "Go take a shower and go straight to bed. Don't take those. Okay?"

Alyson nodded and put on a fake smile.

After Robert left, she flopped heavily on the bed and covered her eyes with her forearm, feeling deeply hurt that Keira didn't want to see her. Pondering for a moment, she came to realize that she might have scared the brunette away with her confession from last time. "I just want you to know how I feel. That's all." Letting out a deep breath, she sniffed back her tears. Then suddenly another thought came to her. If Keira's avoiding her now, that means she won't visit her in the future. That means she'll never be able to see her ever again. _But she promised._ Wiping her tears away, she sat straight up. No matter what, she has to see her tonight. She has to explain to her.

She quickly changed out of her stage outfit. The hotel was so big, she had to take several minutes to get to the front desk. She asked the front desk person to find Keira's room# for her. But without the last name, the front desk was unable to do so.

"Can't you search by first name?"

"I'm sorry. But we are not allowed to give out personal information to anyone."

"I know she's here, but I just don't remember her last name." Alyson lied and internally chastised herself for not getting this piece of important information when they were together.

"I'm sorry. But we are not allowed to give out personal information to anyone."

"What's wrong, darling?" A voice came from nearby.

Alyson turned and became even more annoyed when she saw the person who spoke. _Not now._ She thought to herself.

"Everything's fine, Josh." She said calmly. She doesn't want to talk to him. She doesn't want to know why he's here. Stepping away from the front desk, she started walking out of the hotel. She needed to take a breath of fresh air to clear her mind. She needed to think of another way to find Keira. She walked along the brightened walkway and stopped at an area to admire the magnificent view in front of her. It was so quiet, so peaceful and so relaxing. But that tranquility did not last long.

"That's a beautiful view. Isn't it?" Josh said as he stood next to her.

Alyson stayed silent and hoped that he leaves her alone.

"It's so quiet here and so romantic." Josh inhaled and exhaled loudly.

Alyson continued to stay silent.

"I missed you." Josh said seriously but the blonde ignored him completely.

"You know, I tried to bid for you. I knew it was you.." He repeated what the speaker said during the auction.

"I'm not as naïve as people might think…..I **never** thought you were naïve." Josh whispered and saw the smile on the blonde's face.

Alyson closed her eyes and inhaled the summer breeze. She wrote that as her description because Keira had thought she was naïve. She let out a smile, remembering all the things that happened between her and brunette.

"I bet Robert doesn't even know until he saw me bidding for you."

If she walked away now, she knew he would follow her. So she tried to block out whatever he was saying. But it was extremely difficult since the island was so quiet.

"Did you know how much I bid for you?…..430,000 Euros." He said out loud.

Alyson immediately opened her eyes.

"430,000 Euros?" She said, extremely surprised with the amount of the donation. She wasn't surprised that Josh had that much money. She was surprised that Keira had that much. That's far more than what people are willing to pay to speak to the US president.

Seeing that he finally got her attention, he continued.

"Yup…100,000 was the minimum. There were other bidders but then Robert started bidding. I thought I had him at 240,000 Euros. Then a woman started bidding."

Alyson focused all her attention on him, wanting to hear more about Keira.

"Then we kept bidding a few times…then finally I couldn't take it anymore going back and forth…I yelled out 400,00 Euros and everybody was staring at her to see if she was going to bid again."

"Then what happened?"

"Well, since we were running out of time, the speaker told us to write down the amount and give it to him." "Aaaah!" He shouted with frustration. "I almost had it. Do you know how much I was off by? 20,000 Euros. Only 20,000."

"Four hundred and fifty thousand Euros?" Alyson said slowly. She was extremely shocked that Keira donated that much money to see her perform.

"You're worth it."

_450,000 Euros for 1 hour? Did she know it was me?_ She thought to herself. Still stunned. She was even more shocked to learn that Keira's that rich. She could be as wealthy as her or maybe wealthier.

Alyson took a few steps forward to look at the view, with her hands around her arms. She smiled at the thought that maybe Keira did know it was her and she was willing to spend that much just to outbid her ex. Maybe Robert told her.

"Hey, how about singing a song for runners-up?"

Hearing no response from the blonde, Josh held her upper arm and shook it gently. "Hey, how about it?"

Alyson quickly stepped away. "I don't think so. Josh. It was an hour performance for the highest bidder."

"just for old time sake." Josh begged.

"Josh, we're over, remember. You're the one who cheated. You're the one who ended it." She said calmly.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. Can you give me another chance?" He reached out to hold onto her hand.

At the contact, Alyson immediately flung his hand away and turned to walk away but was held back when he caught her other hand.

"Josh, let go or I'm going to yell."

"I just want to talk."

"You heard her! Let her go!" Robert called out loudly and walked rapidly next to her. Josh immediately let go of her hand. "Are you okay?"

"We were just talking. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her." Josh said innocently.

Robert didn't want to bring up any bad memories for the blonde. He knew, heck, everybody knew he cheated on her. It was on the front page of the magazines.

"Josh. You and her are over. Let's not see each other again. Okay? "

"Robert, I just want to talk to her."

Robert looked at the blonde and saw her staring out at the water, not paying attention to any of them. "She doesn't want to talk to you. Josh. There are plenty of other women out there. I'm sure with your good looks, charm and money, you can find yourself another beautiful woman."

Ignoring Robert, Josh moved next to the blonde. "I know I hurt you… I messed up and I'm really...truly... sorry. There is no other woman like you…and I know that now. If you give me another chance, I promise I'll make you the happiest woman on this planet."

Alyson looked down on the ground, feeling exhausted. It was getting late. She knew she had to end this quickly, so she could start looking for Keira and she's afraid that Josh would keep following her. She turned to face her ex and spoke in a sincere tone. "Josh, I accept your apology."

"You do?" A smile appeared on Josh's face and quickly disappeared when he heard her speak again.

"Yes. But I don't feel that way about you anymore."

"Is there someone else?" Josh immediately asked. "Is it that guy?" He heard about her recent date.

_Yes. But I know I couldn't be with her._ Alyson thought to herself.

"No. There's no one else." She shook her head. "Let the past be the past. I don't even hate you. Just let it go and move on." She said in a gentle tone.

It's only been less than a year since they split up. She doesn't easily forgive someone especially when that someone had hurt her and she's known to hold a grudge against those who caused her pain. But hearing her words now, Josh noticed that there was something different about her.

"What happened to you? You've...changed."

At the corner of her eyes, she could see Robert smiling.

"Everybody's changing. Don't waste any more of your time on me."

She held Josh's hand and spoke in a serious tone. "Josh, I **sincerely** wish you all the best and hope everything works for you."

Hearing her sincerity, he let out a big sigh as he realized that there was nothing he could do to persuade her to give him another chance. He nodded his head in understanding. "I wish you all the best as well." He said, giving her a smile and hugged her one last time.

Hearing noises nearby, Robert turned to see who it was. He saw Keira, Scott, a man, and the philanthropist, standing at the pavement walkway, staring at them.

"Keira" Robert called out and Alyson immediately pulled of the embrace. She snapped to that direction and noticed that Keira was looking at her.

The philanthropist waved and walked towards them. "I hope everyone is having a good time." He said to all three. "Please enjoy your stay and let me know if there are any problems." Everyone nodded and smiled.

The philanthropist excused himself and walked back to the group and continued with their previous conversation. Josh excused himself and left. Alyson kept her gaze at the brunette who was walking behind the philanthropist.

"Maybe she is busy." Robert said, staring at the group.

Walking behind the CEO, Scud noticed Lucy glaring at him. He knew exactly what she was thinking at that moment. There was nothing he could do except apologize. "Sorry." The blonde was supposed to be sleeping. He didn't know the philanthropist and the CEO would pay them a visit. He didn't know they were going to be out here at this time of the night. But what he really wants to know is why Lucy is avoiding her.

Lucy let out a sigh internally, trying her best to pay attention to the philanthropist who was showing them the island and the hotel. She wondered why she kept running into the blonde. _No matter where she goes, she's there. And what is she doing hugging that arrogant ass? I thought she hated her exes._

"Where are you going?" Robert asked when he saw Alyson starting to walk away.

"I have to talk to her."

"It's late, you have to get some rest."

"I just need to talk to her." Her heart beat rapidly. She knows that if she doesn't follow her now, she'll never get to see the brunette again.

Ignoring Robert, Alyson quickly headed to where the group was.

As they continued walking, listening to the philanthropist, Lucy sensed that they were being followed.

She slowly peeked back and to her surprise, she saw Alyson walking at the same pace as them from 15 feet away. Letting out a big sigh, she realized that there was no way out of this. She'll have to see her one last time.

After fifteen minutes, their tour was over and all departed at the front of the hotel. Standing in front of the hotel, Scud looked at Lucy who was looking in another direction. He then turned his head to look at the blonde who was looking at Lucy. All three stood still until Lucy began walking to another area.

Alyson followed and as she walked passed Scud, he stopped her for a short moment.

"Hey, I just want to let you know I loved your performance."

Alyson smiled and thanked him.

"She loved it too." Scud said, giving her a wink.

That brought an even bigger smile on her face. She followed the brunette to another quiet area overlooking the lagoon.

Without saying a word, Alyson walked slowly towards Keira and stood next to her, both facing the water.

After a short moment of silence, Alyson was about to explain but Keira beat her to it by speaking first.

"How are you feeling?" Keira said. She had not seen her for a few days and she could tell that the blonde had changed a lot and not in a good way.

"I'm fine." Alyson smiled at her.

Even with the dim lighting from the light posts, Lucy could tell that she must not have enough sleep, the under-eye bags and the red rimmed eyes.

"You looked…tired."

"Sometimes I don't get enough sleep. But...I love what I do." Alyson said slowly.

Lucy nodded in understanding. She didn't want to bring up what happened between them the last time in the car, so she tried to avoid it if she can by asking about her career.

"You have a very nice voice."

"Thanks. You said that before, remember." She remembered the brunette complimented on her singing before when they were in the plane.

"You played the guitar, too. That's very impressive."

"I can play a few other instruments too."

Alyson looked deeply into her eyes and noticed that the brunette was trying to avoid looking into hers. Something was definitely wrong. The conversation was getting more awkward. They were talking as if they were strangers. _She wasn't busy. She was definitely trying to avoid me._

Keira took a small step back and cleared her throat and looked somewhere else. "So…ah…how long have you been doing this?"

"about 8 years."

Keira nodded again. If she were interested in her, she would have a lot of questions. But she's not and since they won't be seeing each other again, she decided to just stop at this point. She moved a few steps forward and looked at the water, putting her hands in her pant pockets.

Alyson, on the other hand, was very interested in learning more about her after Josh told her what happened at the auction. She walked next to her.

"Did you know it was me when you bid at the auction?"

"No." Keira shook her head.

"Oh…" Alyson wasn't expecting that response. What she thought before was completely wrong.

"Then why did you spend so much? Did you think it was someone else?"

"I had no idea who it was going to be. Robert knew it was you when your ex started bidding. But he didn't have enough money, so he um…asked me…to bid." She explained, stretching the truth a little.

"Ohhhhh.." Everything was clear to her now.

Lucy noticed her disappointment. "But just to be clear, if he had told me if was you, I would have done it anyways."

A smile immediately appeared on the blonde's face.

"Really? As much as it takes?"

"Welllll…" Lucy pondered for moment, tapping her mouth with her finger. "maybe not… half a million is as high as I could go"

"Oh." She realized that Keira might not be as wealthy as she thought. "well…half a million **is** a lot of money."

Lucy laughed internally at her implication that she didn't have that kind of money. _If she only knew how much I have. I wondered how much she's worth._

"Don't get me wrong. It's not that I can't afford it. But that's just crazy!…half a million for one hour of performance, c'mon!…you're not worth that amount!"

That comment really ticked the blonde off. Alyson crossed her arms and looked away. She knew she wasn't worth that amount. But having someone say it to your face really hurts. _Did she have to be so honest?_

Lucy chuckled at her reaction. She cleared her throat and straightened her face and moved in front of the upset blonde.

"What I mean is…you're not worth that amount because…you…are…priceless." She flashed her a million dollar smile.

And there it is. That's the person she met on the plane. That's the person she fell in love with. At that moment, it was like everything was back to normal.

"You're unbelievable, you know that." Alyson said, giving her a smile.

Smiling, Lucy shrugged at the comment.

But Alyson knew she still had to explain about what happened in the car. Because after today, she knew Keira would not see her again if she didn't. Does she regret telling her how she felt about her? Nope. Not one bit of regret.

It's getting very late. There was no time. She had to tell her now.

"Keira, I want to…" She trailed off when she felt droplets of water on her face. She looked up. Rain started coming down fast. Why do you keep doing this to me? She said to herself, asking the heavens above why it always interrupted her when she wanted to say something important to the brunette.

"C'mon, let's go back inside!" Lucy said loudly as she grabbed onto the blonde's hand. Both ran as fast as they could back to the hotel.

Once inside the hotel, both stood near the entrance. Smiling at each other and panting heavily, Lucy brushed off the rain from herself before helping the blonde. As Lucy escorted the blonde to her hotel room, she noticed the blonde was walking, in an extremely slow pace. Lucy wanted to get out of the wet clothes, but the blonde didn't seem to care. As they were walking quietly down the hallway, Lucy spoke to break the silence.

"Are you back together with your ex?" Lucy asked, wondering why they were hugging a moment ago. If she is, then that means she no longer feels the same way about her.

Alyson stopped and quickly turned to look at her.

"What!" She asked, with a frown, wondering where the brunette got that idea.

"Your ex…wasn't that your ex you were hugging earlier?"

"No!…no!…I mean…yes, he's my ex…but we're not back together." She said loudly, making sure she heard her. "He wanted to, but I told him that we're over." Alyson said as she locked her eyes on hers. "I told him to move on and he understood. He just gave me a hug one last time. That's all it was."

_There goes that thought._ Lucy continued walking and internally sighed.

In front of Alyson's room, Lucy stood there waiting for her to open the door. She planned to leave right away as soon as the blonde enters the room. Alyson knew this as well, so she took her time to find her hotel key and slowly slid it into the slot.

Once she opened the door, she closed her eyes when she heard Keira's voice. The time has come for them to say goodbye.

"Good night." Keira said.

"Keira, I want to tell you something."

Lucy stood rooted to her spot, her mouth slightly agape, staring at her lips. The first time Lucy met her on the plane, the blonde reminded her of Amy. And now with the lip biting, she couldn't control herself from thinking of Amy. Deep in thought, Lucy did not respond.

"Can you give me a minute?" Feeling a little nervous, Alyson bit her bottom lip again.

Not getting a response from the brunette, she took the brunette's hand and pulled her inside the room.

"Oh my god!" Rain was pouring into her room. The door to the balcony wasn't closed. The floor was all wet. She quickly ran to close the door to the private balcony while Lucy closed all the windows, checking every room. Lucy took some towels from the bathroom and threw one to the blonde and used the others to dry the floor. While she was drying the floor, she thought about her own room. It's probably worse than this. After she was done, Lucy flopped on the couch to take a rest, catching her breath. Alyson sat next to her. Lucy could see that the blonde was even more exhausted than her even though she did most of the floor wiping. Both smiled at each other.

After taking a rest, Lucy wanted to ask her what she wanted to talk about. But it was getting late and she really wanted to go back to her own room to see how bad it was.

Then suddenly Alyson let out a loud sneeze.

"Bless you. Maybe you should get changed."

"I'm okay." She shifted her body to face the brunette and spoke in a serious tone. "I wanted to talk to you about….." She trailed off as she let out another loud uncontrollable sneeze.

"Okay, you really should get changed before you get a cold." Lucy stood up to pull the blonde up.

"But…but…what about you?"

"I'm going back to my room."

That's what Alyson was afraid of, afraid that once she leaves this room, she won't come back.

"But I want to talk to you. Are you coming back?"

"I need to get change myself. I'll give you a call when I'm done."

"But I want to talk to you in person."

Lucy walked in front of her and spoke in a gentle voice. "It's getting late. You need to rest. We can talk tomorrow. Okay?"

"Tomorrow? But aren't you leaving early tomorrow?"

Lucy had forgotten that was what she told Robert. She could see that Alyson really wanted to say something.

"8 o'clock. I'll be here at 8. Okay?"

Alyson nodded and smiled. She guessed she could wait another day.

Lucy gathered all the used towels on the floor and put it in the bathroom. She opened the door and said good night to the blonde.

As she was about to step out of the door, Alyson called her again. "Keira."

Lucy turned around and saw Alyson walking towards her.

There was something else on her mind, but she was afraid to say it. "mmm…can you…" Alyson said shyly and looked somewhere else besides the brunette's eyes.

Since the blonde was taking a long time to say what's on her mind, Lucy interrupted. "Alyson, it's getting late..go…"

"Can you stay with me tonight?" Alyson quickly finished her question and saw the confused look on the brunette's face. Hearing no response, she thought that Keira didn't hear her and gathered up all of her courage and said it again, this time slowly and clearly. "Can…you…stay with me…tonight?"

Lucy did not respond and just stared at her, her mouth slightly agape. She didn't know how to respond. Did she hear her correctly? Maybe she didn't mean it that way. Even Alexis isn't that direct.

Seeing the look on the brunette's face, Alyson was confused at why the brunette was looking at her in a strange shocked way. Then a few seconds later, a thought came to her and she realized that maybe Keira misunderstood what she meant.

"Just to sleep." She quickly clarified. "you know…like last time." She could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks and internally blamed herself for not being clear. _God, I don't think I'm ready for that even if she did feel the same way about me._

Last time was different. Last time was because they had survived a plane accident and both of them couldn't sleep and the blonde had not yet fallen for her. _Wait…has she already fallen for me at that time?_ Now that she knows that the blonde had fallen in love with her, sleeping with her on the same bed, even if they weren't going to do anything, would definitely be out of the question. It's not that she didn't like the blonde. She does. She even thinks that Alyson looked really hot on stage. What got her worrying was that she was afraid she wouldn't be able to control herself if the blonde made a move on her. It had been so long since she had sex and the blonde reminded her so much of Amy. What if something happens? How is she going to face Kristin?

Lucy can't even remember the last time she had sex. She remembered whom she had it with but it wasn't with Amy. It was before she met Amy. During those 7 months she lived with Amy, they slept on the same bed. They made out but that was all they did. Remember that time they got caught by the D.E.B.S on her bed in her lair, she was quite upset about that. But later, Lucy found out that if the D.E.B.S didn't interrupt them, Amy would have put a stop to it before things got any further, because Amy…believed in...sexual abstinence, no sex before marriage. _But I'm a girl, that shouldn't apply to me!_ That's what she said to Amy. But Amy said it didn't matter whether she's a girl or guy; that was the way she was brought up. Amy made it up to her, though in other ways and Lucy respected her decision. Knowing that Amy never did it with that jerk Bobby nor with anyone else, Lucy loved her even more.

"Alyson, it's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow. Okay? "

Without waiting for her response, Lucy closed the door behind her. She quickly walked down the hallway and made a left to the elevator. Why does the elevator seem to take a longer time to get here when you needed it the most? "C'mon…c'mon…c'mon…" When the elevator door opened, she quickly went inside and pressed the button multiple times to close the doors as if pressing multiple times would make it close faster. It doesn't, but a lot of people believed that it does. After the door closed, she let out a few deep breaths to calm her rapidly beating heart. After tomorrow morning, they won't be seeing each other again and she and Scud could go back to what they were doing before. When the door opened, she rapidly walked back to her hotel room. As she walked down the hallway leading to her room, she felt that someone was behind her but she wasn't sure if that person was following her. She turned around and immediately felt a headache coming on when she saw Robert at the end of the hallway. Maybe he was looking for someone else. She stood there and waited to see what he's up to.

Robert walked rapidly towards her. "I need to talk to you." He whispered.

Why does everyone want to talk to me at this time of the day?

"Robert, it's getting late. You can talk to me tomorrow morning." She said as she turned around and headed to her room.

"It's urgent." Robert said, following the brunette.

Lucy ignored him and continued walking. Standing in front of her room, she quickly took out her hotel key and opened the door. She stepped inside the room and tried to close the door but couldn't because Robert had placed his foot on the doorway.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Robert, I'm tired. I have to get some sleep."

"So does she. But she can't."

"What are you talking about?" Lucy said loudly, extremely frustrated and tired.

"She's sick, Keira." Robert said in a serious tone.

"What?" She opened the door a little wider.

"She…Alyson…she's sick."

"Robert, is this another one of your tricks? I swear to God. I'll do something to you, you'll wish you never met me."

Robert jerked his head back, surprised by her threat. He slowly shook his head.

From the serious look on his face, Lucy could tell he wasn't joking. Lucy slowly opened the door wider to allow Robert to enter her room. Once she turned around, she noticed that her room was in perfect order and all the windows and balcony door were closed. Scud must have closed it for her. But she didn't care the shape her room was at that moment. She sat down next to Robert on the couch.

"She's been having nightmares since that day and she hasn't been able to sleep."

"Nightmares? " _What the hell is he talking about?_

Robert nodded. "She went to the doctor and she has been taking sleeping pills for a couple of days now."

_Sleeping pills?_ Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She did look a little tired. But Alyson said she sometimes couldn't get enough sleep because of her job.

Lucy stood up. "Okay, Robert. What the hell kind of game are you playing here!" She said angrily.

A frown immediately appeared on Robert's face and he stood up. "I'm not lying." He said as Lucy grabbed his forearm and pulled him towards the door. She wanted to open the door and pushed him out but she had something to say to him and she didn't want anyone to hear them talking.

"I was with her that night. She slept fine. She didn't have any nightmares. If she was having nightmares about the accident, don't you think she would have it that night?" Lucy said in a frustrated tone.

"But I'm telling you the truth."

There was a moment of silence. Lucy didn't know whether to believe him or not.

"Robert, even if you are telling the truth. What do you expect me to do? I'm not a doctor. You should fly her back to her family tomorrow so they can take care of her."

"I said that to her. But she can't."

"What do you mean she can't? Reschedule her jobs. Cancel them. Do whatever it takes."

"We were going to leave yesterday on her private jet. But when it was about to take off, she had a panic attack. So we took her to the hospital yesterday. That's where she was when I ran into you at the hotel."

Lucy now realized what he had wanted to say to her at the hotel. "Then fly her parents here."

"I suggested that, but she doesn't want to worry them."

This sounded like what Alyson would do. Having known the blonde for a day, Lucy noticed that she is a considerate person who cared a lot about her family.

"I can't help her." Lucy said softly.

"Yes, you can. You're the only one who can."

"What are you talking about?"

"She changed…a lot because of you. You were there. You saw how she handled her ex."

Lucy remembered that her ex sounded like Amy's ex.

"Just a moment ago, her ex was pestering her and I saw how she was able to convince him to stop bothering her. He even wished her the best afterwards. She was never able to do that before. She always just tried to run away from them. She never had the courage to confront them before."

"That wasn't because of me. She changed because she survived a near-death experience."

Robert stayed silent, realizing that she could be right. But he didn't know how else to help her. He saw how happy she became when she heard about Keira being in this hotel, so he thought that maybe she could help her.

"I don't know how I can help her." She said calmly.

"Just stay with her for a few days. If she doesn't get any better, then I'll let her parents know."

"I can't. I have to leave tomorrow."

Lucy could see his disappointment. Robert caressed his forehead and temples and let out a big sigh.

"Look. I'm meeting with her tomorrow morning. Let me see what's going on. Okay?"

Robert nodded his head and shook her hand before leaving.

Lucy closed the doors and walked to the bathroom to take a shower before going to bed.

"Nightmares? You've got to be kidding?"She didn't entirely trust Robert, especially not after what he did at the auction. But she couldn't figure out why he would lie to her.

After taking a shower, she realized that she had no clothes to change into since she weren't prepared to stay overnight. With a towel wrapped around her naked body, she walked back into the living room and noticed a big bag on the chest drawer. That's odd. She doesn't remember seeing that earlier. Her mind was so focused on what Robert just told her, she didn't notice the bag when she came in. Inside the bag, there were clothing items and a note from Scud. Lucy let out a smile, realizing that Scud had bought these for her. She changed into the new pajamas and slid into bed.

Twisting and turning, she just couldn't seem to fall asleep. Not only was her conscience bothering her, the sound of raindrops hitting the balcony glass door and windows was keeping her awake. Then suddenly her heart jumped at the sound of rolling thunder. She sat up and took a few quick breaths to calm her heart.

Flash of lightning lit the room and thunder rattled the windowpane. Thoughts about the blonde spontaneously crossed her mind.

"What if he's telling the truth?" She let out a big sigh.

"I am sooooo going to regret this." She said as she swiped her hair away from her face. She got up and changed into the new clothing that Scud got for her, packed her pajamas and necessities and headed to Alyson's room.

In front of Alyson's room, she looked around to make sure nobody's nearby.

"Here goes." She said before knocking on the door.

It took so long for Alyson to open the door, Lucy thought something was wrong until the door finally opened. She saw Alyson with eyes wide opened and sweat soaked hair on her forehead. Lucy could tell she was surprised to see her.

Without waiting for the blonde to ask her what's she doing here, Lucy gently pushed the door and led herself in and closed the door.

"I'll take you up on that offer. My room's flooded." She said as she took off her shoes; then walked over to the table to put her bag on it. She looked around and saw that all the lights were turned on, both lamps on each side of the bed, lamp on the chest drawer, and the main lighting in the room. Nightmares? There was no doubt that Robert was telling the truth. She glanced back at the blonde and saw that Alyson had not moved from her previous position, still looking at her, still stunned.

She took her pajamas out and walked towards the bathroom. "You don't mind, do you?" She asked, standing next to the bathroom door.

Alyson did not respond, watching Keira's every movement.

"Good…" Lucy said and closed the door.

After a short moment, Lucy came out of the bathroom, leaving the light on and the door slightly opened. Alyson was still standing there. Pretending that there was nothing wrong, she walked over to the balcony and adjusted the curtains a little before walking over to the door where Alyson was standing. As she locked the door, she saw Alyson still looking at her at the corner of her eyes. Lucy could tell that she was really tired by the dark circles under her eyes now that she didn't have any makeup on.

"Let's go to sleep." Lucy said in a gentle voice.

She then walked over to the blonde's side of the bed to turn off the lamp. As she was about to turn off the lamp, she noticed a prescription bottle near it. She wanted to see if those were sleeping pills, but with Alyson staring at her from behind, Lucy pretended not to notice, turned off the lamp and walked over to her side of the bed. Turning off all the lights except the lamp on the table next to her, she slid into her side of the bed. It's a queen size bed, so there's not going to be that much empty space between them. Once she got herself comfortable, she turned to look at Alyson, who stood rooted to her original spot.

"It's getting late." Lucy patted the pillow next to her, motioning her to come to bed.

After a few seconds of gazing at each other, Alyson slowly walked over and slid herself into bed. Lying on her back, she stared at the ceiling, wondering why Keira changed her mind. She did say her room was flooded. She thought to herself, nervously gripping on the blanket. Her heart pounded as if it's going to jump out of her chest. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe she shouldn't have asked the brunette. She internally yelled at her own heart to stop beating so fast. It's not like they're going to do anything. It's not like they've never slept together before. She flinched and swallowed hard when Lucy turned off the lamp.

The room was dim but Lucy could still see that Alyson had her eyes opened. If the bottle was indeed sleeping pills, then the nightmares she's having must be affecting her badly. She recalled that Robert said the blonde also had a panic attack. If she doesn't overcome this, it's just going to get worse. This is going to ruin her career. Lucy thought to herself. After pondering for a moment, she knew what she had to do. The only way to overcome her fear was to convince her that she was never in danger.

"I can't sleep." Lucy said and let out a deep breath.

Alyson turned to look at her. "Why?"

"Every time it rains, the smallest sound, just keeps me awake, especially the sound of thunder. Did you hear that a moment ago? That was really loud. It scared the hell out of me."

"You…scared? " Alyson said, not believing a word she said. "You weren't even scared when we were in the plane and we got hit by lightning."

Lucy quickly turned on her side and leaned on her elbow. "You know why?"

Alyson shook her head.

"Because you were there." Lucy said in a gentle voice.

Alyson lifted herself and leaned on her elbow and listened intently.

Lucy could see that the blonde was confused.

"Have you done anything bad in your life, so bad and so unforgiving that you feel that you don't deserve to live."

Alyson immediately shook her head.

"That's what I thought. That's how I knew we were going to survive that. There was no reason for you to be afraid up there." She pointed her finger up in the heavens above. "He wasn't going to take your life away. It wasn't your time." She paused and allowed her to think about what she said.

Alyson wondered why Keira suddenly started talking about the accident, even though she was the one who brought it up first. Or did I?

"You said that I saved you."

Alyson immediately said. "You did."

Lucy shook her head. "No…Alyson…I didn't."

"I don't understand."

"Do you remember that jackass who gave you a hard time?"

Alyson nodded.

"Did you know he hit his head and got a bloody nose?"

Alyson gasped.

"That's what he gets for bothering you. He…" Lucy pointed her finger upwards again. " probably just wanted to punish him." Lucy said, smiling.

Alyson let out a small smile."Do you really believe that?"

"I do." Lucy said seriously. "Bad things don't happen to good people. You were never in danger…because you are a good person…and you make a difference in this world."

"Then why did…he…make me go through that?" She asked, remembering the panic attack she had on her private jet. She was so frightened, she screamed out loud, scaring Robert, the band members and the flight crew. It's the same feeling that she gets when she sees a spider; only that feeling is a hundred times more frightening.

"…because...he wanted you to change… Look at all the good things that came out of it."

At that moment, all she could think of was getting nightmares and panic attack as a result of the accident. "What good things?"

"You've got stronger, didn't you? Robert said you've changed."

The blonde stayed silent, realizing that she had a point.

"Did Robert…." Alyson stopped talking when a burst of thunder roared, echoing through the room.

Both flinched at the loud noise. Alyson cried out and immediately dropped her face into Lucy's shoulder, wrapping her hand around the brunette's waist.

Lucy immediately wrapped around the trembling blonde.

"Ssshhh….It's okay." Her own heart was beating rapidly. That loud bang could make anybody's heart jump no matter how tough they are.

Lucy could tell how scared the blonde was by the tight grip on her waist and her rapid breathing. Alyson closed her eyes, afraid to look at the flashes of lightning.

With the bad weather, Lucy realized that the blonde could have a lot of trouble sleeping tonight even with the sleeping pills. She wondered if the blonde took any of it.

After a short moment, Lucy continued talking to distract the blonde from the weather outside.

"I really like your performance."

Alyson didn't say anything, still a little shaken up.

_Okay, that didn't work._

"The songs…are really catchy." Lucy waited for her to respond but didn't get one.

_Okay, let's try this._

"You…look really **hot** in that outfit." Alyson did not respond again.

_Shoot…that didn't work._ Lucy ran out of ideas. After a short moment, Lucy could feel that the blonde had calmed down and relaxed a little.

Alyson mumbled into her shoulder that Lucy couldn't make out.

"What?" Lucy said.

Alyson turned her face to the side and spoke shyly. "You really think so."

"Scott thinks so."

That wasn't the response Alyson was expecting. "What do you think?"

Lucy cleared her throat. "…you looked…umm…good."

Alyson knew that that wasn't what she said before but didn't want to embarrass her any further.

"I really liked the songs. Did you write them yourself?" Lucy was curious to know. She knew that a lot of singers just sang songs written by other people. There aren't that many who could write their own songs.

"I wrote most of them."

"Again, I'm impressed."

Alyson let out a smile that the brunette couldn't see. Then she thought of something. Maybe she didn't have to tell her directly about how she feels. "Do you remember the last song?"

Lucy pondered for a moment and tried to remember it.

"It was nice."

"Do you remember the lyrics?"

"mmm…"

"Let me sing it to you again." Alyson said. She really wanted her to understand how she feels.

"Don't…Scott said my memory is getting worse lately. Let me see if I could remember it."

"Okay…if you give up….."

"Me…Give up! HA!…There's one thing you don't know about me… I don't give up easily."

Alyson smiled at her arrogance and closed her tired eyes. She wanted to ask if Robert told her about her problem, but she was just too tired. Her head rested comfortably on the brunette's shoulder and her hand wrapped around her waist. After a short moment, exhaustion took over, sending her into a dreamless sleep.

Lucy stared at the ceiling. Her eyes moved from left to right, trying hard to remember the lyrics from her last song. It was just a few lines. It had a catchy tune. _Damn it!_ _Why can't I remember it?_ She allowed her mind to go through all the things that happened from the moment she stepped on the island. She remembered meeting Uncle Nick, she remembered the auction, she remembered wearing the eye mask to her performance…but her mind was just too tired to continue. Her eyelids drooped and unconsciousness took over.

* * *

**Chapter 19: Chapter 19**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Wednesday morning

9AM

Inside the restaurant in the hotel, Lucy sat alone at a table near the window overlooking the water, fascinated by something in her phone.

This morning, she was awakened by the vibration of her phone on the table next to her. Scud was wondering where she was, seeing that her room was empty. They had agreed to leave early this morning, but she had forgotten to tell him that she had to meet with Alyson this morning. Of course, she didn't tell Scud where she was. She just told him to wait for her in her room. She was able to get out of bed quietly without waking up the tired blonde. Before she left the room, she took a look at the prescription bottle on the table and found that it was sleeping pills. She didn't want Alyson to wake up, not knowing where she went. So she decided to leave a note for her. She tiptoed over to another desk and opened the drawer to look for a piece of paper to write on. Inside the desk drawer, she found something else, something that she wasn't looking for but was curious to know; an opened notebook with a lot of scribbles, short phrases, and scratched out words. It's the unfinished song that she sung for them last night. She remembered a few words but she couldn't remember the exact lyrics. She knows she shouldn't. But it was right there in front of her. It's just a song, not a diary. So she decided to take a picture of it instead of racking her brain to try to remember it. Not wanting the blonde to know that she found the song, she decided not to leave her a note and put everything back the way it was.

Looking at the incomplete song in her phone, Lucy realized that the song was about them. Just by the lyrics only, she couldn't tell it was written about them. It was the words and the phrases all over the page that gave it away. Most importantly, she figured out what Alyson wanted to say to her last night. _That's why she wanted to sing to me last night._

"Good morning, Keira." Robert said.

Lucy wasn't in the mood to talk to him.

"Good morning, Robert."

"Did you…already meet with her?" He said as he looked around to see if Alyson was nearby.

"No, she's still…." Lucy cleared her throat. "I think she's still sleeping. We were supposed to meet at 8."

"It's 9 already. Wow…she's still sleeping. That's good she can finally get some sleep." Robert said, smiling. Then his smile slowly disappeared. "Oh my God!…I hoped she didn't take those pills. She could get addicted to those. Those can kill her."

Before she left the room, Lucy counted the number of pills in the bottle, so she knew that Alyson didn't take any last night. She can't tell Robert that since she didn't want him to ask her a lot of questions.

"What did the doctor say?"

"He wanted her to see a specialist as soon as possible. He said it could get worse…it could lead to depression, if she can't overcome it."

The more he talked about it, the more worried he became. "I'm going to check up on her." Robert quickly stood up.

"No!" She said loudly as she stood up. "She's…um…just probably sleeping. If she's able to sleep, then let her."

"But I'm worried that something else might have happened…she could…she could…Oh my God..." Robert trailed off. He couldn't help thinking of the worst.

Robert immediately took his phone out and called her cell.

"She's not picking up." He said nervously.

"Maybe she has her phone off and she's still sleeping." Lucy reasoned.

Robert called again. There was no answer. "I'm going up."

Lucy let out a sigh. Seeing that she wasn't able to prevent Robert from disturbing the blonde from her well-needed sleep, Lucy quickly ran after him and grabbed his arm. "Robert, she's fine." She didn't want to say this but she couldn't think of a way to stop him from worrying. "I...was with her last night. She didn't take the pills. She's sleeping right now."

"You…were with her…last night?" Robert said, confusion on his face.

"Well, since I couldn't sleep last night because of the thunder and you were so worried about her, I thought I go check up on her."

A smile slowly appeared on his face and he quickly hugged her. Lucy immediately pulled away. "Okay, Robert…you don't have to thank me."

Lucy extended her hand out to make sure he doesn't do that again. "and you're right...I've talked to her last night and if she understood what we've talked about, she shouldn't have those nightmares anymore."

"But what if she still has them?"

"I will try to help her as long as I can. That's all I can promise you."

Robert wanted to hug her again, but was blocked by her extended hand. "What you need to do right now is let her sleep. When she wakes up, get her back to the hotel."

While they were talking, Scud came running, looking for Lucy.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked, noticing the serious look on his face.

Scud held out his phone in front of her and Lucy immediately gasped, covering her mouth.

"She passed away." Scud said in a low voice.

"Grandma." She said softly, looking at the picture on the article in his phone, feeling the urge to cry.

"What happened?" Robert asked.

"Nothing." Lucy quickly replied and gave Scud his phone back. "We have to leave. I'll see you back at the hotel." Without waiting for a response, Lucy and Scud headed back to their room, packed their stuff and went back to their apartment.

Along the way, Lucy learned that Alexis called Scud's number to inform her about her grandma's death.

At the apartment, Lucy and Scud sat on the couch, feeling unhappy, Lucy more so than Scud.

"She's a great person." Lucy said.

Scud nodded his head.

"How's Alexis? Is she doing okay?"

"She said not to worry about her."  
"Maybe I should call her." She took out her phone.  
"Luce, they're having the funeral right now."

Lucy stood up. "It's still early. Maybe we can go pay our respects."

Seeing Scud's frown, she slumped back against the couch and let out a sigh. She knew they couldn't do that. Michel's father is a well-known investor. There will be a lot of people there. There might even be reporters outside the funeral. They just can't risk their faces being captured on camera. If they were in Paris right now, they would have to think of a way to avoid from going to the funeral.

* * *

Paris

Close relatives and friends stood near the grave in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery to pay their last respects to Elizabeth Couric. Standing next to her father, Alexis sobbed quietly, watching the casket being lowered into the grave. Ashley stood between Kristin and her father, holding both of their hands firmly.

When she looked up and saw his father wiping tears away from his eyes, she squeezed and pulled his hand.

"Grandma's gone to heaven. Don't cry." She said in a gentle voice. "She's up there looking at us." Ashley pointed upwards.

"That's right, honey." Michel said, smiling at his brave daughter. " I'm not crying. I just got something in my eye." He said as he brushed his tears away. He then looked at Kristin and noticed her tears flowing down her cheeks.

"You too." Ashley looked up, looking at Kristin.

"I'm not crying. I just have a cold and…I have watery eyes." Kristin said, sniffing and wiping her eyes with a tissue. Having worked for the Courics for about a year, in a way, she considered them as part of her family even though she had a purpose for being there.

Ashley just smiled and rolled her eyes.

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After the burial was done, everyone headed back to their cars.

"Michel" Benjamin Couric called out from behind. "Your mom…she left you something, all of you, at the house."

Alexis looked at her father, waiting for him to respond. Seeing his hesitation, Alexis immediately responded, curious to know what her Grandma got for her. "We'll meet you there, Grandpa."

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Inside Benjamin's house, Kristin and Ashley waited in the living room while Alexis and Michel followed his father upstairs to another room. Benjamin opened the door and walked straight to the desk across the room, followed by Alexis, then Michel. Boxes of different sizes lined up against the wall and against the desk. Both Alexis and Michel stopped, captivated by the paintings on the wall. They had seen them before. But this time it was different because each painting reminded them of Grandma. Mesmerized by each painting on the wall, they did not notice the door being closed and locked behind them. Alexis suddenly screamed when someone grabbed her neck from behind. Michel and Benjamin snapped their heads to her direction. Holding a knife against Alexis' back was a young man in his older 20's who had been waiting for Benjamin Couric to come back from the funeral.

"Be quiet and don't move!" The man said angrily while gripping her throat firmly.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" Benjamin shouted.

Alexis immediately cried out when the man pressed the knife deeper into her back.

"Yell one more time and I'll kill her. You understand."

"Don't hurt her." Michel said, extending his hands out.

"Step back!" The man warned and Michel quickly did as told.

"What do you want?" Michel asked.

"What do I want? I wanted to talk to you, but you ignored me. I called you to meet with me, but you didn't come." He had learned from his father before he died that Michel and Benjamin did not have a good relationship and that Michel didn't know anything about his father's illegal businesses.

"You're...him?" Michel asked, realizing that he was the crank caller from a few days ago. "I didn't know...I thought you…"

"Save it! It's too late now. Don't try anything or I will kill her." He gripped Alexis' throat tightly, causing her to wince in pain, to show them that he was serious. He turned to Benjamin Couric. "I want you to let my brother go. Let us all go."

Benjamin frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"Don't pretend you don't know who I am." His teeth clenched. His face turned red. Alexis started choking and couldn't breathe as he grasped her throat even tighter.

"Please…calm down…just calm down. You're hurting her. Tell us who you are. We'll give you anything you want." Michel said in a gentle voice as his heart pounded faster, afraid for his daughter's life.

"I am Ethan Theroux. Now...do you know who I am?"

Not recognizing the name, Michel turned to look at his father. Benjamin realized who he is but stayed silent and emotionless.

"Now…call your men to let my brother go. Once I know he's safe, I will let her go."

Seeing that Benjamin didn't move, he pressed the knife deeper into her back, causing Alexis to cry out.

"No...Don't…please don't…." Michel begged. "Papa!" He said in a low, angry voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Let her go and I'll let you go. I'm not going to call the police. I'll pretend this never happened."

"Police?" He smirked. "Go ahead, call them. Then everybody will know what you did."

Michel frowned, staring at his father. "What's he talking about?"

Benjamin stayed silent.

Ethan turned to Michel."You don't know what I'm talking about? Two years ago, there was a plane explosion at the Orly airport. My father was on that plane. My father is Charles Theroux. He..." Ethan angrily pointed his knife at Benjamin and quickly pointed behind Alexis' back. "He…killed my father because he knew about his investment scheme. My father knew more than he should, so he killed him and all those innocent people on that plane."

"That was an accident." Michel explained.

"No!… that's what he wanted everyone to think. He tricked everyone. He bribed those people to say what he wanted." He huffed angrily.

Michel turned to look at his father, shocked at what he just heard. "Is that true? "

"Don't listen to him. He's lying." Benjamin quickly replied.

"I'm lying?" Ethan couldn't believe the old man was still trying to hide the truth.

He turned to Michel and confessed. "We...were the ones who kidnapped your daughter."

Michel's eyes opened wide, surprised that the kidnapping was because of his father.

"We had no choice. We needed money. We wanted revenge for our father. We weren't going to hurt them."

Michel was extremely furious, but he knew he couldn't do anything about it since the man was holding Alexis as hostage.

"**He** made us do this. Blame him. He killed my father and now he wanted to kill us. Tell him…tell him to let my brother go…let us all go."

Michel had no idea that his father could do such things. He can't think about being angry with his father right now. All he could think about was getting Alexis away from Ethan. "papa, please…just do what he says." Michel begged his father. Knowing that his father never liked Alexis, he wasn't sure if his father would acquiesce to his demand.

"Take me…take me as your hostage instead…let her go…please." Michel walked closer.

"Stay where you are!" Ethan warned, taking one step back, pulling Alexis with him.

"Do it…" Benjamin said and everyone focused on him.

"What are you doing?" Michel directed his question towards his father in a trembling voice.

That was not the response Ethan was expecting. Breathing heavily, he couldn't think of what to do. He didn't want to hurt anyone except Benjamin Couric. _Is he bluffing?_ He took the sharp knife and pressed it against Alexis's neck, causing her to wince in pain as the blood slowly flowed down her neck.

"Don't think I won't." He said nervously as his heart pounded rapidly. His hand, holding the knife, began to tremble. He tightened the grip, hoping his enemy didn't notice.

Standing behind the desk, Benjamin bent down.

"Stop!" Ethan yelled but Benjamin ignored him and pulled out a gun from the last drawer on the right and pointed at him.

"Walk out the door now and I'll pretend this never happened." Benjamin warned as he switched the safety off from the handgun.

Hearing that, a sharp pain suddenly pierced his heart. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. He came here to rescue his brother. He didn't come here to kill anyone. He just wanted the old man to let them all go. But his plan had failed. Once he stepped out of this door, he knew he and his siblings would end up with the same fate as his father. There was nowhere else he could go. _Son of a bitch. _He's not listening. _What can I do? _He asked himself. Having been in hiding for several days from Jehan's men, he was extremely tired and exhausted. Sweat rolled down from his aching throbbing head and into his eyes, blurring his vision. He no longer had the strength to run anymore. There was no other choice except to kill the man who killed his father, to kill the one who brought pain and suffering to him and his siblings. His anger grew, his nostrils flared, his face contorted in fury and his fiery eyes glared at his enemy.

Using Alexis as a shield, he wrapped around her neck with his left hand, dropped the knife and pulled out a gun hidden behind his back and started firing uncontrollably. "aaaAAAHHH!" Ethan screamed as loud as he could.

Surprised that Ethan had a gun, Benjamin fired back a few shots as he ducked behind the desk.

Alexis screamed in pain and passed out as she felt the tremendous burning sensation from the bullet in her thigh. Unable to hold on to the unconscious wounded girl, he let go of her and continued shooting the coward behind the desk. Benjamin held his gun up over the desk and fired the shots blindly. He kept firing until he had no more ammunition. Then there was complete silence.

It happened so fast, there was no time for Michel to react. In front of him, he saw Alexis lying unconsciously on the floor.

"Alexis!" Quickly moving over next to her, he checked her breathing and her pulse. Tears immediately ran down his cheeks when he saw blood gushing from the wound on her right leg. He quickly scanned the room and saw Ethan drenched in blood on the floor. After a short moment, Benjamin's bodyguard kicked and slammed the door open, shocked to see what's in front of him.

"Call for help!" Michel shouted and the bodyguard did as told.

Worriedly, Michel quickly took off his jacket and his shirt and tied the shirt around the leg above the wounded area. "It's going to be okay...it's going to be okay." He tried to convince himself as his heart pounded fiercely in his chest. After checking to make sure there were no other wounds on her body, he lifted her up and carried her towards the door.

Then he stopped, shocked to see another person lying on the floor with blood all over her stomach area. Another bodyguard was kneeling down next to her, checking her pulse.

"No…no…no…" He said softly while shaking his head, not believing the sight in front of him.

Walking rapidly towards the body, he knelt down and put Alexis gently on the floor next to the unconscious body. "...Kristin…can you hear me?" Michel said with a trembling voice. He pressed one hand on the wound on Kristin's stomach area to stop the blood from gushing out and his other hand on Alexis' wound.

Hearing a familiar voice from behind him, Michel quickly turned around.

"Stop, Ashley! Don't come any closer." He yelled out to the butler behind her. "Get her out of here!"

Seeing the scene in front of him, the butler quickly carried Ashley down the stairs.

Wondering how Kristin got hurt, he turned to look at the door and immediately noticed bullet holes.

"God…please...no…please…" He said in a panic voice. With his whole body trembling, he took a glance at Alexis then at Kristin. Unable to control his emotions, he cried out loudly. "HELLLLLLP! HELLLLLP!"

* * *

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Sitting in front of the computer in her room, Lucy busily searched information on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). She wondered if there is a faster way to help Alyson overcome her fear. It seemed that Alyson was able to sleep better every time she 'sleeps' with her, but Lucy had no plans of doing that everyday. Having been sitting in her executive chair for an hour, she clumsily knocked over the cup of empty coffee on her desk while stretching her arms.

"Shoot."

"Everything okay?" Scud yelled from the room next door.

"Yeah…just broke my cup."

As Lucy bent down to pick up the broken pieces off the floor, she cried out when one of the sharp broken pieces cut her forefinger. After wiping off the blood with a tissue, she walked over to another room where Scud had all his computer equipment set up.

"Do you want to get some lunch?" Lucy asked.

When Scud didn't respond, Lucy walked closer to see what he's working on.

"What's that?" She said, looking at a screen full of numbers.

"Michel's father's business records."

"Anything interesting?" Lucy asked.

"Maybe…not sure yet…" Scud said, still deeply focused on the computer screen.

"Lunch?"

"in half an hour."

"Okay."

Walking over to the side of the long computer table, she saw enlarged pictures of James and his family.

"She's so adorable." Lucy said, looking at one of James' daughters. "She has his father's mouth." Lucy said, not expecting a response from anyone. She then looked at Kristin in the background, touching her face with the injured finger. "I miss you."

"What's that?" Scud asked.

Lucy quickly cleared her throat. "I said I missed his kids." She said, unaware that she said it out loud and unaware that Scud had been listening.

Staring at the computer, Scud smiled, knowing full well whom she was referring to.

Lucy took the pictures to the living room and sat on the couch to take a closer look. Alone in the living room, she thoroughly looked through each picture of Kristin, but still could not tell whether she is Amy or Kristin. As she placed her finger on top of Kristin, she accidentally pressed a little too hard, causing blood to come out from the cut, smearing the picture.

"Oh shit!" Lucy immediately took some tissue to wipe it off.

While cleaning the picture, something caught her eye. There was another familiar face in the picture that she never noticed before.

"Scud!"

Startled by the sudden shout, he quickly got up and ran into the living room. "What's wrong? What!"

"Look at this." She stood up and pointed to the person in the picture.

After a short moment, his eyes opened wide when he realized who was also in the picture. It was Nadia.

"It looked like she's staring at her." Scud said.

Lucy quickly looked at other pictures. The pictures were taken at the same location, just at different angles.

"She's following her." Lucy said. Scud nodded, still looking at the picture.

Lucy quickly took the picture away from Scud and headed for the door.

"Where're you going?" Scud asked, in confusion.

"hotel. She might still be there."

"Got ja. I'll check her background."

"Keep in touch." Lucy said and left the apartment.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sitting in the taxi, Lucy blamed herself for not noticing this before. _ I hope she's still there._ She thought to herself. After 10 minutes, her phone buzzed.

"Yes….she's still there?….okay."

Scud was able to hack into the hotel's computer and found that Nadia extended her stay at that hotel. Lucy wondered why she decided to stay at this hotel that costs less than 200 Euros instead of her original hotel that had a beautiful view overlooking the Grand Canal and cost more than 1000 Euros/night. Inconvenience?

Feeling a little hungry, her stomach started to growl. After 10 minutes, she finally arrived to the hotel where she stayed at before. Not thinking about food and not thinking about anything except finding Nadia, she ran up the stairs to the main entrance of the hotel. Not wanting to attract attention, she stopped at the door and slowly walked inside the hotel. Surprisingly, the front desk receptionist recognized her and waved to her. Lucy waved back with a smile and walked calmly towards the elevator. Knowing that there are cameras inside the elevator, she kept her cool and pretended as if nothing was wrong. Once outside the elevator, she walked calmly to Nadia's room. She knocked on the door a few times, but there was no response.

Instead of waiting at the hotel for Nadia to come back, Lucy decided to look for her at the same restaurant she met her the other day. Outside of the hotel, she waited for a taxi. _Where are the taxis when you need one? I really need to get my own car._ Waiting impatiently outside the hotel, she looked around to see if there are any taxis coming in.

"Keira" A voice called from nearby.

Lucy turned and saw Alyson walking towards her while Robert was taking out the luggage from the trunk.

"Hi" She said while looking around, not in the mood to talk to her or anyone right now.

"Keira, I'm sorry about…" Alyson trailed off when she noticed that Keira wasn't paying attention to her.

"Is…everything all right?" Alyson asked, in a concerned voice.

"I have some things to do. I'm just looking for a taxi now. I'll come by later, okay?" Lucy stepped away from her and started to walk down the street to look for a taxi.

"Keira, you can take mine! I don't need it." Alyson suggested. Robert had rented a private taxi with a driver for their short stay.

Lucy immediately turned around and walked rapidly towards her.

"Are you sure? It might take a few hours."

"As long as you want." Alyson smiled sweetly at the brunette.

"Thank you. I'll come back when I'm done." Lucy quickly headed towards the taxi.

Riding in Alyson's private taxi, Lucy felt sorry about her rude behavior towards the blonde a moment ago. _I'll make it up to her later._ Trying to suppress her stomach from growling, she bent over, pressing her stomach inward. Then suddenly a phone rang. Not her's. The driver's.

"Is there a bag in the back seat?" The driver asked after he hung up.

"Yes." Lucy held up a plastic bag.

"It's for you."

Lucy frowned in confusion and opened the bag and the box inside. Her smile grew bigger and her eyes opened wide when she saw cannoli, sfogliatelle, tiramisu, seashell shaped flaky pastry and other Italian pastries inside the box. Just what she needed. _She must have heard my stomach growling. _She thought to herself.

Licking her lips, she helped herself with the pastries. After a short moment, they finally arrived to the fancy restaurant. But Nadia wasn't there.

"Where could she be?" She went inside into each of the restaurants on that same street to look for her. Then she walked to the next street and did the same. After half an hour of searching around the block, she went back to the private taxi and asked the driver to drive her to the restaurant where they first met. No luck. She had searched more than 30 places with bars but ended up in disappointment. There was nothing else she could do except have the driver drive around and hopefully find her walking on the street. After 3 hours of driving, she gave up and decided to go back to the hotel. One disappointment after another, nobody answered the door. Nadia didn't come back yet. The only way was to wait patiently for Scud's call since he could tell when Nadia would be back inside the room by accessing the hotel's computer.

Since she promised Alyson that she'll meet with her later, now is a better time as any. Standing in front of Alyson's room, Lucy knocked on the door. She was very surprised that the blonde opened the door so fast as if she had been standing behind the door, waiting for her.

"Keira, come in." Alyson took her hand and pulled her inside.

Lucy could see how much better she looked. _Looks like she slept well last night._

"Hi…I…ah…" Lucy trailed off when she felt Alyson's arms suddenly wrapped around her shoulders.

"I'm so sorry." Alyson said softly as she hugged her tightly.

"For what?" Lucy said in confusion, her hands by her side.

"I heard about your grandma."

"My…grandma?" It took a moment for Lucy to realize what Alyson was talking about.

At that moment, she felt like a complete jerk when she realized that was what Alyson wanted to say to her before she rudely interrupted her outside the hotel.

Lucy let out a sigh and hugged her back. "No…she's not my grandma. She's my friend's grandma."

Alyson pulled back. "Oh...Is your friend okay?"

Lucy nodded.

Not wanting to talk about this, Lucy held her hands firmly and looked deeply into her eyes.

She wanted to thank her for letting her use the private taxi, for her thoughtfulness, Italian pastries, just when she needed it the most, and for her understanding.

"Hey, do you remember I still owe you a favor?"

Alyson shook her head.

"Remember at the hotel restaurant…I asked you for a favor…you took a picture with that little girl …and I said we would do whatever you want. Let's do that now. What would you like to do? What would you like me to do for you?"

Alyson was surprised that the brunette still remembered. She couldn't think of anything right now. She just wanted to see her, to talk to her.

"hmmm…anything?…is there anything you want to do? Is there anything you want me to do?" Lucy asked again.

Looking into those attractive brown eyes, Alyson gulped as impure thoughts spontaneously crossed her mind. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and shook herself out of her thoughts. _God, I hope I'm not blushing right now._

"That's okay. You already did that last night." Alyson said shyly.

Lucy realized that by now Alyson must have known that her room being flooded was an excuse.

"No, that doesn't count. We're friends. I want to help you."

Alyson tried to hold back her tears as she heard the genuine concern in her voice.

"Is there something you want to do in Venice that you haven't done yet?"

She pondered for a moment. What is Venice known for? Art museums? Not too interested.

"I haven't ridden in a gondola." Alyson lied. She had ridden on a gondola with her ex a long time ago but she wanted to go on it with her.

_Gondola. _That was what she wanted to go on with Kristin. Her mind flashed back to that day when she described the gondola ride to Kristin. That was the day when she asked Kristin to go to Venice with her for a few days. She had images of what it would be like with Kristin clinging her arm to hers and her head resting on her shoulder as they admired the view along the Grand Canal, listening to the gondolier singing in Italian.

Alyson wondered what the brunette was thinking of when she saw her in deep thought.

"If you don't want to…it's okay."

"No…of course not. I want to. C'mon. Let's go now." Lucy assured her with a smile.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

While riding in the blonde's private taxi, Alyson noticed the box of pastries on the seat.  
She was extremely surprised that there weren't any left inside.

"You…ate the whole box?" Alyson asked, surprised that she could eat so much.

"Sorry…I was…umm…hungry. I ate most of it and gave some to him." Lucy pointed to the driver.

Alyson realized that she must not have time to eat lunch.

"No…I'm happy that you liked them. I bought them for you."

Lucy finally realized her intentions. It wasn't because she heard her stomach growling. It wasn't because she bought them for afternoon snacks. Alyson had bought the pastries for her to cheer her up because she thought that her grandma had passed away. Every time she's in a bad mood, sweets will almost always cheer her up, so instead of buying ice cream, Alyson decided to buy different sorts of pastries from a famous bakery shop in Venice.

Extremely touched by her thoughtfulness, Lucy slowly reached out to hold her hand but stopped when she realized that the driver could see them. She glanced at the driver, then looked back at Alyson whose smile told her that she knew exactly what she was about to do and why she didn't proceed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With sunglasses on, Alyson and Lucy sat on a gondola floating through the quiet area of the Grand Canal.

It was so peaceful, so romantic, and best of all there were no other gondolas nearby.

When the gondolier started to serenade in Italian, Alyson shifted closer to the brunette and clung her hand through her arm and leaned her head against her shoulder. She pulled the front of her hat down to prevent others from recognizing her. She had seen all of this before, so she really didn't mind not being able see anything in front of her. Being able to see and touch the person next to her, she could not help but get lost in the moment as the beautiful Italian songs started flowing.

This wasn't exactly how Lucy pictured it, riding on the gondola. Sure, it was quiet and peaceful and some views were beautiful. But she didn't expect the canal to be so filthy dirty. She had been here with Amy before and they thought the ride was romantic and amazing, but she didn't remember the water being so disgusting and so stinky, a smell of sewage. She looked at Alyson and saw her smiling with her eyes closed. _Maybe you do have to be in love to ride one of these._ That would be the only way to completely ignore the stench and the dirty water.

As the gondolier skillfully paddled through the winding canal, they reached another area where it wasn't so quiet and wasn't so peaceful. But somehow the blonde managed to ignore the noise as well. Seeing how crowded it is, the gondolier stopped singing because it would just be too annoying with all the gondoliers singing at the same time.

"Ummm, Alyson." Lucy tried to warn her when she saw her ex on the other end of the Canal.

Alyson looked up and was shocked to see so many gondolas with so many tourists. She turned to see where Lucy was pointing and immediately noticed her ex Jon standing up on his gondola.

"What is he doing?" Alyson asked, releasing the hold on Keira's arm.

"Looks like he want to impress his girl."

Jon was walking towards his gondolier and was trying to take the paddle away from him, but the gondolier refused to give it him. They struggled back and forth, tilting the boat from side to side.

"Oh my god!" Alyson said when she saw Jon had accidentally fallen into the dirty canal.

Everyone stared at the nincompoop. Some chuckled and some gasped, feeling sorry for the guy. _Gross._

Lucy turned to look at Alyson and both burst out laughing. Not wanting to risk the chance of being recognized by her ex, Lucy instructed the gondolier to let them off at the next stop.

Since they weren't hungry yet, they decided to take a stroll through the narrow streets along the Canal and go shopping; one of Alyson's favorite activities. There were a lot of tourists, so Alyson didn't try to hold Keira's hand, afraid of being recognized even with the hat and sunglasses on.

Lucy looked around and suddenly realized that they were near the hotel that they stayed in the first night they arrived in Venice, the same hotel that Nadia stayed in. Lucy quickly excused herself to make a call to Scud to check if Nadia was still staying at the expensive hotel. After a moment, Scud called back. Nadia checked out of that hotel 2 days ago.

After shopping, Alyson wanted to go back to the hotel and eat dinner there. Once they got back to the hotel, Alyson headed to her room to put down her belongings while Lucy headed to the restaurant. Instead of waiting at the restaurant, she decided to check if Nadia was back.

Standing in front of Nadia's room, she knocked hard on the door multiple times to make sure anyone inside the room could hear her. She did that for so long, she didn't realize 5 minutes already passed. Suddenly a negative thought crossed her mind. She's not dead from drinking, is she? She quickly headed to the front desk to ask the receptionist who recognized her earlier.

"Hi, remember me." Lucy asked.

"Yes." How could she forget? The receptionist remembered her bringing the drunken woman in 2 times.

"Can you send someone up in room 502 to clean up the room? She made a big mess."

"No problem."

Lucy quickly headed to her room and waited for the cleaning staff.

As promised, the cleaning staff arrived after 5 minutes. Nadia was not in her room. The room was all cleaned up. There was no mess. Lucy later explained to the cleaning staff who had a questioning look on her face that another cleaning staff must have cleaned it up.

Feeling exhausted, tired, and disappointed, she headed down to the hotel restaurant and saw Alyson waiting for her on one of the tables.

"Where did you go?" Alyson asked.

"I just got a call. Sorry, I took so long." Lucy apologized, feeling a little down.

After they ordered dinner, Lucy excused herself into the restroom to freshen up. Looking at herself in the mirror, she slapped her face a few times.

"She's going to show up. She's going to show up." Lucy said to herself, trying to stay positive.

She let out a few deep breaths before heading back to the table. With a big smile, she sat back at the table.

Alyson immediately noticed the change in her mood from before. She wanted to ask her if she remembered the lyrics from the song but wasn't sure if this was the right time to ask her.

Both looked at each other and just smiled awkwardly. To break the uncomfortable silence, Alyson decided to ask her.

"Keira, do you remember the …" She was cut off by Robert's voice.

"Hey, girls." Robert called from behind Lucy.

_Not again. _Alyson thought to herself.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Robert asked and sat himself down.

"Yes" Lucy and Alyson spoke in unison.

Robert sat down anyways since he thought they were joking. He quickly ordered something from the menu.

Lucy smiled at Alyson when she saw her rolling her eyes and Alyson smiled back.

"So where did you girls go?" Robert asked as he glanced at the brunette, then at Alyson.

"Just shopping." Alyson said. She glanced at Lucy who smiled back.

"Shopping?…" Robert just hated shopping. How much shopping can one do?

Everyone focused their attention at the waiter when he brought over one drink with a paper umbrella.

When the waiter placed the cocktail drink in front of her, Lucy immediately spoke.

"I didn't order this."

"This is a courtesy from the bartender." The waiter smiled at her.

Lucy, Alyson, and Robert immediately turned to look at the bartender who had been staring at her for quite some time. He smiled and waved at Lucy.

Lucy wasn't interested but she smiled back anyways and pretended as if nothing had happened.

"What?" Lucy said when she saw Robert and Alyson staring at her.

"Wow!….He's quite good looking. I mean…as a guy who's only interested in woman…I think he's good looking….Don't you think, Alyson?" Robert asked.

"mmm…yes…he is" Alyson smiled awkwardly.

"Hey, you're not mad that he's not interested in you, are you?" Robert asked.

"Of course not!" Alyson immediately responded. _He has good taste. _Alyson thought to herself.

"Well, are you interested?"

"Nope." Lucy said calmly.

"Why not?"

"He's not my type." She said while looking at the wine menu. She slid the drink to Robert. "Here, you can have this."

"No thanks." Robert said. "Alcohol makes me thirsty."

"Alyson?"

"No thanks." Lucy slid the drink to the corner of the table.

"So what type of man are you looking for?" Robert noticed that Lucy didn't have any rings on her fingers.

"That's none of your business. Robert."

Lucy looked up and saw Alyson smiling at her.

After a moment, the waiter then brought over their dinner and 2 drinks.

"Try this, a friend recommend it to me. It's really good." Alyson said.

Lucy took a sip and didn't taste any alcohol in it.

"What do you think? " Alyson asked.

"Good."

They started to eat in silence without waiting for Robert.

"So Keira, now that you know she's a singer, what do you think?"

"good."

"Just good." Robert said with a frown.

Lucy looked up at Alyson. She had told her what she thought about her singing before but she didn't want to say too much in front of Robert. "Yeah…good."

Alyson smiled, without saying word.

Lucy continued eating her dinner.

"She's not just good. She has millions of fans. Did you know she writes her own songs too?"

"mhm." Lucy mumbled while chewing her food and looking down at her plate.

"What do you think of that?"

"good"

"just good" Robert rolled his eyes. "Do you know how long it takes to write a song? Not all singers could do that."

"mhm"

Robert noticed that she wasn't in a talkative mood. _Maybe she just doesn't care about her line of work._

"What do you do? I'm just curious how you got invited to that event." Robert asked.

Lucy stayed silent for a short moment. She looked up and noticed that Alyson was also curious to know the answer too.

"I do my own investing…you know...stocks, funds, us market, foreign market."

"Oh really, I do some investing myself. Any tips, any suggestions?"

Lucy took another gulp of her delicious drink.

"I don't want you to blame me later if it doesn't come out the way I see it."

"No, of course not." Robert quickly responded.

Lucy really didn't want to talk about this at this moment.

"How about you, Alyson? Who manages your money?"

"My dad."

"So you wouldn't know where he invests your money?" Lucy asked in a concerned voice.

Alyson shook her head.

Lucy pondered for a moment and wondered if she should tell her what she thinks it's going to happen.

"Well, Robert. Here's a tip. Don't get too greedy."

Robert frowned at her statement. He was expecting more information than that.

Before he was about to ask her for more information, the waiter bought his dinner over.

After a short moment, Lucy finished with her dinner. She finished the last drop of her drink and stood up.

"I'm done too." Alyson said as she stood up. "Robert, can you take care of the bill?"

Without waiting for his response, both left the restaurant.

Since Lucy needed to wait for Nadia to come back and Alyson wanted to talk to her, she decided to stay a little longer.

Standing in front of her hotel room, Lucy suddenly felt a little dizzy as a warm sensation flowed through her body. She shook her head to try to clear the dizziness.

"Oh my god, Keira, your face is all red. Are you feeling all right?"

Alyson quickly opened the door and Lucy immediately walked in to take a look in the mirror. Her whole face was red and her body was so hot, she pulled down the collar of her shirt, fanning herself with her right hand.

"Was there alcohol in that drink?" Lucy asked.

"just a little"

_Shoot. No wonder I feel so hot ._Feeling hot and a little dizzy, Lucy immediately sat on the edge of the bed and flopped her back down.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm…okay. I just…need to rest for a while." She said as she closed her eyes. Alyson went to the bathroom to get her a cold wet towel to put it on the brunette's head.

"Sorry. They must have put more alcohol in yours than mine." Alyson said as she pressed the towel over her face and neck.

_No…It's because…I haven't had alcohol for so long._ She thought to herself.

"Keira" Alyson said while blowing her face to cool the brunette down.

"hmmm"

"Do…you…remember...the words to the song?" Alyson asked shyly.

"mhm"

"You do!" Alyson was surprised that she could remember it having heard it only once.

Lucy opened her eyes slowly and saw the blonde's face hovering over hers. "I…understand." She saw Alyson smiling at her. "I'm sorry…I..." Lucy stopped when she felt the blonde's finger on her lips.

"Ssshhhh….Don't be…I'm…happy to have met you." She said genuinely and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Get some rest." She whispered and then turned off all the lights except for the lamp on the table and the lamp on the desk several feet away from the bed.

After half an hour, Lucy opened her eyes and saw the blonde sitting on a chair, totally mesmerized by something on the desk. Alyson was wearing a pink sleeveless tank top and short pajama shorts. Lucy realized that she must have already taken a shower and changed into her sleeping clothes. Her head felt a little better, but she still felt hot inside her body, much hotter than before. If Alyson weren't here, she would have taken her shirt off. As she walked towards the desk, she saw Alyson picking up a prescription bottle and opening it.

"What are you doing?!" Lucy called out.

Startled by the sudden voice, Alyson flinched, causing the pills to fly out of the bottle and on to the floor. Lucy grabbed the bottle from her hand and threw it in the trash bucket and bent down to Alyson's level.

"Alyson, you can't keep taking those. You have to overcome the fears yourself."

Alyson hesitated for a moment, looking at her with a blank expression. She then stood up and walked a few steps forward away from her.

"But I can't. I can't." She cried out emotionally, letting tears run down her cheeks.

Lucy stood up and immediately felt a little woozy from standing up too fast. Taking a few deep breaths, she took a moment to stabilize herself, then walked over to the front of the blonde.

"remember what we talked about last night. You just have to believe that. Then you won't be afraid of it."

"But I can't control it."

"Yes, you can. You just have to believe that you were never in danger."

Alyson began to cry uncontrollably. Lucy immediately wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"Sshhh…Sshhh…it's okay. I'll help you."

"You can't help me." Alyson sobbed loudly on her shoulder.

"Yes I can. I'll stay here with you." Lucy rubbed her back, trying to calm her down.

"You…will?" She said softly, sniffing back her tears.

"As long as you need me." Lucy comforted her, holding the trembling blonde in her arms. That was not a lie.

Alyson pulled back and brushed her tears away. "You promise?"

"I promise. We'll figure this out together." Lucy said sincerely as she cupped her face and wiped her tears away from her face with her thumbs."You'll be okay." It hurts her to see the blonde like this.

A small smile slowly appeared on her face and Alyson leaned in to give her a short kiss on the cheek. "Thank you." She said in a gentle voice.

Lucy could tell her mood had completely changed.

"I must look awful." Alyson said, wiping her face dry.

Lucy smiled and Alyson walked to the bathroom to get herself together.

Feeling a little relieved that she was able to prevent the blonde from taking those pills, Lucy let out a deep breath and bent down to pick up the scattered pills on the floor. _That's odd._ _Sleeping pills shouldn't be that big._ She went over to the trash can and picked up the bottle and found that they were….calcium? _Why that little rat…. _After picking up every pill and putting it back into the bottle and placed it on the desk, she walked back to the bed and sat down.

Seeing the brunette narrowing her eyes at her as she walked back to the bed, Alyson realized that the brunette must have found out.

"What do you think of my acting?" Alyson smiled, sitting next to her. She was previously looking at a script for a role that she was interested in. The role required a lot of crying scenes so she thought it would be a good opportunity to try it out on the brunette.

"Haha…very funny. "

"I was just reading the script and it had a lot of crying…ah!" She shrieked and burst into giggles when she felt moving fingers tickling her ribs. Giggling out of control, she flopped down on the bed and rolled from side to side to avoid the brunette's busy fingers. Lucy quickly got up on her knees and straddled the blonde to prevent her from moving away.

"Acting, huh….try to act now…" Lucy said as she continued to tickle her belly and her sides.

"Stop it!…stop it!…" Alyson yelled, giggling uncontrollably.

"Say you're sorry and you won't do that again." Lucy demanded.

"Sorry!"

"I don't believe you. You said it too fast."

Seeing that the brunette won't stop tickling her, Alyson grabbed the brunette's head with both hands and pulled her closer and planted an open mouth kiss on her lips. Lucy immediately froze as she landed on top of the blonde. Holding the nape of her neck, Alyson continued kissing her. Totally surprised at the unexpected kiss, Lucy pulled away. With her body pressing against the blonde's, her face so close to hers, she saw passion and love in the blonde's hazel blue eyes. _I can't_. I can't. She said to herself. As she started to lift herself off the blonde, Alyson grabbed her shoulders, turned her over, and rolled on top of her. After a short moment of gazing at each other in silence, Alyson leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, then another and another…on her jawline, slowly down her neck, making sure she didn't miss any spot.

Lucy's heart began to beat out of control. Her breathing became ragged. Lust churned in her body. Intense arousal began to build inside her body, setting fire in her sensitive private parts. _Oh God._

"Whaaa…are… you doing?" Lucy asked with a shuddering breath, barely able to keep her eyes open as she felt the blonde's wet kisses on her neck and her earlobe.

Alyson placed a trail of soft wet kisses from her neck up to her jaw line and stopped at her lips. Looking deeply into the brunette's eyes, she said in a whisper. "I'm not going to do anything else. I just want to do this." She planted another longer kiss on her lips before smothering her with fluttering kisses on her left cheek, down to her neck.

"Alyson…" Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, Lucy tried to control her rapidly beating heart, but it didn't seem to help.

"…I can't." She said, grabbing and twisting the blanket, struggling to control her raging desire. She knows she can't but her body wasn't listening. _Oh God._ She said to herself as she felt the blonde's breast rubbing against hers.

"I'm not…going to do…anything…else." Alyson mumbled between kisses.

"If you keep…doing…that...I…I…won't be able to…control…myself." Lucy's eyes fluttered open.

Alyson ignored her and continued to press gentle kisses on her neck.

"Oh Godddd.." Lucy shut her eyes tight when she felt the blonde's pelvis nudging against her throbbing core, sending pleasurable sensations throughout her heated body. It was too much. Her eyes opened wide. Her pupils dilated as the blonde's movements ignited her body. Unable to keep her body under control any longer, she flipped the blonde over and rolled on top of her.

Alyson yelped, surprised by the sudden movement and before she realized what just happened, she felt Keira's lips on hers, kissing her deeply. Her hands spontaneously roamed the brunette's back and slid under her shirt, feeling her soft skin as she reciprocated the kiss.

Lucy pulled back slightly to catch her breath, then placed wet soft kisses on her jaw line, down her neck. Her left hand, as if it had a mind of its own, glided under the blonde's tank top, softly capturing her breast, causing a low involuntary moan to escape from the blonde. As if the closeness with the blonde's body wasn't driving her crazy, the moans of pleasure from the blonde only excited her more. Her throbbing core was aching in need. Lucy pulled her hand out and grabbed onto the sheets with both hands, she placed herself between the blonde's legs and began rocking her hips, causing a shriek to escape from the blonde when their privates first made contact, then another, and another.

This was not what Alyson had in mind when she initiated the kiss. All she wanted to do was to kiss the brunette. She had never gone this far with any of her exes. The farthest she's gone was just kissing on the lips, not even French kissing. Some tried to touch her, but she didn't allow them to and that was the reason some of her relationships ended. _ I must have lost my goddamn mind! _ Each time Keira rocked against her core, it sent jolts of pleasure throughout her body. Her eyes spontaneously closed, she tilted her head backwards, allowing the brunette to nip and kiss her throat. Her moans and sounds of pleasure became louder each time she felt the brunette's core pressing and gliding up against hers. Her breathing became deep, her heart raced out of control. Her body reacted in a way she had never experienced before.

As Lucy nipped on the blonde's neck, her right hand glided down to the blonde's thigh, feeling the soft smooth skin. She needed to touch more. As her hand was about to slide underneath the blonde's waistband, she felt Alyson's hand holding onto hers, stopping her from what she was about to do. Both were breathing heavily. Lucy looked up and noticed that the blonde's cheeks had turned rosy red. Stopping what she was doing never crossed her mind because her body was in control. She gave the blonde a short kiss on her lips, then continued kissing her feverishly down her neck. She moved her right hand away from her shorts and slid under her shirt, causing another involuntary moan from the blonde. Then a sudden wave of intense heat rushed through her body, she felt even hotter than before. Lucy couldn't take it anymore. Her body was on fire. In a flash, she took her shirt and pants off and quickly flopped back on top of the blonde. She needed to release. With legs spread wider for her, she continued rocking against her core. With each thrust of her hips, she could hear Alyson's moans getting louder and more frequent. She could feel the blonde's nails digging deeper into the skin on her back. Her own sounds of ecstasy synchronized with her moans. After a moment, Lucy slowed down, then came to a full stop after getting the release she was seeking. She rolled off the blonde. Her eyes spontaneously closed, she remained still lying next to the blonde to let her body rest. The only sound that was heard was their heavy breathing until Alyson spoke.

"Keira."

Lucy was too tired to respond. Her mind wasn't even thinking about what she just did. There were no thoughts in her mind until she heard what Alyson said.

"I think…they put something in the drinks."

Lucy's head shot up, her eyes opened wide. "What!"

Alyson slowly sat up. "I've had those drinks before and it didn't make me feel like that."

"feel like what?"

Alyson looked down on the floor, feeling a little embarrassed. "You know….I felt hot...I started it...I've never done that before…."

"Oh my god! No wonder I couldn't control myself." Lucy stood up and paced back and forth. It made sense to her now. That was not something she would do especially with someone whom she doesn't love. She likes the Alyson, but love...not the way she loves Amy and Kristin. What she just did, she couldn't control herself from stopping it from happening.

Lucy stopped. "How much did you drink?"

"half of it"

"Shit! I drank the whole thing." She lifted her bangs up away from her eyes. "I'm going to kill that bartender." She said as she walked towards the door.

"Keira!"

"Don't stop me. I'm going to kill him." She said angrily, thinking that the bartender must have spiked their drinks because she didn't show any interest in him.

"…your..umm…shirt and your…pants." The blonde said as she stared at her tan toned body.

Lucy looked down and realized she wasn't wearing anything but a black bra and boy shorts. She quickly put her clothing on and headed for the door. When she opened the door, she saw Robert standing there, about to knock on the door.

"Keira!" Robert was surprised to see her here. "You're still here."

Lucy tried to stay calm. Letting Robert know what she and the blonde just did was definitely not a good idea. "I didn't feel well earlier. I'll be leaving in a minute."

"Oh my God! It must be those drinks. I just heard from downstairs. They arrested the bartender."

"What? Why?"

"One of the guests saw him spiking the drinks. That's why I came up here, to make sure you girls are alright."

"What!" Lucy was surprised to hear that he spiked other drinks as well. "What did he put in them?"

"They didn't say…You…don't look so good. Your face is all red. Are you okay?"

"Besides feeling hot and a little dizzy, I'm fine….and she's fine." Lucy said calmly.

After assuring Robert that both of them were okay, Lucy closed the door. She turned around and saw Alyson covering her mouth who was also shocked to hear that she was right. Closing her eyes for a moment, Lucy internally blamed herself for not being able to control herself. It had been years since she touched a woman that way. It had been years since she's been that close to a woman. _What have I done? _

Sitting next to the blonde on the bed, she reached out to hold her hands. "I...am so so…sorry."

"For what?"

"For what just happened."

"Keira, I was the one who ordered those drinks….and we didn't do anything. We still have our clothes on."

Lucy was extremely glad that she still had her clothes on. _Thank God she stopped me before it got any further._ The part where the blonde said that they didn't do anything, she would have to disagree.

"Are you…okay?"

"I'm fine." Alyson assured her with a smile.

"I'm sorry. I should've been able to control myself…I should've…"

"Keira, look at me." She said as she cupped her cheeks. "I'm fine. In fact, I'm more than fine. If it makes you feel any better, that was the most amazing feeling I have ever felt." She smiled and leaned in to give her a kiss before whispering something else into her ear. Even though there wasn't anyone else inside the room, Alyson still felt shy saying it in front of her. "So stop apologizing. Okay?"

Lucy's jaws dropped immediately upon hearing her bluntness. If her face wasn't red already, it would have changed to that color instantly at that moment.

The blonde walked over to the chest drawer to grab a new pair of underwear and sleeping clothes before heading to the bathroom, leaving the stunned still brunette sitting on the bed. After what just happened, she felt she needed to take another shower. Before she closed the bathroom door, she pointed to the shopping bag. "I bought that for you."

Closing the door behind her, she leaned her back against it and closed her eyes for a moment before letting out a deep breath.

"Oh my god! My first, second, and third. Why the hell did you say that? Why didn't you tell her about the 4th? You idiot." She said as she hit herself on the head with the palm of her hand. To make Keira stop blaming herself for what just happened, she told her that she gave her first and multiple orgasms. She walked over to the sink and saw how red her cheeks were in the mirror. After standing there for a moment, a few tears uncontrollably escaped from her eyes. Taking a few deep breaths and exhaling loudly, she brushed her tears away.

Meanwhile, outside the bathroom, Lucy didn't feel as bad, knowing that Alyson didn't mind about what just happened. Inside the bag, there was a pair of pajamas and undergarments. Lucy frowned in confusion. _Was she expecting me to sleep here tonight?_ She thought to herself. _Shoot. I promised her I would. _She wondered if the drug was still in her system. If it is, she can't sleep with her tonight. She can't risk the chance of other things happening.

Suddenly several loud long shrieks came from the bathroom. She quickly ran to the bathroom door.

"Alyson, what's wrong!" She called out as she knocked on the door. The blonde kept screaming in her high-pitched voice. Feeling that something was wrong, she turned the knob and found that it wasn't locked, so she slammed the door opened and ran inside. In front of her, she saw the blonde in all her glory, shrieking and pointing to a Scutigera coleoptrata, a house centipede with 15 pairs of legs, on her towel.

_Oh...my...Lord. _She gasped as her eyes locked on the sexy naked body. Stunned still, her eyes opened wide and her mouth agape. When Alyson quickly stepped into the bathtub, hiding behind the shower curtain, the movement snapped Lucy back into reality. Lucy then pulled some tissue papers, caught the centipede that was crawling rapidly up the towel and flushed it down the toilet. She flushed again and again to make sure it can't crawl back up.

"All set." She said without turning to look at the naked blonde.

As she was about to head out of the bathroom, she stopped when Alyson called her.

"Keira, can you check everywhere and get rid of that towel?"

"okay" Lucy looked around, trying not to stare at the shower curtain.

"Nothing here. You might want to check the bathtub."

She waited for the blonde to check before leaving; Her back facing the bathtub.

"Anything?" Lucy asked.

"No."

_Thank God. _Lucy took the towel from the towel rack and left the bathroom. _Why did she let me see that? _She covered her eyes with her hands_. _The image of Alyson's nude body appeared in her mind, sending a heat wave through her body. _Must be the damn drugs still in me._

After a moment, Alyson walked out of the bathroom, smiling shyly at the brunette.

"I…have to take a shower too." Lucy said as she walked past the blonde, taking the new undergarment with her.

Before she closed the door, Lucy told her to get changed so that they can go to the doctor to get their blood and urine tested to see what was in that drink. Once she closed the door, she locked it and made sure it was locked. She wasn't planning on taking a shower at first, but since the blonde bought her undergarments and the one she was wearing was extremely wet as as result from what happened earlier, she needed a shower badly. After taking off her gray boy shorts, she noticed that the wetness of it could be seen from the outside. Then a realization hit her. The pajamas and undergarments weren't bought for her. Alyson noticed that her boy shorts was wet, that's why she gave her the new undergarments.

Before leaving the hotel, Alyson told Robert where she was going. Lucy had called her doctor to meet them in her medical office building. She told her what the emergency was so that she could call the appropriate staff to come in at this hour of the night. Sitting in a taxi, both stayed silent. Once they got to the medical office building, Lucy instructed Alyson **not** to give the doctor her real name since she doesn't want to risk the chance of her medical records getting leaked out, especially if they find out if she had some illegal drugs in her system. This was why Lucy didn't want to go to a hospital. All it took was some extra money and the doctor agreed to do the tests without requiring personal information.

"Do you want to wait here for the test results or do you want me to call you?" The doctor asked.

"We'll wait." Lucy and Alyson said in unison.

Instead of waiting inside the building, they stood at the entrance of the building, looking at the beautiful night sky filled with sparkling stars. Lucy had no idea why the blonde was so quiet all of a sudden. Was it because I saw her naked? Or was it because she's worried about finding out what's in the drink?

"Everything's going to be okay." Lucy assured her with a smile.

"I know."

"Is there something wrong?" Lucy wondered if she was worried about her PTSD symptoms. "I promise I'll help you, okay? So don't worry."

Looking deeply into her brown eyes, Alyson wondered if this is the right time to tell her. A low rumbling sound then interrupted their silent gaze.

Alyson chuckled, looking at the tan woman's stomach. "Are you hungry already?"

"yeah…that happens when I use too much energy." Lucy said as she rubbed her belly.

Alyson then burst out laughing after hearing her comment.

"What?"

"You!" Alyson continued to laugh uncontrollably. "you just said having sex makes you hungry."

"No…that's not what I…." Lucy trailed off, staring at the blonde who couldn't stop laughing. "Stop laughing."

She laughed so hard, her stomach hurts.

"you know…it does take a lot of energy...maybe you should try being on top." _Holy shit! Why did I just say that? _Lucy immediately covered her mouth, hoping she didn't hear that. Too late. She could see Alyson's jaws immediately dropped, looking at her with eyes wide opened.

"I…I…didn't mean it that way…" She swallowed hard.

Alyson slowly let out a small smile and stepped forward, looking at the brunette like a predator watching her prey. As she took one step forward, the brunette took one step back, ultimately backing her up against the wall. Their bodies almost touched.

"That's the second time you said that."

"No I didn't."

Alyson nodded her head slowly. "You…said that on the plane."

Lucy gulped, finally remembering when she said it. "I…just said that to get your attention."

"mm…hmm…and I'm starting to wonder if you wanted me then."

Lucy shook her head again.

"You…know…maybe I'll take you up on that offer…you did sound like you were having more fun than me…" She spoke seductively.

"I'm sure I didn't…you had 3, remember?" _Why did I respond to that question?  
_

_4 but who's counting. _Alyson chastised herself internally for telling her that. She kept on smiling.

"I just said that to make you feel better. I didn't get any."

She said slowly and leaned in closer.

"What do you think? Maybe we should try again. This time, I want to be on top." She whispered seductively into her ear.

Lucy swallowed hard as her heart started to beat rapidly again. She gripped the blonde's shoulders with trembling hands and pushed her back a step. "I think the drug is still affecting you."

"Yea…then it should still be inside you too…Let's go back now before it loses its effect."

Alyson took the brunette's hands away from her shoulders and stepped a little closer. She could feel the brunette's rapid breathing on her face. "Let's do it again." She said, raising her eyebrows up and down.

"I…I…" Lucy grabbed her shoulders and turned her back against the wall. "Okay. Let's do it here."

"What?" Alyson said, shocked at the brunette's sudden change.

"We have our clothes on. So it doesn't matter where we do it. Let's do it in the bathroom."

She grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her towards the main entrance door.

"Wait…." Alyson said as she pulled back.

Lucy stepped closer to her as her eyes beamed with lustful desire, scanning her up and down, making sure the blonde could see what she was looking at.

"You know what would be even more fun. Let's do it for real this time."

Alyson swallowed nervously as that thought suddenly flowed into her mind. "I…ha ha...I…was just kidding." She said embarrassingly.

Lucy stepped back and crossed her arms.

"Nice acting. You almost got me there."

Realizing that Keira was also joking around, Alyson let out a deep breath.

"Really? But how did you know? "

"your eyes. They moved. You'll need more practice."

"At what point?"

"When you said you didn't get any."

"That wasn't a lie. I didn't."

"Suuure…. you didn't."

Lucy smiled and started walking towards the door. Alyson followed from behind.

"I didn't."

"Suuure…you didn't." Lucy repeated as she stepped into the elevator, heading back to the doctor's office.

"I'm not lying. I didn't."

"Suuure…you didn't."

"I didn't."

At their stop, Lucy got out of the elevator first.

"Suuure…you didn't."

Trying to catch up with the brunette, Alyson kept hitting her back to make her stop saying 'Sure… you didn't."

Once they got to the doctor's office door, Lucy stopped to open the door and the frustrated blonde slapped her back so hard this time, Lucy cried out. "Owww!"

"Stop pretending. I didn't hit you that hard."

"I'm not pretending." Lucy said as she tried to rub her own back, wincing in pain when she touched certain spots on her back.

"Let me see." Alyson said as she tried to lift up her shirt.

"Wait…not here."

"There's no one around."

"There are cameras everywhere."

Inside the bathroom in the doctor's office, Alyson lifted the brunette's shirt from the back.

She immediately gasped when she saw many deep cuts on her back. "Where did you get those?"

"What? What does it look like?"

"Take off your shirt and see for yourself."

Lucy took off her shirt and covered her bra with it. She turned her back facing the mirror and looked back and immediately realized what those marks were. Most of the marks had blood in it. There were a lot of them. Some of the skin peeled off as well. Letting out a sigh, she tried to put the shirt back on.

"It's nothing."

"Wait…"

Alyson stopped her from putting the shirt on.

"Does this hurt?" She said as she pressed on a certain spot.

"Owww! Just a little. Don't worry about it."

"Maybe you should show it to the doctor."

"It's okay. Really. I'm fine." Lucy said as she put the shirt back on.

Alyson took hold of her forearm to stop her from leaving.

"Keira, are you…sick?" Alyson said in a worried tone.

"What?"

"What are those?"

"It's nothing. It'll heal by itself…and I'm not sick. C'mon. Let's go see the test results."

Alyson walked rapidly and stood in front of her.

"Keira, tell me what's wrong."

"It's nothing."

"Just tell me."

Lucy's face then turned serious and quickly took her hands to the sink and helped her washed her hands with soap.

"What are you doing?"

"You just touched it. It's contagious."

Alyson then turned off the faucet and grabbed the brunette's shoulders.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"I don't think you should be touching me." She said, moving back a few steps.

"I think it's too late for that." She stepped closer to the brunette. "I don't care if it's contagious." Alyson hugged her tightly to show her. "Whatever it is, I'll take care of you. Just tell me what's wrong." She said worriedly.

Lucy could tell the blonde was about to cry. _Oh shit. I went too far. _

"I'm…sorry." She said, holding the blonde firmly.

"for what?" Alyson pulled back.

"Do you really want to know how I got them?"

Alyson nodded.

Lucy took one of her hands and lifted up to show her.

"What?" Alyson asked, still confused.

Seeing that the blonde still didn't understand what she's referring to, Lucy rolled her eyes. She then lifted her fingers and pointed to her fingernails.

After a very short moment, the blonde gasped when she finally figured it out.

"Ohhhhh…" Her cheeks turned rosy red instantly.

Keira shrugged, turned around and headed for the door. As she was about to open the door, she felt another slap on her back. "Owww! What was that for?"

"You tricked me. You said it was contagious."

"Well...I told you it was nothing and you wouldn't let it go and I didn't want to embarrass you…"

Seeing the angry look on the blonde's face, Lucy stepped in front of her. "…I was just…having a little fun…" She said with a shrug and a smile.

Alyson then stepped forward to hug her again. "Don't ever…pretend you're sick."

"I'm sorry." Lucy said as she rubbed her back up and down. At that moment, she realized how much Alyson really loved her. "Sorry." She said again, apologizing for not being able to return the love.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alyson sat on the chair outside the doctor's office, patiently waiting for Lucy to come out. Even from outside, she could hear Keira shouting "That son of a bitch!" Alyson turned to the direction of the door when she heard the door opened. Lucy was pissed.

"Is everything okay?" Alyson asked.

"Everything's okay now." Lucy said in a gentle voice. She's extremely furious with that bartender and she'll make sure he gets what he deserves. There was no reason to get upset now in front of the blonde. What's done is done.

It was Alyson's turn to see the doctor. Lucy was surprised when she came out after 2 minutes. After Lucy thanked the doctor for her help, they both left the office. Since Lucy was hungry, they decided to eat first before heading back to the hotel. Once inside the hotel room, Lucy took her wet boy shorts from the bathroom and put it in a bag. She stopped at the bathroom door, completely dazed at what she saw. Her heart started beating faster when she saw Alyson stretching her arms and legs wide on the bed. An image of her being naked on the bed suddenly appeared in her mind. She swallowed hard.

"I'm so...tired." Alyson said while lying on the bed. "Let's go to sleep."

"Ummm…Alyson, I know I promise to stay with you tonight, but I think it's better that I don't."

Lucy quickly headed towards the door.

"Wait…" She walked towards the brunette and stood in front of her. "Just stay with me one more night. I promise I won't ask you again."

"Alyson, I'm going to be honest with you. I think the drug is still affecting me and I don't want to take advantage of you again. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Without waiting for a response, Lucy opened the door.

"Keira…I…" Alyson was cut off by the Lucy's phone call.

Lucy picked up the call. "Yes…okay…okay…bye" Lucy quickly hung up the phone.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Lucy said and quickly closed the door.

"But…I'm leaving to..morrow…." Alyson said to herself. She ran outside and Lucy was already gone.

Scud had just called her to tell her that Nadia just entered her room. Lucy ran as quickly as possible and took the elevator to the fifth floor. Once the elevator door was opened, she ran to Nadia's room. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before knocking the door. Hearing someone inside the room, Lucy was extremely happy to finally been able to see Nadia. But to her surprise, the woman who opened the door wasn't Nadia.

"Sorry…I got the wrong room." Lucy spoke in English but she wasn't sure if the woman understood. Finding it extremely odd, she called Scud to confirm as she headed down to the lobby area. Scud confirmed that Nadia did not check out and the hotel key she used to enter the room was Nadia's. Could that be her friend? Should she ask her friend where Nadia is? But there was something else strange with that woman. She has the same length hair, same style, same height and body size as Nadia. If she hasn't seen her up close, she would have thought that woman was Nadia.

Lucy sat in the lobby area to think about what she should do. After a moment, she saw the same woman walking to the front desk with her bags. She's even dressed in Nadia's clothing. Lucy decided to follow the woman. Outside of the hotel, Lucy got another call from Scud telling her that Nadia had just checked out. _What the hell is going on? _

"Scud, she's taking a taxi. I'm going to follow her."

Following the taxi in the front, she quickly entered plate # in her phone just in case she can't remember it and in case she lost the taxi. She had no idea where she is, so she asked Scud to trace her phone. There were a few times when she thought she lost the taxi, but was able to catch up. If she was the one driving, she would know how to follow a car without letting that car know that they were being followed. But since she's not the driver, Lucy gave some extra money to the driver to follow her directions. After 15 minutes of following the car, she finally lost the taxi. Damn it!

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy's apartment

After telling Scud what she found out, they tried to come up with a logical explanation. After 30 minutes of talking, they decided to contact the taxi service tomorrow to see where he dropped off that woman. But even if they know the location, how were they going to find her?

"It's late. I'm going to sleep." Scud yawned loudly.

"Okay."

"So what did the doctor say?"

"Everything's fine. Tomorrow, check that bartender out. I'm going to make him regret tampering with the drinks."

"He's already been arrested."

"I don't care! We have to make him suffer for what he did!"

"Whoa…are you sure you're alright? Are there any long time side effects? What did the doctor say?"

"She found some traces of chemicals in my urine."

"and?"

"It's only a little amount, so whatever it does shouldn't last more than 2 hours." She knows what it does, but she can't let Scud know.

"What does it do to you?"

"Can't you see my face? It's burning red."

Scud frowned in confusion. "No it isn't. Your face is not red."

Lucy quickly went to the bathroom and looked at the mirror and saw that it was back to normal. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Do you still want to make him suffer?" Scud asked, standing next to the bathroom door.

"YES!"

"Okay." Scud shrugged and went to bed.

Suddenly her phone buzzed. It was Robert calling. Wondering why he called so late, she picked up the phone.

"Yes, Robert."

"Hi Keira. I just want to say thank you for all your help with…umm...Alyson. She's feeling much better."

_She is? _Lucy thought to herself.

"Since we probably won't see other, I just want to call to say I really appreciate your help. And if you ever stop by California, give me a call and I can show you around."

"What are talking about, Robert? What do you mean we won't see other again? Did they fire you?" Lucy asked out of concern for Alyson. Even though she doesn't like Robert that much, she knows that he cares for Alyson as if she's his own daughter. He did go out of his way to protect her from her exes.

Robert laughed out loud and then cleared his throat, hoping that it wasn't going to happen. "We're ..ah...leaving tomorrow. Didn't she tell you?"

"What?" Lucy said, surprised.

"mm…yeah…we're flying back to US tomorrow."

"I thought you said she's afraid of flying."

"She said she's feeling much better after that night at the island. So whatever you told her...worked. But we'll have to see tomorrow."

Lucy stayed silent, surprised to hear the news. _Why didn't she tell me? _Then she realized why the blonde was being so quiet._  
_

"Keira…Keira…are you still there?"

"Okay, Robert. Have a nice trip…and…"

"I know…I know…take good care of her." Robert interrupted her. "I will, I promise. Take care."

Tears immediately brimmed her eyes. "That's why she wanted me to stay with her tonight."

Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her heart. Just a couple days ago, she was trying to avoid the blonde. But so many things happened since then. Knowing that she'll never be able to see her again, she felt the urge to cry. She just can't let her leave like this. Holding in her tears, she went to her bedroom to pack some clothing items and necessities. Before leaving the apartment, she left a note to Scud, telling him she had some things to do and won't be back tonight.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Standing in front of Alyson's hotel room, Lucy knocked on the door and waited patiently for the blonde to open the door. As soon as the door opened, Lucy quickly walked inside, locked the door and placed her bag down on the floor.

"Keira, what…are you doing here?" Alyson said as she watched the brunette's every movement.

Lucy reached out and held both of the blonde's hands firmly. "Why didn't you tell me you're leaving tomorrow?" Lucy asked in a gentle voice.

"How did you….Did Robert tell you?"

Lucy nodded. "What about your nightmares?"

Alyson reached out to cup her face and rubbed her cheek gently.

"Don't worry about me. I'm going to be fine. Like you said, I was never in danger, right?"

"Right" Lucy said softly. She stepped closer and hugged her tightly. "I'm going to miss you." She wanted to ask her to stay a little longer, but she knows she can't.

Without saying a word, Alyson placed a kiss on her head and held her firmly. She could tell that this time was different from the last time they departed because this time, she could feel that a part of the brunette did love her.

After a short moment, Alyson pulled back. "It's getting late. You should go."

Lucy shook her head. "I'm staying here tonight." She grabbed the bag and walked to the bathroom.

"But I thought you said…"

Lucy stopped and turned around.

"Did you notice anything different?" She pointed to her face. "It's cleared up."

"Oh…that's good…" Alyson frowned in confusion. "…but what does that mean?"

"It means the drugs in my system lost its effect. I'm going to get changed." Lucy closed the bathroom door and decided to take another shower since she went out. After she was done, she took a few deep breaths, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Okay, you have control now. Don't do anything." She pointed to herself in the mirror.

Once she opened the bathroom door, she saw Alyson lying on her side on the right side of the bed with her back facing her. Just like how she did all those days that they slept together, she left the bathroom light on and left the door slightly opened. Turning off all other lights, she walked back to her side of the bed and slid gently underneath the blanket. Her eyes moved from side to side, staring at the ceiling. Her hands clasped together, twiddling her thumbs. _Something's not right. _She was expecting the blonde to wrap her arms around her waist and put her head on her shoulder just like those 2 days they slept together. Letting out a sigh, she turned to her left side. Then she turned to right side. She did plan on coming here just to sleep, but she just couldn't.

"Alyson" She whispered.

There was no response.

"Are you sleeping?" She whispered.

There was no response again. She let out a big sigh and turned to lie on her left side. Unable to sleep, she turned again and saw Alyson smiling at her. Lucy smiled back and extended her right arm to motion her to put her head on her shoulder. Alyson moved closer and placed her head on the brunette's shoulder and hung her arm around the brunette's waist. _Now this feels right._

"Keira"

"hm"

"I'm sorry."

Lucy frowned in confusion. "For what?"

"…mm…for what happened earlier…I...should have stopped…when you said you didn't want to…"

"It's not your fault. The drinks were spiked."

Lucy believed that maybe if she had drank the cocktail that the bartender gave her, then that asshole wouldn't have spiked the drinks. Was it because she didn't show interest in him? Maybe that cocktail drink was also spiked. Guess she'll never know.

"It's my fault. I couldn't control myself. I'm sorry." She had no idea why the blonde brought this up again.

Alyson lifted her head up to look at the brunette.

"No…it's not your fault. It was entirely mine. So don't think you took advantage of me. You didn't."

Lucy frowned in confusion again.

Embarrassed about what she was about to say, Alyson hid her face into the crook of her neck and mumbled into it. "There's no.t.n...mmdrin . ."

"Okay." Lucy said.

"Okay?" Alyson lifted her head up. That wasn't the response she was expecting.

"Okay." Lucy repeated. Since the blonde's leaving tomorrow, it doesn't matter why she said it's her fault.

"You have no idea what I just said. Do you?"

Lucy shook her head.

Alyson let out a big sigh and spoke more clearly, resting her head on the brunette's shoulder.

"She…didn't find anything wrong with me. My drink…wasn't...spiked."

Stunned silent, Lucy stayed still, staring at the ceiling, with her mouth slightly opened, surprised with the blonde's confession. Now everything was clear. She had wondered why Alyson came out of the doctor's office so fast and why her face wasn't red like hers. The thought of taking advantage of her under the influence of drugs made her feel really terrible even though the blonde didn't seem to mind at all. But she minded because that damn drink almost got her into trouble. Now that she learned that Alyson wasn't under the influence and had allowed her to touch her, Lucy didn't feel as bad. She realized how much the blonde really loved her.

Not hearing any response or getting any kind of reaction from the brunette, Alyson spoke again.

"Did you...hear me?"

"mm hm."

Alyson hovered over the face.

"I just want you to know that you didn't take advantage of me. You didn't do anything I didn't let you do."

Lucy looked deeply into her eyes. "I understand."

Alyson let out a smile and leaned in to kiss her cheek. She shifted back to her previous position, placing her head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

It took a lot of courage for the blonde to admit that she allowed it to happen under her own free will. She didn't have to since they won't be seeing each other again. She just wanted the brunette to feel less guilty about it even though technically they didn't do anything.

"Alyson" Lucy turned to look at her.

"I know. You don't have to say it. That drink made you…"

"No, it's not what you think. The doctor said it increased one of my hormone level and decrease another hormone level..serotonin..or something…she said it just…umm..enhances…it…"

"enhance what?"

Lucy hesitated.

"She thinks it has the same effect as a libido enhancer."

"A what enhancer?"

Lucy rolled her eyes, realizing that the blonde is too young and inexperienced to even know what that word means.

"sex drive"

"You're kidding?" Alyson chuckled then burst out laughing.

Lucy waited for her to stop laughing before speaking.

"It's not something that makes me want to have sex with just anyone. Do you understand what I'm saying?" _God, I don't even know what I'm saying. _But it doesn't matter. She just wanted to make the situation less embarrassing for the blonde.

"So you're saying that you thought about making love to me but you wouldn't actually do it because you know it's wrong, but that damn drink made you do it without thinking of consequences…sort of like getting drunk…except you're not."

Lucy immediately jerked back. "**No**…that's not what I meant. I never thought about…doing it…with you. I just meant that…"

"Keira, I can see it on your face when you saw me naked."

Lucy immediately covered her eyes with her hand and turned her head away from the blonde.

"I just thought you were…hot…That's all."

Letting out a little chuckle, Alyson lifted the brunette's hand away from her eyes.

"I think you're hot too." She said as she stared at the brunette's body from top to bottom. "You know what. Since you saw me naked, I think it's only fair that I get to see you naked."

Without waiting for a response, Alyson quickly lifted the blanket off both of them and tried to take off the brunette's short sleeve shirt.

"Wait!…no!…no!…no!" Lucy said loudly as she tried to hold down her shirt. She couldn't exactly tell where the blonde's hands were from the dim lighting in the room. When she tried to hold down her shirt, she felt Alyson's hands trying to pull down her pajamas shorts. Lucy quickly held her shorts with one hand and the shirt with her other hand.

"I just want to see." Alyson yelled. "You saw mine."

"I didn't mean to."

Alyson struggled to lift up her shirt and Lucy was struggling to keep it down. It's not like she could see anyway since it's so dim in the room.

"I don't care. You even touched mine."

"Well, you let me."

"it's not fair I didn't get to see or touch."

"No…." Lucy sat straight up and bent her legs.

Both were sitting up on the bed. Alyson pouted her lips and tried to think of a way to persuade the brunette to allow her to see her in all her glory.

"How about a game of strip poker?" Alyson asked.

"We only have 3 pieces of clothing on. It doesn't work."

"Loser takes it all off. Deal?"

Lucy was stunned silent after hearing that word. Image of Kristin flashed in front of her.

"Well, are you chickening out?"

Lucy frowned and narrowed her eyes at her.

"Me…chicken? Ha! There's one thing you don't know about me…I …"

"yea..yea..yea" Alyson said as she rolled her eyes. "Deal or no deal?"

"Deal!" Lucy said as she shook her hands.

Since they each have 3 pieces of clothing on, they played 3 games and it only took less than 10 minutes. Lying under the sheets, Alyson gripped the sheets tightly holding it above her chest with one hand while holding the sheets down with the other, trying to prevent the brunette from peeking underneath it. Lying next to the blonde, Lucy lay on her side, supporting her head with her hand, leaning on her elbow. Holding the blonde's shorts, underwear, and shirt in her hand, Lucy smiled wide at the blonde. They had turned on both lamps near the bed before the game started.

"When are you going to come out of there and let me see?" Lucy said teasingly and flashed her diamond smile.

"When you turn off all the lights." Alyson was pissed that her plan backfired. She lost all 3 games.

"Did I tell you I started playing poker when I was 8?"

Alyson snapped her head in her direction.

"Now you tell me!"

Lucy shrugged. "Here's a tip for you. Never underestimate your opponent and never suggest something you're not good at."

Alyson let out a puff of air, frustrated that she lost. She grabbed the blanket and wrapped herself with it and walked towards the bathroom. Lucy chuckled to herself after she closed the door. After a short moment, Alyson came out of the bathroom while Lucy was resting on the bed with her eyes closed.

"Hey" Alyson said softly with a smile, bending down next to her.

Lucy opened her eyes and saw that Alyson had wrapped herself with a bath towel.

"I just remembered something."

Lucy sat up and leaned her back against the pillows.

"You still owe me." Alyson said as she sat on the edge of the bed next to her.

"No I don't. I already took you to the gondola." Lucy said calmly.

Alyson shook her head.

"Remember I said 'Are you asking me for a for a favor?' You said yes. Then I said 'and' and you said you'll make it up to me…whatever you want_….._2 things." She held up 2 fingers.

"Yes. I took you shopping after the gondola ride."

"That doesn't count."

"Sure it does. 2 things. Gondola ride and shopping."

Alyson angrily stood up, holding her towel up. "No it doesn't."

"Okay, then you can have your clothes back." Lucy handed her clothing.

Alyson shook her head. "I don't want my clothing. I…want…you…to…strip." Alyson said in a gentle voice, smiling wide.

Lucy immediately jerked back. "No way! Just take your clothes and we can call it even."

Alyson huffed angrily.

"Sorry, but you're not going to get to see me naked. Now c'mon, put your clothes on."

Alyson was going to give up. She reached out and grabbed the brunette's shirt and tried to lift it up, but stopped by Keira's fast hands, grabbing her wrists. "uh uh uh" the brunette said, shaking her head as she smiled.

Failed at her attempt to take the brunette's shirt off, Alyson angrily snatched her clothing and stomped her way to the bathroom.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy was expecting the blonde to be upset with her for not keeping her promises, but instead she slid back into bed, snuggling closer to her as if what just happened didn't.

"Keira" Alyson said in a gentle voice.

"hm"

"Can you tell me more about yourself?"

"Just between you and me?" Lucy wanted her to know that whatever she said about herself, she shouldn't tell anyone, not even her closest friends.

"Just between you and me." Alyson assured her.

Lucy gave her a general description of the company she owns. Alyson wasn't surprised because she herself being younger than the brunette owned several companies and many real estate properties.

"I have a question…..If you have your own private jet, then…why did you go on that plane that day?" Lucy asked.

"It wasn't ready and I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible."

Lucy remembered that she broke up with her boyfriend several hours ago before boarding the plane. If anyone would know how Alyson felt at that moment, it would be her. She went to Reyjavik after being dumped by her ex.

_I'm glad I did. _Alyson thought to herself. "What else?"

Lucy pondered for a moment. What else could she tell the blonde? When they were up in the plane, she already told her about her past relationships. She certainly can't tell her about what she used to do. Lucy thought of something and immediately jumped out of bed. She turned on all the lights and motioned the blonde to get up. "Come here."

"Why?"

Lucy walked over to the bed and pulled her up and led her to the middle of the room.

"I want to show you some self defense techniques. Have you taken any self-defense classes? "

Alyson shook her head.

"none?"

Alyson shook her head again.

"Okay, let's pretend I'm one of your exes."

"Keira…" Alyson rolled her eyes.

"Just pretend…okay?…Now let's pretend if I grab you from behind."

After taking a half an hour teaching her some of the basic techniques that involve striking the attacker at his most vulnerable areas, eyes, ears, throat, penis, and so forth, they went back to bed.

"There's one more I need to show you."

"Keira, I'm tired." She lied. She just didn't want to do it anymore.

"C'mon, this one is very important. We can do this here."

Lucy said as she lifted the blanket up. Lucy pretended to be the one being attacked. Lying down on the bed, she instructed the blonde to slide herself between her legs and pressed her shoulders, pinning her down.

"Focus!" Lucy yelled at the blonde when she noticed her eyes looking at her chest.

"Sorry."

"Now this is what I'll do. Instead of pushing you away, I'm going to grab your neck like this and pull you down to my chest."

Alyson immediately felt embarrassed when her face touched the brunette's breasts.

"Are you listening?"

"mm hmmm" Alyson mumbled shyly against the center of her chest.

"Now I'm going to use my legs to secure your hips and then I'm going to slide my hands to the side of your head and use the thumbs to drive into your eye sockets, while pushing your head away. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Now I'm going to release my left hand and do this." Lucy wrapped her hand around one of her hands.

"I'm going to release my legs and slide the knee under you and do this." Lucy used the scissor sweep to roll her over. Alyson was extremely surprised on how she was able to flip her over.

"I'm to going squeeze your throat and punch you as hard as I can. Once he covers up, you run away. You got that?" Lucy said seriously.

"okay."

"Okay, one more time and then you try." Lucy repeated one more time before letting the blonde try. She was extremely surprised that the blonde could remember all the steps after just showing her 2 times.

"That's very good. You have a good memory." Lucy said.

"Thank you. I have to…you know for my songs and dance moves when I'm performing."

Lucy nodded in understanding.

"One more time?" Alyson asked.

Lucy nodded, happy to see that the blonde was interested. She slid herself between the blonde's legs and pressed on her shoulders. As instructed, Alyson grabbed her neck and pulled her head down to her chest and rolled on top of her. Then she grabbed her throat and instead of pretending to punch her face, she leaned in to kiss her lips. Her body pressed against the brunette's. When she felt the brunette kissing her back, she slowly slid her hands under her shirt and ….

"Nice try." Lucy said as she grabbed onto the blonde's wrist, stopping her from touching her breast. Alyson let out a small laugh when she failed at her attempt once again. She lay back down on the brunette's shoulder and pretended as if nothing happened.

"How long have you been doing this?"

"…many many years…promise me…when you go back home, find time to get some training…"

"I promise."

It was getting very late. There was a moment of silence. Each thought the other must have fallen asleep until Alyson suddenly jumped off the bed and turned on the desk light.

"What's the matter?" Lucy asked, surprised at the blonde's sudden movement. Without responding to the brunette, Alyson took a notebook from inside her luggage, sat down on the chair and started writing. Seeing the blonde in deep concentration, Lucy stayed silent. Her tired eyes spontaneously closed and her head fell heavily back onto the pillow. Half an hour passed by, Alyson turned around and saw that the brunette had fallen asleep. Without turning the lights off, she tiptoed towards the bed and gently climbed on it. Carefully lifting the blanket up from the brunette, she reached out, slowly lifting the brunette's shirt, showing her smooth tan toned body little by little…her small smile getting wider as she was about to …"AAHHH!" She screamed in her high-pitched voice, startled by the brunette suddenly gripping her wrist.

"Stop that." Lucy opened her heavy eyes.

"How did you do that? " Holding her chest, Alyson breathed in and out slowly to calm her rapidly beating heart.

"Years of practice."

_Damn it!_ She cursed for getting caught again. She walked back to the desk and turned off the light and slid comfortably back into bed.

Lucy was curious to know what she was doing before. She learned that the blonde had a habit of jotting down ideas for her songs whenever she gets them. There was a moment where she wanted to confess on how she remembered the words to the song but decided not to. _There's_ _no harm in letting her think that she's not the only one with a good memory._

"Let's go to sleep." Lucy said softly.

"Wait." Alyson said and jumped off the bed. She turned on the lamp and got something out of her bag.

"Turn around." Alyson asked.

"Why?"

"Just do it." Lucy turned around, her front facing the bed. When she felt her shirt being lifted up on her back, she turned around.

"Can you stop that?" Lucy said, thinking that the blonde was trying to see her naked breast.

"I just want to put some ointment on your back." Alyson said, showing her the antibiotic ointment she has in her hand. "It'll heal faster."

"Oh...okay." Lucy turned around and allowed her to lift up her from the back.

After rubbing the ointment in all of the scrapes, scratches, and injured areas, Alyson slid back into bed and once again rested her head on her shoulder and hung her hand around her waist. Both closed their eyes and tried to fall asleep.

With Keira's constantly sighing out loud, Alyson could tell that she couldn't sleep.

"Maybe I should …" Alyson said as she tried to move away from the brunette.

"No." Lucy stopped her from moving away. She wanted this night to be just like all those other nights they slept together. This night will be their last. Lucy closed her eyes and after a moment, she heard Alyson singing the song that she heard during her performance. It was the calm, relaxing song that tells about how a person changed because of meeting a special someone. Listening to her beautiful soft voice, it only took a short moment for Lucy to drift off to sleep. Later, Alyson herself stopped singing when exhaustion took over, sending her to a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

10AM Friday morning

Both were awoken by the sound of the alarm that Alyson had set the previous night. Having fallen asleep so late on the night before, they managed to sleep through breakfast even though their stomachs were growling.

"Good morning." Lucy said as she looked at the blonde, resting on her shoulder.

Without responding, Alyson quickly got up and ran to the bathroom.

"Okaaayyy…" Lucy smiled when she realized that the blonde must be holding it for a long time.

Later, Alyson peeked out the bathroom door.

"Do you need to go before I take a shower?"

Lucy shook her head. Feeling very hungry, Lucy decided to order a romantic breakfast in bed while Alyson was taking a shower. She just hoped that Robert doesn't knock on the door at this moment.

_Knock. Knock. _"Damn it!" She tiptoed towards the door and looked through the peephole. It was Robert. She stood still, hoping that Robert would go away. After Robert stopped knocking, Alyson's phone rang. After a short moment, the phone stopped ringing and she saw that Robert had left. After the blonde came out of the bathroom, she began to pack her things.

"What time's the flight?" Lucy asked.

"One...Let's stay here until 12."

Knowing that the blonde wanted to spend as much time with her as she can, Lucy nodded in agreement. Since check out time in the hotel is 12 and the hotel was very close to the airport, it worked out perfectly.

Lucy headed to the bathroom. "I ordered breakfast already and Robert was looking for you. Could you call him back and give him an excuse…I don't want him to know I'm here?" She said before closing the door.

The time is getting near. They will soon go on their separate ways. Putting her face under the hot shower, Lucy closed her eyes and allowed memories of the time she spent with the Alyson flowed into her mind. The memory of how Alyson shrieked when she saw the multilegged insect on her towel brought a smile to her face. Her scream was so cute and so funny, screaming like a little girl. Lucy could not help herself from laughing out loud.

"Yup, it sounds just like that." She said when she heard a scream from outside. Her eyes opened wide when she realized that Alyson was actually screaming outside.

"Oh shit!"She quickly got out of the shower and wrapped herself with a towel. When she opened the door, she saw Alyson standing and pointing to her luggage as she screamed uncontrollably in her high-pitched voice. With one hand holding the towel above her chest, she walked rapidly to see what she's pointing at. Lucy rolled her eyes when she saw that it was only a spider. The blonde stopped screaming after Lucy got rid of the 8 legged creature.

"Sorry…I just…hate..."

"no worries" Lucy said, standing in front of the blonde. "Are you okay?"

"mm hmm" Seeing how wet her face, hair, and her shoulders were, Alyson couldn't help but stared at the brunette's body from top to bottom. Even though the brunette wrapped herself with a towel, it was still a pretty sight to look at.

Noticing the movement of the blonde's eyes, Lucy smiled at the blonde's actions and walked back to the bathroom. Then she stopped at the door. Before walking inside, she turned around and saw that Alyson was still looking at her.

"Hey, don't say I didn't keep my promise." She unwrapped her towel and allowed the blonde to see her in all her glory…for just 3 seconds. Alyson's jaws immediately dropped and her eyes opened wide like a deer caught in the headlights.

"1..2…3…" Lucy counted and tossed the towel over the blonde's face before closing the bathroom door.

"That'll get rid of her nightmares." Lucy said to herself and headed back to taking her shower.

Back inside the room, Alyson was still standing in her previous position, holding the towel. _Oh… my… god!_ With the image of the brunette's naked body still fresh in her mind, she realized that Keira definitely had a more sexy body than hers.

When Lucy came out of the bathroom, she noticed that Alyson was still standing there, unmoved from before. _You've got to be kidding me._ She was unsure why the blonde was still standing there.

"Hello…Alyson…"

Lucy walked towards her and snapped her fingers to bring her back to reality.

"Didn't you hear the door knock?"

Expecting the hotel staff to be here with the breakfast in bed, she walked past the stunned still blonde and took out some money. She made sure it wasn't Robert first before opening the door.

"Breakfast is here." Lucy said as she pushed the cart over to the table.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Alyson finally managed to get herself together and sat down on the chair across from the brunette. Her jaws dropped again when she saw the setup on the table. There was a small vase of red roses in the center of the table with a lighted candle on each side. All the window curtains were closed to make the room darker. This was set up like a romantic dinner…a romantic breakfast.

"Did you call Robert yet?" Lucy asked.

Hypnotized by the sight of the brunette's nude body earlier, she totally forgot about it.

"I'll call him now." Alyson quickly got up and called Robert, telling him she'll meet in the restaurant downstairs at 12. Hopefully, that will prevent him from interrupting them. Seeing how romantic the atmosphere was, there was just one thing missing. Music. Alyson had a lot of songs in her cell phone and she knew just the right one to play at this moment. With soft music playing, candles flickering in the dim room, both gazed silently at each other.

"You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet." Alyson spoke softly.

Lucy shrugged. What Lucy wanted to say was she would cook for the girl if she really wanted to impress her, but that wasn't what she was trying to do here.

Lucy poured her a cup of coffee. "Cream and sugar?" Alyson nodded.

After pouring herself a cup of coffee, Lucy raised her cup. "Cheers."

Alyson smiled and clinked her cup against hers.

"I hope you like what I ordered for you."

Lucy lifted the cover. "Vegetable omelette?"

"I love it."

Lucy lifted the cover on her own plate. She ordered herself a meat lovers special, ham, sausage, steak omelette with mushroom, peppers and onions, hash brown, fried potatoes, and bacon.

"Let's eat." Lucy said.

Alyson dropped her jaws when she saw what was on Keira's plate. She glanced at her own plate and then glanced at the brunette's. After taking a few bites of her omelette, she put her fork and knife down.

"You're not going to eat all of that, are you?"

"mm hmmm…I'm starving." Lucy said, without looking at the blonde and continued eating.

"Can I…have some?"

Lucy looked up and saw that Alyson only took a few bites of her vegetable omelette.

"This is fattening. You shouldn't eat this stuff. Those reporters are going to say bad things about you if you start gaining weight."

"I don't care. Just a little…please."

"Are you sure?"Alyson nodded repeatedly like a dog was about to get his food.

Lucy asked her to hand her fork over and used her fork to pick up one small piece of fried potato.

"Here you go…open wide…" Lucy said as she extended her hand with the fork to feed her as if she's a baby.

"I can do it myself."

Alyson reached for the fork and Lucy immediately pulled back.

"No…no…no…Do it my way or you're not getting any." Lucy said teasingly.

Alyson narrowed her eyes at her. Since there was nothing she could do, she opened wide and allowed Keira to feed her as if she was a little girl, one bite after another. At first, she thought this was totally ridiculous, but after the 5th bite, she found the brunette to be extremely adorable and romantic. With her elbows propped on the table, she leaned her chin against the palms of her hands. Locking her eyes on the brunette, she opened wide each time food was fed to her. After a moment, Lucy stood up and extended her hand out.

"Let's walk it off."

"What?" Alyson said softly, not understanding what she's talking about.

"You ate too much." Lucy said.

Alyson looked at the plate and realized that she ate all of the potatoes, ham and egg.

"But I'm still hungry."

"No, you're not. It takes 20 minutes for the signal from your stomach to let your brain know it's full. C'mon. Trust me." Lucy said as she pulled the blonde up and led her to a few steps away from the table.

Standing in front of the blonde, Lucy gazed into her beautiful hazel eyes for a moment before reaching out to hold the side of her hips and stepping closer to her. Alyson quickly realized what Keira was thinking off. She put her hands on the brunette's shoulder and they began dancing slowly to the music. After dancing for 15 minutes, Lucy broke the silence.

"Are you…going to be okay?" Lucy said softly.

"I'm… going to be… fine." Alyson pulled back. "All I have to do is think about the good things that came out of it, right? "

"Right." Lucy whispered.

Both kept on dancing as they spoke.

"The best thing…that came out of it…is meeting you." She leaned in to give her a kiss.

Touched by her loving words, Lucy pulled her closer and reciprocated the kiss with equal fervor. Alyson pulled back and leaned her forehead against the brunette's.

There was no future for them. But at this moment, Lucy doesn't want to see her go. She could hear it now from Scud. Once again, she had allowed her emotions cloud her judgment. "Can you…stay a little longer?"

Tears immediately brimmed the blonde's eyes, she smiled, knowing that the brunette wanted her to stay.

"…I can't…we can't…"

Lucy closed her eyes and immediately felt like an ass for asking, knowing that she couldn't return the same love that the blonde felt for her.

Alyson hugged her tightly. "Let's just do this. I want to remember this…this moment before I leave."

Holding each other closely, both kept their eyes closed while dancing slowly. Their bodies pressed so close together, each could feel the others' heartbeats pounding rapidly. Unaware that neither of them had their eyes opened, their movement inadvertently brought them closer to the bed. Both yelped when Lucy accidentally hit the back of her knee against the edge of the bed, causing her to fall back, pulling the blonde with her. When both realized what just happened, both smiled at each other. Lucy shifted her body up on the bed and the blonde, without hesitation, moved on top of her. With her head resting on the brunette's chest, Alyson closed her eyes, smiling and listening to the rhythm of the brunette's heartbeat. Lucy wrapped her warm arms around the blonde and closed her eyes, relishing the moment. This brought back a lot of memories. This was similar to the position they were in when the blonde fell on top of her on the plane.

"Keira."

"hmmm"

"You…still have no idea who I am, do you?"

"Sure…I…do."

Alyson's head shot up and hovered over her face. "You do?"

All this time, she thought the brunette had no idea. _Maybe she finally realized when I performed for her._

Lucy slowly reached out to cup her face. "You're kind, you're gentle, you're caring, considerate, thoughtful. You…are a megastar to others. But you'll always be Alyson to me."

Hearing those genuine sweet words from the brunette, she couldn't help herself from giving the brunette a heartfelt kiss before leaning her head back against her chest.

"You forgot one more thing."

"what's that?"

"You forgot to say I'm hot."

Lucy let out a small laugh. "Yes…you are…."

Thinking of nothing else except the blonde on top of her, she held her more tightly.

"Alyson"

Lying comfortably on top of the brunette, Alyson smiled sweetly with her eyes closed and responded. "hmmmmm…."

"Promise me…don't let them change you."

Alyson stayed silent and allowed her to continue.

"your career…if you find that things aren't working out…just leave…do something else…don't let them change who you are."

With a questioning look, Alyson looked up and rolled off the brunette and shifted next to her. Leaning on her side, she gazed at the tan woman and listened intently.

"A long time ago, I read an article in a magazine. It was about a sweet, innocent, young, talented…newcomer….actress…she's **extremely** beautiful…gorgeous…hot…sexy…cute…glamorous…"

"Keira…I get it…she's beautiful…please continue…."

"sorry…anyways…she had a lot of photo shoot offers from different magazines and she made a lot of money….I'm not sure how much…."

Alyson waited patiently for her to get to the point.

"The problem was…her acting wasn't good enough, so the only offers she got was to play as bimbos in these ridiculous movies. So…to make more money and get herself noticed, she signed a deal with this famous magazine that everyone knows about…everyone…a lot of female celebrities wanted to be on the cover of it..."

"okay…it's a popular magazine…go on…"

"then at the photoshoot, she saw…a bed and the skimpy clothes she had to wear….she didn't expect that kind of photoshoot…she got scared and she cried in front of all those people…"

"Then what did she do?"

"She refused and the company sued her."

Alyson gasped.

"but later they made a deal and they allowed her to wear…not-so revealing clothing…so she took them…and she became popular."

"so your point izzzzz…?" Alyson said, confusion all over her face.

"It's a playboyish magazine. So it revealed more than she wanted to…yes…she got popular…yes…she made a lot of money…but then she started taking roles that require…" She hesitated for a short moment. "…nudity."

Finally realizing what the brunette was trying to say, she looked deeply into her eyes and cupped her face.

"Keira…I'm already popular… I have enough money to buy my own plane…I'm a singer…I only take small roles that I'm interested in…and ….I'm…not…her."

Lucy took her hands away from her face. She hate to say this. In the entertainment business, someone could be famous for a few years and then be completely forgotten as time goes by.

"But things can happen…you're not always going to be popular…and.." Lucy stopped when she felt warm fingers on her lips.

Alyson brushed the brunette's bangs away from her eyes. "I know."

"Whatever happens, I promise…I will always be the same Alyson." She said as she looked into those mesmerizing brown eyes.

"so no skimpy clothing?"

"no..." Alyson shook her head.

"no roles that require any kind of nudity?"

"no…"

"no nude photos?"

"no"

"You promise?"

Alyson leaned in and placed a long and slow kiss on her lips to assure her.

"I promise."

"okay"

Seeing that the brunette was finally convinced, Alyson placed her head back on her chest. They lay there silently with their eyes closed, both bodies relaxed against each other as if they have all the time in the world. But it was quite the opposite. Neither of them wanted to look at the time. Neither of them wanted to acknowledge Alyson's phone as it rings. Not until the hotel phone started to ring, Alyson could not ignore the distracting sound any longer. She reached her hand out and picked up the call.

"Hello…okay…give me 15 minutes." Alyson slowly hung up the phone.

Lying on top of the brunette, hovering over her face, she could see the brunette watching her every movement.

"I have to go." She whispered.

Lucy closed her eyes for a second and nodded. The time has finally come to say goodbye. Alyson took a moment to look at the brunette one more time, tracing the outline of her face with her finger, memorizing every detail, especially her attractive intense brown eyes that captivated her the very first moment she saw her. She quickly stood up and turned around as a tear was about to escape from the corner of her eyes. Not wanting the brunette to see her cry, she walked over to pack the rest of her things in her luggage while secretly brushing her tears away. When finally done, she walked over to the door, pulling the wheeled luggage behind her. She was afraid to turn around. She was afraid that if she did, she wouldn't be able to resist the brunette's request to stay a little longer. Standing in front of the door with her back facing the brunette, she closed her eyes. _How can I leave like this? _Even though she succeeded in letting Keira know how she felt about her, even though Keira was no longer avoiding her, she felt something was missing but she didn't know what. She can't just leave like this. Letting out a deep breath, she turned around and was completely startled when she saw Keira standing right in front of her. _How did she do that?_

"Keira" She looked up and closed her eyes. _What should I say?_ "I…I…" She opened her eyes when she heard the brunette's voice.

"Alyson"

In front of her face was a small purple jewelry box with a ribbon on top.

"I want you to have this."

Without even opening the box to see what is inside, tears of joy welled up in her eyes, surprised that the brunette bought her a gift.

"Go ahead, open it."

With shaking fingers, she opened the lid and gasped as she saw glittering diamonds shining at her. It was a pair of earrings, a heart shaped filled with diamonds with wings attached. She was in awe of what she saw. It wasn't the diamonds that captivated her attention. She had seen bigger diamonds and she owned jewelries that were more expensive. It was the meaning behind the gift that left her speechless.

"Do you like it?" Lucy knew the answer already when she saw the flabbergasted look on her face.

Trying to hold in her tears, Alyson immediately hugged her tightly. "I love it. I love it."

"Do you understand why I chose this?"

Alyson nodded into her shoulder. "I know. I know."

"This is the closest thing I could find." Lucy whispered into her ear as she tightened the embrace. "I just want you to know…you…will always have a piece of my heart."

And this was what was missing.

Lucy had initially bought this for Alexis. Since she found out that Alyson was leaving last night, she decided to give it to her instead.

Both pulled away at the same time and leaned in to give each other one last unforgettable kiss.

* * *

**Chapter 20: Chapter 20**

* * *

Chapter 20

Yesterday

After arriving to the nearest hospital, Michel had been praying, crying, worrying nonstop, pacing back and forth in the waiting room, anxiously waiting for the surgeons to come out. Police arrived to the hospital to ask questions, but he ignored them. Two hours later, after getting good news from the surgeon regarding Alexis, he closed his eyes and thanked the Lord and his deceased mother for watching over her. He immediately called Ashley to let her know that her sister was okay without giving her the details of what really happened. The truth would be too much for a little kid to handle.

There was one more person to worried about, his beloved Kristin whose injury was much worse. He hoped that the bullet didn't penetrate her stomach. If it did, there was no way she could survive it since it took more than 15 minutes for them to get to the hospital. Stomach acids and bile would poison her system. It's been 4 hours already and the surgeon still has not yet come out. His face began to turn pale and sweat formed on his forehead. Clasping his trembling hands together and kneeling down with both knees on the floor in the waiting room, he closed his eyes and prayed for the one he loves. Another hour passed and the surgeon finally came out.

He could tell from the surgeon's face that it wasn't good news. He swallowed hard and stayed silent to let the surgeon speak. "I'm sorry… "

His heart skipped a few beats. A cold shiver coursed through his body and his whole body started to tremble. Sweat dripped from his forehead and into his eyes. He saw the surgeon's lips moving but he couldn't hear anything else after the second word except the pulsating heartbeat drumming in his ear.

Shocked and unsure of what he just heard, he asked again in weak voice. "What…"

"I'm so sorry… We couldn't save her…She lost too much blood…"

The surgeon jerked back, startled by Michel's sudden outburst.

"No No NO!…" Shaking his head, he screamed as he stepped away from the surgeon, not wanting to believe what he just heard. Tears immediately sprang from his eyes. "You're lying!…You're lying!.."

"I'm sorry…we tried…"

When the surgeon tried to explain what happened, Michel screamed louder, not wanting to hear the reason.

Unable to control his emotions, he turned around and punched the wall behind him with his clenched fist repeatedly. He was angry, not at the doctor who couldn't save her, but at his father.

Jehan, the other person in the waiting room, quickly ran towards him and tried to stop him from hurting himself.

"NO! Get away from me!" He shouted angrily as he flung his arms loose from Jehan's hold. Moving away from him, he grabbed a chair and threw it against the wall, then grabbed another and did the same. Nurses stood at the door to see what was going on.

"Michel, stop!" Jehan was shocked at his boss's actions. He had never seen him act this way before.

Two hospital male staff came running inside the waiting room and grabbed hold of Michel's arms, stopping him from doing further damage. As he tried to struggle free, veins popped out from his neck. Unable to get loose this time, he collapsed on the floor as the feeling of grief overwhelmed him. "NOOOO! She's not dead…she's not…" He cried out in disbelief as his tears uncontrollably ran down his face. "KRISTIN! NO!" He yelled so loud, his voice echoed inside and outside of the room. After a moment of continuous screaming and struggle, his eyes closed involuntarily, his weak body sagged onto the floor as exhaustion, sorrow, and shock overwhelmed him, causing him to pass out.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Friday morning Paris

Having slept through the whole night after a 2-hour surgery, Alexis woke up, crying and screaming with a lot of pain in her wounded leg, waking up her father who was sleeping on the bed next to hers.

Startled by his daughter's scream, Michel quickly jumped off the hospital bed and hugged her tightly. "Alexis! It's okay. It's okay. You're safe now. Ssshh…"

After a few seconds of looking around, she realized where she was as the memory of yesterday's painful ordeal slowly flashed back into her mind.

"Where's grandpa? Is Grandpa okay?" Alexis asked in a worried tone.

Michel was stunned hearing those words. _How could she still worry about his safety after what her grandfather did?_

Not hearing a response from her father, she asked again.

"He's okay." Michel learned from Jehan that his father went to his private hospital for his minor injury on his shoulder. One of the bullets had scraped the skin of his upper arm.

Hearing the good news, her heartbeat started to calm down and her breathing began to normalize. She felt fortunate after learning that the bullet passed through her thigh without hitting any of her major arteries or bone, but felt uncomfortable, knowing that the guy who held her hostage didn't survive. After taking some painkillers and having something to eat, she listened intently to what her father had to say.

"The police will be here to ask you questions about what happened. I want you to tell them exactly what happened." He was afraid that Alexis would try to lie to the police to protect her grandfather.

"Do you believe him? Do you believe that Grandpa did all of those things?" Having been out of the country for a few years for college and spending very little time with her grandfather, she had no idea what kind of man his grandfather is.

Michel doesn't want to believe that his father could do those things. But having heard Ethan confessed about the kidnapping and something that he learned from Alexis' mother a month ago, he realized that he doesn't know his father at all.

"Whatever he did, he needs to be responsible. Let the police handle it."

Michel reached out to hold her cold hand.

"Don't tell anyone about this. Not Jehan, not Ashley, no one."

"What about Kristin?" Alexis felt his father squeezing her hand tightly. She looked down and noticed blood seeping through the bandage around his hand.

"What happened to your hand?"

Michel hesitated and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Alexis….Kristin…she's…" He swallowed hard, trying to control the tears from running down his face again. "She's…hurt…she was outside the door and…one of the bullets hit her abdomen."

Alexis gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.

"She…almost…didn't make it…" Michel spoke in a trembling voice as he sniffed back the tears. "She lost a lot of blood….She's in the ICU now…"

When Michel woke up from his brief moment of unconsciousness, he learned that Kristin's heart stopped beating for 45 minutes and suddenly showed signs of life when the nurses were preparing her to be seen by friends and relatives. Doctors and nurses were all stunned.

Knowing that her father was interested in Kristin, Alexis knew how he felt. It was like the time she heard about Keira's plane accident. It felt like the whole world just collapsed. Alexis wrapped her arms around her father and tried to comfort him.

"She's going to be okay. She's going to be okay."

"They said it was a miracle." He sobbed quietly on her shoulder.

As she was about to ask what her father told Ashley, there was a knock at the door.

Michel wiped his tears away before turning around.

"What are you doing in here?!" Michel yelled angrily at his father.

"I just want to see if she's alright." Benjamin said softly, looking at Alexis. He let out a small smile when he saw that she was sitting up on the bed.

"You don't care about her! You told him to do it!"

"Of course I care. Michel, I thought he was bluffing. I didn't know he…"

"Just stop! If you're here to tell me not to say anything to the police, then don't bother because I already told them everything. So don't pretend you care! Just leave!" Michel pointed at the door.

"Michel!" Benjamin shouted. "Please….I'm your father. I would never do anything to hurt you or your family."

As Michel clenched his fists, more blood seeped through his injured right hand. After taking a moment to control his anger, he slowly walked towards his father and stood in front of him.

"If you don't want to hurt me or my family, then just stay out of our lives…please." Michel spoke calmly.

All Benjamin wanted to do was for his son to come visit him once in a while now that his wife has passed away. But knowing what just happened, he knew that his son would never forgive him. Looking into his son's red teary eyes, he felt sorry that he had put his whole family in jeopardy. "I'm sorry." He said as he took an apologetic glance at his granddaughter, hoping that Alexis would understand that putting her in danger was not his intention.

As he was about to leave, Michel spoke.

"Take Jehan with you!"

His father's eyes opened wide, unsure of how and when his son knew about Jehan and his relationship.

"Michel…think about what you're doing. You need him."

Michel ignored his warning. Jehan has been his right hand man for many years. Without him, his businesses would not have run so smoothly. But his businesses were the last thing on his mind. Now that he knows that his father could be involved in illegal activities, he is afraid that Jehan might be involved as well. His family's safety is more important.

Unable to convince his son, Benjamin walked out the door and told Jehan who had been waiting outside to follow him.

Jehan too was surprised at how Michel found out. Sitting inside his black luxury car with beige leather seats and tinted windows guarded by the driver and 2 bodyguards, Benjamin immediately burst out in anger after the door closed.

"How could you let this happen?!"

There was nothing Jehan could say except apologize. "I'm sorry. We couldn't find him."

"How did he get into my house?"

"We're looking into that."

Huffing angrily, he clenched his fist and hit the side of the car. He wasn't afraid of what his son is going to say to the police since Ethan is already dead. This morning, he and his lawyer already went to the police station and told them that Ethan was just a burglar who got caught after they came back from the funeral. Even if Michel told them the truth, they wouldn't be able to prove anything.

"We've got his sister. What do you want us to do with them?"

Benjamin immediately felt a headache coming on and held his head. What can he do? He remembered the words from his dying wife asking him to stop. But how can he stop now? If he let them go, they will come back to seek revenge.

"What did he say?" Benjamin asked.

"He said he rather die."

"Stubborn fool! Tried to persuade them again and give them a one-way ticket to Iceland. Use his sister to persuade him. Give them 3 days to think about it. If he won't take it…..then….then…. " He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. "you know what to do." He hated to go that route, but they left him no choice.

* * *

"Did you really tell the police everything?" Alexis asked.

Michel shook his head. "Not yet."

"We don't know if he really did those things. That man could be lying." Alexis reasoned.

"Let the police figure it out." Michel said calmly. "I know you don't want him to get in trouble. But what if he did do those things?"

"But grandma wouldn't want us to do that…" She couldn't hold back her tears. She doesn't want her grandfather to get into trouble, yet at the same time, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself for lying.

Shocked at his daughter's words, he stared at her. Letting out a deep breath, he slowly sat back down. He felt that this was the right time to tell her the truth.

"Alexis, I ran into your mother a month ago. She told me the real reason why she divorced me, why she didn't come to visit you. It was because of my father…"

"What?" Alexis said, confusion all over her face.

"When we were still together, her father got caught stealing large sum of money in the company he worked for. The only one who could help him was my father. So he made a deal with her." Michel hesitated and closed his eyes for several seconds, blaming himself for not being able to protect the one he loved.

"He asked your mom to leave us…otherwise he won't help her father."

"Why? Why doesn't he like Mom?" Alexis said a little louder than before. Her anger started to build up.

"Because…he never wanted me to marry your mother, we were too young. He wanted your mother to get an abortion, but I refused. He…he wanted me to do everything he says…that's the kind of man he is…." Michel swallowed hard and sniffed back the tears. "He never liked you because that's when I started to disobey him."

Michel held her hand against his face. "I'm sorry…I didn't know…I thought she didn't love me anymore, so I let her go."

"I don't understand. Why didn't she tell you earlier? She could've told you and we could've been together as a family."

Michel shook his head and looked down on the bed. "Because…she was afraid that my father would do something to her parents, to her family. She wanted to see you, but she was afraid for the safety of her own family."

"He threatened her? But why would he do that?" She asked loudly.

"To prove that he was right…and that I was wrong. He wanted to make me see that I made the wrong choice of marrying her…He thought that I would start listening to him after he made your mother divorce me."

A shiver ran through her body and a sense of fear instilled in her as she slowly starts to realize what his grandfather was capable of.

"I'm sorry you have to grow up without your mother. Your mother loves you very much. I just want you to know that. It wasn't her fault." Michel said, letting his tears run down his cheeks.

Alexis nodded and realized why his father never liked his father. "I understand…and I just want you to know that even without Mom, I was happy growing up…because you and grandma made me very happy. So don't blame yourself."

Michel looked up and saw understanding in her eyes. "Did you…see her when you were in college? " Michel knew that the reason for Alexis to go to college in England instead of staying in Paris was to see her mother.

Alexis nodded.

"Did you speak with her?"

Alexis shook her head slowly. "I saw her with her family."

Not knowing if her mother would want to see her or if her mother even told her family about her, she didn't want to disrupt their lives.

"As long as she's happy, that's all I wanted to know." Alexis added.

"She wants to see you. I'll call her and …" Without thinking of the current situation they're in, Michel immediately picked up his cell phone.

"Papa…after I get better. I don't want her to see me like this."

Michel understood and was proud to have a such a mature and understanding person as his daughter who's only 23.

* * *

Friday Afternoon Venice

Lucy stood at the door, taking one last look inside the hotel room, to remember all the crazy, unpredictable things that happened with Alyson, someone whom she will never forget. She's gone for only ten minutes and she missed her already.

"Okay, get yourself together…there are a lot of things you have to do." She told herself, letting out a deep breath. The next thing on her mind was to look for the woman who disguised herself as Nadia. As she walked past the front desk, she stopped when the female receptionist called out.

"Your friend left something in the safe in her room. We tried to contact her but she didn't call back. Do you know how I could contact her?" The receptionist asked.

Lucy shook her head and wondered what was so important that woman forgot to take with her. After talking with the receptionist, she learned that 'Nadia' had forgotten her passport. This was getting even more odd. There was one more thing that she found out. That damn bartender was working yesterday only to replace the regular bartender who was sick. The manager who allowed him to work there was fired for not doing a thorough background check on him. It turned out that scumbag had previous convictions of drug trafficking. _Probably sexual assault too..._

* * *

Driving in Scud's rental car, they drove around the area where the taxi driver said he dropped off 'Nadia', hoping to find the girl walking around on the street. Driving for an hour already, Scud couldn't resist the urge to ask where she went last night.

"Alyson left." Lucy said.

"So you spent a night with her?" Scud said and Lucy immediately slapped his arm. "Hey! that's not what I meant."

Lucy rolled her eyes, realizing that she had overreacted with her oversensitive mind.

"Sorry…" Lucy said as she rubbed his arm. "She had to leave this morning."

"That's good! You won't see her again." Scud smiled.

"Yea…" Lucy said in a depressing tone and slumped her back against the seat and blew her bangs up.

Scud noticed that she wasn't too happy and wondered what happened since a couple of days ago, she was trying to avoid the blonde.

"You don't look too happy. Did something else happen?" Scud took a quick glance at her, then quickly focused back on the road.

"Everything's fine. Let's not talk about her."

Both stayed silent as they drove around for another half hour. As she was about to tell Scud to drive home, she got a call from Uncle Nick to meet him at the Sarah Sun Island.

"He said he's leaving today. He wants to see me before he leaves." Lucy said.

Alyson left this morning and now Uncle Nick's leaving. _This is going to be such a depressing day._ Lucy thought to herself.

* * *

From St. Mark's square, they rode on the vaporetto and got off at the 4th stop. There they saw a yacht called the Sarah Sun Island docked in a quiet area, waiting for them. As soon as they entered, they were greeted by Uncle Nick and the yacht was ready to go. Lucy, Scud, and Uncle Nick sat on a table on the deck of the yacht, admiring the serene sky and beautiful water views surrounding them. She learned that Uncle Nick had reserved the entire yacht for a day and there were only a few crews and three of his men on board.

"Where's your son?…Nathan?" Lucy asked.

"He's waiting for me at the airport."

Lucy nodded but didn't understand why he didn't bring his son along.

"He is a handsome young man." Lucy said.

"Just like me, right?" Uncle Nick joked and everyone laughed. "So Lucy, did you enjoy your present?"

"We **absolutely** loved it! It was amazing!" Scud elbowed Lucy. "Wasn't it?"

Lucy cleared her throat and put on a smile. "Yes. Thank you, Uncle Nick. But you shouldn't have. It was too much money."

"Don't be silly. I went there to donate and I noticed how you wanted it badly." Uncle Nick put down his drink and leaned forward. "Who was the performer? Was it that blonde with the long legs?"

"How did you know?" Scud asked. Lucy was also curious.

"Nathan said it could be her. He's a fan of hers."

Lucy and Scud looked at each other.

"Was that why you wanted it so badly because you knew it was her?" Uncle Nick asked in a fatherly tone, thinking that she might be interested in the performer.

Lucy looked away in embarrassment and cleared her throat. Scud noticed this and explained what happened, skipping out the details of how she got tricked into bidding.

She wondered what would happen if she didn't go to the blonde's performance. Would she have ran into Alyson again at the hotel? She probably would have since she had to go there to look for Nadia. It was like they were fated to meet each other. _Did we meet so that I could help her?_ For whatever reason, the Lord only knows. As the thought of Alyson screaming in her cute voice suddenly appeared in her mind, it brought a smile to her face and she didn't even notice that another yacht was nearby and someone else boarded the yacht.

Uncle Nick stood up to welcome the man. "Anthony." Uncle Nick said and offered his hand.

"Boss" Anthony said and took the offered hand and both hugged each other.

"Anthony…I'm not your boss anymore. Stop calling me that. Okay?"

"Okay boss" Anthony said and both laughed. Scud and Lucy joined in the laughter. Anthony reminded Lucy of Scud. Sometimes Scud still calls her 'Boss' for some reason.

Anthony shook Scud's hand and gave him a hug. He turned to Lucy and admired the beautiful brunette in front of him.

"Wow! It's been a long time. Lucy. Look at you! You've gotten even more beautiful…stunning!" He looked at her from top to bottom and up again.

Lucy extended her arms and expected him to come closer for a hug. As he walked closer, Lucy threw an unexpected punch to his chest but Anthony was quick to block it. Lucy then threw another punch aiming for his stomach and Anthony stepped away to avoid it. Then she moved one step forward and delivered a direct blow to his face with a front kick that Anthony blocked with his hands but the power of her kick caused him to move back two steps.

Both stood there in silence for a moment as the others watched to see what was going to happen next. Then both let out a laugh at the same and stepped closer to hug each other.

"I see you still got it." Anthony said as he pulled away from the hug.

"You're not too bad yourself." Lucy responded.

"All right, all right…are you two done showing off yet? The only one who's too old for this is me." Uncle Nick said.

Lucy and Anthony both raised their eyebrows and smiled at each other before sitting down. Anthony, 40 years old, dark hair, good looking, had been following Uncle Nick since he was a teenager. His loyalty to Uncle Nick was like Scud to Lucy.

Lucy and Scud wondered why Anthony was here. Knowing that Anthony is still involved in illegal activities, Scud took a look around to make sure no other boats were nearby.

"You must be wondering why Anthony is here today?" Uncle Nick said.

Both Lucy and Scud nodded.

"Are you in trouble, Anthony?" Lucy asked in a concerned voice.

Anthony took a glance at his boss and both let out a laugh. Lucy and Scud looked at each other, wondering what was so funny.

"No, but thank you for worrying about me. If I am, my lawyers will get me out of it."

"Lucy, Anthony here…made a name for himself in the states, Italy, France, China, Russia and a few other places. He's practically untouchable. He's doing much better than you and I."

"Really?" Lucy asked in surprise and stared at Anthony. "So why….?"

"Since I'll be leaving in a few hours and I wanted to meet with both of you before I leave, I thought we just get together here." Uncle Nick said.

"Well, we're happy for you, Anthony." Lucy said in a genuine tone.

Anthony raised his glass of wine and clinked it against everyone's glasses. While eating their lunch, they talked about the old times. Anthony did most of the talking since Lucy and Scud were interested in how he became so powerful that he got respect from mafias in several countries. After telling their story about how they lived in Paris, Lucy thought of something. She took out a picture from her bag and showed it to Anthony.

"Do you think you can have your men find her?"

She pointed to the picture of Nadia. She spent a few minutes explaining what happened to Nadia when she met her, about how she almost got kidnapped by 2 guys.

"Venice is a small place. That shouldn't be a problem. I'll let the guys know."

"Why do you need to find her?" Anthony asked out of curiosity.

Lucy blew her bangs up and let out a sigh.

"If it's personal, it's okay…you don't have to tell me." Anthony said when he saw her distressed look.

"Do you see what she's looking at?" Lucy asked and Anthony took a closer look.

After a short moment, he drew his brows together and suddenly let out a gasp. "Is that?…Is that..Amy?" He looked up at his boss. "I thought you said she's….." Anthony trailed off, not wanting to say the word in front of Lucy.

Uncle Nick took the picture and was also surprised when he saw the blonde DEB.

"What's going on, Lucy?"

"She's not Amy." Lucy explained how she got the picture from James and who Kristin is.

"So you want to find out from this woman why she's following her?" Anthony asked.

Lucy nodded.

"Are you sure she's not Amy? She looks exactly like her."

Lucy shook her head. "I wish she was."

Anthony patted her shoulder to comfort her.

Not wanting to ruin the mood for everyone, Lucy began talking about something else.

"So Anthony, how are you doing with your investments?"

"Good…in fact…It's doing great! I'm getting a high return every year."

"Every year?" Lucy asked.

"Every year." Anthony stated.

"Wow! You must have hired a group of geniuses or people from the future. We're not even doing that well." Scud said.

"Wait…" Lucy said, feeling something wasn't right. "Did you put all of your money into this one investment firm or multiple firms?"

"Well, let's just say I know someone and he recommended this firm to me." He didn't want to mention any names since they're no longer involved in illegal activities. "…and the owner promised us at least a ~10% return every year. He hasn't let us down yet."

"What's the name of the firm?"

"Benjamin Couric's Investment Secur…"

Both Lucy and Scud immediately stood up, startling Uncle Nick and Anthony. Both looked at each other with mouth agape.

"What?" Anthony asked with a questioning look and noticed that both of them had the same look of surprise…or fear.

Lucy and Scud slowly sat down.

"Tell me you didn't put all of your money in this firm." Lucy said calmly.

"No."

Lucy and Scud let out a deep breath at the same time, feeling relieved.

"Okay. It's not too late yet. Here's what I want you to do. Take it out slowly little by little before the end of this month and put it somewhere safe, money market mutual funds, cds, funds with low risk, temporarily."

"Why?" Anthony asked.

Lucy looked at Scud and agreed that he should know what he found out even if they didn't have any proof.

"We've been looking into him and found something wrong with his company. We don't have all the details yet, but we have this feeling…" Scud said.

"Are you saying that he could be pulling a scam on us and we won't get our money back?"

"He could be…I'm still looking into it." Scud said.

"If he is, then he's going to pay the price." Anthony clenched his fist. Both Lucy and Scud knew what he meant by that. Lucy was worried that he might do something to his family, Michel, Alexis, and Ashley.

"If he is, Anthony, please promise me that you're not going to touch his son or his family. They are my friends. His son doesn't know anything about his businesses."

Seeing the worried look on her face, Anthony pondered for a short moment and patted her hand. "You have my word."

Lucy let out a deep breath. "Thank you."

"I can't promise that others won't. But I will try to persuade them."

"But they have nothing to do with this." Lucy said with a frown.

"You know how this works, Lucy. There are others who aren't going to be as understanding. There are others who I don't have control over. They're not going to sit by and let someone make a fool of them. He promised me a return every year. If he made the same promise to them and if they found that he's been lying to them all these years and they're not getting their money back, they're going to be after him and his family."

The thought of what could happen to the Michel, Alexis, and little Ashley sickened her.

"Lucy" Uncle Nick saw how pale her face suddenly changed. "Are you sure about this? If everyone gets their money back, then nobody's going to get hurt."

"Uncle Nick, the la Sûreté is investigating him and his family. We think they know something's wrong with his company but we're not sure why they haven't done anything about it." Lucy held her head as she started to feel a migraine coming. In a way, she thanked the government officials haven't done anything about it, otherwise, the Courics would be in trouble right now.

"I have to tell my friend who recommended this firm to me to pull out his money too." Anthony said. "He put a lot of money into it as well."

"NO!" Lucy and Scud said in unison.

"If you do, you're not going to get your money back." Scud said clearly and slowly. "You can tell him after you pull out all of your money…but pull it out little by little…not all at once."

"Why?"

"Because he doesn't have that much money to give you all at once." Lucy said.

"Sure he does. Last time I withdrew 10 million, I got my money back."

"How much did you invest?" Lucy asked.

"Over a hundred million"

Lucy immediately closed her eyes and felt like she wanted to throw up. She wasn't sure if the rocking of the yacht was making her sick or knowing that Michel's family may be in jeopardy as a result of other mafia leaders might not get their money back.

"And your friend?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know. But it probably would be more or less the same amount. I have to tell him that I'm pulling out. If he knows that I know something ahead of time and didn't tell him, there's going to be a lot of lives at stake. Whether he chooses to believe me or not, that's going to be his choice. You do understand why I have to do this?"

Both Scud and Lucy nodded. It's all about trust in the Underground world. If trust is broken between 2 leaders, then all hell is going to break loose. Lucy could feel that it's going to happen soon. Leaning on her elbow with her fingers rubbing her temples, she was thinking about how to protect them.

"Lucy, relax." Uncle Nick tried to comfort her, seeing her distress. "It hasn't happen yet and you don't know what's going to happen. You're thinking too much right now."

"Lucy, he's right." Scud said. "We don't have all the details yet. He might have money from all his assets to pay the investors back." Scud tried to make her feel better but he wasn't too sure himself. After the government and lawyers go thru it, there probably won't be enough.

Lucy nodded, trying to convince herself that it wasn't going to happen. "You're right…I'm just too ahead of myself."

She turned to Anthony. "If you trust me, I suggest you pull out all of your investments not just from his company. I sensed something big is going to happen. I've pulled out all of my money. I can't guarantee that it's going to happen but I rather not get a return than lose it all."

Anthony nodded in understanding. She turned to Uncle Nick who also nodded. After spending 2 hours on the yacht, it was time for Uncle Nick to go to the airport. Anthony stood up and shook all of their hands and as he was about to leave, Lucy asked him for another favor.

"What we've talked about earlier, if it happens, I need you to protect Kristin too. She's working undercover as a babysitter for his son."

Knowing that Lucy had left everything to be with Amy, he noticed that she might have feelings for the blonde who looked like her as well.

"Of course. I won't let anyone touch her."

After saying goodbye to Anthony, the yacht headed back to the port where they boarded.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Driving back to their apartment, Scud noticed Lucy was deep in thought as she stared out in the window.

Scud stayed silent, not wanting to disturb her.

A moment of silence passed.

"Did you know about Anthony?" Lucy asked. She knew that Scud had been somewhat keeping track of what's going on in the Underground and making sure that the government officials aren't following them.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why do you want to know? We're not in it anymore, Luce."

Lucy neither nodded or shook her head, realizing that he was right again.

"How are we going to protect them, Scud?"

"We can't. Anthony will do that. The police will do that." Scud said.

Lucy turned to look at him. "The police? Why would they protect them? Michel doesn't know anything. If he asked for police protection, they're probably going to send 2 useless guys to watch over them."

"I know you're worried. Luce. But we don't know what's going to happen. Let Anthony handle it. And if he can't then we'll go to plan B."

"Plan B?" Lucy asked, confused. "What's plan B?"

Scud shrugged. "We'll just have to think of one. But not now. It's still too early, too soon. We have to wait for Anthony. So take it easy, okay?" Scud reached out and shook her shoulder. No matter what he said, he knew nothing was going to cheer her up. What he's afraid of is getting themselves exposed if Lucy decided to interfere. All of the work they put into the company will be gone. They will have to run again. And in the process, they might not even be able to protect them. _Is it worth taking the risk to help someone we hardly know?_ _And would we be able to live with ourselves if we don't even try to help them?_

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sunday

Two days later

Sitting in a chair next to the hospital bed, Kat held the pale weak hand of her friend, lying unconscious on the hospital bed, with a tube taped to her mouth and wires and tubes attached to various parts of her body connected to machines and bags of fluid. Since Kristin did not check in for 2 days, her superiors contacted Kat to see what was going on. After calling Michel and getting approval from her superiors, she took the next available flight from Venice and arrived to Paris 2 hours ago.

The trip to Venice was a complete waste of time. She and Carlos were unable to find out who their suspect was waiting for in the hotel.

After the first day of surgery, Michel decided to move Kristin to a better hospital where she could get the best care. After Kat reported Kristin's situation to her superiors, they decided that it was best for Kristin to stay there to recover as well knowing that the private hospital had the best doctors in France.

"It's going to be over soon and we'll go home together." Kat said softly after making sure that nobody else was inside the room. Hearing the footsteps behind her near the door, she brushed her tears away and turned around to see who it was. The nurse came in and checked to make sure everything's normal.

"You need to talk to her. She can hear you." The nurse lifted the blanket and started squeezing the blonde's hands and legs to get the blood flowing. "Is she a friend of yours?"

"Yes."

"I heard it was a miracle. The doctors and nurses…everyone were all stunned."

"What?" Kat asked, confusion all over her face. "What's a miracle?"

"You didn't hear?"

Kat shook her head.

"Her…" The nurse stopped and looked at Kristin. She motioned Kat to come out to tell her what happened.

After the nurse told her what happened and was done washing and massaging the patient, Kat stayed in the room.

"Jesus.…Kristin…I know you're good, but stopping your heartbeat for 45 minutes?…okay, you shocked everyone…doctors, nurses, me…everybody…now wake up and stop fooling around."

Kat said as she looked at the blonde's face to see if there was any movement. There was none.

"C'mon, wake up! We have a lot of work to do." Kat said loudly. "You have enough rest. I didn't even get to go on my vacation yet!" Still, no sign of movement.

"Is everything okay, Kat?" Michel said as he entered the door.

Kat quickly cleared her throat, realizing how loud she was speaking. "mmm…yeah…the nurse said it will help if I talk to her…that's how we used to talk…sorry…was I really loud?"

After Michel introduced Alexis to Kat, he apologized to Kat.

"I told you I would look after her and I…." Michel trailed off, unable to control his tears from escaping his eyes.

"You didn't know." Kat turned to look at the blonde. "She's going to be okay. I know it."

Earlier she found out what happened to Kristin from her superiors who looked into the police records. _His father is going to be in deep shit if they found out he's responsible for the plane explosion two years ago_. "She's just tired and needed more rest. That's all." She tried to convince everyone including herself.

Leaning her crutches against the bed, Alexis, dressed in a patient gown, sat down on the chair and took hold of Kristin's right hand, gently massaging her arm, up and down.

Seeing that Kristin is in good hands, Kat told Michel that she would be back later after unpacking her things. After Kat left, Michel walked to the other side of the bed and sat down. He gently massaged her other arm.

"Do you want to talk to her alone?" Alexis asked, knowing that her father probably wanted to say a lot of things to the one he loves but doesn't want to say it in front of her.

Michel nodded and Alexis slowly walked out of the room with her crutches.

Alone in the room, Michel lifted her hand up and pressed it against his face.

"God…Kristin…please wake up. You've slept for 2 days now." He said as he sniffed back the tears. "I love you, Kristin. Can you hear me? I said I love you." He stayed still to see if there's any movement.

"I should've told you that a long time ago. But I don't know how you feel about me…and I don't want to scare you away." He closed his eyes for a short moment and let out a sigh. "Kristin, even if you don't love me…it's okay…we can still be friends…I just want you to know that. So just tell me how you feel about me…tell me."

There was no movement from the blonde.

Hearing a knock on the door, he quickly wiped away his tears. The doctor in charge walked in and looked thru her charts.

"Everything looks good." The doctor said. He walked over to Kristin and checked her eyes.

"It's been 2 days now. How long? Doctor." Michel asked.

"Give it time. Let the wound heal first. Then we can do a brain MRI." He walked over to the end of the bed and checked the charts one more time. "Everything looks good." The doctor assured him.

He lifted the blanket off her feet and tickled one foot, then the other. There was no movement.

"Give it a few more days. Keep talking to her. Make sure you wear gloves and surgical masks. We need to keep this room as clean as possible."

* * *

**Venice, Italy**

While Scud searched through Benjamin Couric's business files, Lucy contacted the managers in her company in France to make sure everything was running smoothly.

"Bingo!" Scud called out loudly from the office room.

Hearing his famous word, Lucy quickly jumped off her executive chair and ran to his room.

"What did you find?"

Scud spun his chair around and shouted. "You are not going to believe this! He's running a freaking Ponzi scheme. That idiot!"

Her jaws immediately dropped. "a Ponzi scheme? Is he nuts?"

"Idiot or genius….I don't know. I'm surprised nobody found out….until now." Both realized that was the reason he's being investigated.

Lucy ran her fingers through her hair. "Does he have enough money to pay back the investors?" That's all she's concerned with.

Scud shook his head. "He might not. We don't know how much money he accepted from the mafias."

Lucy paced back and forth, her hand over her forehead. "He's running a Ponzi scheme and and he's accepting money from mafias? That crazy bastard! Does he have a death wish or something?"

If he weren't accepting money from mafias, she wouldn't be so worried.

Scud reached out to stop her from pacing. "Lucy, as long as the mafias get their money, there wouldn't be any problems. We'll just tell Anthony and he'll spread the word. That idiot will just have to sell all of his assets. He might not be dealing with that many mafia groups." Scud reasoned.

He hoped that the French FBI is not going to expose him to the world any time soon. If they did, all of his assets will be frozen.

Lucy closed her eyes for a moment to calm down and think. She hadn't been able to think clearly since finding out about Benjamin's dealings with the mafia groups. "Right…you're right." She kept her fingers crossed, hoping that it was true, hoping that they wouldn't harm Michel's family.

Then the buzzing of her phone in her back pant's pocket interrupted their conversation. Looking at the number, she mouthed to Scud that it was Anthony before picking up the call.

"Hello….yes…" She took a pen to write down the information. "…okay…got it…see you there."

She hung up.

"He found her."

* * *

In front of a 1200sqft 3-bedroom rented apartment located on the 4th floor, Lucy knocked on the door 2 times fast, then once, then 2 times again. Recognizing the signal, one of Anthony's men opened the door.

Looking around and not seeing Nadia, Lucy rapidly walked towards Anthony and asked anxiously. "Where is she?" .

"Whoa…slow down….Lucy…" Anthony noticed that she was unlike the old Lucy he used to know. The old Lucy took her time. She was calm, cool and confident, so others wouldn't know what she's thinking.

"She's okay." Anthony said in a low voice and motioned her to sit down. "We found her in an apartment with 2 guys watching her. I have the guys somewhere else. If you want to talk to them, we can do that. They're amateurs, Lucy. It shouldn't be too hard to find out why they did this."

"Did they…" Lucy clasped her hands together, nervously rubbing them. "…do anything to her?"

"I don't think so."

Lucy immediately let out a deep breath.

"I told her we were hired to rescue her."

Anthony had a fake beard on to disguise himself. They all stood up and before Anthony led her to the room, he took hold of her forearm and looked deeply into her eyes. "Stay cool. Don't forget who you are. You are…" He mouthed. "_Lucy Diamond._"

Lucy closed her eyes for a moment to think about what Anthony just said. Letting out a deep breath, she glanced at Scud, then at Anthony and nodded to both of them before walking to the room and knocking on the door.

Once she opened the door, she saw Nadia standing near the bed staring at her with her jaws dropped.

Keeping her cool, Lucy slowly walked towards her and let out a smile with Anthony and Scud following from behind.

"Are…you…okay?" Lucy asked calmly.

Nadia didn't respond, still staring at her, stunned.

"Nadia, are you hurt?"

Hearing her name being called and seeing the genuine look of concern on the brunette's face, she responded in a whisper. "No."

"Good." Lucy extended her hand out to motion her to sit down on a chair. Scud and Anthony pretended to be her followers. Lucy sat across from her; hands leaning on the small round table.

"You must have a lot of questions for me?"

Nadia nodded.

"Okay, I'll let you go first."

Nadia glanced at the two men behind her before focusing her attention back to the brunette.

"Who…are…you?" Nadia asked, still surprised at whom her rescuer turned out to be.

"I'm the one who brought you back to the hotel after you got drunk."

"No…I mean…what's your name?"

Lucy hesitated for a moment. "Do you have another question for me?"

Since they probably won't ever see each other after a couple of days, there was no point in letting her know her name.

"How did you find me? How did you know I was kidnapped?"

"hmm…let me see…where to start?" Lucy pondered for a moment. "Oh yes, I was looking for you one day and you weren't at the hotel room. So I waited and waited and finally you showed up." Lucy noticed the frown on her face. "I know…it wasn't you. Here's the weird part. That woman looked like you and she dressed like you. She checked out of the hotel using your name. The hotel staff said you forgot your passport. So I thought something wasn't right. I own a private investigator agency so I have my helpers here…" She extended her hand towards Scud and Anthony who nodded in response. "…to find you…and here you are. Good work, guys…"

Scud gave a high five to Anthony and Anthony high five back.

Lucy rolled her eyes before turning back to face Nadia.

"You have one more question for me?"

She knew what she was going to ask. She extended her hand out to the side, still looking at Nadia, and Scud placed the photo in her hand.

Nadia nodded. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Before I show you this, do you believe that I'm here to help you? Do you trust me?" Lucy said in a serious tone and waited for her to respond.

"Yes." She said in a low voice.

"Good…" Lucy said as she nodded her head. "Now…I need you to tell me the truth. I need you to help me."

A confused look appeared on her face.

Placing the photo in front of her, Lucy pointed to the picture of Amy/Kristin.

"Why…are you following her?"

Immediately, Nadia gasped, her eyes opened wide. Feeling nervous, her hand started shaking and Lucy noticed this. Unsure if she should tell her savior the truth, she swallowed hard.

Lucy patiently waited for her response. After a moment of not getting a response, Lucy reached out and held her hand.

"Nadia, please…tell me the truth. We're not here to hurt you. You know that."

Nadia took a glance at Lucy, then at Scud and back and forth a few times. She suddenly jerked back and pulled her hand away from the brunette.

"You're...her…and you're him…" She said in a trembling voice as her heart started beating rapidly. It took a moment for her to recognize Scud with the new beard.

Lucy didn't understand what she meant.

"Stay calm…Nadia…We are not here to hurt you. I just need you to tell me the truth." Lucy reiterated.

Nadia didn't respond.

Lucy remembered that Nadia mentioned something about her brother. "Your brother, Alec, is he in trouble?"

When Lucy saw tears brimming her eyes, she knew the answer.

"We are the only ones who can help you." Lucy said to gain her trust.

After a moment, Nadia finally responded.

"I'm sorry. We had no choice. We…were…the…ones who kidnapped them." Nadia said slowly, looking down on the table, ashamed of what she did.

"Kidnapped who?"

Nadia slowly reached out with trembling hand and pointed to the picture of Kristin. "…her…and the little girl." Tears immediately ran down her cheeks. "I'm sorry…we had no choice."

Lucy turned to Scud and both stared at each other. She was disappointed to know that the picture wasn't Amy.

"We weren't going to hurt them. I swear. You have to believe me." Nadia looked up, her face full of tears.

"I made sure they were rescued before I left. You have to believe me." Nadia said as she reached out to hold Lucy's hand as if begging her for forgiveness.

"You saw us there?"

Nadia nodded. Lucy took a moment to look into her teary eyes and could tell that she wasn't lying.

"I believe you." She patted her hand. "They're safe. Nobody got hurt."

Nadia nodded. "We didn't want to do it. We had no choice."

"What do you mean?"

"His father, Michel Couric's father, Benjamin Couric…killed our father. My brother wanted revenge but we don't have any money, so he…we…kidnapped them. There was no other way."

Nadia went on to explain how her father died in the plane explosion 2 years ago and why Benjamin wanted him dead.

Realizing that Benjamin Couric was responsible for the death of Amy, Lucy clenched her fists under the table, trying to control her emotions. Remembering what Anthony said before, she tried to stay cool. There will be time to let her anger out later, but not now.

"So are you saying that Benjamin Couric caused the plane explosion to kill your father because your father knew about his investment scam?"

Nadia nodded.

Lucy wanted to make sure if she was talking about the same plane accident. "The flight 1680 from Paris to Barcelona…They said it was an accident….caused by birds in the engine."

"No! My brother said he bribed those people to say that. He covered it up. He's too powerful. No one believed my father. No one believed us. We don't have proof." Nadia looked down, sniffing back the tears as she wiped her tears away. "no one…no one…believed us…"

Seeing that Nadia wasn't looking at her, Lucy breathed in deeply and let it out slowly and closed her eyes for a short moment to control her anger. "Nadia, I believe you."

Nadia's head shot up, thinking why the person in front of her would believe her when no one else does.

"We…believe you."

Nadia looked up at Scud and Anthony and both nodded, holding their anger inside, especially Anthony who wanted to leave the room and called his guys to start doing something.

"You've been kidnapped for a few days. Why hasn't he…done anything to you? What does he want from you?"

"He wanted us to stop, to stop thinking about getting revenge. He has my brothers, Alec and Ethan. Ethan escaped. But he's…dead now. He gave us 3 days. He wanted us to go to Iceland and never come back, but Alec won't do it."

_What an idiot!_ Lucy thought to herself. "Do you know where Alec is?"

"No…I just know he's in France." Nadia said as she sniffed in her tears.

"Do you know who kidnapped you?"

"Those two guys were talking to someone on the phone. I don't know who he is."

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Nadia shook her head.

Seeing that she had nothing else to say, Anthony and Scud walked out of the room.

"Okay, Nadia. Try to get some rest. We'll do what we can." Lucy said as she patted her hand.

"Are you going to save my brother?"

"All I can promise you is that we'll try." Lucy stood up and Nadia did the same.

"We'll get revenge for your father and your brother. I promise you."

Nadia stepped closer and hugged her tightly, feeling safe for the first time after the ordeal. "Thank you. I don't want revenge. I just want my brother back."

Lucy can't blame her. Realizing that she probably had no other family left, her brother was more important than getting revenge.

"I understand." Lucy said as she patted her back. "Drinking won't help you. Do you understand?"

Nadia pulled back and nodded.

"If you need anything else, just tell the guys outside. I'll come by tomorrow." Lucy said in a gentle voice and Nadia agreed.

Scud then came in with his laptop and showed it to Nadia.

"Is this your brother?" Scud asked.

Nadia nodded, once again surprised and shocked at how he got the information.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Not wanting Nadia to hear them, they decided to leave the place and have a talk in Anthony's car. A few minutes ago while Lucy was still inside the room, Scud took the opportunity to tell Anthony what they found out about Benjamin Couric's scam.

Once Lucy stepped inside the car and closed the door behind her, she started punching the leather seats.

"Damn him!…Damn him!" She yelled repeatedly. If they were at their own apartment right now, she would be making dents on the wall, a lot of them.

"What's wrong?" Anthony said, thinking that he should be the one who should be angry since he invested a lot of money into Benjamin's firm and probably might not get it all back.

Lucy covered her face with her hands. "He killed Amy." She couldn't hold back her tears anymore. "He killed Amy."

"What?"

Breathing heavily, she allowed Anthony to see her face full of tears.

"Amy was on that plane. It wasn't an accident."

"That son of a bitch!" Anthony shouted, realizing why she was so emotional. "Lucy, I'll take care of him. Whether I get my money back or not, he's a dead man."

"No! I'll do it. I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!"

"Lucy! " Scud yelled. "I know you're angry. You need to calm down. Let Anthony handle it."

"No! He needs to know why. He needs to know what he did. I'm not going to let him die without knowing."

"Lucy…think about this. If you do this, we might have to run again."

Anthony reached out to hold her hand. "I promise, Lucy, I'll make sure he knows what he did. I'll let you know when I get him."

Taking a moment to absorb all of the information, Lucy buried her face into her hands and didn't respond.

There was silence inside the car. Both waited for the brunette to overcome the overwhelming emotions buried inside.

After a moment, Anthony picked up a call and hung up after saying a few words.

"Lucy, they have him in a place near Paris."

Lucy lifted her head up. Scud also stared at Anthony.

"How did you find out so quickly…?" Scud asked in a surprising tone.

"Like I said, they're amateurs. All it took was a little threat. I'll call some guys there to help out."

"We need to save him fast before he finds out she's been rescued, before that bastard change his mind." Scud said.

Suddenly a thought came to her mind. "Scud…Do you think he had Jehan doing all of this?"

His eyes opened wide and he pondered for a moment. "You might be right."

After taking several minutes to give more information to Anthony, Lucy and Scud went back to their own apartment. Sitting on a couch next to each other, they stared at the whiteboard on the table in front of them. On the whiteboard, they drew out everything they've learned today, connecting the relationships from Nadia and Alec to Benjamin, from Nadia's father to Benjamin, talking it out to make sure they didn't miss anything, and planning what to do next. They drew out all different kinds of scenarios and discussed the possibilities of what could happen.

Feeling exhausted, both Lucy and Scud slumped their backs against the fabric couch.

"Are we thinking too much…Scud?"

"It's good to plan ahead." He let out a big sigh. "Are you okay?" When they got back to the apartment, the first thing Lucy did was getting her anger and frustration out on the punching bag located in the other room.

"You did good…Lucy."

Lucy turned to face him with a frown, unsure of what he's referring to.

"You controlled yourself…I thought you were going to do something when you heard…" Scud trailed off.

Lucy stood up and walked towards the window to look outside. After a short moment of silence, she let out a sigh. "If he was there in front of me, I would have killed him without a second thought. I didn't think about the consequences." She lowered her head down. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Scud stood up.

Lucy turned around, facing the one who's been with her all of these years, who saved her multiple times.

"Maybe you should leave me. Sell the company and go somewhere, start your new life, tell Janet to meet you there."

"What are you talking about?" Scud said as he stepped closer.

"Scud, if they're going after Alexis, I have to help her. You can't be there. Anthony will help me."

"Is that what you want to do?" Scud laughed internally at the irony. But there was nothing funny about it. Benjamin is the reason that they settled in Paris and now she wants to help his son.

"Yes. I promised her grandmother that I would protect them." She remembered that she made the promise to grandma the last time she saw her, but she had no idea why she said that at that time.

"Her grandma? Benjamin's wife?!" Scud let out another laugh at the irony and wondered if Benjamin's wife knew what her husband did. "Lucy, if you didn't make that promise, were you still going to help them?"

"Yes." She responded without hesitation.

"That's what I thought."

He pondered for a short moment, then suddenly smack his own head as a realization hit him.

"Lucy, you're right! We have to sell the company. Why didn't I think of this before?"

Lucy was surprised that he agreed with her. "What?"

"Lucy, what he's doing right now is big…no…not just big." He said as he paced around. "It's huge…ginormous." He stopped and extended his arms out. "Everybody is going to know about it and I'm not just talking about the people in France. I bet the government is all over him right now, just gathering all the evidence. They're going to investigate everyone who dealt with him." The more he thought about it, the more sense it made to leave Paris. "We can't stay there. Where do you want to go?"

"Scud…not me…you…you have to go…"

Scud stepped closer to explain. "Luce, I know what you're thinking. But I'm not going anywhere without you. I'll sell the company. You pick a place to go. Then after we're done helping them, we can go to the new place and start over."

Lucy stepped back and shook her head. She wished it was that simple.

"Even if you don't help them, we still can't stay there. We got too close to them. Michel can't stay there either after everyone knows about what his father did. It doesn't matter if he knows about his father's scheme or not, he and his family will be hounded by reporters, government, lawyers, …everyone. He will be forced to move. Even if he's proven innocent, people aren't going to trust him anymore."

Lucy took a moment to take it all in and realized that he was right. Michel would have to move. They have to move. That's what happens when someone you are related to have done something wrong, you have to pay the price too whether you're involved or not. Before they came to Venice, they thought that Kristin would leave Michel's family once she finds out that he's not doing anything illegal. They never imagined that his father would do something like this, something so big, it's going to change the financial industry and as a result, many companies, many people would be sued for their negligence and/or involvement.

"I understand." Lucy agreed.

"Good…now where do you want to go?"

"You pick the place."

Tapping his finger on his lips, he pondered the question and wondered where Janet would want to go.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

11:30PM

After having the conversation with Scud, Lucy went back into hitting the punching bags while Scud contacted several people whom he thought would be interested in his company. Feeling extremely tired afterwards, she decided to hit the shower and take a nap, a long 7-hour nap. She would have continued to sleep through the entire night without dinner if the phone didn't keep on vibrating non-stop on the table next to her bed.

"Hello" She said in a husky voice with her eyes closed. "What?" She said in a whisper.

The voice from the other end suddenly became so loud, she had to take the phone away from her ear. "Okay…okay…I'm awake…I'm listening…." She sat up on the bed. "Okay…I'll be right there."

After hanging up, she quickly went to Scud's room to wake him up. It didn't take long since he just slid into bed and closed his eyes for 5 minutes.

"He's here." Lucy said, happily.

"Who's here?"

"Alec"

"What? How? I thought he's in France."

"I don't know. Quick, get dressed." Lucy said loudly as she ran to the bathroom.

After a fast 15 minute drive through the quiet streets of Venice at midnight, they finally arrived at the apartment complex. This time, no one was standing outside the building. Everyone was asleep at this time of the night. They tried to make as little noise as possible. Inside the 3-bedroom apartment, 2 of Anthony's men stood near the door, 1 man stood behind Anthony who's sitting on a couch. Across from him sat Nadia and her brother, Alec. As soon as Lucy stepped inside, Nadia ran towards her and wrapped her arms around her.

"Thank you…Thank you…" Nadia said softly as she cried tears of joy.

Surprised at the sudden embrace, Lucy slowly patted her back lightly. "You're welcome." Lucy noticed the smirk on Anthony's face. _What was that for? _She made a mental note to ask him about that later.

After clearing her throat and pulling away, Lucy approached her brother who shook her hand firmly. She could tell from his bruised face that he was beaten up a little and wasn't happy even though he's been rescued. _Can't blame him, his brother died._ She told Nadia and Alec to go to the dining area where there's a larger rectangular table with 6 seats. After having a quick chat with Anthony to find out what happened, she walked to the dining area to sit on one end of the rectangular table. Anthony and Scud followed from behind and sat across from Alec and Nadia. At that moment, it reminded her of the old times of how she used to be the boss and how good it felt to be the leader.

Lucy took a glance at Nadia, then at her brother. She waited to see if her brother had anything to say. When Scud pushed the laptop in front of her, Lucy moved it towards Alec.

"Is this the man who kidnapped you?"

Alec shook his head.

Lucy and Scud looked at each other and knew what the other is thinking. It looks like Jehan wasn't stupid enough to show his face to the kidnappers.

"What are your plans, Alec?" Lucy asked.

Holding his head and propping his elbows on the table, he looked down and said in a frustrated tone.

"I…don't know."

Lucy thought the first thing he wanted was to get away from here where Jehan's men cannot track him down, but she guessed incorrectly. _This guy is really stubborn. _

Lucy turned to the girl and asked in a gentle voice. "What do you want to do, Nadia?"

Nadia quickly replied. "I want to go some place where they can't find us." _Good choice. _Lucy thought to herself and gave her a smile.

"Is there anywhere in particular you want to go?" She asked again in the same gentle voice. Scud and Anthony noticed this as well.

"I want to go to America….California."

Raising her eyebrows, Lucy moved her head up and down slowly. She wondered why she wanted to go there, but this isn't the right time to ask. She looked at Scud and Anthony and saw the signal.

"That could be arranged…You know…you could always come back after this is over." Lucy noticed Alec immediately focusing his attention back to her.

"We can?" Nadia asked, confused.

"Of course…you're not the one who did illegal things."

"but we…kidnapped…" Nadia trailed off and looked down on the table.

"You don't have to worry about that." Lucy assured her with a smile, knowing that truth will soon come out.

"I want revenge...for what he did to my father and brother." Alec said angrily.

"Alec!" Nadia said loudly. "Please…I can't lose you too."

Lucy glanced at Scud, then at Anthony, all realizing how stubborn and stupid this man is. Without any money, without resources, without power, and without any experience, he still wanted to take revenge on someone he knows nothing about.

"Alec…is he…worth…losing everything over? Think about that before you answer the question. You've already lost Ethan."

Alec glanced at Nadia before shutting his eyes tight and pulling his hair, frustrated that he couldn't get his revenge

"But…but…"

Lucy stood up and leaned forward with her hands pressed against the table and looked deeply into his eyes.

"Alec! Everyone will know what he did… to your father, to your brother, to all of those innocent people on that plane. He will not be able to hurt anyone else again. You…have my word on that." She said in a commanding, serious tone.

Alec looked up and could see the fire glowing in her eyes, suspecting that she too hated the man as much as he does.

Nadia also noticed the look on the brunette as if she wanted to kill him herself. It frightened her a bit. She reached out and covered the brunette's hand. Her soft gentle warm touch brought Lucy's attention to Nadia's hand and she slowly sat back down on the chair.

It wasn't that Lucy couldn't control her anger. She did that on purpose to let Alec know that she will get revenge no matter what, hoping that he would let it go and follow his sister to the US to live peacefully.

There was silence for a short moment.

Still holding and unconsciously rubbing on Lucy's hand, Nadia turned to her brother and held his hand. "Alec…please…"

Meanwhile, Lucy noticed the look that Scud and Anthony was giving her and she frowned in response. She followed their line of sight and when she noticed that they were looking at Nadia's hand holding onto hers, she rolled her eyes.

After a short moment, Alec nodded and agreed to his sister's wish.

"okay…now it's getting really late….everyone must be tired. Let's talk about this tomorrow."

She stood up, pulling her hand away from Nadia's. Scud and Anthony left with one man, leaving 2 men in the apartment to watch over them.

Lucy shook Alec's hand one more time. "Alec, I need you to trust me."

Looking deeply into those determined eyes, Alec had never met any woman quite like her. Previously her sister had told him that the brunette owned a private investigator agency and those men worked for her. But after what just happened, he wondered why she hated Benjamin Couric as much as he did.

"I do. Thank you for saving my sister." Lucy noticed that he was trying hard to hold in his tears. "Thank you for saving us."

As Alec headed to one of the bedrooms, Nadia walked in front of Lucy.

"Good night…I'll see you tomorrow." Lucy's voice spontaneously changed to a softer gentle tone.

"Can you…tell me your name? I don't want to keep calling you 'hey'." Nadia asked with a smile.

"It's better that you don't know who I am." As soon as she said that, Nadia's smile disappeared. "It's getting late. Good night."

Lucy sidestepped her and as she was about to step forward, Nadia took hold of her hand to stop her. She turned around. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Lucy asked politely.

"I just…want to say…thank you."

"You're welcome." Lucy waited to see if she has anything else to say.

Keeping her eyes locked on her savior's, Nadia couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Well…good night." Lucy said and Nadia reluctantly let go of her hand.

Scud and Anthony were waiting for her outside the door. She was surprised to see Anthony was still here.

Seeing that this was not the right place to discuss this, she didn't ask how he rescued Alec so quickly.

"What?" She whispered when she noticed those two smiling weirdly at her.

"You…still got it…" Anthony said in a low voice, walking next to her, heading to their cars.

"Got what?"

"the charm…the magnet…she is so…into you…" Anthony whispered into her ear.

"No, she's not…. …" Lucy quickly responded.

"Are you sure about that?"

"If she knew that you did all the work, she would have held onto your hand too."

"She asked about you before you came."

"Really…. what did she say?" Lucy said out of curiosity.

"She wants to know your name, but I said I can't say. She asked about your status."

"my status?"

"You know…single, married…"

"Oh…"

"When I said you're single….she was smiling…her eyes were glowing…"

Stopping in front of Anthony's car, Lucy didn't believe a word he said. "Really…"

"mhm…then she said…" Anthony stopped and decided to not to continue. "…nah…I shouldn't tell you…you wouldn't believe me anyways." He stepped inside the car and closed the door and told his guy to start driving, leaving Lucy wondering what he was about to say.

"That piece of…sh..." She didn't want to call him names since he did help her out a lot. Lucy turned to Scud who only shrugged and smiled in response.

* * *

**Chapter 21: Chapter 21**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

While driving back to the apartment, Lucy learned from Scud that Anthony's power had grown so big, all he had to do was to contact one of his allies in France to look for Alec. Since the guys that kidnapped Nadia told them where Alec could be, it didn't take them long to find him. Once they found him, Alec took the next flight available from Paris to Venice.

"Anthony said those guys who kidnapped him weren't professionals."

"Okay." Lucy said and noticed Scud, shaking his head to wake himself up.

"Do you want me to drive?" Lucy asked.

"No…it's okay…just keep talking to me…we're almost there."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Luce, I said keep talking to me."

"Oh….ummm…I can't think of anything to say."

"Well…I can…Anthony's right….she's into you….you know…"

Lucy slowly turned to face him. "You too?…Scud…she's…not…gay!"

"How do you know?"

"Because when I asked her if Alec was her girlfriend…she looked at me in a weird way…you know…sort of like 'Do I look gay to you?'…that kind of look."

"Ohhhhh…" Scud realized why she was so certain. "…then maybe we're wrong…"

"You guys are definitely wrong."

"I said maybe…"

"Trust me…she's not."

There was a short moment of silence.

"You want to make a bet?"

"What?" Lucy frowned.

"Do you want to make a bet?" He repeated. Since they've been so damn serious these days, Scud decided they should have some fun to lighten the mood.

"Anthony and I think that she's into you. You don't think so. So let's make a bet."

Lucy hesitated for a moment.

Scud wondered what she was thinking about. "Lucy?"

"If you're right, then what?" Lucy asked.

"…anything you want…"

"…anything?"

"Yup"

"Are you that sure?" Lucy asked.

"Yup"

"Then how do we find out? We can't just ask her." Lucy said.

Scud pondered for a moment. "mmm…how?…well….you'll know…if she makes a move on you, then she's into you…"

"…so you're going to trust me to tell you what happened or didn't happened? She's not going to make a move on me when you guys are around."

"Hmmm….that's true…" He pondered for another moment. "ok forget it…that was a stupid idea." Scud admitted, letting out a little laugh.

Lucy also let out a small smile and shook her head, knowing exactly what Scud was trying to do.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Monday

Next morning

While Scud stayed at home working on the preparation of selling the company and getting things ready for Nadia and Alec to leave this country, Lucy drove to the apartment to visit them. There are a few things they had to do. First Nadia had to get her passport back from the hotel and both Alec and Nadia had to buy some clothing. She wondered if Benjamin would still be after them if he knew they went to the US. _Should they get some fake passports?_

Before knocking on the door, Lucy made sure nobody was nearby. "She's into me? Yeah…right." She said to herself, laughing internally at Scud and Anthony. Anthony's man opened the door for her and pretended that she's her boss. Sniffing the air, she realized that they must be having breakfast. _Damn…that smells good!_ When she entered the dining room, her eyes opened wide when she saw a table full of food: scramble eggs, omelette, ham, bacon, croissant, coffee, and more. Sitting and eating on the table were Alec, one of Anthony's men, and….Anthony? _What is he doing here?_

Clearly everybody was enjoying the meal.

"Good morning…everyone" Lucy said, surprised. As she looked around, she didn't see Nadia, but saw that Alec's mood was a little better than last night. The bruises on his face were still black and blue. She made a mental note to get some medicine for him.

"Good morning…Lu…" Anthony stopped himself before saying her name and put some more food in his mouth and hoped that Alec didn't hear him.

Alec stood up and greeted her with a smile and a handshake. Sitting next to Anthony, Lucy gave him a look, wondering what he's doing here.

Anthony just smiled and gobbled up another fork full of omelette. "Try this…" He shoved the fork into another piece of his omelette and put it in front of her mouth. Lucy immediately jerked back and frowned at him.

"C'mon, try it." Anthony smiled and moved his fork closer to her mouth.

Knowing that he wouldn't stop until she eats it, Lucy opened her mouth and took the bite and immediately realized how good it tasted. Even she can't make it that good, having taken so many cooking classes.

"Good…right?" Anthony noticed her wide smile and gave her another bite.

While both were enjoying the food, they didn't notice that Alec was looking at them.

"Are you two….?" Alec asked out of curiosity.

"What!" Lucy and Anthony said in unison. "No!…no!…"

"He's my uncle…" Lucy said, not wanting to explain more than she had to.

"Hey…I'm not that old…what she's trying to say is she treats me like her uncle…and I treat her like my own sister…my older sister…" Anthony smiled at Lucy.

Alec nodded and went back to eating his breakfast while Anthony's men looked at each other, smiled and held in their laughter.

Lucy wondered what happened this morning. Anthony was no longer pretending to be her helper. It seemed like she just lost the status of being the leader.

"Where's Nadia?" Lucy asked.

"She's in the kitchen. She's cooking more food." Anthony said with a mouthful of food. "Oh my Gosh…this is so delicious!"

"She…made…all these?" Lucy said, pointing to all the dishes.

"She's a chef." Alec responded, without looking at anyone and continued eating.

Lucy wondered why she would be in the mood to cook for 4 hungry men after what they just went through last night.

"Why…?" She said, not directing the question to anyone in particular, to see if someone can answer her question.

Anthony shrugged as he put his fork down. He wiggled his finger to motion her to come closer so he can whisper into her ear. "She did this for you…"

Lucy immediately jerked back and looked at him as if he's crazy. Anthony raised his brows up and down while nodding his head in the same motion.

Ignoring his comment, Lucy went to the kitchen to look for her. "Nadia" She said softly to get her attention but the air ventilator was so noisy, Nadia couldn't hear her and continued standing in front of the stove, busily doing something.

Not wanting to frighten her, Lucy walked towards her from behind and stayed silent and as she was about to show herself by walking next to her, Nadia gave out a sharp cry when she burned her finger on the skillet.

"Are you all right?" Lucy quickly took her hand to the sink and put it under cool running water.

Nadia was a little startled by the brunette's presence. Lucy then stepped over to turn off the stove to prevent the food from burning. When she looked up, she saw Nadia staring at her and her injured hand was no longer under the running water.

"Nadia…put your hand under the water."

Nadia immediately turned her face away from the brunette and did as told.

Looking at the skillet, Lucy could see that she was making a vegetable omelette. She looked around the kitchen saw an opened package of mushroom, tomato, potato, ham, bacon, condiments, and others. "Did you go out this morning?"

"I needed a few things, so I thought I buy some stuff to cook for them."

Seeing all the stuff on the table, she realized Nadia must have spent over an hour in the kitchen.

"Nadia…you don't have to do this." She spoke in a gentle tone again. "You should have just eaten in a restaurant or order take outs…"

Nadia turned off the water faucet. "I want to…it's the only thing I'm good at …and…" She looked down on the floor. "It takes my mind off…other things."

Realizing her intentions, Lucy took hold of her injured hand. "Okay…whatever you want to do…."

Lucy noticed how this girl in front of her was completely different from the drunken girl she met a few days ago.

"I'm almost done." Smiling, she gently pushed Lucy out of the kitchen.

As she headed back to her seat, she noticed Alec, with his head down, gloomily walking back to his bedroom. Anthony's men finished eating and were watching tv.

Lucy sat back down at the end of the table, reached out to grab a croissant and poured herself a cup of coffee.

"How is he?" Lucy asked.

"a little better than yesterday…but I think he's blaming himself…you know…" Anthony whispered.

Lucy nodded, wondering if she should have a chat with him. As she was about to ask why he's here this morning, Nadia came in, holding a plate.

"This is for you." Nadia placed the plate in front of her and took the seat next to her.

Lucy looked down on the plate and at the corner of her eyes, she noticed Anthony staring at her. She turned her head a little to see his face and saw his eyebrows going up and down. She knew what he was thinking at that moment.

Lucy cleared her throat. "Thank you…this looks delicious." She wasn't lying. It looked like it was made by a hotel chef.

"Go ahead, try it." Nadia said as she leaned her forearms on the table and waited for the brunette to taste her cooking.

"Thank you…really…but…um…I can't eat cheese." Lucy pushed the plate in front of her.

"There's no cheese in it….it's a vegetable egg white omelette." Nadia pushed the plate back in front of Lucy.

With mouth agape and a frown, Lucy wondered how Nadia knew she can't eat cheese. She turned to face Anthony to see his reaction. _Even Anthony doesn't know…or does he?_

"Can I try some?" Anthony asked.

"Suuuurrrre…" Lucy said slowly, narrowing her eyes at him, wondering how much Anthony knows about her.

Anthony immediately helped himself and grabbed a piece of it with his fork. Closing his eyes to taste it, he couldn't help let out a moan and licked his lips. "mmm…this is soooo gooood…"

"…and it's good for you…low calories...low cholesterol…" Nadia added.

Finally done with eating, Anthony put his fork down and carefully wiped his mouth so that his fake beard wouldn't fall out. "I've got an idea. How would you like to work in a hotel as a chef in California?"

Once again, Lucy was surprised at Anthony's actions. Without talking to her first, he made a suggestion as if he's the leader not her. She thought he didn't want to expose himself.

"Really?…." Nadia smiled. "I used to work in a restaurant."

"Good!…Then I…" He stopped when he felt Lucy's hand on his forearm.

Lucy cleared her throat. Smiling, she said to Anthony. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" She turned to Nadia and excused herself.

They walked inside one of the bedrooms and closed the door.

"What are you doing?" Lucy whispered, confused.

"Nothing…I just got an idea. I thought she would want to work in one of the hotels I owned."

"I'm not talking about that. Why are you acting like yourself? I thought you don't want them to recognize you. If you keep this up, they'll know that I'm not the leader, you are."

Finally realizing what he was doing wrong, he closed his eyes for a short moment and smacked himself on the face. "Right…I forgot…I'm just one of your sidekick…you're my boss…you're the one calling the shots…." He repeated to remind himself.

That's what they told Nadia so they had to keep up with the lie.

Lucy let out big sigh and rolled her eyes.

"Okay?" Lucy asked, holding the doorknob to see if he was ready to go out and start acting as her subordinate.

"Okay" Anthony nodded.

As she was about to open the door, Anthony stopped her. "The bet is still on." He winked and walked out the door with a smile.

"Sorry…we were just discussing if you want to work in a French restaurant or a hotel. We know people who need someone with your skills." Lucy said as she sat back down on her seat. Feeling hungry, she took a bite of the omelette, then another, then another. "Wow!…this is really…really good…and it's not oily…"

"I'm glad you like it." Nadia smiled, focusing her attention at the brunette.

Anthony noticed this and excused himself from the table, walking over to the living room. Pretending to be watching tv, he took glances at the girls to see if he was right about Nadia.

At the corner of her eyes, Lucy could see Nadia was smiling and staring at her.

"Nadia, did you eat yet?"

She shook her head.

Seeing that she wasn't moving to get herself something to eat, Lucy spoke, keeping her soft tone.

"You should eat, we have to go get your passport…then we can get some clothing and things."

"We?"

"Yes…unless you want to go shopping with those guys?"

Smiling wide, Nadia quickly grabbed herself something to eat.

After a moment, everyone was done eating.

Knowing that the brunette must be busy and afraid that she would change her mind later, she decided to clean up the mess in the kitchen later.

"I'm ready." Nadia said to Lucy who was waiting for her in the living room.

Nadia frowned when Lucy walked passed her and realized what the brunette had in mind when she knocked on her brother's door.

Once the door was opened, Lucy unknowingly changed her tone, no longer soft or gentle. "I'm taking your sister to buy some clothes. Come with us."

Alec glanced at her sister for a moment, then back at Lucy. "I think I'm going to stay in…I'm not feeling well."

Lucy could sense that he wasn't telling the entire truth. "C'mon, you need some fresh air." Not taking a 'No' for an answer, Lucy just stood there and stared at him until he agrees. She wasn't going to let him off this easily. _He has to learn. He has to learn to overcome. How is she going to protect his sister when they go to California? _

The only ones who know how he feels right now would be them, her and Anthony. Having been leaders of their groups, they were responsible for the lives of their followers. Many of them died and got hurt when something didn't go as planned. Every time their loyal followers died, it was like losing a family member.

After a short moment, seeing that both of them weren't moving, Anthony decided to interfere with the awkward situation. "Let's go together, man, it'll be good for you. Just a few hours, then we'll come back, okay? "

Lucy changed to a more softer, understanding demeanor. "We'll need my doctor to look at your injuries…." Lucy took a look at her watch. "It's almost time."

Everyone including Anthony were surprised when they realized why the brunette wanted Alec to go out. Nadia walked over to her brother, took his hand and pulled him towards the door, and smiled at Lucy as she passed by her.

Anthony waited for them to walk farther away before whispering to the brunette.

"Was that really your plan?"

"Nope."

"Then what if your doc's not there?"

"I'll call her now." Lucy said as she started walking towards the door and Anthony smirked from behind.

Since Lucy had to be there to meet the doctor and it's probably going to take a while, she decided that this would be a good opportunity to have a private chat with Alec.

Outside of the apartment entrance, Lucy said softly. "Nadia, why don't you follow him and get your passport? I'll take your brother to the doctor. When we're done, we'll meet at Piazzale Roma**."**

Neither Nadia nor Alec liked the idea. "I'll go with you." Nadia said.

"It might take awhile."

"He can take me." Alec said.

"I have to be there. The doctor doesn't know him." Lucy explained.

Lucy started walking towards her car but nobody else moved. She stopped and turned around.

Realizing what Lucy wanted to do, Anthony again interrupted another awkward situation.

"Why don't we all go to the doctor's first?" Anthony gave her a wink. "C'mon, man."

Both Anthony and Alec started walking towards his car without waiting for her approval.

Noticing the brunette's look of disappointment, Nadia tried to apologize for her brother's behavior.

"Sorry…he's kind of…stubborn…and he doesn't like to take orders from anybody."

_Kind of? Anybody or just woman? That attitude will get him killed. _

Lucy breathed in deeply and let out a big sigh."It's okay…let's go." Lucy smiled at her, letting her know she wasn't upset.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

While driving to the medical center building, both Lucy and Nadia stayed silent. Feeling uncomfortable with the awkward silence, Nadia thought that the brunette was still upset about what happened. "Sorry."

"For what?" Lucy frowned.

"He's…he's…just blaming...himself…"

"I know. You don't have to apologize for him." Lucy said as she took a quick glance at her and focused back on the road. "That's why I want to talk to him."

Keeping the soft tone, Nadia explained. "He's not going to listen to you…that's how he is."

"even if I'm the one who rescued him? I thought he trusts me."

"he does…it's just that you're…younger…and …you're a …." Nadia hesitated, unsure if she should say it.

"woman?" Lucy said loudly.

Nadia cleared her throat. "yes."

"Well, one of these days, I'm sure he's going to change."

"What makes you so sure?"

"When he finds the woman of his dreams, he'll change."

Without responding, Nadia turned to look out the side window and remained silent throughout the ride. Lucy wondered what she was thinking about.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

At the medical center building, Anthony, flipping a coin with his knuckles, somehow managed to get there faster than them. She could see the smirk on his face as she walked passed them. _This is not a race._

Before letting Alec inside the doctor's office, Lucy explained the situation to the doc leaving out the unnecessary information and told her not to mention her name.

While Alec was being seen by the doctor, Anthony motioned Lucy to go outside to have a quick chat.

"So?" Lucy asked as she leaned on the glass wall in the front of the building.

"He's going to be fine."

"Is that what he said to you?" Lucy wondered what they talked about.

"Yup…he just need a few days to get himself together and he said he won't be seeking revenge anymore. He's going to leave it up to you…." Anthony took a coin and began flipping it up and catching it with his right hand.

"…and you trust him?"

"yup…" He let out a sigh. "Lucy…some men just have a difficult time taking orders from women…you know that…"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "I'm just worried about his attitude, his stubbornness. It's going to get him in trouble no matter where he goes. It's going to get his sister in trouble."

Anthony threw his coin up and caught it with one hand and covered it with the other. "He's not always like this. Lucy. He's an accountant. It's because of his father's death, he changed."

_An accountant? a chef? Turned to kidnapping? _Lucy blew out a big sigh, realizing how much pain they must have gone through, knowing how his father died.

"He asked why you hate Benjamin Couric."

"What did you say? "

"I said it's personal. I told him to ask you if he wants to know."

Lucy thought about telling Alec about losing her love one on the plane if he didn't trust her that she hated Benjamin Couric as much as he did. She thought maybe then he would listen to her to stop being so stubborn. _I guess it just have to do with the fact that I'm a woman and I'm younger than him._

"Heads or tail?" Anthony suddenly asked.

A frown appeared on her face. "Now what are we betting on this time?"

"Nothing…just say it…heads or tail."

_Whatever._ "Heads" She said as she started walking back inside the building.

Anthony lifted up her hand. "It's heads!"

Lucy stopped and said jokingly. "Yeah…what did I win?"

Anthony whispered as he passed by her. "Heads mean she is into you…we're going to win…you're going to lose…" He smiled and walked towards the elevator.

Lucy rolled her eyes, shaking her head at his silliness.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Alec came out of the doctor's office, Lucy walked over to Nadia who was sitting waiting patiently for her brother.

"Nadia…it's your turn…" Lucy said.

"Why? I'm not hurt."

Lucy reached out and squeezed her right wrist, causing Nadia to cry out in pain.

"Are you okay?" Alec asked in a concerned voice.

"Since we're here, let's have the doctor take a look at that. Okay?" Lucy said in the same gentle voice as she always does when talking to her. She took her hand and led her to the door. "…and tell her everything…anything that's bothering you…okay?" Nadia nodded and went inside the doctor's office.

"How did you know she's hurt?"

"Alec…" Lucy said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "…you just have to pay more attention to the people around you…especially her…"

"Nadia's fine. She's...happy now."

"Happy?" Putting her hand down by her side and shaking her head, she spoke calmly. "**We, women**, don't like to show our true feelings, especially when it's not going to help the situation. She's trying to overcome everything that has happened… by doing something that she likes to do… she's trying to make the situation better… just because she's not showing it, don't think that she doesn't feel the same way that you do."

Lucy stayed silent, staring at him, to let everything sink into his thick hotheaded skull.

After a short moment, Alec cleared his throat and pointed to the direction behind him. "I…umm…I have to go get an x-ray." Without waiting for her to respond, he quickly headed to that direction.

Shaking her head, Lucy turned around and saw Anthony staring at her. Ignoring his stare, she sat down, grabbed a magazine and waited for Nadia to come out. She just hoped she only had minor sprains and nothing else.

Unable to stop himself from being nosy, Anthony walked over and sat next to her. Lucy knew he heard the conversation. Tapping his shoes, Anthony took one of the magazines on the table and flipped through the pages of a magazine. Irritated by the noise from his shoes, Lucy finally asked.

"Do you want to say something?"

"You know…he's going to stop talking to you entirely." He said, looking at the magazine.

"As long as he's here, I'm going to keep giving him advice…whether he likes it or not." Lucy closed the magazine and put it back on the table. "How long?"

"We're doing it as fast as we can. He wants to keep his own passport."

"What? Why? They're going to find out where they went."

"That's what I told him."

_That stupid fool! _ "He's going to get himself killed. He's going to get Nadia killed."

"Well…" Anthony closed the magazine. "He thinks that son of a bitch won't bother them anymore. All he wanted was for them to stop thinking about getting revenge and …that's what he's doing. So if he did find them which I won't let it happen, that's what he's going to say to that son of a bitch." He whispered.

Seeing how worry she was, he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry… California is a big state. They're not going to find them so easily. Besides, he's got a lot of problems to deal with…the government…me…and others. He's not going to have time to deal with them."

"They found her here. They can find them again."

"They're not professionals, Lu…" He looked around to see Nadia or Alec was nearby. "My guys scared them so badly…" He whispered in her ear. "…one of them pee his pants."

Lucy immediately let out a lopsided smile.

"…and my guys made it look like they're kidnapping them…not rescuing them…." Anthony stood up and stretched his arms. "So if you ask me, I don't think they have to leave here…."

Lucy stood up, surprised with the new information. "…and when were you going to tell me that?"

Anthony shrugged. "…didn't think it was important…."

She had to admit that his plan was better than hers.

Seeing her smile, Anthony knew she was impressed. Rescued or kidnapped, either way, Anthony might be right. That fraudster wouldn't have time to deal with them.

At this moment, Nadia came out of the doctor's office.  
"Is everything all right?"

"I just have to get an x-ray on my wrist just to make sure."

"Okay…Alec is there now…I'll go with you…" Lucy turned to look at the person who interrupted her.

"I'll take her." Alec said softly as he nodded slightly at the brunette and motioned her sister to follow him.

After they left, Anthony walked closer to the former criminal. "Well…well…well…looks like he's finally listening to you…you are truly the _Diamond." _He whispered.

Ignoring his comment and smiling internally, she knocked on the door to the doctor's office. Once inside, the doctor greeted her with a smile.

"How is she…doc?" Lucy asked.

"She didn't tell you?"

"She did…she said everything's fine."

"…and?" Confused, the doctor asked.

"…so everything **is** fine? Did you check everything?"

"…she just have some minor bruises in upper arm and leg and a sprained wrist…no internal injury…I'm just waiting for the x-ray on the wrist…she's going to be fine." The doctor assured her.

"so...did you talk to her?…I mean…you don't think she's hiding anything."

The doctor stood up and walked closer to Lucy, wondering what she was thinking.

"I'm a doctor, Keira. Just tell me what you think happened to her."

Her bangs moved away from her face as she blew out a big sigh. Seeing that there was no easy way to ask this, she whispered into her ear.

Hearing her question, the doctor jerked back slightly. "Of course not! If she was, then we need to give her an award for best actress of the year." She wanted to ask why she would think that but knowing that Lucy wouldn't answer the question, she decided not to.

"How can you be so sure? " She wanted to say that Nadia could be drugged when it happened, but decided not to give out too many details. She was afraid that Nadia was hiding something else from them especially from her brother, who will not just sit back and do nothing, nor will she.

The doctor walked back to her desk and sat down and motioned Lucy to sit down.

"I know you're worried about her, so I'm going to tell you why I think that didn't happen to her."

After spending a few minutes with the doctor, Lucy was more confused and a little surprised at the same time about what she just learned. As she was about to open the door, the doctor told her something else seeing that she was so worried about her friends.

"…and your friend, Alyson…she's fine too…her drink wasn't spiked."

Hearing that, Lucy spontaneously closed her eyes for a few seconds as the memory of what happened that night with Alyson instantaneously flowed into her mind. After letting out a bigger sigh, Lucy thanked the doctor.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After getting Nadia's passport from the hotel, they decided to go shopping near there. After half an hour, Alec was done with getting everything he needed. But Nadia was nowhere near done. Alec wanted to go back to the apartment, but seeing how happy his sister was, clinging onto the brunette's arm as they looked thru everything from store to store, he couldn't help let out a smile, the first genuine smile since that day he decided to get revenge. He and Anthony walked behind them, watching the girls laughing and talking as they go thru each clothing item on a rack in the store. Seeing how Nadia was enjoying herself, Lucy didn't want to ruin her mood since she too didn't like shopping that much. While Nadia was looking for her clothing, Lucy decided to walk around in the store. Something caught her eye, a heart shaped earring with wings. She had forgotten to get a gift for Alexis. Instead of making a mental note to do that, she added a memo in her phone to remind herself. Seeing Anthony on the men's side, she walked towards him to see what he's up to.

"How does this look?" Anthony said, holding up a tie with blue and yellow slanted stripes against his chest.

"mmm…doesn't look good…" She picked out a dark blue tie and held it against him. "This looks good."

"I have a lot in this color already."

"Yea…you probably have everything already…" Lucy put the tie back, not knowing why Anthony even bothered looking.

As she passed by a rack full of long sleeve business shirts, she decided to buy something for Scud seeing that he didn't have time to go shopping. Finding something she liked, she looked around to see where Alec went. Taking a few shirts with her, she went over to Alec who was helping his sister pick out some clothing.

"Hey, Alec" Lucy called out. "Can you help me out? See if this fits." She gave her a shirt to try on without mentioning whom she's buying it for.

"Ummm…sure…" Alec nervously responded, taking a glance at her sister who was looking at Lucy.

"Who's this for?" Nadia asked out of curiosity.

"just a friend." Lucy said, looking at Alec as he put on a blued striped shirt on. She walked towards him and help straightened the shirt. Stepping back a few steps, she saw how good it looked on him but wondered if it will look as good on Scud. Lucy noticed that he was uncomfortable and kept taking glances at his sister for some reason.

"Okay…can you try this one?" Lucy asked politely so he couldn't refuse, knowing that he doesn't like to take orders from a woman. After trying out 4 shirts, she decided to buy all of them.

After shopping, they decided to eat lunch at a French restaurant. On a round table outside of the restaurant, Nadia sat between her brother and Lucy. While they were eating, Lucy got a call from the doctor, telling her that the x-rays were normal. Everyone was happy especially Nadia.

"Thank you." Nadia said as she covered Lucy's hand with hers. Anthony noticed this and pretended to look somewhere else.

Lucy immediately pulled her hand away and patted her hand. Giving her a warm smile, she continued eating her lunch but in silence, while taking glances at Anthony and wondered if he noticed it. _I am so going to lose this bet. _She thought to herself.

She was surprised when Alec spoke to break the awkward silence. She was expecting Anthony to do that.

"I was wondering…" All eyes turned to Alec. "…Do you have a sister?"

Lucy and Anthony were surprised at the question and both noticed the frown on Nadia's face.

"Alec!" Nadia called out. Lucy and Anthony could tell that she didn't like her brother asking the question for some reason.

"I was just wondering….that's all…." Alec cleared his throat.

Lucy could tell he too was hiding something.

"Nope"

Alec nodded, keeping his gaze at the brunette.

"Why? Do I look like someone you know?" She glanced at Nadia who focused her attention on her meal, clearly hiding something as well and noticed that her mood had changed from before.

"No…I was just wondering if you have any siblings." He said nervously.

"well…I can tell you that I'm the only child."

It wasn't her intention but this information captured Nadia's attention. From the look on her face, it looked like she felt sorry for her. Lucy hoped that Anthony would interrupt at this moment because she really doesn't want to be reminded of her childhood.

"We were just talking about this at the doctor's office." Anthony said as she took a glance at Lucy.

_Thank you, Anthony. _

"If you don't want to go to the US, you two could actually stay here. We're sure that he's not looking for you now."

"How can you be so sure?" Alec's brows furrowed.

"We have an idea to keep you safe, but you'll have to stay there for about a month and after that you can stay here or go back to France without worrying if anyone's following you." This idea just came to her.

"Stay at an apartment for a month? " Alec said as he shook his head and turned to look at Nadia who felt the same way.

"I know what you're thinking but it's not like that. You can stay in a hotel in an island. I've been there and I assure you…it would be like taking a long vacation. If you want to work there, I can probably make that happen too."

Raising his brows, Anthony knew exactly which island she was talking about.

"How can you be so sure they're not going to look for us there?"

"Because only guests are allowed and it costs more than 2000 Euros a night and they have high security. The only way to get there is by riding on their boat. I doubt they would pay 2000 Euros just to see if you're there."

Lucy saw the way they're looking at each other. Were they hiding something else or just thinking about what they should do?

"Take your time to think about it and don't worry about the money…." Lucy said as she slumped back against the chair. Looking at Anthony, she could tell he agreed with the idea.

"Alec…we forgot…" Nadia trailed off and Alec knew exactly what she was referring to. He too had forgotten about it. He blew out a deep breath and as he was about to explain, Nadia beat him to it.

"We weren't trying to hide this, we just forgot about it." Nadia spoke softly, hoping the brunette would believe them.

Both Lucy and Anthony leaned forward and listened intently. Once again Nadia reached out to hold her hand on the table. Lucy didn't back away this time.

"We…have the money hidden. You have to believe us." She held the brunette's hand tighter. "It's just that so many things have happened, we forgot…" She stopped when she heard the brunette's voice.

"I believe you." Lucy assured her with a smile and could see that Nadia immediately felt relaxed.

After spending half an hour in getting the details of the kidnapping, she learned about the house they held Kristin and Ashley and found out that they hid the money in a wooded area.

They decided to go back to the apartment afterwards.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside the apartment

When Lucy saw that Alec was about to go inside his room, Lucy called out to get his attention.

"Alec…" She said as she walked towards him. Both Nadia and Anthony were standing a few feet away and turned their attention towards the brunette. Nadia quickly walked over towards them, wondering what the brunette wanted to say to her brother.

"These look better on you." Lucy handed the bag of clothing she bought from the store.

"For…me?" Alec said, not understanding why she would do that.

Nadia was also confused and surprised. "You…bought this for him?"

Lucy nodded, wondering why they both were shocked. "I took 2 out. I think these look better on him….Here…" Lucy took his hand and had him grab onto the bag before saying goodbye.

As she and Anthony were about to leave, Nadia called out and walked rapidly towards them.

Facing Lucy, she spoke shyly. "Do you want to come over for dinner?"

Before Lucy could open her mouth to reject the offer, Anthony interrupted them. "I want to come. I haven't had a home cook meal for months."

_Months, really?_ Lucy rolled her eyes before speaking softly. "Nadia…your wrist?…you need to…"

"I'm fine." Nadia assured her by bending her wrist. "What would you like to eat?" Nadia asked Anthony.

"anything…I like a surprise." Anthony said, smiling wide.

She immediately turned to Lucy. "What about you?"

Both could see that Nadia was more interested in knowing what she wanted.

"I don't think I can make it tonight." Lucy noticed that she wasn't too happy about her response. She turned around and stepped outside with Anthony following from behind. Making sure that no one else was around as they walked down the stairs, Anthony spoke in a low voice.

"Hey, you're not playing fair. If you keep avoiding her, how are we going to prove that she's into you?"

Lucy stopped and crossed her arms, staring at him.

"Right? We can't prove it if you keep doing that." Anthony stayed silent for her to respond.

"Bets off." Lucy quickly responded and walked rapidly down the stairs.

"No way!" Anthony quickly followed her. "No way!"

"There's no way to prove it. Anthony…" Lucy said as she walked back to her car.

"Sure there is."

"I already talk about this with Scud. If she makes a move on me, I'm not going to tell you. And she's not going to make a move on me while you guys are around. So bets off."

Lucy opened the door to her car, but Anthony stopped her from going inside by holding her arm.

"You…know something….that's why you want to call it off."

"No…you know something." She stated. "…but you didn't tell me, remember?"

"Okay, I'm going to tell you what she said. After she asked me about your status, she asked if you have a boyfriend. That's all."

"So she doesn't know that I'm…"

Anthony shook his head. Lucy narrowed her eyes at him and wondered if he was telling the truth.

"…and I think they're hiding something else…" Anthony whispered.

Lucy nodded in agreement. "They were acting kind of weird." Lucy hesitated for a short moment.

"If I win, I want you to promise me something."

Anthony nodded. "What is it?"

"I'll let you know when I win."

Lucy stepped inside her car and rolled down the window.

"…not when…if…you win." Anthony corrected her.

"Oh…I'm going to win." Lucy said with confidence. "See you tonight." She drove off, leaving Anthony to wonder what was on her mind.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy's Apartment

After telling Scud what they found about the ransom money and the details of the kidnapping, she told him about the new plans for Nadia and Alec.

"Maybe I can dig up the money while I'm there." Scud said, looking at the computer.

"What?"

"Or do you think we should just leave it there for now?" Scud stopped typing and turned his chair around.

"Lucy, we might have a potential buyer. I'm going to meet with him tomorrow in Paris."

"Tomorrow?" Lucy thought about what to do with Nadia and Alec. Anthony could look after them. "Okay…let me pack my stuff." She said as she started to walk out of the room.

"Lucy, I'm going alone."

Lucy immediately turned around and stood there for a moment before speaking. "Scud…I'm not going to visit her. We're just going back to the company, meet with the buyer and come back, okay? I promise…I'm not going to see her."

Scud rolled his chair forward with his legs while sitting on it. "I need to be there for a few days. They need you to be here."

"Anthony can take care of them."

He knew what she was thinking and he knew she wouldn't be able to resist the urge to see Kristin, even just stealing a glance from afar. "Lucy…I know what you want to do. You want to warn Michel." He stood up and walked towards her. "I will do that. I will see how much he knows about his father. I'm going to tell him what we know."

"Are you going to tell him about…Kristin?"

"I don't know. Should we?"

Letting out a sigh, she walked to the living room and flopped down on the couch.

"I…don't…know."

"What's the harm if we told him?" Scud asked, sitting next to her.

"He's going to ask how we know because he's not going to believe us. We don't have any proof. And what if he asks Kat. He's going to tell Kat that we're the ones who told him. Shit!…then Kat might start looking into our records."

"Then we'll just tell him not to tell anyone."

"No…that won't work….when it comes to Kristin, he would want the truth. He's not going to be able to keep it to himself. If he finds out the truth about Kristin, what would he do?" Lucy asked.

"If I was in his situation, I would be angry and I wouldn't want to see that person again."

Lucy stood up and paced around, deep in thought for a moment. "But he wouldn't…he loves her too much. He said it before. If he finds out that she doesn't love him, he said he is willing to be friends with her rather than not being able to see her at all. He would…forgive her."

"So are you saying that if I told him that his family could be in danger, he's not going to move away to another country? He's going to stay there because Kristin's there and risk the safety of his family?"

"I don't know." Lucy blew her bangs up and let out another big sigh. "I really don't know. He might ask her to move with him."

"But she's not going to because she doesn't love him."

"Right. She's not. Her mission is going to be over soon. She…will leave…him. Then what will he do?" _What will she do after that?_

There was a moment of silence as the two thought about what to do.

"Don't tell him anything. Find out what he knows first." Lucy finally decided.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Monday night

Since Scud had a lot of packing and planning to do, Lucy decided to go alone to Nadia's apartment. Standing in front of the door, she said to herself. "Here goes" Lucy knocked on the door. Once inside the apartment, she noticed that she was a little late, seeing that Anthony, Alec, Anthony's man and Nadia were already eating dinner. Everyone turned their attention at her. Surprised by her presence, Nadia stood up and quickly walked over towards her.

"I thought you can't make it." Nadia said, happy to see the brunette.

"I have a change of plans. I hope there's food left." Lucy looked at the table and was kind of disgusted at the sight when she saw the hungry men gulping down the food as if they haven't eaten in 2 days.

"Don't worry, I saved some for you in the kitchen, just in case." Nadia let out a smile as she walked towards the kitchen.

Seeing that the seats at both ends of the table were taken, she sat next to Alec.

Raising her eyebrows up and down, she nodded and smiled to Anthony as she took her seat. _Let the game begin._

"Enjoying the food, guys?" Lucy asked.

Everyone mumbled with a mouth full of food at the same time, but Alec stayed silent. She slowly turned to watch Alec. Unlike others, he was slowly taking his time eating and enjoying his food. Anthony's men finished eating and excused themselves. When Anthony noticed her weird actions, he cleared his throat to get her attention, but Lucy ignored him. He coughed two times, but instead of getting Lucy's attention, he got Alec's attention. Alec wondered how long she's been looking at him. Shyly, he turned his attention back to his food when his sister put down the plate in front of the brunette.

"Thank you." Lucy said.

She looked at her own plate then glanced at Anthony's and Alec's and noticed that they had steak while she had chicken.

"I hope you like what I made for you."

Lucy smiled. "I love chicken…mmm…do you have any more steak?"

Nadia immediately apologized.

"It's okay…." She looked at Alec's plate and saw that he had a few slices on his plate neatly placed on the side. "I just want to taste a little bit. Alec, can I have a piece of yours?"

She didn't wait for his response and picked up a small piece of steak on his plate with her fork. As she slowly chewed it and tasted it, everyone else watched her in stunned silence with mouth agape.

"Wow! Nadia…this tastes really good." She complimented and started to eat the food on her plate.

As she cut up the pieces of chicken into slices, she pretended not to notice their stares.

"Alec, do you want a piece of my chicken?" She picked up a piece with the fork and put it in front of his mouth.

Alec swallowed before responding nervously. "mmm…no thanks…I'm all set."

"Try it…" Without taking a no for an answer, she shoved the chicken piece into his mouth when he opened his mouth to talk. "How is it?"

Covering his mouth while chewing on the chicken, he nodded. "mmm…" He turned to look at his sister who was more stunned than before. He looked down and tried to finish his food as fast as he can.

"Wow! This is really good chicken. Nadia." At the corner of her eyes, she could see Anthony and Nadia had the same shocked expression on their faces.

When she noticed that Nadia wasn't staring at her anymore, she turned to her left and let out a sly smile at Anthony before continuing with her food.

"So Nadia, where did you learn to cook?"

Not hearing a response, she turned to her right and noticed that she was eating her food quickly without tasting it.

"Nadia?" Lucy called out again but wasn't able to get her attention.

"Nadia" Alec called out.

"What?!" She said in an upset tone at her brother.

"Nadia, where did you learn to cook?" Lucy asked in gentle voice.

"Le Cordon Bleu in Paris" Without giving her any more detail, Nadia went back to eating her food.

_Plan is working as expected._

When Alec was done and was about to leave, Lucy stopped him by holding onto his forearm.

"Alec…wait…" All eyes focused on her as she reached into her bag to get out a small box and handed it to him. "Here…it's a watch."

"I…I can't" Alec waved his hand in front of him.

Lucy opened it for him and took it out. "I got this for my friend but he doesn't want it. I noticed that you didn't have one…"

As Lucy tried to put it on him, Alec stepped back. "Thank you…but I…"

"I can't return this."

"I'll take it." Anthony said as he stood up.

"No, you have a lot of watches already. He doesn't have any and he needs one." Lucy said and signaled him to butt out.

She walked closer to Alec and took hold of his hand and put the watch in his palm before walking back to her seat to finish her food.

Nadia then stood up, took her plate and walked into the kitchen without saying anything.

"Thank you, but this is too expensive. I can't take this." Alec placed the watch on the table and quickly went back to his bedroom without waiting for a response leaving Anthony and Lucy alone in the dining room.

"You s…" As Anthony was able to say something nasty to her, Lucy put her finger on her mouth, motioning him to be quiet since Nadia was still in the kitchen.

When Nadia stepped out of the kitchen, Anthony noticed that she wasn't happy. Without saying anything, she took a glance at Lucy before heading back to her bedroom.

"What are you doing?" Anthony whispered.

"What?" Lucy feigned innocence and continued eating her meal.

"You just proved that she's into you. You lost."

"uh-uh-uh…we don't know why she's angry. I didn't prove anything."

"Great, now she's upset. You clean up the dishes." Anthony said as he stood up.

"What?" Lucy said with a frown. "I'm the leader. I don't do dishes." She whispered.

Not paying any attention to her, he left the apartment after he told his men not to help her with the dishes.

"Shit!" She said, looking at all the dishes she had to do. This was not part of the plan. _I could just leave it here. _She let out a big sigh.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Looking out the window, standing in front of the sink for 20 minutes now, Lucy thought about what to do with Michel if he decides not to leave France. Slowly scrubbing the dishes with a sponge and deep in thought, she had no idea someone was standing behind her near the door and had been watching her for the past minute.

"You know…it's going to take you 2 hours to finish if you do it like that."

Startled by the sudden voice behind her, Lucy jumped a little and turned around.

"Oh hi, Nadia." Lucy smiled.

"Sorry…didn't mean to scare you." Nadia said as she walked closer to her. "I can do it." She said without emotion.

"It's okay. I got this. Go take a rest." Lucy said with a smile.

Nadia didn't smile back, just looking at her with a blank expression.

"I'll help you rinse." Nadia turned the water on and began rinsing the dishes.

There was a long moment of awkward silence.

"So…have you guys decided yet?" Lucy asked as she tried to finish the dishes as fast as she can.

"About what?" Nadia said without looking at her.

_About what? _Lucy frowned at the question. Clearly what she did a moment ago affected her greatly_. _ "USA or the island."

Nadia shook her head.

"Where do you want to go?

"It doesn't matter…where ever Alec wants to go."

Lucy noticed her tone had completely changed. It seems like she doesn't care anymore.

After a short moment of silence, Nadia spoke in an emotionless tone without looking at the brunette.

"You...look like her."

"Who?"

Keeping her head down and the same tone, Nadia responded. "My best friend."

"Oh really?" Lucy gasped internally at this new information and wondered if they all misinterpreted her actions. _Just because she asked the doctor a lot of personal questions about me does not mean she's into me._

"She's also Alec's girlfriend." Nadia lifted her head up and locked her eyes with Lucy's. "Ex-girlfriend."

Lucy now realized why Alec asked if she had a sister. "Oh…what happened?"

"They broke up after he…changed." Nadia said still looking at her.

"Do you still keep in touch with her?"

"No."

"Sorry to hear that." Lucy said genuinely.

Nadia continued rinsing the dishes.

"What about you?" Finished with the last dish, she took a towel and started wiping the counter.

"What about me?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Nadia shook her head. "No."

Lucy wondered if she should continue with this subject. She walked over to the table in the kitchen and washed the tabletop.

"You know…I would have never guessed that you're a chef."

Nadia stood in her current position watching the brunette's every movement. "What did you think I do?"

After cleaning the tabletop, Lucy picked up the broom and started sweeping the floor.

She let out a small laugh. "I thought you're a fitness trainer when I saw your…" Lucy cleared her throat. "…six packs…" She accidentally saw her abs during that time when she was drunk.

"…and you're right…I am…"

That caught Lucy's attention. She stopped.

"You're a fitness trainer and a professional chef?"

"I'm also a swimming instructor and I have a firearm license."

"Wow! I'm impressed! No wonder you don't' have time to date." Lucy continued sweeping the floor.

"I never said I didn't have time. I said I don't have a boyfriend."

Lucy bent down to sweep the trash into the dustpan. "…and why's that?" She said as she walked over to the trashcan and dumped the trash.

Nadia didn't respond.

"Looks like everything's cleaned. I better go back." She said as she looked around.

"What about you? How come you don't have a boyfriend?" Nadia said as she walked closer to her.

"I'm still looking for that perfect guy." Lucy waited for her to respond.

Without any emotion, Nadia took a moment to look deeply into her brown eyes. "yea…same here…" Nadia said softly.

The way Nadia was looking at her, Lucy could tell she was thinking of something else when she spoke.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Lucy said as she walked outside of the kitchen, into the dining room.

"Wait…" Nadia called out.

Lucy stopped. It wasn't because she heard Nadia calling her. It was because several feet away from where she's standing in the dining area, Alec was standing with his top half naked with just a pair of shorts on. He had just finished taking a shower and drying his hair with a towel. It wasn't that she had any interest in him, it's just that when she see someone with a tone body with 6 packs like that, she can't resist to take a longer look whether it's a man or woman. Besides, she knew Nadia was looking at her, so she wanted to let her think she's interested in Alec.

When Nadia noticed what captured her attention, she quickly walked in front of the brunette to block her view.

"It's still bright out. Can we go somewhere?" Nadia asked and noticed that the brunette was still trying to see the person behind her as she moved her head to the left.

"Alec, do you want go out for a drink or something?" Lucy called out when Alec was about to head back to his bedroom. Nadia immediately turned to look at her brother.

He turned to look at them and hesitated for a moment. "I..ah…just took a shower…I don't want to go out. You girls go ahead."

Lucy pretended to be disappointed and turned to Nadia. "Maybe tomorrow then?" Without waiting for a response, she started to walk away but immediately got held back by Nadia's hand.

"I just want to go out, doesn't matter where. Just a little while, please…" Nadia said with her puppy dog eyes.

_Oh geez…don't fall for it…don't fall for it._ "I'll take you out tomorrow. I promise." Without looking back, Lucy quickly headed out the door. Once outside the door, she let out a deep breath. _Sorry…Nadia…I have to win this bet._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside the apartment, as she passed by Scud's bedroom, she saw Scud packing up his clothing for tomorrow's flight.

"Hey" Lucy said.

"You're back." Scud immediately walked towards her.

Crossing his arms, he stood in front of her, narrowing his eyes at her.

"What?" Lucy asked.

"Anthony told me what you did."

"Pffftt." Lucy let out an unpleasant sound from her mouth as she turned around and headed back to the living room, she sat on the couch, putting her feet on the coffee table and turned on the tv.

"That's not fair."

"We didn't set any rules. If you ask her now, she's going to say no." Lucy said as she changed the channel. You know why?"

"Why?"

Lucy turned off the tv and stood up. "Because she told me that I looked like her best friend. Her best friend just happens to be Alec's girlfriend."

"Really?"

"Yup. But they broke up and she no longer keeps in touch with her."

Lucy nodded, hands crossing her arms.

"So you're saying she did all those things…cooking breakfast for you…holding your hand is because you reminded her of her best friend."

"Exactly…which means you guys lost." She smiled, tapping one her right foot continuously on the floor.

Scud pondered for a moment.

"You're right." Scud said as he started to walk back to his bedroom. "Bets off."

"What?" Lucy followed him.

"We can't prove it. So you're right. Even if we ask her, she's not going to admit it. But that still doesn't prove that she's not into you. She could be lying. So bets off, okay?"

"Hey! I called it off first but you guys want to keep playing. Now that I know for sure she's not into me, you want to call it off?"

"Luce…think about it. Let's say she's not into you now, which we can't prove." He held out his hand to motion her not to interrupt. "But who knows what will happen in the next few days? You know you have that charm girls just can't resist. There's Amy, Alexis, Kristin, Alyson…are you sure you want to keep playing?"

A frown immediately appeared on her face. "Alyson's not into me. She's straight."

"Oh really?" Scud said in a tone, letting her know that he doesn't believe her.

"Yes!" Lucy wondered how he knew.

Scud shrugged. "If you say so." He said as he continued packing his clothing.

"Well…if you want to keep playing, we're up for it. But like you said there's no way to prove it. She's not going to kiss you in front of us and you're not going to tell us if she kissed you and not kissing you doesn't mean she's not into you...and…"

"Scud, stop…you're giving me a headache." She said while caressing her temples.

"So bets off?"

"…yea..." Lucy said as she walked back to her bedroom. It's good in a way because now she doesn't have to pretend to be interested in Alec.

* * *

Next day

_Tuesday_

Scud's flight was 10AM. After driving him to the airport, she drove to Nadia's apartment. Since guests are only allowed on the island, she reserved 2 rooms for 2 nights. Lucy was sure they wouldn't want to leave there after 1 night, so she booked 2 nights for now. Once inside the apartment, she wasn't surprised when she saw Anthony there.

"Where are they?" Lucy asked.

"bedroom" Anthony said while watching tv with his 2 men.

"Don't you have anything to do?" Lucy whispered.

Anthony smiled and shook his head. "I'm here for breakfast and the bet."

Lucy couldn't resist rolling her eyes. "Sorry, guess Scud didn't tell you. Bets off."

Anthony immediately stood up. He whispered as he looked around to make sure they couldn't hear him. "What?!…Why?"

"Because there's no way to prove it."

"Sure there is."

"How?"

"mm…" Anthony pondered for a moment. "mmm…damn it…she's not going to admit it if I ask her…"

"That's right. Then I win. Go ahead…ask…get this over with."

"Bet is still on even if Scud's not playing. Let me think about it." Anthony paced back and forth as he think about what to do.

Lucy walked over to Alec's room and knocked on the door. Once again, Alec didn't put on his shirt when he opened the door. Standing in front of him, Lucy saw his chiseled, ripped body with six abs intact. She's starting to wonder if he's doing this on purpose. She wanted to look away but at the corner of her eyes, she saw Nadia walking towards her. So like last time, she pretended, to be mesmerized by the stunning physique in front of her.

"Alec!…" Nadia shouted and quickly pushed him back inside and close his door.

Lucy could tell she was extremely angry at him for some reason; more angry than she should be.

"Sorry…he's always like that at home too…"

Lucy pretended to be interested and let out a whistle. "…with a fit body like that, I wouldn't mind him walking around in my house with no shirt on." She let out a smile, but Nadia didn't think it was funny.

"But he's your brother…it's different."

Nadia wasn't smiling at this either.

As Lucy cleared her throat, Alec walked out, fully dressed, with Nadia glaring at him. It was like they just had a sibling quarrel. After telling them why she's here, they went to pack their things.

Sitting on the couch while watching tv, she waited for the siblings. Anthony was still pacing around. After a short moment, he quickly sat next to her, giving her a devilish grin.

"I've got it."

"What?"

"We set a deadline. By tomorrow night, if she kisses you, then I win."

Lucy's head jerked back a little. "No way! What if she just gives me a thank you or goodbye kiss, that doesn't mean she's into me."

"You're right. That doesn't count."

As much as she likes to win, this bet is giving her a headache. "Make it tonight by midnight and you got yourself a bet."

Anthony hesitated for a moment. "You can't leave the island tonight."

"Okay. But if they don't have any more rooms, I have to leave."

Anthony didn't like this at all. "You know you can't lie to me."

Lucy shrugged at the comment.

He wondered why the brunette was so confident.

"10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…" Lucy counted.

"Okay, you're on." Anthony offered his hand out.

After shaking his hand, Lucy let out a smile. "You know what I found out yesterday." Lucy stood up and whispered. "She told me that I look like her best friend and her best friend just happens to be Alec's ex-girlfriend. So now you know why she made me breakfast?"

Anthony narrowed his eyes at her. "Now you tell me…."

Lucy smiled in a way as if she had already won the bet.

* * *

Lucy and Anthony decided to drive Lucy's car to park at the Venice airport. Sitting in the front, they thought something was odd when the siblings were staring out the side window. Both were not in a talkative mood. It was a short ride, so Anthony decided not to break the awkward silence. From the airport, they took another short fast ride by private hotel boat to their destination.

Once they reached the island, Lucy could tell from their faces that they were impressed, just like how Scud and she was on their first day there. After checking in and putting their belongs inside the rooms, they decided to eat lunch while enjoying the atmosphere around them. Sitting on a round table outside, they gazed over the blue lagoon as they waited for their lunch to be served. Nearby is a huge rectangular swimming pool surrounded by reclining lounge chairs and tables. Separating the restaurant area from the swimming pool are beautifully trimmed green bushes and small trees. Pots of red and pink flowers, placed along the edges, made the place even more elegant.

"Well, what do you think?" Anthony asked.

Lucy and Anthony were surprised that Alec spoke first.

"This is absolutely amazing!" He said as he kept looking around.

"Nadia?" Lucy asked.

"I…don't think…"

"Nadia…" Alec interrupted. "You don't want to stay here?"

Nadia shook her head. "No…I mean I just don't think I could stay here for a month without doing anything."

"This is a big island. There are a lot of things to see. Today, you can go swimming. Tomorrow, you can take a boat ride. Then you go explore some other islands…" Anthony said.

"A month goes by very fast, Nadia." Alec said.

"I know…but if it's going to be more than month. I just don't want to sit here and …"

Lucy leaned over the table. "What would you like to do? Do you want to work in the kitchen, the gym? I'm sure with your skills, I can get you a job here. If they're not hiring, then I'm sure they would want a volunteer. You just let me know, okay?"

Nadia nodded and smiled.

"Well, that's settled then.…and just right on time…" Anthony said as the waiter placed the lunch plate in front of him.

After lunch, they all decided to take a stroll along the beach.

Lucy took a look at her watch. _Eleven more hours to go. _She thought to herself.

"You're going to lose." Lucy whispered to Anthony who was walking beside her.

Alec and Nadia were walking several feet in front of them.

Realizing this wasn't going to work, Anthony had to think of something fast. He stopped when an idea hit him.

"Who wants to go swimming?!" He yelled and quickly walked towards Lucy and pulled her into the water with him whether she likes it or not.

He laughed out loud as he kicked and splashed water all over her, making her soaking wet.

"You son of a bitch!" Lucy called out. Both siblings heard. There was nothing else she could do except do the same to him since she's already wet.

_Mission accomplished. Now there's one more thing to do._

As they kept splashing water at each other, he stepped back slowly, one step at a time, deeper and deeper into the water. Water covered almost 1/2 of his body. Suddenly, he cried out and fell into the water.

"Stop kidding around!" Lucy shouted when she saw his head barely above the water. "Stand up!"

As he tried to stand up with one foot while holding the other, a strong wave pushed him forward, causing him to fall back into the water face front.

"Jesus!" Lucy quickly tried to walk towards him. Seeing that he was really hurt, she waved to the siblings to help.

"Stay here!" Alec called out to Nadia.

Finally reaching him, Lucy took hold of his arm and tried to pull him up. But the weight of his body and moving water dragged her down with him. Once she was able to stand up again, she put his arm around her shoulder to give him support. "This is not funny. You better not be kidding around!"

"Does this look like I'm kidding around?!" Anthony said, holding up his right foot up, showing a sharp piece of glass sticking out with blood dripping down.

Lucy gasped out loud.

"What?" Anthony asked when he noticed a questioning look on the brunette's face.

"How come your fake beard is not falling out?"

"water proof." He said as he pressed his beard against his face. "Looks okay?"

Lucy nodded.

Once Alec arrived, he supported his other shoulder and all walked safely back to the shore. Lucy made a mental note to ask him later why the hell he did that.

While Anthony sat on the sand, Lucy took a look on the cut.

"Nadia, can you get me Alec's shirt?" Lucy said. "It's a little deep. I'm going to pull it out. Okay?"

"Just do it. A little cut won't kill me." Anthony said. Both looked at each other, knowing what each other was thinking of. They've been through a lot worse than this.

Taking the shirt from Nadia's hand, Lucy ripped it in 2 pieces. Both siblings were surprised at how she was able to do that.

"Bite on this." She said as she threw one piece to Anthony.

Knowing that she was teasing him, Anthony threw the ripped shirt back to her which she caught with one hand before hitting her face.

"On a count of three…1…" Lucy pulled it out as quickly as she can to minimize the pain. Then she quickly wrapped the foot with the ripped shirt and tied the thigh with the other part of the shirt.

Both gasped loudly when Lucy pulled the glass out. But to their surprise, no sound came from the injured man.

After she was done wrapping the wound, Anthony walked back to the hotel as quickly as he could with Alec's support.

While Nadia and Lucy took their time, walking at a leisurely pace, Lucy noticed that Nadia was taking glances at her as if she wanted to say something.

"You have something on your face." Nadia said softly as she walked closer to her. "Don't move." She said as she wiped the dirt away with her thumb. "Okay…it's gone."

"Thanks."

Both looked at each other for a short moment before Lucy decided to break the awkward silence.

"Do I really look like your best friend?" Lucy noticed that she was scanning every inch of her face.

Nadia nodded gently.

"I would like to meet her someday."

Nadia then looked away and started walking. "We lost contact after they broke up."

"Shouldn't be difficult to find her if you have her name." Lucy said confidently, knowing that Scud has the ability.

There was no response from Nadia.

"You don't want to find her." Lucy said more of a statement than a question.

"It would be too awkward."

"I see…"

Lucy understood completely. After she and Amy settled in Barcelona, Amy communicated with Max a few times. A couple of times, she took the call when Amy wasn't around and she could tell from the tone of her voice, Max still blamed her for taking Amy away. Their short awkward conversation were about 3 lines max. Where's Amy? When will she be back? Tell her I called. That was it. Neither of them wanted to put Amy in an awkward situation, so they kept the conversation to a minimum to prevent any arguments from erupting. And now that Amy's gone, she is certain that Max hated her even more and probably wanted to give her a piece of her mind if mad Max ever finds her.

"Well, maybe someday when she finds her other half, it wouldn't be so awkward."

When Nadia didn't respond, Lucy thought something else was bothering her.

After they headed back to the hotel, they saw Anthony walking out of a hallway with his foot all wrapped up with a new bandage.

"How is it?" Nadia asked out of concern.

"No big deal." Anthony said and noticed the brunette narrowing her eyes at him.

Lucy wanted to know what the hell he was doing before but since the siblings are here, she'll have to ask later.

"Hey since we're all wet, let's go for a swim." Anthony said.

"You can't swim with that." Lucy pointed to his foot.

"I know…I'll just sit and relax."

Seeing no objections from the siblings, Anthony asked Alec to buy him a pair of shorts and shirt since he had no clothing with him. Nadia volunteered to buy Lucy a swimming suit and some items while she went upstairs to her own room to get changed.

At the same time she checked in the hotel, Lucy requested another room for herself since she had to stay there for the night because of the bet.

Inside Lucy's room, Nadia waited for the brunette to try on the new pair of swimming outfit she brought for her.

"Does it fit?" Nadia asked, standing outside of the bathroom door.

"Okay. I'll see you downstairs."

* * *

As Lucy was walking towards her group in the pool area, she could see other men staring at her.

There wasn't much to see so she wasn't sure why they were looking at her. With a ponytail and sunglasses, she wore a semi-tight white T-shirt over the top swimwear and a colorful cover up wrapped around her waist. Even Anthony, Alec and Nadia were looking at her.

Standing near her lounge chair between Anthony and Nadia, Lucy put her shades down. Once she took off the white t-shirt and the cover up, she could see all of them still staring at her.

"Thanks for getting this. Nadia. I really love it." She wore a black sport bikini top with some designs in the front and a black sport shorts with designs at the hip.

She turned her head to look at Alec and noticed that his head immediately snapped to the opposite direction.

"Do you have any sun tan lotion?" Lucy asked Anthony.

"I have some." Nadia said as she handed her the bottle.

After putting the lotion on herself, Lucy asked her to put it on her back. Lucy noticed that Nadia still had her clothing on.

"Do you want me to put some on you?" Lucy asked in a gentle voice.

"mm…yea…sure…" She spoke shyly.

Standing up facing the brunette, she took off her t-shirt and cover up, revealing a similar pair of swimwear.

"Holy smokes!" Anthony couldn't resist speaking out as he saw the tanned toned body with six abs and defined biceps in front of him. Looking from top to bottom, even Lucy was in awe seeing the incredibly toned body in front of her.

Anthony cleared his throat and put his sunglasses back on and lay back on the lounge chair when he saw Lucy's eyes narrowing at him. It was inappropriate and he knew that.

Lying face down on the lounge chair, Nadia allowed the brunette to put lotion on her back.

"You must work out every day to get these." Lucy said as she gently squeezed her biceps while rubbing the lotion all over her arm.

"Just 1-2 hours a day."

"Really" Lucy said, surprised. To get herself in shape, she usually spend hours in the gym on weekends and an hour on a few weeknights when she's not busy.

"It depends on what you eat."

"True…and you being a chef, you'll know exactly what's good for you."

"mm…hmm" Nadia said as she closed her eyes.

After putting the lotion on, Lucy herself, relaxed on the lounge chair. There should be a lot of things for her to worry about. But at this moment, in this incredible environment, she couldn't help but let her mind free of worries. After 10 minutes, she turned and laid on her other side. Her head turned to the left and she saw Nadia smiling at her. She smiled back and closed her eyes. She doesn't want to think about the bet. She doesn't want to think about anything at this moment.

"Hey…" Anthony called out

Not hearing a response from Lucy, he turned to Alec.

"Is that who I think it is?" Anthony said, staring at the woman nearby.

Alec had no idea but he too kept his eyes on her.

When she heard a wolf whistle from Anthony, Lucy sat up to see what captured his attention.

"I have no idea who she is." Lucy said and kept her eyes locked on the blonde with the sexy body. _Holy cow! _

"I'm going over there." Anthony said as he pushed himself up.

"Okay….good luck…" Lucy smiled, shaking her head. Anthony never ceases to amaze her with his confidence.

"Thanks." Anthony started walking towards the blonde in the yellow bikini.

"What do you think, Nadia? Is he going to get rejected?" Lucy said, still looking at the blonde.

"I don't know."

"Alec?"

"Definitely." Alec said without a doubt.

"Well, I say he's going to get himself a date." Lucy said.

After a short moment, they could see the blonde laughing hard to whatever Anthony is saying. When Anthony and the blonde waved to them, they knew that was a good sign.

Lucy slumped back against the lounge chair. "That guy sure has guts."

"Wow!…I don't think I could ever do that." Nadia said.

"He knows what he wants and he goes for it." That's exactly what she did when she met Amy.

"I would be afraid of getting rejected."

Lucy turned to Nadia and let out a smile. Having only known her for a few days, she wasn't sure about her personality, but she knows she's not as straight forward as Alyson. Lucy let out a big sigh as the thought of the megastar crossed her mind. Hoping to give her more confidence in the future, she decided to tell her a story.

"I know this girl who has this friend. She fell in love with him the first day she met him. So one day she decided to tell him how she felt. But the guy didn't feel the same way." Lucy stayed silent to see if she wanted to hear more.

"Then what happened?" Nadia said, lying on the lounge chair.

"He avoided her...any way he could. When he saw her other friends, he told them not to tell her."

"Oh…no… so they're not friends anymore?" Nadia listened intently to every word.

"Well, she got sick one day. He found out about it and went to visit her. She told him that she wasn't expecting anything from him. She just wanted him to know how she felt. He understood and she knows that he loved someone else. In the end, they're still friends, even better than before."

"Really?!"

"mhm…"

"Wow…she's...really...brave."

Lucy turned to lie on her back. "She sure is." With her eyes close, she smiled as the image of Alyson appeared in her mind. "Even though they went their separate ways, she knows…if she ever needed his help, he would be there for her."

"That's a nice story." Lucy was surprised that Alec was listening. "Is that really true? "

"Yup."

"Wouldn't you, I mean…**your** friend feel awkward talking to him, since he didn't feel the same way about her?"

Lucy slowly sat up and put her sunglasses down on the lounge chair. She stood up and offered her hand out to Nadia.

"Do you want to go for a swim? I'll race ya…" Lucy said in a gentle voice.

"Okay." Nadia responded as she took the offered hand and headed towards the pool.

"Oh..and…Alec" Lucy said as she was about to walk to the pool. "I think you still have a lot to learn about women."

* * *

After a short moment, Anthony came back, smiling wide.

"I got myself a date tonight." Anthony sat down on the lounge chair. "What about you? See anyone you like?"

Not hearing a response, Anthony followed his line of sight to see what he's looking at. When he noticed Lucy and Nadia were having a swimming race at the end of the pool, he smiled at the thought that he might still have a chance of winning the bet.

"Wait a minute…you're not…you're not looking at her…are you?"

Alec didn't respond.

"Trust me. She's not for you. Okay? Save yourself some headache and look somewhere else."

"Why not? Did you notice the way she's been looking at me?"

Anthony rolled his eyes. "she's way out of your league…"

"You see someone you like, you go for it. Isn't that what you just did?" Alec smiled, looking at how much fun the brunette and her sister were having.

"Yes…but…"

"She said it herself."

_What a stubborn fool? _"Then what about your sister?"

"What about Nadia?"

Anthony frowned at his question. If he could tell that his sister was into the brunette, he thought that Alec would have noticed it too.

"I noticed that you two were a…little…off. Your sister seemed to be upset about something every time my boss pays attention to you."

Slumping his back against the chair, Alec let out a big sigh.

"Yea…she doesn't like me dating her friends. My ex-girlfriend was her best friend. After we broke up, they haven't talked to each other since. I guess she's afraid the same thing would happen again."

"that's it?" Anthony said with a questioning look. _Damn it! I just lost the bet._

Lying on the lounge chair, Alec put his hands on the back of his head. "If I don't try, how will I know if it's going to work out or not, right?"

"Right." Anthony said without thinking. "No!…I mean…no…you can try with some other chick…but not her."

"sshh…they're coming back." Alec said in a low voice to warn him to stop talking.

"Hey, how's the swim?" Alec asked. Lucy was surprised that he was still talking to her after what she just told him.

"Great…Nadia won the bet." She smiled at Nadia.

"Nadia…did you tell her you're a swimming instructor before you make the bet?"

"Of course I did."

"…and you still bet against her?" Alec asked as he looked at the brunette drying her super hot body with a towel.

Lucy shrugged. "…just having some fun…I want to see if I can beat her." Lucy turned to Nadia. "I was close, wasn't I?"

"…very close…" Nadia gestured with her hands, extending them out as wide as she can, causing Anthony to laugh out loud.

"We're going to get a massage." Lucy said as she started to put on her t-shirt and cover up.

"oohh…massage….I like that." Anthony stood up and waited for the girls. "I got myself a date tonight."

Lucy immediately gave him a slap on the arm to congratulate him. "Good for you!"

Hearing the gasp from Nadia, Lucy turned to her and advised. "See…if you see something you like, you just go for it."

Anthony wanted to say something to her but couldn't since the siblings were around. He turned and noticed Alec was smiling at him, raising his brows up and down. Putting his hand on his shoulder, Anthony knew there was nothing he could say to prevent this stubborn man in front of him from trying to get close to Lucy. "good luck, man, don't feel so bad about it." That was all he could say.

* * *

Inside the massage room with windows overlooking the water, Lucy lay face down on a massage bed. Wearing only a pair of boy shorts with a towel covering it, Lucy relaxed on the bed as a female masseuse massaged her tight shoulders.

The person in charge of the area asked them earlier if they wanted a male or female masseuse. Both immediately said 'female' in unison. Lucy couldn't understand why any woman would want a male stranger touching them all over their body. She shivered at the thought. As the masseuse began massaging her shoulders, she was reminded of the time when Alexis gave her a massage. Then Kristin came in and thought they were doing something else. She couldn't help but let out a laugh thinking about that moment.

"What's so funny?" Nadia asked, lying on another massage bed next to her while being massaged by another female masseuse.

"Nothing…it's just ticklish…" Lucy said with a smile.

"Is this your first time?" The female masseuse asked.

"No, it's just been a long time."

"This is my first time." Nadia said.

"How does it feel?"

"umm…weird…." Nadia said, making everyone including the 2 female masseuses to laugh out loud.

After an hour massage, the masseuses left them to relax on the bed.

Lying on their backs on the bed, with a towel covering the body, both stayed silent with their eyes closed for a moment.

Nadia opened her eyes and spoke softly. "Keira."

"mmm" Lucy said. It took a short moment for her to realize that Nadia had called out her name. Her eyes opened wide. "When did you find out?"

It wasn't really that hard since the hotel rooms were reserved under her name.

"Why can't you tell me?"

Lucy let out a deep breath and stared at the ceiling, trying to think of a good reason.

"I won't tell anyone."

Unable to think of a lie, Lucy closed her eyes for a moment. "Does Alec know?"

"yes"

She's starting to think this was a bad idea, bringing them here.

"Just pretend you never met us if anyone asks. Okay?"

Knowing that Keira won't tell her why, Nadia didn't ask and just agreed.

"After this is over, are you going to visit us?" Nadia asked in sad tone. She already knew the response but she wanted to ask anyway.

"We have to leave tomorrow morning."

Nadia immediately sat up, holding the towel in place over her chest. "Tomorrow?"

Getting off the massage bed with a towel wrapped around her chest, Lucy walked over to Nadia.

"We have things to do. After this is over, you and Alec can go back home." Lucy explained calmly.

As Nadia nodded in understanding, Lucy noticed her disappointment. She realized how lonely she could be staying here with only her brother and no friends to talk to.

"C'mon, let's eat dinner first, then we could do something you want to do. You won the bet, remember?" Lucy tried to cheer her up.

* * *

They decided to go to another place to eat dinner, expecting Alec and Anthony to be waiting for them.

Decorated with beautiful artworks, the dining room is situated on a spacious decked terrace over the water.

As the sky gets darker a little by little, lit candles were placed on each table and lights hanging on the canopy came on. Lucy looked around, wondering where Anthony is. She pulled out her cell phone.

"He's not coming. He's having dinner with his date. He'll meet us later at the bar near the swimming pool." Alec said.

Lucy was glad that Anthony was having a good time. After ordering her dinner, she excused herself to go to the ladies room. When she came back, she noticed the sad look on Alec and Nadia's face as she walked back to the table.

"Is everything okay?" Lucy asked.

"Nadia just told me that you're leaving tomorrow." Alec said, disappointed.

Lucy shifted her seat closer to the table and relaxed her back against the chair. "We have a lot of things to do."

She could still see the siblings staring at her as if they have other concerns. The plan was for them to hide out a month here, so she wasn't sure why the siblings have a disappointed look on their faces. She sat still, waiting for either of them to speak.

"Can I ask you a question?" Alec asked in a serious tone.

"Sure."

"Why do you hate **him**?" Alec stressed the word to let her know whom he's referring to.

The siblings focused their attention towards her.

Lucy looked into Alec's eyes for a short moment, then at Nadia's before letting her eyes slowly fall on the flickering candle in the center of the table. As the memory of that day when she learned about what happened to Amy flowed back into her mind, she didn't realize how long she had been staring at the candle until Nadia placed her hand over hers.

"You don't have to tell us. We trust you…." Nadia said in a gentle voice. "…no matter what happens."

At this moment, the waiter came with their dinner. Lucy nodded and patted her hand. "Let's eat first."

Seeing that her mood had changed suddenly, Nadia regretted asking the question. Her brother asked, but she wanted to know as well. Expecting the brunette would want to eat silently, she was surprised when her savior started telling stories about another friend she knew. She had been talking about her friend for 15 minutes and when they interrupted her with a question, Lucy ignored them and continued with the story.

"We went to Peggy Guggenheim a few years ago. She loved that place so much she wanted to spend the whole day there. I had to drag her out of there." She smiled at the memory.

Nadia could tell how happy she was talking about her friend.

"We came here just for a week for vacation, but she wanted to spend all of the time in museums but I didn't let her." She said as she ate the last piece of the sautéed chicken with lemon sauce.

"Is she your best friend?" Nadia couldn't resist the urge to ask.

Again, Lucy just smiled without responding to her question and continued. "I wanted to stay here in this hotel, but she said it was too expensive, so we ended up with a hotel that costs 200 Euros a night. It wasn't that bad." She said as she took a sip of the water.

Alec was confused at why she suddenly started talking about her friend.

Putting down the fork, she wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I wish I didn't listen to her and brought her here. I think she would have loved it here." She looked up the night sky glimmering with stars, trying hard not to cry.

With her eyes closed, she took a long deep breath, inhaling the fresh night air and exhaled slowly, again and again. With a small smile, she turned to look at Nadia. "It's really beautiful here, isn't it?"

Sensing that there was something wrong with the brunette and knowing that she wasn't expecting a response, Nadia just nodded slightly.

Lucy's smile slowly disappeared as she turned to look at Alec and waited for his next question she knew he wanted to ask. But she was surprised Nadia was the one who asked.

"Where is your friend?"

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to hold back her tears after responding to her question, she stood up and moved her chair in.

Taking another deep breath before answering, she spoke softly.

"She had a school project so she flew with her art class…" Lucy swallowed hard before continuing. "…to Paris…2 years ago."

A frown appeared on Nadia's face, expecting the brunette to continue. It took her a short moment to realize what the brunette was trying to say.

When Lucy heard Nadia's gasp, she realized that she understood.

"I'll meet you guys at the bar later." Without waiting for their response, Lucy casually left the restaurant and walked down a lighted walkway, not knowing where it leads to, as if just going for a walk. But she didn't care at this moment. She just didn't want anyone to see tears brimming her eyes.

Alec and Nadia immediately stood up as Lucy started to walk away. With a frown, Nadia glared at her brother, letting him know that she was upset with him for asking the question.

"I'm sorry…I just want to know." Alec apologized sincerely.

As Nadia was about to follow the brunette, Alec took hold of her hand.

"Nadia…give her a moment."

* * *

Standing still with her arms crossed at a familiar spot overlooking the water, Lucy looked up at the night sky, captivated by a shining bright star as if looking down on her.

"Is that you, Amy?" She said softly. "I…I can't help it." She said as tears ran down her cheek. "I missed you so much. You understand?" Letting out a deep breath, she kept her gaze at the flickering star as if waiting for it to respond.

Hearing footsteps from nearby, she quickly wiped her tears away from her face and eyes.

"Hey"

Recognizing the familiar gentle voice, Lucy didn't turn around.

"I'll meet you at the bar later, okay?" She said and started to walk away.

Nadia quickly followed her and placed her hand on her shoulder to stop her from moving.

"I want to do something now." Nadia said, standing behind her. "C'mon…you promised." Nadia slid her hand down to take hold of the brunette's hand.

Without saying a word, Lucy stood still with her back facing Nadia.

Not waiting for a response, Nadia started walking, pulling the brunette behind her.

Walking towards the destination, Nadia did not look back at the brunette to give her time to get herself together. She was just happy that the brunette was willing to follow her.

After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the destination.

"You want to ride on that?!" Lucy asked from behind.

Finally a hearing a voice from the brunette, Nadia felt it was safe to turn around. Pretending that nothing happened from before, she nodded, smiling wide. "I've never ridden on one of these…please…" She begged, rubbing her palms together.

Not taking a No for an answer, Nadia pulled her towards the gondola.

_Not again._ Lucy thought herself.

Lucy was expecting the same kind of ride as last time…stinky, dirty water, crowded gondolas, but at this time of the night, it shouldn't be that crowded. This time was different. It was much quieter, much more relaxing…gliding under the moon in a more open area without the sewage smell. The gondola was so much cleaner and the seats were so comfortable. It would have been perfect if the person next to her was someone else. Looking up at the glistening moon, she wondered what the blonde in Paris is doing at this moment. She had promised her a gondola ride but every time, for some reason, she ended up riding it with someone else. She snapped her head to the left when her thoughts were suddenly broken by a loud sneeze. Nadia excused herself.

"Are you cold?" Lucy asked out of concern.

"Just a little." Nadia said, hugging herself against the cold.

Lucy reached out to touch her hand. "Your hand's freezing. We should go back."

"No! I'm fine." She said adamantly. "Please…." She said with those puppy dog eyes.

As Lucy was about to move closer to wrap her arms around her to give her warmth, the gondolier from behind informed them to look on the side.

Lifting the cover on the side, Lucy saw a blanket neatly folded inside. _Wow…this is definitely better than the last gondola. _ With a big blanket wrapped around them, both looked up at the sky filled with stars shimmering like diamonds.

Nadia turned to look at the brunette and noticed that she was no longer unhappy. Not wanting to ruin the mood, she decided not to talk about what just happened.

As they rode through the water admiring the beautiful night view, Lucy thought about Kristin. She was so deep in thought of the blonde in Paris, she didn't realize how long Nadia's head had been leaning on her shoulder. It was when the gondolier started serenading that brought her back to reality. She turned to her left and saw a small smile on her face. Her eyes were closed. _Maybe she's just tired._ Seeing that the ride was almost over, Lucy did not disrupt her peaceful nap.

After a short moment, Lucy was shocked when she saw another gondola nearby. "Oh my God."

"hmm…what?…what happened?" Nadia said as she groggily opened her eyes.

"Sorry…I didn't mean to wake you up?"

"What happened?"

"Look over there…" Lucy motioned with her head.

"Is that…Is that…is he getting a massage?" Nadia said, rubbing and squinting her eyes to get a better view. "…at this time…in a gondola?"

Not hearing a response, Nadia turned to look at the brunette who was staring in another direction. Following her line of sight, she realized what captured the brunette's attention. "Oh…my…god…" Nadia said.

Lucy's jaws immediately dropped when she saw a half naked woman getting ready to lie down on the gondola to get her massage.

"Are these people crazy?" Nadia said as she covered the side of her face with her hands.

As the gondola with the half naked woman slowly passed by them, Lucy couldn't stop herself from staring. When she could no longer see the half naked woman, she turned and noticed Nadia was looking at her. Both couldn't resist and laughed out loud at what they just saw.

Slumping back against the comfortable cushioned seat, Lucy put the blanket over both of them.

"Wow!…do you have guts to do that…out in the open?" Nadia asked.

"You have to be crazy to do that…" Lucy responded with a laugh.

* * *

After the gondola ride was over, they headed to the bar, located near the pool. Outside of the bar, there were a few seats, couches and tables where guests could watch the sky.

Inside the bar, there was a dance floor in the middle filled with people moving along with the music. Some guests sat in tables enjoying their snacks and drinks while others stood along the bar area chatting with friends. On the side was a piano unoccupied.

"over there." Lucy said when he saw Alec standing near a table waving his hand. Anthony was nowhere in sight again. With the music on and people talking, everyone have to speak a little louder than usual.

"Do you want a drink?" Alec asked politely.

"Nadia…What do you want to drink?" Lucy asked in a gentle voice.

"I don't care. You choose."

Thinking that the brunette must still be upset with him for what happened, Alec slumped back against the chair and let out a sigh.

As Lucy walked away towards the bar to order her drinks, Alec took this opportunity to ask her sister about what happened.

"Nothing happened. She's fine…." Nadia leaned forward. "…and don't bring it up again." Nadia angrily warned him.

"Okay…I won't."

Standing at the bar waiting for her non-alcoholic drinks, Lucy looked around to find Anthony. It's about 2 hours left till midnight. _He's going to lose. _

As if on cue, Anthony appeared right behind her.

"Hey, how's it going?" Anthony called out loudly and happily.

"Fine…you?…where's your date?" Lucy asked when she didn't see any woman near him.

"She's in the restroom." Anthony leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "I like her!"

"I'm glad you're having a good time." Lucy said, smiling wide. She then pointed to her watch to let him know that it's almost midnight.

"I know." Anthony said, realizing what she was referring to. He knows that he's going to lose and there's nothing he can do about it. So he rather pay attention to his hot date. "She's out. I'll see you later."

This bet might not be important to Anthony but it meant a lot to her. With this bet, if she wins, she wants Anthony to prevent Scud from getting involved if Michel needed her help. If the mafias go after Michel, she has to help him and his family. There could be a chance of getting herself exposed or even killed in the process of helping him and she doesn't want that to happen to Scud. He deserves a better life, a life with Janet. If the government finds out, she and Scud have to be on the run again. She can't do that to him. He waited too long to be with Janet. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Lucy thought to herself.

Taking her two drinks, Lucy walked back to the table. The music stopped and people on the dance floor walked back to their seats. When a romantic slow music song came on, some stayed behind. Anthony and his blonde date stayed behind, holding each other closely while dancing.

Taking a sip of her drink, Lucy wondered who this blonde is. He did say she looks familiar. Her thoughts were broken when her view was blocked by Alec, standing in front of her.

"May I have this dance?" Alex asked in a gentle voice, offering his hand out.

Not expecting this, Lucy stayed still, staring at Alec.

"….please?…" Alex asked again politely.

At the corner of eyes, she could see people sitting in the nearby tables watching them. Some men were laughing but she wasn't sure if they were laughing at Alec.

"….please?…" Alex asked again.

_Oh what the heck. _Not wanting him to look bad, Lucy took the offered hand. Smiling wide, Alec thanked her and both walked slowly to the dance floor.

It has been a long time since Lucy had a slow dance with a guy. Instead of putting her hands on his shoulders, she spontaneously put her hands on his waist. _Oh shit! _She thought to herself and quickly placed her left hand up on his shoulder, placing her right hand on his left hand, palm-on-palm. Alec let out a small smile, thinking that it must have been a while since she danced, and leaned forward, placing his head next to hers, moving slowly to the beat of the music. She remembered the last time she had a slow dance. It was with the blonde, Alyson. She closed her eyes and reminisced that moment with the megastar. She could still remember the strawberry scent of her hair. Breathing in deeply, her eyes immediately opened wide and she winced in disgust when the smell of the cologne brought her back into the current moment.

Nadia had warned him not to mention about what happened, but he felt the need to apologize.

"I'm sorry." Alec whispered next to her ear.

She took a moment and realized what he was apologizing for. "I accept." Lucy said softly.

He was instantly more relaxed. "Thank you."

Holding her hand firmly, his smile grew wider at the thought that maybe this could be the beginning of a new relationship.

As they continued to dance to the sweet romantic beat, Alec found the courage to ask and whispered.

"Can you stay a little longer?"

That question sounded familiar to her. She frowned and tried to remember where she heard that before. It took her a short moment to realize that was the question she asked Alyson on their last day together.

Sensing something's not right, Lucy pulled back slightly.

"Are you hitting on me?"

Alec let out a smile. That's what he liked about her, straightforward. "I thought maybe we could spend some more time together…to know each other?"

Lucy held back to urge to roll her eyes. She realized that it was her fault for giving him the wrong signal. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, she tried to think of a way to reject him. Should she give him the oldest excuse in the book or the same excuse she gave to her blind date with the Russian assassin? While thinking about it, sounds of shattered glasses nearby attracted their attention.

Both walked quickly towards Nadia when they saw that she had accidentally dropped her drinks on the floor while walking back to her seat from the bar area.

"Sorry…" Nadia apologized to the waiter who was helping her clean up the mess.

"Nadia, are you okay?" Alec said in a worried tone.

Ignoring her brother, she apologized again to the waiter who politely and professionally told her not to worry about it.

Standing in front of Nadia from two feet away, Lucy offered her hand out. "Nadia…" Lucy called out in gentle voice as she nodded her head to motion her to take her hand.

Without hesitation, Nadia took the offered hand and followed the brunette back to their seat.

Alec rolled his eyes and let out a big sigh when he realized why his sister was upset with him again.

Sitting in their seats, Lucy took some napkins and wiped off the spills from her hands and legs. When she put the used napkins back on the table, she noticed two other empty glasses. She didn't need to ask if she drank those. The red cheeks on the girl with the six-pack abs said it all.

Feeling a headache coming on, Nadia slumped back against the chair, holding her head.

Lucy was getting worried that she was getting addicted to alcohol.

"Nadia, are you okay?" Alec asked once again but was again ignored by her little sis.

Lucy noticed this and looked at Alec who only shook his head and rolled his eyes in response. As she was about to ask her what she drank, she was interrupted by Anthony who seemed to be in a hurry.

"Give me your room key?" Anthony said, bending down next to her. His hand reached out and his fingers wiggled rapidly.

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" Anthony tilted his head to motion her to look into the direction of his date, standing near the door.

Lucy is happy that he's getting lucky tonight but she's not happy with giving him her room to use. Anthony had no plans of staying for the night so he didn't reserve a room earlier.

"Why can't she use her room?"

"Her friend is using it. C'mon…before she changes her mind."

"If you're using my room, then I'm leaving." Lucy leaned forward and whispered. "So I win."

He didn't get to where he is by making hasty decisions. He hesitated for a moment and looked at his watch. It was an hour away from midnight. He looked at Nadia and saw that she was napping on the seat. He looked at Alec and remembered what he said in the pool about why his sister was upset with him.

"Alec, give me your room key."

"No way! Just go get another room."

Anthony didn't like what he said since he was the one who saved them. But he can't let him know that. He turned around and noticed that his date was running out of patience. He could ask for a room right now, but that would take some time.

"She'll get you another room."

Lucy shook her head. It was a nice try, but Lucy knew better.

"Damn it." With all of this information, Anthony calculated in his head and came to a conclusion that there was no way he could win this bet. "Okay." He said to Lucy.

Smiling wide, Lucy immediately handed her the room key.

"Make sure you get my stuff when you leave." She didn't really have much. Just the swimwear Nadia bought for her.

Shaking her head and smiling, Lucy kept her eyes at Anthony as he walked rapidly toward his blonde date. Turning her head back, she noticed Alec's smiling at her. _Oh geez. I didn't tell him yet._

She leaned forward. "Alec" She wiggled her finger to motion him to come closer. She didn't want the people nearby hear her reject the guy. Alec leaned forward with a smile, eager to listen to what the brunette has to say.

Lucy stopped and snapped her head towards the person who suddenly called out his name. "Yea!…Alec!" Nadia slowly leaned forward, supporting herself by holding on to the arms of the chair. Their faces were less than 1 feet away from each other. "Why…do you…always do this to me, Alec?" She said, trying to keep her eyes open and head and body balanced.

Lucy stayed silent and looked at Alec and wondered what Nadia was referring to.

"Nadia…I…" Alec tried to explain but stopped when Nadia slapped her right hand down hard on the table, causing Lucy and Alec to jerk back.

"Stop…Alec!…just stop!…" Nadia angrily stood up, pressing her hands against the table to support herself.

Thank goodness for the loud music that just came on and guests moving quickly to the dance floor, not too many people noticed her sudden outburst.

Surprised with her actions, Lucy immediately stood up and wrapped her right arm around her back, holding her forearm firmly, when she noticed she was wobbling and having trouble standing.

"Let's go back to your room, okay?" Lucy said in a gentle voice. At this moment, she just wants to calm her down and leave the place before making a scene. This is not a good place to have arguments, especially sibling rivalry. But she is curious to know what pissed her off.

Alec stood up and opened his mouth, ready to speak, but Lucy held her hand to stop him. It's not smart to reason with someone who had a little too much to drink, especially if that person is upset with you.

"Nadia?" Lucy spoke softly and gently turned her all the way around to have her facing her instead of her brother. "Let's go…okay?" Instead of pushing her forcefully towards the exit, Lucy offered her hand out and waited patiently for her to take it. After a few seconds, Nadia took the offered hand and Lucy gently hung it around her shoulder, the other hand holding her waist, before leading her to the door. As they walked back to the hotel room, Lucy stayed silent, giving Nadia time to calm down, giving her time to sober up. In situations like this, it's better to allow the other person to speak first.

As they walked back to the room, Nadia kept mumbling the same words over and over again. "Why…does he…always do…this? Why?"

After a long walk, supporting the slightly drunk woman, Lucy was glad that they finally reached the room. Lucy took a moment to rest on the bed next to the fitness trainer before going to the bathroom to get a cold wet towel. Feeling something cold on her forehead and face, Nadia slowly opened her eyes.

Sitting on the bed, Lucy said softly when she saw her smile. "Feeling better?"

"mmmm" Nadia smiled as she closed her eyes for a second.

Lucy stood up and as she was about to walk away, Nadia grabbed hold of her hand.

"Where're you going?" Nadia asked, holding her hand firmly.

"bathroom…."

"Don't leave.…" Nadia whispered, unwilling to let go of her hand. "It's late. You can stay here tonight." Letting go of her hand, Nadia patted on the empty side of the bed and closed her eyes.

Lucy didn't realize that she heard the conversation she had with Anthony. She took a look at her watch and saw that it was 45 minutes until midnight. "It is kind of late." She walked over to the balcony and closed the curtains, leaving a little opening. After taking a quick shower, since she didn't feel comfortable sleeping in her day clothing, she slipped into a white robe provided by the hotel. Seeing that Nadia was in no shape to take a shower, she took some warm wet hand towels to wash her face, hands, arms, back and anywhere she could without taking her clothes off.

After finishing washing her up, Lucy left the bathroom lights on and the bathroom door slightly opened and slid into bed underneath the blanket. On the queen size bed, she twisted and turned and just couldn't sleep. She turned to her right and closed her eyes. After a short moment, when she felt movement on the other side of the bed, she turned to her left and saw that Nadia was trying to take her shirt off.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked, noticing that she already took off her shorts.

"I'm hot."

"It's going to get colder at night."

Ignoring the brunette, Nadia took her shirt off, leaving the bra on and lay back on top of the blanket.

Lying on her side, Nadia smiled at the brunette.

"Do you want to know why?"

"hmmm?" Lucy said, confusion on her face, unsure of what she's referring to.

"My best friend…she fell for Alec."

Lucy stayed silent.

"We used to have a lot of fun together before she fell in love with him. Everything changed afterwards. Everything changed after they broke up."

Lucy could see how sad she became talking about her best friend.

"If he didn't start pursuing her, we would've still been friends."

Lucy now realized why she was so upset with Alec.

"Nadia. You can't blame him. He didn't know what's going to happen." She's defending Alec because his situation sounded like when she went after Amy. Her friends and Scud didn't like it either but they came to accept it, except for Max.

Hearing Nadia's big sigh, Lucy knew she was disappointed in her for taking Alec's side.

"Have you ever met someone that you think you could fall in love with?"

Nadia turned to look at her.

"If you have, then you would know that if you don't at least try, you would regret it for the rest of your life."

Nadia remained silent.

"You feel so strongly about that person, you would be willing to take that risk. Even if that person doesn't accept you, that would be okay because you, at least, can tell yourself that you've tried." Lucy spoke softly.

"like your friend" Nadia said.

"That's right." Lucy said and lied on her back, staring at the ceiling, remembering the first time Alyson told her she was falling for her. That was in the car at the airport. _No. Wait. It was in the plane when we were about to land, but I couldn't hear her. _

"Keira"

"hmmm" When Lucy turned to look at Nadia, she was surprised how close Nadia was facing her and was even more shocked when Nadia surprised her with a lingering kiss on her lips.

Nadia pulled back and began kissing her cheek, down her jaws and her neck.

"Nadia, what…are you…doing?" At this moment, Lucy couldn't think of anything else except wondering why the hell is Nadia kissing her.

Breathing ragged and her heart racing, Nadia hovered over her face while pressing her body against the brunette's. "If you see someone you like, you just go for it. Isn't that what you just said?" She stopped the brunette from speaking by crushing her lips against hers, kissing her deeply. As Lucy was about to push her away, Nadia pulled back and looked deeply into her eyes for a moment and gave her one short kiss on the lips before rolling off of her.

Lying on their backs, both were panting heavily and when Lucy managed to think again, _Oh shit!, _she reached her hand out and grabbed her watch on the table next to the bed and saw that it was…. _Damn it!…_3 minutes until midnight.

After putting her watch back on the table, she covered her eyes with her hand as she tried to catch her breath. _Maybe it was just a kiss to thank me. _Lifting her fingers up, she took a quick glance at Nadia who was smiling wide and breathing heavily. _Who the hell am I kidding? Her tongue was in my mouth. _

"Nadia, is there something you want to tell me?"

There was a moment of silence and Lucy saw her smile disappeared.

Staring at the ceiling, Nadia began to tell her story slowly. "I fell for her….but she loved Alec."

Lucy now realized that she wasn't just upset because of losing her best friend. "Does she know? Does Alec know?"

"No…" Nadia shook her head. "No one knows. I didn't want to lose her as a friend. She's not…like us."

She shifted her body and leaned on her side and smiled at the brunette, facing each other 2 feet apart.

"Like us?" A frown appeared on Lucy's face. Lucy thought she did a pretty good job in leading Alec on and showed her that she was interested in men. "How…did you know?"

"I wasn't a hundred percent sure. But I saw the way you look at the blonde, the way you look at the half naked woman on the gondola…and the way you...look at me…at the pool…."

Lucy immediately covered her face in embarrassment and Nadia smiled even wider.

"But then you showed interest in Alec…then you're not…then you danced with him…then…"

"So that's why you got upset because you saw me dancing with him? Because you thought I was interested in Alec?"

Nadia nodded in embarrassment.

Lucy's not worried about her relationship with her brother. She's more worried that the girl is going to start drinking excessively every time she sees a girl that she likes and happened to fall for her brother instead.

"Nadia…you shouldn't drink so much …it's not good for you…you know that." Well, she is a fitness trainer, so she should know.

"I know and I didn't. I just drank one glass with a little alcohol."

Lucy didn't believe her. "Just one? There were 2 empty glasses."

Nadia was surprised she noticed. "I got the other one for you. I accidentally spilled it when I saw you two…dancing so close.." Nadia confessed.

"So you went to get another one and dropped it again…?" Lucy said.

Seeing her smiling shyly, everything became clear to Lucy.

"When did you…." Lucy trailed off and cleared her throat and wasn't sure if she should ask when she fell for her. She wanted to know if Scud and Anthony were right or did she fell for her later.

"When did I what?" Nadia asked.

"Never mind." Lucy immediately said and asked another question. "Do you want to know what I was going to say to Alec before you interrupted us…twice?"

Nadia frowned in confusion. "Twice?"

"I was about to tell him that I wasn't interested in him when you dropped the drinks. And when you interrupted us with your outburst, I was going to tell him…" Lucy hesitated for a moment. _Sorry…but you have to know how I feel. _"…I'm in love with someone else." Lucy hoped that Nadia would understand.

Nadia heard the serious tone in the brunette's voice and from the look on her face, she knew that it wasn't just an excuse to reject Alec nor was the brunette talking about her. _She has someone else in her heart._

Lifting her head and body up a little, Nadia shifted closer to the brunette and placed her head on her shoulder and hung her arm around her waist, snuggling her almost naked body closer to the brunette.

_Oh no. _Lucy thought that Nadia might have misinterpreted what she meant. She reached out to hold her shoulder and wanted to gently push her away. "Nadia…"

Holding her firmly around her waist and unwilling to let go, Nadia lifted her head to look at the brunette. "…I understand. I just wanted you to know."

Just like Alyson. Lucy realized that her story of Alyson must have given her the courage to talk about her feelings.

After gazing at each other for a long moment, Lucy leaned in to give her a kiss on the forehead and allowed the girl to move closer to her. When she began to stroke her back to comfort her, her hand froze in mid air, realizing that Nadia has nothing on but a bra and underwear.

She doesn't mind letting her sleeping so close to her just one night, but almost naked is something she just couldn't allow. "ummm….Nadia…"

With her eyes closed and snuggling comfortably against the brunette's body covered with a blanket, Nadia responded with a smile. "hmmm?"

"Can you put some clothes on?"

"But I'm still hot." Nadia said, with her eyes closed.

It doesn't make sense to her. _If she's still hot, why is she snuggling so close to me?_ "Then I'll sleep on the couch." Lucy said as she tried to get up.

Nadia immediately stopped her by pressing her shoulder down. "Okay…I'm going to take a cold shower." She said as she hovered over her face. "But promise me…you're not going to leave."

After Lucy nodded in agreement, Nadia shifted her body on top of Lucy's and reached over to turn on the lamp, causing both to blink to adjust to the light. When Lucy managed to open her eyes, her heartbeat began to race when she saw what's in front of her, Nadia's full breast with black laced bra, hovering over her face. _Oh my lord._ Her face almost pressed into her cleavage. She quickly turned her face to the side and shut her eyes tight.

Nadia looked down and noticed the effect she had on the brunette. With a smile, she intentionally climbed on top of her and stayed there for a moment before getting off of her and off the bed. She had always been very shy when it comes to talking and showing her feelings. But somehow with the brunette, she's not afraid to show how she feels and what she wants. Not wanting to frighten her away, she resisted the urge to kiss her again.

When Nadia got off the bed, Lucy opened one of her eyes slowly to see what she's doing, then opened the other eye. _Oh God. _Now that the room is brighter, Lucy could see that she was wearing a black laced bra and underwear. This was not like the swimwear. It showed more of her and the laced undergarments made her look even more sexy. Lucy swallowed hard and couldn't keep her eyes from looking away until Nadia turned around. Lucy immediately turned to the other side and shut her eyes tight, pretending to go to sleep. When she heard the bathroom door closed, she opened her eyes and let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding. _This is a bad idea. This is a bad idea_. Lucy lifted her blanket and got off the bed. She opened the chest draws to see if Nadia had any extra shirts and pajamas shorts she can wear. Right now, she's wearing nothing except boy shorts under her robe. She stopped. _What the hell am I doing?_ Thinking that she might do something stupid again if she stayed here, she quickly put on her clothing and headed towards the door. As she was about to open the door, she stopped when she heard Nadia's voice calling from inside the bathroom.

"Keira! Can you get me towels? There's none in here."

Lucy closed her eyes tight, debating on whether she should leave. Clenching her fists, she took a few deep breaths. You're avoiding her…just like you avoided Alyson. Lucy said to herself. She didn't want to make the same mistake twice. But that was different. _I don't have drugs in me now. _

"Keira?" Nadia opened the door slightly and peeked her head out. "Where're you going?" Seeing that the brunette changed into day clothes, Nadia felt that something was wrong. "Are you…."

Lucy turned around. "I'm a little hungry. I want to see if they have anything to eat downstairs." Lucy walked over to the closet and grabbed some towels and handed it to her.

"But it's almost 1, they're closed."

Lucy walked towards the door. "I'm going to take a look." She said before she closed the door behind her. After closing the door, Lucy let out a deep breath. She doesn't know what she's going to do. But at this moment, she just wants to get out of the room.

At the front desk, she asked which restaurant is still opened, there was none. The bar closes at 12:30. She asked if she could get off the island at this hour. The hotel's boat service is closed, but they could get someone to give her a ride if it's an emergency. She asked if she could get another room. There weren't any rooms available.

Seeing that there was nothing else she could do, Lucy decided to get some fresh air outside of the hotel. Looking up at the dark sky, she let out a fake laugh and said to the Lord above. "You're testing me, aren't you? You're doing all of this just to test me. You know I've fallen for Kristin, so you sent all these other woman, Alexis, Alyson, Nadia just to see if I could control myself." Lucy said as she paced around. If anyone sees her at this moment, they would probably think she's crazy. She stopped and pointed to the sky. "You…want to test my love for her. Am I right? Well, let me tell you!" She yelled. "I **love **Kristin and I am not going to give her up for anything…or…anyone! You…hear…me!" With all of her strength, she shouted at the sky as loud as she could. "I…LOVE…KRISSSSS..TINNNNNN!"

After confessing her love to the lord and convincing herself that she could control her body and mind, she felt so much better, she decided to go back to Nadia's room. Previously, she planned on not going back so she didn't take the hotel key. After knocking on the door, it only took a few seconds for Nadia to open the door. Lucy could tell from her face that she was surprised to see her.

"You're right. Everything's closed." Lucy said as she stepped inside the room. She took off her shoes and went to the chest drawer. "Do you mind if I wear this? I don't want to wear the robe." Lucy held up one of Nadia's t-shirt.

There was no response from Nadia, standing silently near the door.

Lucy changed inside the bathroom and when she came out, she was surprised that Nadia was cutting up slices of pear and apple on the table.

"There were some fruits in the refrigerator." Nadia said, looking at the brunette with a t-shirt and boy shorts on.

Nadia was wearing a dark blue pajamas shirts and shorts. "You can wear that." Nadia pointed to the pajamas short on the bed.

Lucy put on the shorts and since she wasn't really hungry, she just ate 3 slices before heading to bed. Nadia was already in bed, sleeping on her side of the bed.

After a short moment, Nadia couldn't hold it inside of her, knowing that tomorrow will be the last time they will see each other. She knew she had frightened the brunette away with her confession. But she didn't know why she came back.

"Keira, I'm sorry."

Lucy opened her eyes. "for what?"

"I shouldn't have said anything."

Lucy turned on her side to look at her. "Are you regretting telling me how you feel?"

There was a moment of silence. She wanted to ask the brunette why she came back. But decided to ask something else instead.

"Did she regret telling you how she felt?"

Lucy frowned in confusion. "Who?"

"your friend…"

"my…?." Lucy trailed off when she realized Nadia had found out the truth. "You know that you're a lot smarter than Alec." She let out a smile.

"I know." Both let out a small laugh. "Did she regret it?"

"No" Lucy said confidently.

"Even after you avoided her?"

Even though she doesn't know how Alyson felt at the moment when she found out she was avoiding her, she believed that given a second chance to start over, Alyson would have done the same thing, telling her how she felt about her.

"I think she would regret it if she didn't tell me. She did try to tell me a couple of times." Looking up at the ceiling, Lucy exhaled loudly. "She said she was glad to have met me."

Nadia moved her body closer to the brunette. "I'm glad to have met you too." She couldn't resist giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Lucy turned slightly to look into her eyes. Brushing her hair away from her eyes with her hand, she let out a smile. "Me too."

Seeing that the brunette was in a better mood than before she left and wasn't pushing her away, Nadia slowly leaned in for short kiss on her lips. Getting no rejection from the brunette, she leaned in again for a longer open mouth kiss which the brunette reciprocated in the same manner.

"Wow!" Nadia said after pulling away to breathe, lying on her back.

Lucy smiled at her reaction.

Nadia leaned closer to her ear. "You're my first." She whispered shyly and dropped her head into the brunette's neck, snuggling closer, loving the way her body pressed against the brunette's.

"Really?…" Lucy wasn't surprised. "Do you want to try something else? I could be your first in that too." Lucy whispered into her ear.

Nadia's head shot up. "Keira!" She embarrassingly dropped her head back down.

"What? I was thinking that I could give you some self defense lessons. That's all. What were you thinking of?" Lucy said teasingly.

"Nothing." Nadia mumbled into her neck, smiling wide. Her hand hung on the brunette's abdomen.

"Seriously, Nadia. No one in your family knows."

"You're the only one."

Lucy now realized why she had such a big reaction when she asked her if Alec was her girlfriend the second time they've met. It wasn't because she thought I was crazy. She was shocked at the question. It was because she had been hiding the secret from everyone. _She probably thought I somehow found out._

"It must be very difficult for you."

"They wouldn't understand. They wouldn't accept me."

"Not even your parents?"

Nadia shook her head.

Lucy let out a big sigh and gently stroke her hair to comfort her. She was lucky to have parents who understood.

"What about you?" Nadia asked.

"They understood…I was 12…"

Nadia lifted her head to look at the brunette. Realizing how lucky she was to have parents who understood and at such a young age, she already let them know. Nadia couldn't control her tears from flowing down. That's why she has so much self-confidence. Nadia thought to herself.

"Hey…what's the matter?"

Nadia shook her head. "Nothing…I'm just happy for you." She said as she wiped her tears away.

Lucy wasn't sure what happened to her mother. But since Nadia never talked about her, she assumed that her mother must have passed away a long time ago.

"Well, then you have to let Alec know. There is no reason to hide it from him or anyone."

"But he wouldn't understand. He won't talk to me ever again." She shook her head.

Lucy reached out and cupped her face. "Listen to me, Nadia. You and I know how stubborn your brother is. If I can make him fall for me, I can make him understand."

Trying hard to hold it in, but couldn't, Nadia chuckled, then burst out laughing. Her tears of sadness turned into tears of laughter. She doesn't know why the brunette was pretending to be interested in Alec, but it doesn't matter. With Keira being the only one who understands her, she feels completely safe in her arms. Hearing those words, her heart melted all over again. It was the same feeling when she found out that the brunette was the one who rescued her. And tomorrow, Keira is going to help her come out of hiding, hiding a secret that she had been keeping for more than a decade. Keira is going to make Alec, her only family, understand and accept who she is. She leaned in to give her savior, in more ways than one, a kiss on the cheek.

"Let's go to sleep." Lucy was glad that she was able to make her laugh.

Feeling relaxed, comfortable, and happy, snuggling close to the brunette, it didn't take long for Nadia to fall into a peaceful sleep.

Lucy, herself, being extremely tired also drifted off to sleep after a short moment.

* * *

**Chapter 22: Chapter 22**

* * *

Chapter 22

Wednesday morning

Not wanting to let the others, especially Anthony, know that she stayed in the same room as Nadia, Lucy woke up early around 9AM. Sitting in the same place where they had lunch yesterday, she waited for Alec while eating her breakfast. Earlier she had called Alec to meet her there.

"Good morning" Alec said, smiling wide. He was extremely surprised that Lucy called his room this morning. Since they did not finish their conversation from last night, he thought she would want to continue where they left off.

"Good morning, Alec." Lucy said with a smile.

He looked around and wondered if she had called Anthony and Nadia as well. "Where's Nadia?"

"I don't know. Maybe she's still sleeping." Lucy feigned ignorance.

"Where is ummm…your associate?"

Lucy realized that they must not have found out Anthony's name, which it's good. The less they know, the better.

Lucy shrugged.

Alec's smile grew wider, realizing than the brunette didn't call anyone else.

"I hope you like what I order for you." Lucy said when the waiter put his breakfast down in front of him.

_Dancing yesterday, breakfast this morning, now all alone. This could be the beginning of a new relationship. _Alec thought to himself.

"Do you want some of my ham?" Alec said.

With a frown, Lucy looked up and wondered why he would say that. _Shoot! I still haven't told him yet. _ With everything that happened last night with Nadia, the only thing on her mind was to let him know about Nadia.

"I'm all set." Lucy said politely and put down her utensils and took a sip of her coffee. She decided to keep quiet and waited for him to finish eating.

But Alec, however, wanted to continue with the conversation from last night.

"Keira…" Alec immediately stopped when he saw the brunette narrowing her eyes at him when he called her name. He wasn't sure why she didn't want anyone to know her name but decided to ask about this later. "About last night…" Alec stopped again when Keira extended out her hand.

"Alec, let's not talk about that now. Let's talk about something else. I'll wait for you to finish eating." Afraid that he wouldn't listen to her after she rejects him, she decided not to talk about it now. Besides, she's leaving the island soon, there's really no point in talking about it.

Eager to know what the brunette wanted to say to him, Alec quickly finished eating his breakfast.

"Now...what do you want to talk about?" Alec said in a gentle voice and shifted his seat closer to the brunette. Lucy noticed that he had completely changed from a few days ago. Maybe this is the real Alec before he learned about his father's death. She thought to herself.

Lucy put the cup of coffee down and took off her sunglasses.

"I want to talk about your sister."

A frown immediately appeared on his face.  
"Is she still upset with me?"

"I don't know. But that's not what I want to ask you. What I want to know is…how important is your sister to you?"

"What do you mean? She's my sister. Of course she's important to me."

"Okay. Well, let's say you met someone that you fell in love with, but your sister doesn't like her and the person that you love doesn't like your sister. Would you choose your sister or the one you love?"

Alec frowned at the question. "Nadia wouldn't make me choose. She's very understanding. You know that. She will try to become friends with her."

Lucy nodded. "She is very understanding. But what if the one you love doesn't like Nadia. What if she wants to move to another country and she doesn't want to bring Nadia with her. What if…."

"I'm not going to fall in love with someone like that. The one **I love** will have to like Nadia too. You like Nadia, don't you? "

Realizing that he just confessed his love for her, Lucy cleared her throat. "Yes…but you're missing my point."

"I know what you're trying to say." Alec leaned forward. "We may have arguments but that's what brothers and sisters do. She's my sister. She's my only family and I love her. No matter what happens, I'm going to take care of her and I'm not going to let anyone hurt her."

Lucy was touched by his speech. "Have you ever told her that?"

"What do you mean? We're family. She knows that."

Lucy took another sip of her coffee and put it down.

"True. But maybe you should tell her that."

Alec wondered what happened last night that the brunette decided to talk to him about Nadia. As Alec was about to say something, Anthony interrupted them.

"Good morning…" Anthony said in a whisper, while looking around in a mysterious way with his sunglasses on.

"Is everything all right?" Lucy asked, noticing his weird behavior.

He shifted his chair so that he's facing the water, his back facing the other guests.

"Fine."

Since Anthony's here, Alec decided not to ask his question. When Anthony ordered his breakfast, Lucy decided to order one for Nadia. She had left her a note telling her where she would be this morning.

"Why are you still here?" Anthony asked.

Lucy cleared her throat. "Umm…It was late and there's no boat service after 12, so I booked another room." Lucy took another sip of her coffee.

"So how's last night?" Lucy didn't want to know the details of his one night stand but it's the only way to keep him from asking about her last night.

"Fine."

"Fine? Just fine?" Alec said.

"Fine."

Lucy sensed something was definitely wrong with him. She expected him to say something else besides fine.

"Hey, there's your date." Lucy said.

"Don't look! Pretend you didn't notice." Anthony immediately shifted his seat to block Lucy from seeing the people behind him, hopefully preventing his date from noticing Lucy.

"Is she looking this way? Does she know I'm here."

Lucy looked again and realized it wasn't her. But she really wanted to know what happened.

"She's sitting down. She didn't notice us." Lucy lied. "Why, does she want a second date? Is that why you're hiding?"

"mhm…" Anthony said without making eye contact.

"So what's wrong with that? If you like her, you should continue." Alec said while looking at the brunette.

Lucy knew what he's referring to and just ignored him.

"I'll be right back." Alec said.

Lucy waited for Alec to leave before asking Anthony.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Lucy whispered.

"She's not looking this way, is she?" Anthony asked one more time and Lucy pretended to look and shook her head.

"Don't tell anybody this, okay? Not even Scud. You swear."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "I swear. Not even Scud."

At this time, the waiter came with his and Nadia's breakfast.

Anthony started eating his breakfast and Lucy patiently waited for him to continue.

Anthony wiggled his finger, motioning her to come closer. "She…is a he…" He whispered.

Lucy immediately jerked back. "Are you serious?"

"Quiet down."Anthony whispered and nodded. "They're fake." Anthony gestured with his hand, putting them in front of his chest.

"Did you and he?"

"Of course not!"

"Then how did you find out?" Lucy was very curious.

"She told me. I mean he told me when we were about to…."

"Well, that was nice of him." Lucy said, trying hard to hold in her laughter.

"If he told me afterwards, I would kill him."

Unable to hold it anymore, Lucy burst out laughing.

"Shut up! Stop laughing! She's going to look this way."

Lucy pretended to look over his shoulder to see if his date was still there. "She's gone. So what did you do after he told you?"

"I told him I'm not interested and thanked him for telling me before we did anything."

"You thanked him?!" Lucy was surprised that he didn't yell at her…him.

"What am I supposed to do? I was the one who approached her. I was the one who asked her for a date. I mean, he's a woman now." Anthony said and took a sip of coffee.

"She's really looking for someone who can love her. She even told me what happened to all her previous boyfriends. As soon she told them the truth, all of them said they're not interested." Anthony slumped back against the chair. "I felt sorry for her."

"…and you're hiding from her because….." Lucy said, confusion all over her face.

"because she's in love with me…. I can't give her what she wants." Anthony looked around to make sure she's not behind him. "I don't know what to say to her…you know what I mean." He whispered.

_I know exactly what you mean. _Lucy placed her hand on his shoulder. "Sorry…you didn't get any."

Knowing she was still teasing him, Anthony narrowed his eyes at her. Lucy couldn't help but chuckled and then burst out laughing again.

"What's so funny?" Nadia asked as she walked towards them.

Lucy immediately stopped laughing. "Oh…hi Nadia. He was just telling me a joke." Lucy smiled at Anthony.

Nadia sat down next to her. "What's the joke?"

Both Lucy and Anthony stared at each other to see who could come up with one.

When she noticed Anthony continued eating his breakfast, she knew she had to say something.

"It's a dirty joke. You wouldn't want to hear it." Lucy noticed that Nadia didn't like what she just said from the frown on her face.

"If you haven't noticed by now, I am an adult. I'm probably the same age as you. So if you can find it funny, then I think I can take it."

Lucy wondered what pissed her off this morning. "That's not what I meant."

Anthony glanced at both of them, noticing that Nadia was upset with the brunette for some reason.

To interrupt the awkward situation, Anthony poured Nadia a cup of coffee. "She ordered this for you." Anthony said, motioning the breakfast in front of her.

Nadia closed her eyes for a few seconds before snapping her head at Lucy.

"You ordered this? How do you know what I want to eat? You didn't even ask me what I want."

Lucy and Anthony immediately jerked back, surprised with her sudden angry outburst.

"So you think everybody has to listen to you because you're the boss. Alec, me, him…" Nadia said angrily and pointed to Anthony. Extremely angry, Nadia stood up.

Lucy immediately stood up and whispered, trying not to make a scene. "Nadia, what are you doing?"

"And now you want me to eat this just because you ordered it!…You can just ffff…You can eat this!" She said as she took her plate and smashed it down on the table in front of the brunette, spilling her coffee on the table.

Her loud voice captured the other guest's attention.

Both Lucy and Anthony were stunned. Lucy reached out to hold her arm.

"Don't touch me!" Nadia held her hands up and moved one step back.

"Nadia, what's going on?" Alec said, standing behind her.

Nadia turned around and could see that her brother was holding a bunch of red roses and a white stuffed bear with a red heart etched on its chest. She walked towards him and grabbed the roses and the bear from his hand and walked back towards the brunette.

"The boss always gets what she wants, right?" Nadia threw the roses and the bear on her chest, which Lucy didn't try to catch. She quickly turned around and as she walked past her brother, Alec tried to stop her by holding on to her arm. "Nadia?"

Without saying anything, Nadia flung his hand away. Everyone stared at the upset woman as she walked rapidly towards the Exit, wondering what just happened.

Lucy stayed silent and kept staring at the direction where she last saw the girl with the innocent look.

"Shouldn't you go after her?" Anthony said to Lucy.

"What happened?" Alec said as he walked towards the brunette.

There was a reason why Nadia acted the way she did. She knew why. It was unexpected. Especially from last night, she thought everything would be okay. _If Nadia wants to remember their last day in this way, that would be fine too. Whatever she wants._

"She's going to be okay. Just give her some time."

Lucy turned to Anthony. "We have to go."

"Wait…you're leaving?" Alec asked.

"It's time for us to go. I already reserved the rooms for a month. Take good care of your sister."

"Wait" Alec picked up the roses and the bear and handed it to her. "These are for you. I want to thank you for everything." He stepped forward and wanted to give the brunette one last hug.

Lucy extended her hand out to stop him. "Thank you. But…you should give it to someone else." That should do it and it did. Alec's smile quickly disappeared.

After checking out of the room, Lucy and Anthony stood in an area surrounded by flowers, trimmed bushes, and trees to wait for their boat ride off the island. Anthony stared at the brunette, wondering what just happened.

"Here it comes." Anthony said when he saw the private boat heading to the docking area.

As Lucy was about to step on to the boat, she stopped when she heard a familiar voice calling.

"Wait!"

Both turned and saw that it was Nadia calling.

"You should talk to her. It could be the last time." Anthony said.

Lucy wondered what changed her mind.

Not wanting others to listen in on their conversation, Lucy headed towards a more secluded area nearby and Nadia followed from behind. At the same spot where she had her emotional outburst last night, Lucy stood still looking out at the lagoon. It was another perfect day with a beautiful sunny sky. Lucy walked a few steps forward and inhaled the summer breeze. As she took another deep breath of the summer air, she felt a pair of arms wrapping firmly around her waist from behind. Nadia stayed silent to cherish the last moment together while Lucy waited patiently for her to speak her thoughts.

"I'm sorry." Nadia said in a sad gentle voice with her face pressed against the brunette's back shoulder. "I don't know what's gotten into me." She said as she tightened the hold.

Lucy loosened the hands that held her waist and turned around. She brushed the hair away from Nadia's face and looked deeply into the shy girl's brown eyes.

"I thought…if I get mad at you, then I won't miss you as much." Nadia said softly. "It doesn't work." She said, shaking her head and looking down on the ground.

"I know." Lucy lifted her chin to look directly at her. "I understand and it's okay if you just left like that."

"You knew?"

"Nadia, you're not very good at telling people to F off." Lucy said with a smirk.

Embarrassed about what happened earlier, Nadia pressed her forehead against the brunette's shoulder. Her hands still wrapped around her waist. "I don't like to swear." Nadia said in an embarrassed tone.

Lucy let out a chuckle, then a sigh and hugged her firmly.

"Nadia, do you trust me?"

Nadia nodded into her shoulder.

"Good. You might not believe me right now. But someday, you will find someone who loves you. You don't have to hide anymore." Lucy spoke softly.

Nadia looked up at the brunette. "Did you…tell Alec?"

Lucy shook her head. "I've talked to him and I know he loves you, so I'm sure he's going to understand."

"You didn't tell him?"

"Nadia, you…have to tell him."

Nadia shook her head. "I can't."

"Why? What are you afraid of?"

Looking down, Nadia shook her head without saying a word.

Lucy lifted her chin up again. "Nadia…you told me how you felt. I think that's pretty darn brave of you." She said with a smile.

"…but I scared you away…"

Lucy was surprised that Nadia knew the real reason she left last night. "…but I came back, didn't I?" Lucy let out a lopsided smile. There was no reason to lie to her anymore.

"Why did you come back?"

Lucy didn't see a reason to respond to her question. She softly rubbed her cheek with her thumb. "Do you realize how smart you are? You…just needed a liiiittle….more confidence" Lucy gestured with her thumb and forefinger. "Do you know how you can get that confidence?"

Nadia shook her head.

At the corner of her eyes, she saw Alec coming. "Well, what do you know, here he is."

Nadia turned to the direction where Lucy was looking at. She quickly took her hands of the brunette's waist and stepped away.

"Nadia, I've been looking all over for you." Alec asked in a concerned voice.

"Well, Nadia….here's your chance. Do you want me to stay?" Lucy said.

Alec quickly turned towards the brunette. "You're going to stay here?" Alec said, smiling wide.

"No, Alec. Nadia wants to tell you something."

He sensed that something was wrong with her sister from her behavior just a while ago. "What is it, Nadia? Is everything ok?" Alec said, looking worriedly at his sister, standing about 6 feet away.

"I…I…" Nadia glanced at the brunette, then at Alec, then looked down on the ground and let out a deep breath, yelling at herself internally.

"Nadia. Everything's going to be fine. Just tell him." Lucy encouraged her.

Confused, Alec took a glance at the brunette before focusing at his sister.

Lucy waited patiently for her to speak up. There was a moment of silence.

Nadia finally decided. She looked at Lucy and spoke with confidence. "I don't have to tell him."

"Nadiaaaa…" Lucy said with disappointment.

As Nadia walked towards her, Lucy thought she has given up again. But she was dead wrong. Lucy was shocked when Nadia stood in front of her, reached out, held her neck and planted a kiss on her lips, a very long passionate kiss, one that kids would cover their eyes and strangers would stop to look at them if they saw them. Hearing a loud gasp from Alec, Nadia ignored him and continued kissing the brunette with passion. To make sure her brother understood and not mistaken the kiss as a goodbye or thank you kiss, she intentionally moaned loudly into the kiss. This would be their last kiss and she wanted to make it memorable. After she pulled away, both were breathing heavily, smiling at each other.

"Have I told you how smart you are?" Lucy said, still trying to catch her breath.

"Plenty of times." Nadia smiled and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too." Lucy said, hugging her tightly. She saw Alec was still in shock.

Lucy pulled away and walked towards Alec. "Are these for me?" Lucy asked, pointing to the roses and the stuffed bear. Not getting a response from Alec who was staring at her in stunned silence, Lucy took the roses and the bear from him. "Thank you."

Walking with the gifts in her hand, she headed towards Nadia. "Your new life starts today." She said softly as she handed the gifts to her.

Touched by her thoughtfulness, Nadia couldn't resist giving her one last kiss. "Thank you."

"Take care."

As Lucy walked towards Alec, she rolled her eyes, seeing that he was still shocked.

"Alec…" Lucy snapped his fingers in front of him to bring him out of shock.

Alec cleared his throat and glanced at his sister before focusing his attention to the brunette.

"Take care of your sister." Lucy said in an authoritative command.

Alec nodded, still shocked.

Lucy took a few steps forward and stopped and turned around. There's just one more thing she had to say before leaving.

"And Alec…You really **should** pay more attention to the people around you." Lucy shook her head at the thought of how his entire family didn't know about Nadia. Having lived with their entire lives, how could they not know? Crazy. Even they, Scud and Anthony, had a clue and they've only met her for a few days.

When she turned around and looked up, she saw…_shit!…_Anthony looking at her with a smirk on his face.

_How long has he been standing there?_

As she passed by Anthony, she ignored him and walked towards the docking area. The siblings followed from behind. After Lucy got onto the boat, Anthony couldn't resist and walked towards Nadia. Lucy couldn't hear them, but she knew what he wanted to ask her. When she saw Nadia whispering into his ear and Anthony smiling wide, she knew that he knew that he had won the bet. She had no intention of lying to him, anyways. So it doesn't matter. She was thinking of not saying anything until he asked about it.

* * *

While driving back to the apartment, Lucy wondered when Anthony was going to ask. He had been staring and smiling at her without saying a word since they left the island.

"Well, I'm waiting." Anthony said.

"Waiting for what?" Lucy feigned ignorance.

"You know what. Tell me the truth. Did I win?"

Lucy let out a sigh. "Yes."

"and when were you going to tell me?"

"when you ask about it….like right now."

"Why would I ask about it if I thought I lost?"

Lucy shrugged. "I never said you lost. You **assumed** that you lost."

She took a quick glance at Anthony and could see him narrowing his eyes at her.

"So…what do you want me to do?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know yet. I'll let you know."

After a short moment of silence, his smile grew wider. He suddenly clapped his hands together and yelled out loud, startling Lucy. "Ah HA!"

"What the hell's wrong with you?!"

"Now I know why she's upset with you?"

Lucy wondered why he's still thinking about that.

"You slept with her last night…and…"

"What?!" Lucy stepped on her brakes so fast, the tires made a squealing sound and both jerked forward at the sudden stop.

"she's upset because you're still leaving even after you slept with her last night, that's why she told you to fuck off." Anthony explained.

"What?! You're crazy…you know that."

"Am I? I mean it all made sense. She slept with you and expected you to be with her. But you still decided to leave. She's a nice girl. You know she's not that type of girl who would do a one-night stand. She wants more. Lucy, you broke her heart."

"Anthony, you have a wild imagination." She said in the same tone as him.

He ignored her comment, knowing that she'll never admit to it. "But I'm curious…how did you convince her in the end? "

Lucy just shook her head, ignoring his questions. She couldn't understand why Anthony is talking about this.

Not hearing a response from the brunette, he continued with his questions.

"You know…She really loves you. Why don't you think about it? After all of this is over, maybe you two could get together, live a happy peaceful life on the island."

Finally arriving to the destination, Lucy stopped the car and put it into park mode. She shifted her body and turned towards him. She needed to clarify before he started spreading it around. She knows he won't but she still felt the need to tell him.

"One. I did not sleep with her. _Just on the same bed but he doesn't need to know that._ Two. I like her, but I'm not in love with her. Three. Why are we even talking about this?"

"Because Lucy, I worry about you. That girl…is a government agent. She's not right for you." Lucy realized that Anthony was referring to Kristin. He stepped outside of the car and gave her one more advice before closing the door. "You might not be in love with Nadia now. But you can learn to love her. Think about it."

_What's gotten into him?_ Lucy thought to herself.

He started to walk away but turned back. "Oh…one more thing…we were right from the beginning. She fell for you the day we rescued her." Anthony said and walked away.

Lucy sat still, watching Anthony leave, as she thought about what he just said. If he knew about Alexis and Alyson, he probably wouldn't have said all of those things. Scud knows. Scud didn't try to persuade her to just spend her life with either of them because Scud knows her too well. How can she spend a life with someone she doesn't love? Learn to love her? She's not sure she could do that. Maybe if Kristin didn't show up. It would be a different story. Out of the three, Alexis, Alyson, Nadia, she would choose to be with Alyson. But then again, the blonde is a megastar. It would be too dangerous to be with her. Reporters everywhere. Would she give up her career for me? She probably would. But without Kristin, she would never have met Alyson. She wouldn't have been on that plane.

She yelled when she suddenly felt a headache coming on. "What the hell am I doing!" Her hands gripped tightly on the steering wheel. "I don't care what Anthony says, I am not going to give her up."

* * *

**Chapter 23: Chapter 23**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

Wednesday

Paris

Inside Benjamin Couric office

What better way to hide out than in the house of his enemy? Unfortunately it didn't come out the way Ethan expected. One of the chefs who worked for Benjamin Couric and who is a friend of Nadia's, ran into Ethan one day and recommended him to the butler to take her place while she goes on vacation. Ethan, a chef who also graduated from the same culinary school as Nadia, was hired as temporary help. That chef, Nadia's friend, had no idea and was later fired from the job after Jehan found out.

"How is...Kristin?" Benjamin asked, staring out the window in his office.

"She hasn't woken up yet." Jehan said sadly. He knew Kristin as long as she's worked for Michel's family and knew that Michel had fallen head over heels for her even though Michel never talked about his love life with him.

"…and Michel?"

"He's been busy in the office, but he visits her every night."

Benjamin closed his eyes and let out a big sigh. _If she dies, he's not going to forgive me. _It was his bullet that shot her.

"Find out who the best doctor is in the field." This, he thought, would be the only way to rekindle their relationship.

Jehan stood up. "I know what you're trying to do, but he's not going to listen to you."

"He will. If they could save her, he will." Benjamin said as he turned around.

There was a knock on his door. Benjamin's assistant walked rapidly into his office in a hurry. He quickly placed the documents in front of him and pointed to it. Jehan noticed his boss's frustration.

"Keep me informed." Benjamin said and motioned both of them to leave.

"Jehan, did they…give up?" Benjamin asked as Jehan was about to leave the office. He had given Alec three days to think about it. The deadline was yesterday. He wanted to know what happened.

Seeing that his boss had a lot on his mind, he said calmly. "It's been taken care of, Sir." Knowing that his boss won't like the truth, he decided not to tell him since the siblings would be as good as dead anyways now that they have been kidnapped by other people, more vicious and more violent than his guys who were beaten up.

"That idiot! Just like his father. That stubborn idiot!" Benjamin said as he clenched his fist and slammed it on the table. He was hoping that Alec would give up after knowing that his brother had died. He hated having to kill again but they left him no choice. Benjamin waved his hand, motioning him to leave as he caressed his temples.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Friday

In his fourth day in Paris, Scud already met with two potential buyers and he had just finished meeting with his third potential buyer in the Café De Paris. He sat alone on a table, enjoying his lunch while reading a newspaper. He had been ordering lunch and dinner from this place since he's been back but had not seen Alexis, which he found it to be strange. Two days ago, Lucy called him to see what he found out about Michel. But having been so busy with his own business, he didn't have time to pay Michel a visit. And before she hung up, she asked if he had seen Kristin but of course, he didn't have time do that either.

As he was about to get up and leave, the news on the LCD tv that hung on the wall captured his attention. The newscaster spoke in French, but he understood enough to know what happened. The image on the tv. The word 'mort'. Benjamin Couric died this morning from a heart attack.

"No freaking way!" Scud muttered.

He quickly picked up his phone and called Lucy. One ring. Two ring. Three ring. _Where is she? _He called again and no one answered. He stared at the tv to listen for more details. It was brief. It didn't say anything about his scam. _The cat's not out of the bag yet._ He was glad that Benjamin died, but knowing Lucy, she's not going to be too happy about it.

Suddenly realizing something, he gasped. "Oh no!" Now that Benjamin Couric is dead, Anthony and other mafia leaders won't be able to get their money back. What will they do? Will they go after Michel?

He tried to call Lucy again, but no one answered. He tried to call Anthony to see if he knows where Lucy went. No answer. _What the hell is going on?_

Putting the money on the table, he left the restaurant in a hurry. He took a taxi and headed to Michel's house. He called his phone earlier but there was no answer. Staring out the taxi window and gripping tightly on his phone, he thought about what was going to happen.

_Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Meanwhile Alexis came out of the hospital having just visited Kristin. With the support of a cane, she walked slowly to her luxury car with tinted windows parked in front of the hospital. When her chauffer stepped inside the driver side, a man immediately opened the door to the passenger side of the car and pointed a gun at him. Then a second man entered in the back and held a gun at Alexis.

"Be quiet. Just drive." The man in the front ordered after closing the door.

"Who are you?" Alexis said in a panicked tone of voice.

"Drive or you will die." The man said as he pointed the gun at the driver's temple.

When the car began moving, Alexis tried to open the door and jump out of the moving vehicle.

"Don't move!" The man in the back seat gripped her forearm tight and pulled her closer to him. He grabbed the cane from Alexis and dropped it on the floor.

"Try that again and both of you will die!" The man shouted angrily as he pointed his gun to her head.

Fearing for her life and her driver's life, her heart pounded rapidly. Alexis took a glance at the man in the front then at the man next to her. One wore a black shirt and the other wore a black jacket. The man next to her had a scar on his face and both looked as though they belonged to a gang.

"We got her….yes….okay." The man in the front spoke on his phone.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Alexis asked again, realizing that they were here to kidnap her.

"Shut up!" The man with the scar yelled.

During the ride, Alexis tried to think of a way out, but the car was moving too fast. Even if she jumped out of the car, with her injured leg, she wouldn't be able to run fast.

As they drove in silence, his lustful eyes scanned the beautiful woman next to him from top to bottom. "You are very pretty." He said as he licked his lips.

"Don't touch me!" Alexis shouted when the pervert tried to touch her face.

Hearing the shouting from behind, the man in the front passenger seat looked back. "What are you doing?"

"Stop over there in that alley." The scarred man pointed to the front.

"No! We have to get her back."

"Pull over. I'll make it quick."

"Jesus man, we're going to get in trouble if the boss finds out!"

"He won't care. He just wants her alive! Just do it!" He pointed the gun to the driver.

The driver turned towards the criminal next to him and learned that he wasn't the one calling the shots. After the driver pulled over to a quiet dead end alley, both were ordered to get out of the car.

Pointing a gun to Alexis' temple, he licked his lips as his eyes fall on her bodacious body.

"Well, it's just the two of us. Do you want to do this the hard way or the easy way?" He reached out to touch her face.

"Get away from me!" Alexis shouted as she slapped his hand away.

"Okay, you want to do this the hard way. I like that." He switched the safety on his gun. As he was about to put the gun into the back on his pants, he rethink again and didn't think it was a good idea to have it inside the car.

He opened his side of the door and extended his gun out, while looking at Alexis to make sure she doesn't try to run away on the other side.

"Hold this for me." He said to his partner whom he thought was standing outside of the car. Seeing that his partner wasn't taking his gun, he turned to look outside. At this moment, seeing the opportunity, Alexis kicked him with both of her legs in the head and body as hard as she could, causing him to fall halfway out of the car. To her surprise, he was then dragged out of the car.

"OW!" He cried out and was surprised by 2 men and a woman pointing a gun at him. He glanced at his partner who was kneeling on the floor with his hands behind his head.

"Bastard!" The woman said as she kicked him in the groin. "Does that feel better?" She smirked after hearing a squeal of pain from the scarred man who covered his groin. "Take care of him, guys."

"You bet." A man started beating him and kicking him where it hurts the most.

"Are you okay?" The dark haired woman asked in a gentle voice as she opened the door.

Alexis nodded. Her heart still pounding rapidly.

"Come with me if you want to live." The woman offered her hand out.

Having seen what just happened to the scarred man, Alexis was not as frightened as before.

"We have to go quickly before they find out."

These people also had guns, but Alexis could tell from the way they dressed that these people were different from those other two. They were not as intimidating. These people didn't look like they were part of a gang, at least one couldn't tell from the way they were dressed.

Alexis took the offered hand and was escorted to another car. Before getting inside the car, a man took an electronic rod and hovered over Alexis' body. The woman took Alexis' phone and threw it back inside Alexis' car.

"She's clear." The man said.

Alexis had a lot of questions. But she stayed silent after the woman told her to keep quiet as they drove to the destination. When Alexis saw that they were looking around especially the back, she realized that they weren't out of the woods yet. They were checking to see if they were being followed. After twenty minutes, the woman finally spoke.

"You're safe now." The woman said as she relaxed her back against the leather seats.

"Thank you for saving me. But who are you? What's going on?" Alexis said, confusion all over her face.

Everyone let out a smile except for Alexis.

Sitting nervously with her hands clasped together, she wondered what's going on. She was no longer frightened as before, but now she's worried. First there was Ethan, now there were others. It must have something to do with her grandfather. She thought to herself. If someone was after her, then…then…Ashley…Ashley…

"Do you know where Ashley is?" Alexis suddenly said out loud. "Is Ashley okay? Did you save Ashley too?" She glanced at the 2 men then at the woman. They didn't answer her. Either they didn't know or they didn't want to say because something has happened to Ashley. "Can I borrow your phone?"

"We'll be there soon. Your questions will be answered there. Everything's going to be okay." The woman said, but she wasn't sure herself. Their job was to rescue her so they had no idea what happened to the person she called Ashley. It was the only way to calm her down.

After another half hour of riding in silence, the car finally stopped in front of a large house in an area where there weren't many houses nearby. Trees filled the back of the house.

As Alexis stepped out of the car, she noticed a few men standing outside of the house and 4 fancy cars parked in the driveway. She looked around and her heart suddenly beat faster.

"This way." The woman said and Alexis followed as quickly as she can with her cane. She was anxious to know what's going on. She was not afraid for her life. She was afraid for Ashley's. She wanted to find out what happened to Ashley.

A man in a suit opened the front door. After the woman whispered into his ear, the man nodded.

"Good luck." The woman said to Alexis and walked rapidly down the long stairs.

"Please follow me." The man in the suit led her into a large living room that was as big as the one in her house.

"Please stay here." He motioned her to sit down on the extravagant leather sofa.

After he left, she walked towards the windows. How could she just sit with everything that just happened? Looking out the window, she could see the front of the house where she just came in, guarded by men in suits. _Are they the secret service, the la Sûreté? _

When she heard the double doors open, she quickly turned around. Her jaws immediately dropped and tears quickly filled up her eyes. She was so shocked, she let go of her cane and ran towards the person, as if the pain in her injured leg didn't affect her. That person also ran towards her and both collided in a hug, holding each other tight as if they had not seen each other for years.

Holding Alexis firmly around her waist, she felt relieved that she wasn't hurt. "Alexis, are you okay?" She closed her eyes and thanked the Lord that they were there just in time.

Unable to control her tears from running down, Alexis nodded, sobbing into her shoulder.

"Sshhh…it's okay now…you're safe now…" Lucy rubbed her back up and down, trying to calm her down.

There were so many questions Alexis wanted to ask. But at this moment, she just wants to hold onto the brunette. Keira wasn't supposed to be here. She never thought that it could be her.

After a moment, Lucy pulled away. Looking at her face full of tears, Lucy wiped her tears away with her thumb. "Are you hurt?" Lucy asked again.

Shaking her head, Alexis let out a smile, happy to see the person in front of her. Tears of joy continued to flow down her cheeks.

Lucy hung Alexis' arm around her shoulder and led her towards the sofa.

Sitting on the coffee table facing Alexis, Lucy took a box of tissues and handed it to her.

"Are you hungry?" Lucy asked in a gentle voice.

Alexis ignored her question. She was hungry but this was the last thing on her mind.

"Do you know where Ashley is?" She hoped that the brunette saved her too.

"Ashley is playing in the other room."

Alexis let out a sigh of relief.

"Keira, are you with the police?"

Surprised, Lucy wondered why she would think that. "No."

"What's going on?"

"I'll explain later." Lucy noticed she didn't like her answer. "I promise. We'll just wait for your father."

"Is he okay?"

Lucy took hold of her hands to assure her. "He's fine. He's going to be here soon."

"Now, are you hungry?" Lucy said with a smile and Alexis shyly nodded.

Lucy walked over to take her cane and handed it to her. As they walked towards the dining room, Lucy was curious to know something, but she decided to let her eat first before asking.

"I'm going to tell Ashley you're here." Lucy said.

A minute later, Ashley happily entered the dining room.

"Sis!" Ashley shouted so loud from the door, Alexis jumped and dropped her fork.

"Ashley!" Alexis got off the chair and bent down to her level and hugged her tightly.

Surprised at the sudden hug, Ashley pulled away. "I can't breathe…what's wrong with you?"

Alexis frowned in confusion, not understanding why her sister was acting this way. She looked up and saw Keira doing some kind of hand signals behind Ashley.

"Your sis just misses you, that's all. Now let her finish eating her lunch. You can go play." Lucy said.

"Okay. See you later." Ashley skipped merrily back to the playroom.

Sitting down next to her, Lucy explained.

"She doesn't know anything. She thinks I just invited her here."

Alexis nodded in understanding and thanked the brunette again.

When Alexis finished with her lunch, Lucy asked in a gentle voice, noticing that she ate everything on the plate.

"Do you want anymore?"

Alexis shook her head and smiled.

"Now, can you tell me what happened to your leg?" Lucy pushed her plate aside and noticed her smile immediately disappeared.

Alexis wasn't sure if she should tell her what really happened since her father told her not to tell anyone. "Ashley didn't tell you?"

Lucy shook her head and noticed something was wrong seeing Alexis' hesitation.

Alexis looked down on the table, unsure of whether to tell her the truth.

"Alexis!" Michel called out from the door and ran towards his daughter.

Lucy stepped back and gave them a moment.

"Are you okay?" Michel asked in a concerned tone.

Alexis nodded. "Keira…she…they saved me."

Michel offered her hand and Lucy shook it firmly. He couldn't help but hug the brunette. "Thank you. You saved my family." He was lucky that Lucy's men got to him first.

"You're welcome, Michel." Lucy patted her back and pulled away.

As she was about to continue with her previous question, Lucy's phone rang. She checked who it was calling first before picking it up.

"Yes…what?!…What do you mean you can't find her?…Did they get her?!…Okay…let me know….." Lucy hung up and both Michel and Alexis could tell she was upset.

Lucy immediately turned to both of them. "Where's Kristin? They can't find her."

She glanced at Alexis who was looking down on the floor.

"Why are you looking for her, Keira?" Michel asked, confused.

Lucy stepped forward and looked directly at him. "Michel, do you understand what's happening here? They are after you and your family and anyone important to you." She said in serious tone.

"Who? Why? "

"Your father died…and now they can't get their money back. So they're going after you. They want their money back!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Michel, there's no time! Do you know where Kristin is?!" Lucy said loudly as her frustration and impatience grew.

"She's in the hospital." Alexis said in a sad tone.

Lucy wasn't sure she heard her correctly. "What?" She said in a low voice.

After Alexis explained what happened, Lucy was stunned, shocked at what she heard.

"She's… in…a coma?" Lucy said in disbelief and swallowed hard. Clenching her fists tight, she tried hard not to show her emotions for the blonde.

Michel nodded and Lucy saw tears brimming his eyes.

Feeling her tears were about to come down, Lucy immediately turned around and walked away from them and wiped away the tears. She paced back and forth to think of what to do next. _Would they go to the hospital to get her? Why didn't the government take her back? Why is she still under his care?_

"Where's Kat?" Lucy said loudly and both wondered why she would ask that question.

"She left France a couple days ago. She said she has an emergency." Michel said.

Holding her bangs up, Lucy started to pace around again. _What are they doing? Why is Kat not looking after her? Did they send someone to look after her?_

"What room is she in? Which hospital?"

After Michel gave her the information, she quickly called Anthony.

"Keira, that's a private hospital. They're not going to be able to do anything to her." Michel reasoned.

Lucy ignored him and kept pacing back and forth in silence, waiting for Anthony to call back.

After a long moment that felt like a few hours, Anthony called back and Lucy quickly picked up the call.

"Yes…okay…okay…thank you. Have someone look after her." Lucy closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. Her heartbeat began to calm down.

"She's okay." Lucy said as she walked towards them. Michel knew that she would be so he wasn't as concerned as Keira was.

"Keira, who…are…you?" Alexis asked as she stepped in front of her and looked directly into her eyes, hoping that the brunette would tell her truth.

With an emotionless face, Lucy stayed silent for a moment. She can't tell her the truth. She can't tell anybody, not even Kristin.

"I'm here to help you." Lucy spoke softly. "That's all you need to know. I promised your grandmother that I would protect you and Kristin. Do you remember that?"

"My mother?" Michel asked.

Alexis kept her eyes at the brunette. Lucy could tell she wanted to know more.

"Keira, I have to call the police." Michel said.

"…and tell them what, Michel. That someone is after you and you have no idea who they are."

"You know who they are. You can tell them."

"she can't." Alexis said softly, still looking at the brunette.

Realizing Alexis probably figured it out by now, Lucy let out a smile. "That's right, I can't." She responded in the same soft tone as Alexis.

Lucy motioned both of them to sit down. After spending several minutes to tell them about his father's scam, Michel became even more angry. He learned from Ethan that his father was involved in an investment scheme, but he had no idea how big of a scam it was.

"He what!" Michel shouted angrily. "Damn him…damn him." He cursed at his father for killing so many people, for ruining so many lives.

"So what Ethan said was true? He killed all of those innocent people on the plane?" Alexis spoke in a tremble voice. She too didn't want to believe that her grandfather could do such things.

Lucy nodded and was surprised that the next question came from her and not her father.

"How do you know all of this?"

"I…met his sister in Venice. Your…" Lucy paused. "He…wanted to kill her too. We saved her and his brother."

"You saved Alec?" Alexis remembered that name spoken by Ethan.

"… and Nadia, his sister."

Michel reached out to hold the brunette's hand. "Bless you. For saving them. Bless you." Michel said as his tears flow down his face.

Alexis also reached out and held her other hand. "Thank you." She mouthed and let out a smile. She told the police exactly what happened but wasn't sure if they did anything about it and wasn't sure if they were able to find Alec.

"Michel, here's what I want you to do. Liquidate all your investments. Find out how much you have. Sell your businesses if you have to."

"How much did he take from them?" Michel held his head, feeling a headache coming on.

"I don't know. I think it's more than half a billion."

Shocked at the amount, Michel's head shot up and dropped his jaws. At the same, Alexis let out a gasp.

"…and they're not going to give you time to get this money. They might not wait for you to get your father's inheritance…**if** you are the beneficiary."

"How much...time...do I have?" His voice trembled as he spoke. Overwhelmed with all the information, his head was spinning and he shook it to try to clear it.

"I don't know. But we will try to talk to them." Lucy looked at her watch and saw that the stock market was still opened.

From the way he looked, Lucy thought he was going to faint. He can't faint now. Today is a Friday. Stock market closes on weekends.

"Michel, listen to me! This is what you need to do now!" Lucy shouted to get his attention. "Don't think about anything else. You have to start selling your investment stocks, funds, all of it. You and I know what's going to happen soon. You have to do it now before it's too late."

Michel looked directly at her and knew exactly what she was referring to. The stock market is going to crash.

"Right." Taking a few deep breaths, Michel stood up and wiped away his tears, his sweat on his forehead.

Lucy felt relieved that she's finally able to convince him.

While Michel contacted his lawyers, brokers, and the appropriate contacts in another room, Alexis went to the playroom to accompany his sister.

Lucy stood near the door as she watched Alexis and Ashley happily playing xbox games on the sofa.

Lucy walked towards them with her hands behind her back. "Ashley, guess what I got for you."

Both girls immediately stopped playing. When Lucy pulled out a gondola hat from her back, Ashley gasped and ran towards the brunette.

"You remembered!" Ashley called out in excitement.

"Of course I remember." Lucy handed her the hat and gave her a hug. She looked up and saw Alexis smiling at her.

She slowly stood up and extended her hand out to Alexis. "I bought you a gift."

She didn't forget this time. She bought it before she came back to Paris.

"Go ahead. Open it." Lucy said softly.

Alexis was surprised that the brunette bought her a gift. She was even more happy to see that it was a necklace with heart shaped pendant filled with diamonds with two wings attached, sort of like the one Lucy gave to Alyson except it's a necklace not earrings.

"Do you like it?"

Touched and speechless, Alexis wrapped her arms around her and nodded. She couldn't resist the urge and gave a lingering kiss on her cheek.

"Alexis" She whispered. Surprised at the kiss, Lucy immediately pulled back and turned to see if Ashley saw what just happened. Thank goodness the little girl was focusing all her attention on the gondola hat. Thank goodness Michel then came in, interrupting this awkward situation.

Extremely happy to see her father, Ashley called out loudly and ran towards him. He had not seen her since he entered this house. As he lifted Ashley up in his arms, he nodded to Lucy to let her know everything he could do has been done. Lucy nodded her head in understanding and as she was about to leave, she got a call from Anthony.

She quickly left the room to take the call in the hallway.

"Yes….what?" She asked in a low trembling voice. "Are you sure? Damn it!" She yelled so loud, Alexis and Michel heard in the playroom.

When both came out, they were shocked to see the brunette punching her fists repeatedly in the wall and kicking the wall.

Alexis quickly approached her to stop her from hurting herself. "Keira, stop!"

Lucy stopped. Her clenched fists pressed against the wall. Huffing angrily and looking down on the floor, she tried to control her temper.

Alexis jerked back a little when she saw the brunette's eyes full of anger and rage. She wondered what had caused this gentle thoughtful soul that she saw a few minutes ago to turn into this other person who looked like she wanted to kill someone.

"What happened?"

"They have Kristin." She said in a worry tone.

"What?!" Michel quickly walked towards the brunette. "How? she's in the hospital."

Lucy began pacing back and forth. "I don't know." What Anthony told her was that he only found out about it when he got a call from the guy who kidnapped her. His guys had no clue that the blonde was missing until Anthony called them.

"Then we have to call the police!" Michel said without thinking and picked up the phone that Lucy gave him previously to contact his associates.

Lucy quickly snatched the phone away from him. "If you call the police, she's going to die. Do you understand?!" She said in an angry tone to make him understand that the police couldn't help them in this situation.

"Then what do we do? What can we do?"

When she felt Alexis' fingers intertwining with hers, she slowly turned to look at Alexis. Her anger began to subside as she felt a gentle rub on the back of her hand. Lucy knows that Alexis wanted to calm her down, just like Nadia who rubbed her hand to calm her when she suddenly burst into anger against her brother Alec.

"Wait. We can only wait for him to contact us." She said in a low voice as she looked into those gentle eyes of Alexis. Anger does not solve anything. She knows that. This is something she still needs to work on.

"I need some air." Lucy slowly pulled her hand away and walked to the back of the house.

In his state of worry, Michel also wanted to be alone and headed to the living room.

Standing in the balcony on the second floor of the house, Lucy closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air to clear her mind. She had planned all of this with the help of Anthony without Scud's knowledge in Venice. But what they didn't expect was that son of a bitch would die so soon. And from a heart attack? He's lucky. He would have died from a more painful death if he was in her hands.

_Scud…I'm sorry._ _I can't let you get involved in this. _

Hearing the soft footsteps from behind, Lucy knew that it could only be Alexis.

Snaking her hands around the brunette's waist from behind, Alexis pressed her body against hers. "She's going to be okay." Alexis whispered in a gentle comforting voice. "If she could survive from her heart stopping for 45 minutes, she can survive through anything. Grandma won't let anything happen to her." She said as she pressed her face against the back of the brunette's shoulder.

Lucy turned into Alexis' arms. "What did you say?"

Alexis explained what happened to the blonde in the hospital.

"They said it was a miracle." Alexis let out a smile. "I think Grandma's watching over her." She reached up and tucked a stray hair behind the worried brunette's ear. "Nothing…is going to happen to her. She's going to be okay. I know it." Alexis leaned forward and held her tighter.

_45 minutes?_ Lucy closed her eyes. _She almost…_Lucy swallowed hard at the thought that the blonde almost didn't make it.

"Would you have been as worried if it was me?"

Lucy immediately pulled her head back. "Of course I would." She wondered if Alexis knew about her and Kristin, just from the way she reacted a while ago. "I promised your grandmother that I wouldn't let…" She stopped when Alexis placed her finger on her lips.

"Ssshhh….I know…even if you didn't make that promise, I know…you still wouldn't let anything happen to us." She smiled as she looked deeply into her eyes. With her body pressed so close to the brunette, her heart pounded rapidly. Unable to control her urge, she planted an open mouth kiss on the brunette's lips.

Surprised with the unexpected kiss, Lucy tried to step back, but couldn't because her back was against the railing of the balcony. "mmm…Alexis…" Lucy pulled her head back. She placed her hands on her shoulders, ready to push Alexis away, if she tries to kiss her again.

Looking directly at the brunette, Alexis wasn't embarrassed for what she just did.

"I know and I'm not sorry." Alexis reached out to cup her left cheek. "After this is over, you're going to leave us." That wasn't a question. She had a feeling that after this ordeal is over, she would never able to see her again.

It wouldn't surprise her if Alexis had figured out that she is wanted by the police. Lucy nodded.

"Is it because of us, you can't stay here?" Alexis asked as tears brimmed her eyes. Her hands still wrapped around the brunette's waist. What she wanted to know is why Keira came back as a different person.

"No...Of course not….This has nothing to do with you." Lucy tried to convince her. But Alexis was right. If it weren't for them, she wouldn't have been in this situation. If they have never met, she and Scud would still be living a 'carefree' life in Paris. But it doesn't matter now. She wouldn't let anything happen to Kristin no matter what.

Alexis shook her head, letting her know that she doesn't believe a word she just said. Her eyes closed, letting a few drops of tears run down her face. She had a feeling that this would be the last time she would be able to spend time like this, so close to the one she fell in love with. She knows that this isn't a good time to let her know how she feels and she knows that the brunette already knows. But she still wants to say what's in her heart. She slowly opened her teary eyes and looked into those mesmerizing brown ones. "I…love…you."

Lucy wasn't surprised with her confession because it came from the woman who asked her out the first time she saw her. That's who Alexis is; direct, straightforward, and not afraid of anything.

"I…know." Lucy said softly and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. There was nothing else she could say to her. She didn't want to say she's sorry for not loving her back. Alexis already knew that. For a long moment, Lucy stood, embracing her warmly as she waited for the call.

When her phone suddenly buzzed, Lucy quickly stepped out of the embrace.

"Yes….where?…why?….okay…" Lucy let out a deep breath. "Okay". Lucy hung up.

"what is it?"

"We have to go get Kristin." Lucy quickly went back inside the house.

"Michel, we have to go." Lucy called out from the living room door. Michel quickly stood up and followed the brunette without asking any questions. All he was concerned with was getting Kristin back safely. He hurriedly walked towards the door but stopped when Alexis called him.

"Papa, be careful." Michel nodded.

"I'll bring him back safely. I promise." Lucy said to Alexis. She didn't want to bring him along, but the damn leader of the group wanted him there.

As Lucy was about to leave, Alexis grabbed her hand and hugged her for a short moment before giving her a passionate kiss as if it were the last time they were going to see each other. She didn't care if her father or anyone else was there.

It was the first time he saw his daughter kissed anyone. He was a little surprised by it. _Now isn't the right time, Alexis_. Michel cleared his throat to interrupt. "Alexis, we have to go." He was anxious to get Kristin back.

Alexis finally pulled back. "Be careful."

Lucy tried to catch her breath and was shocked that Alexis kissed her in front of her father. She swallowed hard and felt a blush creeping up her neck. She had no idea why. She didn't feel that way when Alexis kissed her a moment ago. Maybe it was because her father was there, watching them behind her.

_Oh shit. _Lucy thought to herself when she saw Ashley standing several feet away behind Alexis. She wondered how long the little kid has been standing there.

"Alexis!" Michel said loudly and rolled his eyes. It wasn't that he was opposed to that type of relationship. He just felt that a little kid shouldn't be seeing intimate moments between 2 people, especially them.

Alexis frowned in confusion. Everything became clear when she turned around.

"Oops…Sorry Papa."

* * *

The destination was in a warehouse in the city of Marseille. Sitting in the back seat next to Lucy, Michel, being Alexis' father, felt he should say something about what just happened.

"Ummm…Keira…"

Lucy turned to look at him. "Yes."

"Ummm…"

Lucy realized what he wanted to talk about when she noticed his hesitation. "Not the right time."

"Right." Michel immediately turned to look out the window.

Silence filled the car for an hour.

When they finally arrived at the destination, they saw 2 men at the gate and 4 men standing outside of the warehouse. Lucy wondered if any of them were Anthony's men.

In front of the warehouse, 4 men dressed in black surrounded the car. With guns aiming at them, they motioned them to step outside.

"Keep quiet and do as they say, Michel." Lucy warned inside the car.

Once outside of the car, the driver, Lucy and Michel raised their hands up.

The driver was patted down. His gun was confiscated. It was Michel's turn. He had nothing on him. Then it was Lucy's turn.

"You touch me, you're dead. Get a girl to do it." She warned the sleezy unshaven man that was about to pat her down.

All four men with guns burst out laughing. As the sleezy man was about to touch her, another man quickly came out from the warehouse and called out loudly. "Stop!"

Everyone directed their attention towards him. Beside him was a black woman.

She quickly took the sleezy man's place and stood in front of the brunette. Lucy held her hands up and allowed the woman to pat her down. Her gun and multiple knives were taken.

Inside the warehouse, boxes of supplies were neatly placed on the racks. Several forklifts lined up against the wall. Two men sat in a chair a few feet away from each other. The man and the black woman from outside went back to stand in their previous position behind the leader whom Lucy doesn't recognize. Behind Anthony stood 5 men and a woman. The unknown leader also had five men and a woman behind him. The first thing Lucy did was scanned the area and counted the number of people the other leader had with him. She knew he wouldn't be stupid enough to bring Kristin here.

"Sorry, I'm late." Lucy said politely. Actually she wasn't.

Anthony stood up. "We were early. We had other things to talk about."

Lucy didn't expect this kind of atmosphere. It looked like Anthony and this other guy were 'friends'. She just wished the guy stopped smoking the cigar. _It stinks._

"This is Lucy Diamond." Anthony introduced her to the other leader.

At the corner of her eyes, she could see the confused look on Michel's face.

"This is Lionel Willem."

_Lionel Willem. Never heard of him. Damn it. Scud. Should've kept me informed._

Lionel Willem, a half bald man in his 50s and apparently love to smoke cigars, controlled the northern part of France's underground activities.

Lionel stood up and offered his hand out and Lucy shook it firmly.

Lionel motioned her to sit. "Miss Diamond. I've heard a lot about you."

Lucy sat down and Michel stood behind her.

"You have? I wish I could say the same about you. But honestly I don't know a single thing about you. I'm sure you understand why."

Lionel laughed out loud and his gang members behind him let out a laugh as well. From the expression on their faces, Lucy could tell they were fake laughs and had no idea why their boss was laughing.

"Honest…I like that." Lionel said as he tipped the ash off the cigar.

"We were just talking about you. I bet him a 100 euros that you wouldn't let his guys pat you down. But he wouldn't believe me."

"That's because…Miss Diamond, when I have something others want, they usually give in to those minor rules." Lionel said as he blew smoke out of his mouth.

"Sorry, old habits are hard to break. But just to be clear, I did get patted down."

"Just out of curiosity, what if I don't have any females with me? What would you have done then?"

Lucy pretended to ponder for a moment. "hmmm….That's a good question. That never happened to me before. Even I don't know what I would do."

Lionel let out another laugh and his member followed suit.

"Just like right now, I never imagined I would step back into this."

"You sounded like you were enjoying your peaceful life. So why did you?"

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "Shit happens." Lucy said in a casual tone, causing Lionel to burst out in laughter.

As he began to laugh loudly, he started coughing non-stop.

"You gotta cut down the smoke. It's going to kill ya..." Lucy joked.

But Lionel's men didn't like what she said and all of them glared at her.

"Lighten up guys and…gal, I'm just worried about his health. That's all." Lucy continued to talk casually.

Lionel held his hand up to motion his guys to stand down.

"I like you. Miss Diamond."

Lucy felt relieved that she was on his good side. But what she really wanted to know is where Kristin is.

"Let's talk about business, shall we?" Lionel said.

"Of course." Lucy looked at Anthony and Anthony nodded. "Just to be clear, his son has **nothing** to do with this. But he understands and…he will…give you your money back. What he needed right now is time."

Lionel looked at the man behind her. Michel stood still, not believing he's in the middle of a negotiation with criminal leaders.

"Time… I can give you….as long as I have my money back." Lionel handed her a small sheet of folded paper.

Lucy opened it and shoved it into her pocket.

"Thank you." Lucy said sincerely. It was a big amount. She expected that and wasn't surprised by it. As long as he gave Michel the time, she felt that Michel would be able to give him the money back.

"You're very welcome." Lionel said as he leaned his arms on the arm of the chair, holding the cigar in his right hand. "You know. Miss Diamond. There's something else I don't understand. I was hoping you could tell me."

Lucy frowned in confusion and looked at Anthony to see if he knows what he was about to say. Anthony had a blank expression on his face.

"Why…are you helping…him?" Lionel tilted his head toward Michel. "…after what his father did to you."

Even though she couldn't see him, she knows Michel is staring at her at this moment. She guessed that Anthony must have a reason for giving this information to Lionel.

"….because he doesn't have anything to do with this. If his father didn't die so soon, I would have killed him myself." She said angrily.

Lionel looked up and saw Michel frowning at her in confusion. This is the reason why she didn't want to bring him along.

"I see. Well I'll give you a surprise later."

_A surprise? _Lucy thought to herself.

Lionel took out another cigar and one of his men cut the head and lighted it up for him.

Since everything was settled, Lucy wasn't sure what else he wanted to talk about.

"It seems that one of my guys was badly hurt by one of yours."

A woman standing behind Anthony then whispered into his ear and Anthony nodded. She then walked over to Lucy and after she whispered into her ear, Lucy let out a smile indicating that she approved what the woman did.

Lucy had a feeling that the guy didn't tell his boss the entire truth.

"Mr. Willem. What would you have done…if one of my guys tried to touch your woman?"

"I think you know the answer to that. Miss Diamond."

"I do and...I hope you understand how I feel when he tried to touch **mine**."

Lionel turned to the guy with a few bruise on his face and he whispered into his ears.

"Get rid of him." Lionel said out loud so that everyone could hear him.

"You have my apologies." Lionel said sincerely. "There are some who just don't understand how to take orders. You know what I mean?"

"I accept and I understand."

"Now let's talk about your other…girl."

"Where is she?" Lucy anxiously asked.

Lionel then squinted his eyes, staring at the brunette and blew another hale of smoke.

"She's…fine. I assured you…no one laid a hand on her."

"What do you want?"

Anthony deliberately dropped his bottle of water to get her attention when he noticed that she was starting to act like Keira not Lucy Diamond.

Lucy turned to look at Anthony who gave her a look, motioning her to stay cool.

"Miss Diamond. I see that she's very important to you."

Realizing that she just showed her weakness, Lucy slowly slumped her back against the chair, trying to control her anger as her heart beat rapidly, fearing for the safety of the blonde.

Lionel spoke in the same cool tone. "I heard that you gave up an empire for a woman. I didn't believe it at first. But now…I believe what they said is true."

Lucy saw his gang members smiling at her foolishness and stupidity.

"That's right. That's what I did…and I'll do it again in a heartbeat." Lucy said in a happy tone and let out a smile.

She leaned forward. "I…may not…be the leader anymore, but I do have a lot of friends…uncles…friends of my father who are still in the same business….and I…am willing...to do…whatever…is necessary…if anyone…lays a hand on her." Lucy said in a serious tone as she stared at each of his members as if memorizing their faces. She didn't see any of them laughing at her now.

"Here's my problem. Miss Diamond. If it wasn't for his father, we…would not…be in this position… and my guys would not have been injured. Granted, that he deserved what he got. But still this would never have happened if his father didn't do what he did. So…do you see what I'm getting at?"

Lucy nodded in understanding.

"Do you want one of my guys to just stand there and allow one of your guys to beat the crap out of him?"

Lionel again laughed out loud. "No…of course not."

Lucy frowned in confusion. "So how do you wish to resolve this? "

"Well…One of my men proposed that **you**…Miss Diamond…have a fair fight with one of them. No knives. No guns. Just with bare hands. Whether we win or not, you can have your girl back."

Michel was sweating profusely and his body was trembling. He wanted to say something but he knows that there was nothing he could do to stop what was about to happen.

Lucy let out a big smile. "I don't want to kill anyone…today." She said as she stood up and took off her jacket. She added 'today' to make sure they all know she has done it before. She stretched her arms and legs and threw a few punches and kicks in the air, getting ready for the fight.

"My…my….you sure have a lot of confidence." Lionel laughed out loud and his members followed suit. "No one dies today." He said loudly to let his men know not to kill her.

Anthony did not like this idea at all, nor did he know about it. He was as surprised at the suggestion as Lucy was.

"Just stay down if you quit. Miss Diamond. I'm sure you would put on a good show for us." That was his way of telling her not to pretend to be hurt.

"Bring it on. Who will it be?" Lucy stepped in the middle of the floor and looked at each one of his guys and gal. She had been keeping up with her many forms of martial arts skills so she's not afraid of the fight. She would do whatever is necessary to get the blonde back.

The dark woman who patted her down earlier spoke. "I'll go."

"No, I'll do it!" The first man in the line up called out and took off his jacket. Flexing his muscular biceps with a tight sleeveless black shirt on, he walked towards Lucy.

"I'm guessing you suggested this." Lucy asked.

Lionel clapped his hands and laughed. "Miss Diamond…you are a really smart woman."

Keeping her feet moving, Lucy stepped a few feet away and started moving around him. The guy had toned muscles all over him, just like Alec. A few good hits from him would knock her right out. The only way to avoid getting hit is to keep moving.

"Wow!…you're a pretty good looking man." Lucy tried to butter him up as she kept moving.

"You don't remember me, do you?" He said as he put his hands up.

Lucy stopped bouncing around and put her hands down. Her brows furrowed in confusion and her head leaned forward as if she was trying to get a better look at him.

"Sorry, my memory is not that good lately. Have we met?"

"Venice, hotel, bartender…I offered you a drink." He said as he kept his hands up.

"Ohhhh…now I remember." Lucy said in a gentle sweet voice and stepped closer. "Where did you go? I was looking for you."

He stopped moving. "You were? but...you didn't accept my drink."

Lucy stepped even closer to him and spoke in a sweet girly tone.

"No…I didn't…because I can't drink alcohol. You didn't see me smiling at you."

She turned to Lionel. "Can I get another guy? I don't want to mess up his pretty face."

Lucy turned back to the bartender who spiked her drink. "Maybe we can meet up later?" She said seductively.

Everyone especially Michel had no idea what the hell she's doing. But Anthony knows.

Lucy walked a step forward and extended her right hand and pointed to the dark woman who previously wanted to fight her. "You…do you want to…" As she was about to complete her sentence, she saw the bartender put his hands down at the corner of her eyes. She quickly threw a punch sideways against his eye, thus blinding him for a moment. As he covered his eye and yelled in pain, Lucy kicked his groin and slammed her elbow into his back, causing him to fall flat on the floor. She grabbed his right hand and snapped it, causing him to cry out. The sound of the broken bone caused several guys including Michel to gasp out loud. It happened so quickly, everyone was surprised by it. With her knee pressing hard against his spine, she punched his back repeatedly.

He screamed out in pain when she fractured his ribs.

Everyone watched in silence. Lucy looked at the leader to see if he wanted to stop the fight but he clearly had no intention of doing so. She can't stop now either. She needed to show them not to mess with the people she cared about.

"Do you want your other hand?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"Are you going to spike the drinks again?"

"No! No!"

"Do you ...have any idea what you did to me when you spiked that drink?" She said angrily.

The only sound in the room was from his cries of pain. If he had done it to her, he might have done it to others. Luckily, she was with Alyson. Others may not have been so lucky. That was why she needed to teach him a lesson.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He cried out as his side of the face was pressed against the cold, cemented floor.

"You know what. I'm going to be nice today. I'm going to let you keep your hand."

Lucy stood up and turned him over and stomped on his right leg. He was in so much pain from his fractured rib and broken hand, he couldn't move his upper body.

"But I'm afraid I'm going to have to take one of your legs. Don't worry, you'll be able to walk again."

She looked up at Michel who was stunned still. Everyone knew what she was about to do. So she gave Michel a moment to see if he wanted to close his eyes and cover his ears. He did neither.

Lucy stared at Lionel's men. "Just to be clear! If…anyone…lays a hand on her! they…will get more than a broken leg!"

Lucy lifted up his leg and with one strong kick to the knee, she snapped it like a twig. He screamed so loud, the guys outside could hear him. Then there was complete silence. Looking at the faces of Lionel's men and woman, Lucy could tell she succeeded in sending them the message.

As Lucy walked back to her chair, Lionel's men carried the unconscious man outside. She put her jacket back on and sat down as if nothing out of the ordinary just happened.

"Sorry. Mr. Willem. That was personal. If he had not told me who he was, I would have let him keep his hand and leg."

"I am curious. What did he do?" Lionel spoke casually as if he didn't care if he had lost.

"He spiked my drink. Now every time I go to a bar, I have to worry about whether the bartender tampered with my drink." Lucy shook her head. "…and that's not fun. Do you know what I'm saying?"

Lionel nodded in understanding. "Yes. I can see why now. And you're being very nice. You didn't break his other hand and leg."

"Thanks to you. I'm in a good mood today." Lucy joked.

Lionel let out another laugh and puffed out another cloud of smoke. "Well, I definitely want to see what would happen when you're in a bad mood."

He stood up and handed a piece of paper to her.

"Miss Diamond. It was a pleasure meeting you today." Lionel offered his hand.

"Pleasure is all mine." Lucy shook his hand firmly.

After shaking hands with Anthony and as Lionel was about to leave, Lucy remembered something.

"Lionel…you said you have a surprise for me?" Lucy called out.

"Ah…yes…" He slapped his head.

As he walked towards her, he blew out another puff of smoke. He leaned next to her ear and whispered. Lucy was surprised that he didn't say it out loud and was even more surprised with the information.

"Thank you." She said as she fanned herself to get the smell of the cigar away from her face. "You really have to stop smoking that."

That comment made him laugh again. "Old habits are hard to break…Lucy." Lionel turned around and left the warehouse with his men following from behind. Lucy was glad that she was able to make a friend than an enemy. She realized that Lionel just wanted assurance that he will get his money back. And by bringing Michel here, he has that.

Lucy's smile slowly disappeared as she watched them leave. Anthony approached her and wondered what Lionel said to her. Seeing her clenched jaws and her look of anger, he knew something was wrong. This is not the right time to talk about it.

They quickly drove to the area indicated on the piece of paper. The destination was another warehouse nearby. In front of the warehouse was an ambulance guarded by Lionel's men. Once they got there, Lionel's men received a call and left the area.

"We have to bring her back to the hospital." Michel said nervously. He was not as frightened as before now that they found Kristin. But he was worried about her condition.

"No. There might be others." Lucy said.

"She's right. There might be others we don't know about." Anthony said.

They decided to bring her back to the house for today. It wasn't safe to drive the ambulance back to the house since they don't know if it was bugged. Michel quickly carried Kristin to the back of the car as gentle as he can to avoid disruption of her bullet wound. He wished they were in a bigger car. With the blonde being so tall, there was not enough room to lay her down comfortably in the backseat. All he could do was put the blonde sideways and placed her head on his lap. Her legs hung on the edge of the seat. While he was making the blonde more comfortable, Lucy shared the information she received from Lionel with Anthony. After she was done, Lucy walked rapidly towards the car. She had wanted to hold onto the blonde, but seeing that Michel was already sitting in the back, she had no choice but to sit in the front next to the driver.

The sky got darker as they drove back to the house. When Lucy turned to look in the back, she saw Michel holding the blonde's head close to his chest. Each time the car hits a pothole or a bump on the road, he held her tighter. At this moment, there are a lot of things in her mind, but jealousy is not one of them. She needed to think of a new plan. She had plans on how to protect them but with the new information she just learned and with Kristin's condition, everything has changed. It's time for plan B, like Scud always said. But she has no idea what that is. She closed her eyes to think about what she has to do.

The day she came to Paris was the day before she learned about Benjamin's death. She had plans on protecting Michel and his family after the government tells the whole world about Benjamin Couric. By that time, Kristin would have exposed her identity to Michel and she would have been back with her colleagues. The blonde would not be in danger and Lucy would not have to expose her true identity to her. Michel and his family would not be harmed after all the mafia leaders get their money back. Then she could convince Michel to leave the country and start over. Scud would have sold the company by then and moved to another country. It was as simple as that. She thought.

Kristin. She needed Kristin to wake up. Now. Her body jerked forward and her eyes opened wide. The car had stopped at the front of the house. Her breathing quickened because she had not yet come up with Plan B. When the car came to a halt, she felt like time was up. She closed her eyes again and took a long deep breath and exhaled out slowly, then again and again. _Calm down. Lucy. Relax. Lucy. Relax. _After a moment, her door was opened by the driver. She stepped out and saw Michel walking rapidly up the long stairs in the front of the house with Kristin in his arms. What she needed to do now is get the blonde to wake up. _Then…then…_

Inside the house, Michel quickly followed the man who opened the door for him to a bedroom on the second floor. Alexis saw her father running up the stairs.

"Papa, where's Keira?!" She called out but Michel didn't hear her and disappeared into the second floor hallway. Her heart pounded at the thought that something had happened to the brunette. She quickly ran towards the front door without the cane, bearing the pain in her wounded thigh.

"Keira!" She saw the brunette running in a hurry. Alexis ran towards her and wrapped her arms around her. The force of her embrace caused Lucy to take a step back to prevent herself from falling backwards. After a short moment, Alexis pulled back and checked the woman in front of her for any bruises. With both hands, she touched her head, face, and shoulders to check for any signs of injury. She had no idea what happened but knowing the people she dealt with earlier, she was afraid that fighting would be involved.

"Are you okay?" Alexis said in a worried tone.

"I'm fine." Lucy said. She was anxious to see the blonde, but she doesn't want Alexis to be there because she knew she wouldn't be able to control her emotions.

"Alexis, stay here. Make sure Ashley doesn't come up." Lucy had no idea where Ashley is, but this is the best excuse she can think of right now. Without waiting for a response, Lucy ran quickly up the stairs, 2 steps at a time.

Once inside the bedroom, Lucy stood still behind Michel when she saw him holding the hand of the one she loves. She didn't get a close look at the blonde before, but now she could see how pale the blonde's face was. Her lips were dry and white. If one didn't know she was in a coma, one would think she was already…dead. _Oh my god. _ Lucy swallowed hard to control her emotions.

"What…" Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat. "What did her doctor say?" She tried to control her voice from shaking.

"He said…we need to talk to her. She can hear us." Shaking his head, Michel pressed the blonde's hand against his face. "We've been doing that but…but….it's not working." He let out a few drops of tears, feeling extremely guilty for putting the blonde through this.

Seeing the weak blonde lying helplessly on the bed, her heart dropped to the floor.

"Keira…we have to get her back to the hospital." He said in a worried tone, fearing for the life of the blonde.

As Lucy was about to open her mouth to speak, Michel extended his hand out, motioning her to stay quiet.

Lucy frowned in confusion.

"Kristin, you can hear me. Can't you?" Michel spoke softly as if he was talking to his youngest daughter. "Guess who's here to see you. It's…**Keira.**" He intentionally spoke her name louder, then let out a loud gasp and turned to look at the brunette.

"What?" Lucy said when she saw the shocked look on Michel's face.

Michel took Lucy's hand and had her hold the blonde's hand.

"Kristin, Keira is here to see you. Do you want to see Keira?" Lucy was shocked when she felt the blonde's fingers moved in her hand.

Michel immediately got up and motioned the brunette to sit in his place.

"Talk to her. Keira. Only you can wake her up." Michel encouraged.

Lucy wanted to say a lot of things to her but she couldn't say it in front of Michel. In the warehouse, she had said very clearly that the blonde belonged to her. Probably everyone knew how she felt about the blonde. Everyone except the guy she beat up. If the 'bartender' had been listening, he wouldn't have fallen into her trap.

Lucy looked up at Michel. Without saying anything, Michel left the bedroom.

And with that, she knew that Michel understood.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hearing the door closed behind her, Lucy held the blonde's hand and gently rubbed it with her thumb. She leaned in closer to the blonde's face and brushed her stray hair away.

"Kristin. It's Keira." She said in a gentle voice as she tried to hold in her tears. "I just came back from Venice. It's really beautiful there. Do you want to go to Venice with me, Kristin?" Lucy smiled when she saw the blonde's fingers moved again. "We can ride the gondola, listen to the beautiful song, just you and me. Do you want to do that with me, Kristin?" Lucy whispered as she rubbed her pale white cheeks. Lucy's smile grew wider when she saw one of her eyelids twitched. "That's right, Kristin, wake up now and we can go there together." She placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, then moved down and gave her a lingering kiss on her cheek. When she pulled back, she could see both of her eyelids twitching as if the blonde was struggling to open them. _It's working. _"Kristin….I want a rematch on the buzz lightyear ride…you cheated…" She hoped by calling her a cheater would force her to open her eyes. Lucy intertwined her fingers with the blonde's and leaned in closer to her ear, hoping what she's about to say would give the blonde strength to come back to her. "I miss you...I…love…you…I love you so much…" She said repeatedly to make sure the blonde could hear her. "Can you hear me? I love..."

"…sore...loser…" Her voice was barely audible but the brunette heard it.

With eyes and mouth wide opened, Lucy slowly pulled back. In front of her, she saw the blonde with eyelids half opened, with a small but sweetest smile she had ever seen.

"Hey" Lucy whispered in a gentle voice as her tears flowed down her face. At that moment, nothing mattered anymore. She didn't care if anyone saw her crying. The blonde came back to her and that's all it matters.

"Hey" Kristin said in a very low voice, smiling at the brunette. She slowly reached up with her weak hand to wipe the tears from the face hovering over hers.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile

After Michel left the bedroom and closed the door, he leaned against the door and thought about what happened in the warehouse. He had learned a lot about Keira…no Lucy. _Lucy Diamond. That's what they called her. _At first he thought that Keira had said all of those things about the blonde was just to protect her, just like how she protected Alexis. She called Alexis her 'woman'. She let everyone know that the blonde belonged to her. He understood why she said that. But there was something else; the way Keira reacted when she found out that Kristin had been kidnapped. That was how he had reacted when he learned about Kristin's death. And now, having just witnessed Kristin's sudden reaction towards the brunette, he wondered if Kristin, like Alexis, have feelings for Keira. He wondered if Keira, just like him, has feelings for the blonde. As he closed his eyes, he let out a sigh.

Alexis frowned in confusion when she saw her father standing outside.

"Papa?"

"Alexis" Startled, Michel immediately straightened up and stepped in front of the bedroom door.

"Is everything okay? Is Kristin in there?"

"Everything's fine."

As Alexis stepped forward, Michel stood still. Alexis wondered why he's blocking her entrance.

"I want to see Kristin."

"Not now."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

Michel took her hand and as he was about to lead her down the stairs, Anthony's man and 2 females came running up the stairs. Without knocking on the door first, Anthony's man opened the door and led the doctor and nurse inside the bedroom. Michel and Alexis followed from behind.

"The doctor's here." Anthony's man said in an urgent tone.

All eyes focused on the scene in front of them. Kristin was sitting on the bed, laying her back against the pillows and taking a drink of water from a glass that Lucy was holding for her.

"Kristin!" Surprised that the blonde had woken up, Michel called out loudly and immediately walked towards the bed.

When the blonde was finished with the drink, she thanked the brunette. She has no idea where she is and who these people are. Last thing she remembered was being shot when she was about to knock on the door in Benjamin Couric's house.

After putting the glass of water down on the table, Lucy stepped aside and Michel immediately took her place near the bed. Lucy shook the doctor's hand and explained the blonde's condition.

"Thank God you're okay." Michel said as she reached out to hold her hand. Tears of joy escaped his worried eyes.

Kristin looked around and realized that she was in another house, not Michel's. Alexis was standing behind Michel and she too let out tears of joy.

"What…happened? Where…am…I?" Kristin said in low weak voice and continued to look around the room.

After talking to Lucy, the female doctor ordered everyone to wait outside with the exception of Lucy. Everyone did as told. Lucy stood at the end of the bed while the doctor checked her bullet wound.

As the doctor was taking her heart rate, Kristin couldn't resist the urge to ask. "Keira, where am I?"

"Sshhh…there will be time for questions later." The doctor ordered.

Lucy glanced at the doctor, then at the blonde. She was smiling at the blonde, but internally she was thinking of what to tell her. Michel has to tell her the truth about what happened because she will find out later. Will Kristin be able to convince her superiors to provide adequate protection for Michel and his family? He didn't have any proof that they were being targeted because he cannot tell them about Lionel because Lionel is not going after them anymore. She could lie to her that this was a better place than the hospital. _The hospital. What's going on in the hospital? Have they called the police?_

"I'll be right back." Lucy quickly walked out of the bedroom.

Outside of the bedroom, Alexis and Michel were waiting outside. Lucy could see how happy Michel was now that the blonde has woken up.

"Michel."

Michel quickly walked towards her. "I want you to call the hospital right now. Find out if they called the police. Tell them she woke up and you found her walking on the street." Last thing she wants is have her team looking for her. Michel quickly took his phone out and stepped away to make the call.

"…and Michel…"

Michel turned around.

"We have to talk later."

Michel saw the seriousness on her face and knew it must be something important that she can't say in front of Alexis.

Alexis noticed that the brunette must have a lot of things on her mind when she closed her eyes and caressed her temples. She stepped in front of the tired brunette and said in a comforting voice. "Kristin's okay now."

Lucy looked up and let out a smile.

"Are you hungry? You haven't eaten anything." Alexis said.

Lucy looked at her watch and realized it was already 7pm. She is a little hungry but she doesn't want to leave the blonde alone with 2 strangers.

Alexis took her hand. "C'mon let's go eat first. I made you dinner."

"Later. I'm not hungry."

Michel walked over and saw that Alexis was holding Keira's hand. "They called the police. I told them what happened."

_Shit. _There's nothing Lucy could do about it now. As she was about to go back inside, she turned to ask Alexis.

"Alexis. Can you make something for Kristin to eat? "

Alexis nodded, feeling something wrong but was unsure what.

"And Michel, go eat first. We'll talk later."

Michel nodded and wondered what the brunette's thinking of.

* * *

Downstairs in the dining area, Michel was eating his dinner in silence while Alexis sat next to him. Alexis had finished making some carrot soup, creamy pea soup and chicken broth and was waiting for them to cool down.

As he took a bite of the chicken, he saw Alexis deep in thought. Michel put his fork down and held her hand.

"Alexis, are you okay?"

Alexis looked up and let out a small smile. "Fine."

"Did you get hurt?" Michel heard in the warehouse what almost happened to her.

Alexis shook her head.

Michel had a feeling that something else was bothering Alexis. After he finished with his dinner, he moved the plate aside.

"Alexis, do you…love her?" What he wanted to know is how much she loves the brunette.

Alexis was surprised that he was being so direct all of a sudden. Her father never asked her about her relationships. _Shoot. It must be the kiss._ Being the type of person that she is, she is not afraid to admit it, even to her father.

"Yes. I love her." She said in a tone as if she wanted to announce it to the world.

Michel closed her eyes and let out a low sigh. Knowing that the brunette doesn't love her, he felt sorry for his daughter and wanted to make sure that she can overcome it.

"Alexis…she doesn't …"

"I know…Papa…I know…" Alexis said, looking down on the table. "But I still love her. I will always love her."

At first, Michel thought that maybe it could just be puppy love, not the kind of love he feels for Kristin. He would die for the blonde. Hearing that, he knew that his daughter felt the same way.

"I need to know if you will be okay."

Alexis nodded and assured her father with a smile. Feeling relieved, Michel patted her hand.

"Will you be okay if Kristin doesn't feel the same way?"

Michel let out a smile. "You don't have to worry about me. I have you and Ashley to love me."

Alexis let out a sigh and smiled back. That kind of love is not the same. She thought to herself.

Wanting to change the subject, Alexis was very curious to know what happened after they left.

Michel was hoping that she wouldn't ask but knew that she wouldn't give up if he didn't tell her. He told her about the part where she didn't want the guy to search her and the part where she had to fight with the guy in order to get Kristin back, but left out the gruesome details. As he was reminded of it, his goose bumps rose all over his arms and neck.

Alexis dropped her jaws when she heard the part about the fight. "Did she get hurt? She said she's fine." She asked in a worried tone, thinking that the brunette might be hiding her injuries.

Michel managed to let out a small laugh now that Kristin has woken up. "That guy didn't have a chance to touch her. She said something about the guy tampering her drink. When she found out it was him, she got really pissed. So she…" Michel stopped at what he was about to say.

"She what?"

"She knocked him out." Michel cleared his throat, hoping that Alexis wouldn't notice he was lying.

"What else?" Alexis wanted to know more.

"Alexis, she's a very brave woman. I can see why you fell for her."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After the doctor was finished examining the blonde, Lucy led the doctor and nurse out of the house and quickly ran back upstairs to the bedroom. When she opened the door, she saw Kristin was trying to get off the bed.

"What are you doing?" Lucy quickly ran towards her and held her arms.

"I have to go." Kristin pointed to the bathroom. Feeling extremely weak, she had trouble lifting her legs up.

Previously the doctor suggested that she should continue using a diaper and it would be easier for her since the bullet wound had not completely heal, but Kristin refused to use it.

Lucy lifted the blanket off. Putting her arms under the blonde's legs, Lucy gently lifted and carried her to the bathroom. She noticed the blonde was lighter for not having had any solid food for almost a week. Kristin hung her arm around her shoulder and locked her eyes at the brunette as she was being carried to the bathroom. She wished she had quit her job and ran away with the brunette a few weeks ago. If she had done that, she would not have been in this position. She realized then and more so now that she had made the wrong decision. They had only gone on one date. She didn't realize how much the brunette loved her until now. _I'm sorry. _She said but no sound came out. She just hoped that it's not too late to start over.

Lucy carefully put her down, one leg at a time. With her arm holding her waist, she slowly lowered her to sit on the toilet.

"Okay?" Lucy asked in a gentle voice and the blonde nodded.

Lucy waited patiently outside of the bathroom.

After Kristin was done, Lucy helped her walk to the sink to wash her hands. In front of the vanity mirror, she saw how pale her face was and how sick she looked with the white dry lips. Lucy noticed this and quickly dried her hands and carried her towards the door.

"I want to try to walk." Kristin said softly.

Lucy wanted to refuse her request but knowing Kristin who had extensive martial arts training, she knew if anybody could walk after coming out of a coma and with a gunshot wound, it would be her. Lucy hung the blonde's arm on her shoulder and grabbed the hip with the other hand, being careful not to touch the wounded area.

Holding her breath, Kristin slowly lifted her right leg and exhaled as she put it down gently. Lucy smiled and encouraged her with the next step. As she took each step, the following step became easier. When they reached the bed, Kristin stood in front of the brunette with her back facing the bed. Her hands grabbed firmly on to the brunette's forearms for support.

When Lucy noticed that Kristin wasn't moving, she looked up and saw the tall blonde with tears brimming her eyes.

"What's the matter? Does it hurt?"

Kristin shook her head. "I'm…sorry."

Lucy frowned in confusion. "For what?"

_For what? _Kristin suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart. _Did she forget that I rejected her or it doesn't matter anymore because she had no plans of being with me? Did she say she loved me just to bring me out of my coma?_

"Kristin?"

Kristin shook her head and decided not to explain what she's sorry for. She slowly sat down on the bed, wincing in pain as her muscles around the wound contracted.

Lucy placed two pillows behind the blonde as the blonde shifted her body.

"When you get better, we can take that gondola ride in Venice, okay?" But deep inside, she knew that it wasn't going to happen. Because when this is over, she would either be caught or move somewhere faraway and it's not going to be in Venice.

And with that assurance from the brunette, Kristin let out a big smile. "Okay."

Lucy flashed her a diamond smile and slowly leaned in to kiss her cheek but stopped at one inch from her face when she heard a sound from behind. Expecting the kiss that never came, Kristin opened her eyes and saw the brunette's eye moving to the right, to signal her that someone was behind them.

_Damn it! I forgot to lock the door. _

Lucy waited for the blonde to speak. If Kristin wanted to keep pretending, then that would be fine since she doesn't want to hurt Alexis' feelings. If she wanted to kiss her to let whoever is behind her know, then that would be fine too.

"Maybe later." Kristin whispered and smiled.

Lucy smiled back and understood. "I see it. There's something in your eye." Lucy said loudly and pretended to blow in her eye. "Is it okay now?"

"Yes. Thank you." Kristin said. She wasn't sure if Michel and Alexis heard. But if she said louder than normal, then that would just tell them something wasn't right.

Lucy sat back down on the chair, pretending that she didn't know someone was standing behind her.

"Can you get me something to eat?" Kristin asked.

This was her cue to get up and go outside.

"I'll be right back." Lucy stood up and turned around. There behind her was Alexis and Michel holding a tray with three bowls on it.

"Michel. Just in time." Lucy pretended to be surprised.

While Michel walked over with the tray, Alexis stood still, watching the brunette's every movement.

Ignoring Alexis, Lucy took the bowl of creamy carrot soup and fed the blonde one spoon at a time. She didn't care if her actions would give them the wrong ideas because today may be the last time she will ever see Kristin again. So she wanted to spend as much time with her as she can. Whether it was Kristin or Alexis, she would have done the same.

"Good?" Lucy asked as she put the spoon of soup into the blonde's mouth.

Kristin nodded and smiled sweetly at her.

"Alexis made it."

Kristin looked up at Alexis and noticed her cane. She wondered how she got hurt.

"Thank you. Alexis."

Her voice was so weak, Alexis could hardly hear her. With the cane to support her, Alexis walked slowly next to the brunette.

Alexis placed her cane on the side of the bed and looked down on the brunette. "I can do it. You haven't eaten yet."

Lucy looked up and noticed that Alexis was looking down at her with an emotionless face. She wonders if Alexis knows and how much did she see. She glanced at Michel who was looking at the blonde the entire time. She had a feeling that Michel knows but was probably pretending that he doesn't.

Since she was hungry and had to talk to Michel, Lucy put the bowl down and stood up. She whispered something into Alexis' ear before letting her take her place.

At this point, Lucy doesn't care if Alexis told the blonde everything that happened inside Benjamin's house. After today, she planned on sending Kristin back to the hospital or apartment, depending on her condition, where she can contact her superiors. There wouldn't be any point of having her continue with the undercover since Benjamin Couric is dead and Kristin can go back to her own team to recover. She just told Alexis not to say anything about the kidnapping. Last thing she wants is to have her team investigate Lionel. Her new plan, Plan B, is to send Alexis and Ashley to the island in Venice while Michel works on selling his businesses to pay back Anthony and Lionel. By that time, other criminal organization leaders that Benjamin took money from would probably show up when the government exposes his scam. He would end up having to pay them back too. After that, Michel can reunite with his family and move to another country. Then there is just one last thing she has to do after all this is over.

"Michel." Lucy tilted her head, motioning him to go outside.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sitting in the dining table, Michel could see that Lucy was in an extremely good mood. Too good, in fact. He wondered what the brunette was thinking of as he stared at her in silence, waiting for her to finish her dinner.

"Wow!…this is really good. Alexis is getting really good at this." Lucy said as he chewed on a piece of chicken with mushroom sauce.

Michel stayed silent.

"But not as good as Nadia's, though." She pondered for a moment. "Maybe Nadia can teach her." She smiled to herself as she took a bite of the dinner roll. "hmm…you know what, I think they would be good for each other. She'll like Alexis. Confident and direct. That's what Nadia needs." Lucy nodded to herself, smiling at her idea and took a gulp of the iced cold water.

At the corner of her eyes, she could see Michel wasn't too happy about what she said.

"Nadia is a chef." She said to Michel, holding up her fork. "She can make the most delicious egg white omelette…and steak and chicken…and…she's a fitness trainer…and…"

"Keira!"

"hmm…." Lucy looked up, pretending not to know what he's thinking.

"Alexis loves you." Michel was unhappy how the brunette was trying to push his daughter off to Nadia, whose father died because of his father. He didn't like the way the brunette was handling the situation.

"I know that, Michel." Lucy continued eating her dinner.

Michel felt that she has something more to say, so he waited for her to continue.

Lucy put down the fork, took a drink of water and wiped her mouth. She pushed the plate aside and looked directly at Michel who looked a little bit upset, which she can understand why.

"So does…Nadia…and Alyson…and…" She paused for a few seconds, looking into his eyes. "…Kristin…"

Surprised with her confession, Michel jerked his head back a little. He had a feeling that Kristin did like the brunette but he wasn't a hundred percent sure. But now, hearing her confession and with everything that happened, there is no doubt in his mind.

"You know who I am. Did you tell Alexis about what I did? Did you tell her who I am?"

Looking down at the table, Michel shook his head. With his hand holding his head, he thought about Kristin. Even though he said he would understand if the blonde didn't feel the same way, but it still hurts to know the truth especially coming from the one she loves.

"Why not?"

Michel saw no point in responding to her question. What he wanted to know is how she feels about Kristin. Is Kristin like Alexis to her?

Michel looked up. "Do you love her?"

Hearing no response, he clarified. "Do you love…Kristin?"

"You know the answer to that, Michel."

"I want to hear it from you. I need to know that you will take care of her. I need to know how you will take care of her. She doesn't have any family here except for Kat."

Lucy pushed her chair behind her and stood up. She turned around and crossed her arms. Her eyes closed as she pondered whether she should tell him. What are the consequences of telling him? Lucy turned around after a short moment.

"Do you love her…Michel?"

Michel wasn't happy with the brunette avoiding his question. He quickly stood up.

"You know that I do."

"I know. But what would you do if you find out she's been lying to you from day 1?"

"Keira, I know she doesn't love me. I told you before. I am fine with that as long as she's happy. Just tell me what you know."

Lucy closed her eyes. It was exactly as she thought. Michel would understand. Michel will forgive her.

"I love her, Michel." Lucy opened her eyes. "…but I can't be with her. " _Not now._

"Why? Is it because she doesn't know who you are? Do you think she will think differently if she knows?"

_Maybe._ She's not too sure herself. _What would Kristin do if she knows who I am?_

"Kat…is not her cousin. She's an undercover agent." Lucy allowed the information to sink into his head.

She saw his brows creased together. Then slowly his eyes opened wide and he let out a low gasp.

"Then Kristin…she's…also…" Michel slowly sat back down in stunned disbelief, thinking back of all of those times they were together, wondering how he could not have figured out for a year.

"Are you sure?" Michel needed proof.

"They're investigating your father. They wanted to know if you were involved."

"So they sent her. " Both said in unison. Michel was still in shock of the new information.

There was a moment of silence.

"We met at a charity event. We didn't meet by coincidence." He thought back to the first time they met, the first time he asked her out, which ended up with going with Ashley, the first time he held her hand, and the time he asked her out but she said she was busy….

"Michel, that's her job…She has to…."

Michel looked at the brunette and interrupted her.

"You think I would be angry with her for lying to me?" Michel let out a smile, now understanding why she asked all of those questions. "Keira, she never told me she loved me. If her job was to seduce me to get information, then she wasn't doing a very good job at it because she never even tried. I was the one pursuing her." They both let out a small laugh. "I…am extremely grateful to have her rather than someone else. She saved Ashley. And I know she truly loves Ashley like she's her family. My mother loved her." His smile grew wider as his mind spontaneously thought about those happy moments. "She…brought us a lot of happiness."

Smiling, Lucy nodded and felt relieved that Michel understood.

"I'm going up to see her." Michel said anxiously as he started to walk out of the dining room. He did not get a chance to talk to her since she woke up. Now that everything's clear, he wanted to have a different kind of conversation with the blonde.

"Michel, you can't tell anybody. We'll get her back to the apartment tomorrow so she can contact her handler. I'll have someone look after her until she goes back to her own base. I'll fly with Alexis and Ashley tomorrow to Venice so Kristin can get off this case. Then I'll come back for you."

Michel was surprised that she had all of this planned out. "You're taking Alexis and Ashley to Venice?"

"They'll be safer there. I'll have people look after them. You can concentrate on what you need to do here. Then after this is over, you have to think about where to go. You can't stay here."

Michel understood the reason why they have to leave. _Kristin will go back to wherever she came from. She'll have time to recover. Her team will look after her._ Michel thought to himself and agreed with her plan. "Keira, are you still planning on introducing Alexis to…Nadia? "

"She's a nice girl. You'll like her." Lucy said casually with a smile.

Michel shook his head, indicating that he doesn't like the idea. "They're going to hate you."

"I know."

"Oh" Michel said, realizing that was her objective. That was her way to heal a broken heart…no…two broken hearts.

Michel turned around and continued walking towards the door. Before he left the dining room, he had one more thing to say.

"Keira…I understand now." Michel said sadly. "I'm sorry." He realized that she too felt the same way he does for not being able to be with the one they love, for different reasons.

Lucy nodded to accept his apology.

And with that, Michel left the dining room with a big grin on his face leaving Lucy to think about the blonde, not the blonde upstairs, the megastar. She wondered where Alyson is now until her thoughts were broken by another presence.

"Hi Ashley."

Holding Tweety in her arm, Ashley walked towards her and Lucy lifted her up to sit on her lap.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Lucy asked and noticed that she was a lot quieter than usual.

"Keira, what were you and sis doing?"

Hearing that question, her jaws immediately dropped. Then she swallowed the lump in her throat and let out a nervous laugh. She thought that Alexis had already explained it to her. She had no idea of what to say. Kristin would know. Kristin is good with kids. But of course, she can't ask her. _Alexis!_ She called out loudly…in her mind.

* * *

While Michel and Lucy were talking in the dining room, Alexis took a spoonful of the creamy pea soup and held it up for the blonde to eat. After finishing both the creamy pea soup and carrot soup, Kristin was still hungry but felt that she should let her gut get adjusted to the new substance.

"Thank you." Kristin said softly.

While being fed, Kristin couldn't resist the urge to ask about how both of them got injured. Alexis told her what happened leaving out the part where she got kidnapped, as requested by Keira. Kristin was shocked at what happened and wondered what her team is doing now that Benjamin Couric is dead. _Why haven't they exposed Benjamin's fraud to the world? What are they waiting for? Where's Kat? Why am I still with them?_

"Whose house is this?" Kristin asked, noticing that this must be a big house since the bedroom is about 200 sqft and the room is furnished with expensive furniture.

"It belongs to my father's friend. He thought it would be good for us to get away from home. It would be good for you." Alexis said in monotonous tone.

If Kristin weren't a spy, she would have believed her. But none of this made sense. Even though her body and mind are not where it used to be, she could still sense that Alexis was lying to her.

Laying her head against the pillow, Kristin pretended to believe everything she said. If this belongs to Michel's friend, then why is the brunette here?

"Why is Keira here?" Kristin asked.

"She came back for business reasons. We told her what happened and she wanted to see you." She said in the same monotonous tone.

Kristin did not make eye contact with her, but could tell that Alexis sounded differently, not the usual full of life, Alexis. She wondered if Alexis knows. _How much did she see? _She doesn't want to hurt Alexis but she couldn't control her own feelings either. _Keira, where are you? _Kristin closed her eyes and pretended to be tired, hoping Alexis would leave. She's not in the condition or in the mood to talk about this now. There are other more important things to think about. A lot of things didn't make sense. _Something's not right_. She needed to sort them out. When she heard movement, she thought that her plan was working. After a short moment, Kristin opened her eyes when she heard the water running in the bathroom. Alexis was slowly walking back towards her with the support of her cane in one hand and a couple of wet towels in the other. After Alexis settled back into the seat, she took Kristin's hand and gently washed her arm with the warm wet towel. With an emotionless face and remaining silent, she stood up and did the same with the blonde's legs. Having eating something, Kristin felt strong enough to wash her own upper body, face and neck with the other wet towel. Once Alexis was done with her legs, she sat back on the seat and asked Kristin to turn her body.

As Alexis rubbed the towel up and down her bare back, she could no longer control herself from asking about what she saw. Previously, when she opened the door, there was nobody in there. She could see the bathroom door was opened. The ceiling lights were off, only one of the lamp lights was on. Standing next to her was her father holding a tray with the soups. Seeing that it was inappropriate for her father to enter the room at that moment, they waited outside the door with the door opened slightly. After a moment, she peeked in to see if Kristin was all set. When she saw the brunette and the blonde standing closely together, her brows furrowed deep in confusion. Even though she couldn't hear what they were saying, she saw Keira leaning closer to Kristin as if…as if she was going to…kiss her. In disbelief, she moved to take a closer look and that's when Keira suddenly froze. And the excuse Keira gave, she didn't believe it for a second. That was one of the oldest tricks in the book.

Alexis closed her eyes and took a deep breath, to stop the sharp pain in her aching heart. She knew that Keira never loved her but she was shocked to find that it was Kristin that the brunette loved. _Was that why she acted like she wanted to kill someone when she found out that they took her? Was that why she woke up because Keira was here_? _When did they get together?_ _Why are they pretending? _ _Why did she pretend she didn't care when Keira called from Venice? Was it because of me?_ When Alexis stopped and sat back down, Kristin laid her back against the pillows.

"Thank you. Alexis." Kristin said.

So many questions. She needed to know the truth. She needed to know the reason.

"Kristin. Please…tell me the truth. Are you…and Keira…together?"

_Keira, where are you? _Kristin closed her eyes. She doesn't know what to say. She doesn't want to hurt Alexis.

"I…don't…know." She mumbled.

Alexis frowned at her response. That was not the response she was expecting. Yes or No. It should be as simple as that.

"Kristin. I just want to know. I am…happy…for both of you." Alexis tried as best as she could to put on a smile. "I just want to know." Deep inside, she's happy that Keira had found someone she could love, but at the same time she felt hurt that it wasn't her.

_Keira said she would take her to Venice. Does that mean we're back together or is she just saying that? _

"Alexis. I honestly don't know. We broke up when she went to Venice."

"Why? Why did you break up with her?" It seemed to her that the brunette still loved her, so the thought of the brunette breaking up with Kristin never crossed her mind.

"I…she wanted me to move with her to Venice…but I…can't." Her voice became lower as she spoke, regretting the decision she made.

"Why can't you? If you love her, then why can't you?" Alexis knew that Keira had a hard time letting go of the past. And now that she had found someone she could love, she got rejected again. _She must have been devastated._

"Alexis, we've only gone out on one date. It was too soon."

_One date? _Alexis thought back to when they've met. It was the day that the brunette rescued her. They haven't even known each other for a month and the brunette asked her to live with her? She realized how much Keira must have loved her. But Kristin probably didn't feel the same way at that time.

"If she asked you to move with her now, would you?" _If she asks me, I wouldn't have second thoughts. _ She wanted to know if Kristin was going to break the brunette's heart again. She wanted to know how much Kristin loves the brunette.

Kristin stared at the ceiling, a hot tear escaped the corner of her eyes. "Ever since...that day, I regretted not going with her."

And with that, Alexis believed that Kristin loved Keira as much as she does.

There were two knocks on the door and both turned to that direction. Seeing that her father wanted to talk with Kristin alone, Alexis headed downstairs but not before telling her father what she told Kristin so that their stories match.

Taking one slow step after another down the stairs, Alexis thought about the past, wondering why she never noticed that there was something going on between Kristin and Keira. When did it happen? When they were together, they barely spoke to each other. At the last step of the stairs, she slapped herself on the forehead as a realization hit her. It was the day that she kissed the brunette on the cheek when she gave her a massage and Kristin saw them and Keira wanted to run after her. _Why didn't I notice that?_ As she slowly walked down the hallway, she remembered something else. She found Kristin on Keira's bed the next morning. _Did they? No! That was the first day they met. Keira was sick. No! No! _Alexis shook her head to clear her ridiculous thoughts. But she knew, deep inside, that Kristin wasn't telling the truth that time. "Sleepwalking? Yea, right.._."_ As she walked towards the dining room, she heard voices coming from inside. She had planned on talking with Keira to tell her that she understood. Standing at the side of the dining room door, she was surprised to see Keira and Ashley. Keira was showing her how to do a horse stance and how to throw her very first punch and kick. And Ashley seems to be very interested and listens to everything the brunette said. _Brat. Listens to everyone except me. _

"One last time." Lucy said. Ashley then stood in her initial stance, threw 1 punch, then another, then a front kick, followed by step backward and returned to her initial stance.

"Good. Now go to bed." Lucy ordered and Ashley did as told but not before giving her a hug.

Ashley said good night to her sis as she passed by her. Lucy knew that Alexis had been standing at the door watching them, so she wasn't surprised. Seeing the look on her face, Lucy had a feeling that she might have found out about her and Kristin. Alexis walked straight towards her. Looking directly at Alexis, Lucy waited for her to speak her mind. Alexis knew that Keira knew she knew, so she waited to see if the brunette was going to tell her. After a moment of staring at each other in silence, Alexis finally gave in.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Alexis said in an upset tone.

"No." Lucy responded emotionless.

"Why?" Alexis spoke a little louder.

_There are too many reasons._

Instead of giving her a reason, Lucy stayed silent and allowed Alexis to think about it.

"Keira. I'm not angry…" Alexis closed her eyes for a few seconds and let out a deep breath. "…well….maybe just a little…but you should've told me."

Hearing no response from the brunette, Alexis realized that Keira didn't see a point of telling her.

_Or maybe she just didn't want to hurt me._

"If you had told me, then I…I…" She was never embarrassed to talk about her feelings. But she was embarrassed to admit this. Alexis looked down on the floor. "I wouldn't keep thinking that…I still have a chance."

Lucy didn't expect her to say that. She had thought that Alexis understood how she felt. She realized that Alexis was unlike the megastar. Alyson understood that there was no future for them, so she didn't stay even when Lucy asked her to.

Lucy slowly wrapped her arms around her and shut her eyes tight. _ I'm sorry. _

Holding brunette's waist, Alexis couldn't control her tears from running down. This was not how she planned on telling the brunette that she understood. But she just couldn't control her true feelings. After a short moment, Alexis pulled back as she sniffed back her tears.

"Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry."

Alexis shook her head. "You didn't do anything wrong. You told me how you felt…I just didn't…" She paused as she wiped her tears away.

"Alexis… It didn't work out, so there wasn't any reason to tell anyone."

Alexis nodded in understanding. "Are you two…back together?"

Lucy ignored her question and took a look at her watch. Alexis frowned in confusion and wondered why both of them did not admit that they're getting back together. From what she saw a while ago, it looked like they were.

"It's getting late. You should get some sleep." Lucy didn't want to explain any further. She didn't want to tell her about her plans either because all she wanted to do right now is spend more time with the blonde.

* * *

With Lucy helping her up the stairs, Alexis winced in pain as the muscle around the wound in her thigh stretched and contracted as she took each step up. Seeing her in so much pain, Lucy lifted her up and carried her up the stairs. Alexis was surprised how strong the brunette was. Knowing that this would be the last time she could be so close to the brunette, she leaned her head against hers. Her hands wrapped around her shoulder as she was being carried into Ashley's bedroom. With her eyes closed, she reminisced the moments they had together, just the two of them. Her thoughts were broken when she was being let down on the floor in front of the bedroom.

"Good night." Lucy said.

Not wanting to let the brunette go yet, Alexis gripped both of her shoulders. "Keira, I…" Alexis leaned in closer to her face. "…one last time…" She moved in closer, their lips an inch apart from each other. Seeing no rejection from the brunette, she closed the gap and Lucy reciprocated the last kiss with equal fervor. After a moment, Alexis pulled back, breathing heavily against the brunette's face. Her eyes remained closed. This time was different from all those times she kissed her because this time, the brunette was expecting it.

"Keira." Alexis said softly as she tried to catch her breath. Her forehead leaning against the brunette's.

"hmmm…" Lucy said with her eyes closed.

"Did you…explain to Ashley…about what happened?"

Lucy let out a small laugh and opened her eyes as she pulled her head back. "No. She agreed not to ask about it if I show her some moves."

"Oh…" Alexis didn't know how to explain it, so she told her to ask Keira instead.

And with that, she said good night before entering the bedroom.

* * *

After Alexis closed the door, Lucy quickly headed back to Kristin's room. Michel had been inside the room for a long time. She wondered what they have to talk about for so long.

As she was about to knock, Michel opened the door.

"Take care of her." Michel said with a smile as he stepped outside.

Lucy nodded and watched Michel leave before going inside the bedroom.

This time, she remembered to lock the door behind her.

Walking towards the blonde, Lucy saw the blonde smiling at her. She sat down and reached out to hold her hand. "Is everything okay?"

"Thank you." Kristin thanked her for telling Michel. She was always worried about how Michel would feel if he found out one day that she wasn't interested in him. Not only was he not hurt by it, he even welcomed her to visit them any time she wants to; which she found odd. _Does that mean she's fired? _In her condition, she wouldn't be able to take care of Ashley anyway and her mission should be over. So it doesn't matter. Her heart felt more relaxed, knowing that Alexis and Michel knew the truth about them.

"Are you tired?" Lucy asked in a gentle voice.

Kristin shook her head. She had been sleeping for a week, she felt weak, but she wasn't tired at all.

"Do you want to take a bath? I can help you."

Kristin cleared her throat as she felt her cheeks getting warm.

"ummm….the doctor said I shouldn't…not yet…" She said shyly as she looked down on the bed. The doctor didn't really say that. It's just that she didn't want the brunette to see her naked…not in her condition…and definitely not so soon.

_Shucks._ "Okay. Then I'll get some wet towels." Lucy said as she stood up.

"Alexis…already helped me with that."

"Oh."

Kristin let out a smile when she saw Lucy's disappointment.

Knowing that this will be the last day that they will be together, Lucy wanted to do something for her.

"Keira, do you think you can help me wash my hair? It's getting a little oily." She wondered how long her hair hasn't been washed. It's kind of itchy as well.

"Sure." Lucy said happily. She went to the bathroom to look around to see how she can help her without disrupting her wound. She took some towels and a round bucket of warm water and shampoo.

Seeing the brunette carrying a bucket of water out, Kristin also wondered how she's going to help her.

Lucy moved the chair next to blonde's side of the bed and put the bucket of water and shampoo on it. After wrapping a towel around the blonde's neck, she carefully moved the blonde to lie perpendicular to the bed, with her head hanging on the edge, over the bucket of water. Supporting the blonde's head with her left hand, she dipped a towel into the water and wet Kristin's long golden hair. With her eyes closed, Kristin smiled as she felt the warm water on her scalp that desperately needed a wash. As Lucy gently massaged her scalp with the shampoo, she smiled when she heard a soft moan from the blonde.

"Feels good?" Lucy asked.

"mmhmmm"

After rinsing and blowdrying her hair on the bed and cleaning up the mess, she noticed that her own clothes were all wet.

"I'll be right back." Lucy said.

After a short moment, Lucy came back with dry clothing in her hand. She remembered to lock the door.

Without saying a word to the blonde, Lucy went into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Sitting on the bed with her back against the pillows, Kristin watched the brunette's every moment. As her eyes locked on the bathroom door waiting for the brunette to come out, she thought about what could have been if she had agreed to go with Keira to Venice. The more she thought about it, the more she regretted for making the wrong decision.

After a short moment, Lucy came out and saw Kristin sadly staring at her. After placing her wet clothing on the dresser, she walked over to the blonde. It was getting late. Without asking the blonde, Lucy lifted the blanket off her and carried her to the bathroom. Inside the bathroom, Kristin could see that the brunette had everything prepared for her, the toothbrush with toothpaste and a cup filled with water.

"Just tell me if you need anything, okay?" Lucy said and waited outside the door.

After the blonde was ready, she again tried to walk back to the bed with Lucy supporting her by her side. Lucy turned off the ceiling light and left the lamp on on the table next to her side of the bed before slipping under the blanket next to the blonde. Both stared at each other in silence for a moment.

Kristin couldn't control a tear rolling down her face and she slowly reached out to touch the brunette's face. Lucy shifted her body closer and allowed the taller blonde to lean her head on her shoulder. This felt like the first time they slept together except that the blonde was the one who's sick.

Holding the blonde's hand over her chest, Lucy remembered something.

"I got you something." Lucy got off the bed and took something out of her previously worn clothing.

Slipping back into bed with her head on the pillows, she took the blonde's hand and put a silver bracelet on her. It's a little loose but it should fit after she gains back a few pounds.

"Do you like it?" Lucy asked.

The bracelet is kind of plain. It has designs on it but doesn't have any diamonds, rubies or any kinds of stones on it. "I love it." Kristin said honestly with a smile.

"This is not a regular bracelet." Lucy said as she took the bracelet off her. "If you press these 2 buttons together, it will emit a tiny laser that can cut through metal. And sliding this little lever here will release a drop of serum, sort of like a sleeping pill, only 10 times more effective. If you press this button here, you can use it like a pepper spray. And this here, you can pull a wire out. Slide this lever here to activate it." It was the same type of bracelet she had given to Amy before she went to Paris.

With mouth agape, she turned to look at the brunette.

"Keira, how did you get this?" Even her agency doesn't have anything similar to these.

"I had it made. I think every woman should have one of these…you know…to protect themselves. But don't tell anyone. I don't want them to steal my design. It's patent pending." Lucy joked.

Lucy could tell she loved the bracelet more than a regular diamond bracelet as the blonde held it up close to her face as if she was trying to figure how it was made. Lucy smiled at herself for making the right choice. She had previously bought something else for her from Venice but decided at the last minute to give this to her instead.

Kristin put the bracelet back on and turned to look at the brunette.

"Thank you."

Looking deeply into her eyes for a short moment, Lucy leaned in to place a short kiss on the blonde's lips and cheek. Returning to her previous position, she intertwined the blonde's fingers with hers and held it over her chest. The blonde was still too weak. Heavy kissing would not have been appropriate at this time.

After a moment, Lucy's eyelids drooped as a feeling of fatigue kicked in.

"Keira." Kristin said softly as she snuggled closer to the brunette. She has no idea of what's going to happen tomorrow. But at this moment, she wants the brunette to know how she feels.

"hmmm."

"I…love…you. I…always have. But I just couldn't go…"

"I know." Lucy was a little surprised with her confession. She had previously thought that the reason she couldn't go with her was because she didn't love her enough at that time and the other reason was that her mission wasn't complete. She turned her face sideways to look at the blonde. "I understand." She whispered.

"Can…we…start over?" This was her way of apologizing to the brunette. She wasn't sure if the brunette was just here because of her condition.

Lucy let out a smile and reached out with her left hand to swipe gently on the bridge of her nose with her forefinger as if to tell her that she just asked a silly question with an obvious answer.

"Would I be here if I don't want to?" _Would you still want to if you knew? _

And with that reassurance, Kristin smiled at the thought that the brunette will be with her tomorrow and the days after.

"Anywhere you want to go, I'll go with you." She wanted to let the brunette know that this time would be different. This time, she planned on quitting her job and go with her wherever she wants to go.

"Okay." She whispered and leaned in to place a lingering kiss on her forehead. As she closed her eyes, she felt pain in her heart as if it was breaking into pieces. Tears escaped her eyes and she allowed it to flow down her cheeks. _It's too late now._ If she had said that the first time, the outcome might be different. But now, there are too many things she has to do and she is certain that the blonde will eventually find out.

Not wanting to let the blonde see her tears, Lucy pulled away and turned to her left to shut off the lamp. Darkness surrounded the room with only lights from the full moon shining through the window.

"I love you." Lucy whispered before kissing the back of the blonde's hand. No matter what happens tomorrow, she just wants the blonde to know that.

Having just woke up from a coma, Kristin wasn't sleepy at all. With her fingers intertwined with the brunette's, she closed her eyes and smiled as she thought about the future with the caring, thoughtful, understanding woman next to her.

* * *

**Chapter 24: Chapter 24**

* * *

**Chapter 24**

The full moon shone brightly on the darkened sky, filled with glistening stars. On the rooftop of an apartment building, Lucy stood looking at the angry blonde several feet away. Wearing a short sleeve shirt and shorts, she shivered as a cold night breeze blew between them.

"You lied to me!" Kristin yelled. "How could you?!"

"Kristin, please…I love you."

With her hands covering her ears, the blonde cried out loudly. "Stop it! Just stop! I don't want to hear any more your lies."

Feeling goose bumps rising on her arms, Lucy hugged herself as she stepped closer to the blonde.

"Let's talk downstairs. It's getting cold up here."

"…and what, so you can tell me more lies!…you don't love me…" Kristin said as she took a few steps back as the brunette stepped forward.

"Yes I dooooo….."

"Keira! You called her name while we were making love!" She shouted angrily as tears continued to roll down her face.

"I…I..." Lucy tried to think of an acceptable reason but couldn't.

"You should've told me that I look like her. You should've told me in the beginning!" She said as she wiped her tears away.

"Kristin, it's not what you think. I do love you. Please, you have to believe me." Lucy extended her hand out as she walked closer to her. "Let's go downstairs."

Kristin shook her head. "Don't you see? You don't love me. You love her. I'm not Amy. If I don't look like her, would you even have asked me out?!" Kristin said as she continued to walk backwards.

Lucy thought for a moment and realized that she had a point. "Kristin, stop!" Lucy pointed to the blonde to let her know she was getting too close to the edge of the roof.

Not wanting to see the brunette who had been lying to her for over a year, Kristin turned around and let out a laugh, laughing at herself for being so stupid. She looked up at the night sky and shouted to the Lord above. "I deserve it! I lied to Michel for a year and now I've been lied to. And it's hurts like hell!"

Lucy grabbed her hand and pulled her to step back from the ledge.

Looking directly at the blonde with face full of tears, Lucy reached up and as she tried to wipe her tears away, Kristin slapped her hand away.

"You're right. If you don't look like her, I wouldn't have asked you out." Lucy noticed that the blonde didn't like what she just said.

"But…if you're a stuck up bitch, I wouldn't want to be with you either. So it doesn't matter if you look like her."

Kristin wasn't looking at her but Lucy knows that she's listening.

"It just turns out that you look like her and you are… like her in a lot of ways."

Kristin snapped her head and stared angrily towards the brunette. Lucy jerked back and had no idea why the blonde became more angry.

"What? What did I say?" Lucy frowned in confusion.

Pulling her hand away from the brunette's grip, Kristin slapped the brunette's face with her right hand.

Huffing angrily, Kristin tried to slap her face again but the brunette was quick enough to grab hold of her right wrist. As she tried to slap the brunette's face with her left hand, the brunette grabbed her left hand.

"Kristin, what's wrong with you?" Lucy said, gripping tightly on both of her wrists.

"What's wrong with me? Keira. You can't even tell the difference between us. You don't love me. You want me to be like her!….Let go!"

As anger clouded her mind, she forgot where she was standing. She struggled to get her hands free from the brunette's grip and took too big of a step backward, causing her to fall over the edge of the building.

"Hang on! Aaahhhh!" Lucy yelled as her body dropped flat on the rooftop, with her hand held onto the blonde's over the edge.

"Keira!" Kristin cried out as both of her hands grabbed onto the brunette's right hand.

"Aahhhh!" Lucy shouted in pain as she tried to pull the tall blonde up with one hand. Her left hand grabbed onto anything she could on the gravel roof to prevent herself from falling over.

After a short moment, Kristin let go of one of her hands.

"Keira…let go…you can't save me…save yourself." Kristin said calmly.

"No! I'm not going to let you leave me again!" Her face became red. Her veins popped out on her neck as she tried to hang on to her lover.

"Keira. Listen to yourself. I'm not Amy."

Breathing heavily, she felt her arm getting numb. It took a moment for her to realize what she just said.

Feeling exhausted, Lucy no longer had the strength to the pull the blonde up.

"I know that. You're Kristin. I love Amy and I love you. Why can't you understand that?" Lucy said as tears rolled down cheeks.

"Let go. Keira."

"No. I'm not going to lose you again." Lucy looked down but could not see where the bottom is in the darkness.

"I can't live without you." Lucy said as as her upper body slowly slid over the edge.

"What are you doing?"

"It hurts too much the first time. I can't go through that again. I love you." Lucy shifted her body more to the edge and allowed the weight of the blonde to pull her down with her, falling down from the roof of a four-story building.

* * *

Her eyes opened wide as her heartbeat pounded rapidly. Not being able to see anything in the dark, she quickly sat up and covered her heart. "Jesus…it's just a dream." She said to herself, breathing heavily and coughing a few times. _Damn it! Why can't the dream start off with us making love?_ After calming herself down, she remembered where she was.

"Kristin?" Lucy said as she placed her hand on the right side of the bed. There was no one there. The bed didn't feel right. The smell was different. There was total darkness. _Where the hell is the window? Am I still dreaming? Where's Kristin? "_Kristin!" Lucy called out as loud as she could.

Then all of a sudden, one set of lights came on, then another and another. She closed her eyes as the lights blinded her for a moment. She blinked a few times to adjust to the light. When she finally could see, she found herself locked up in room with steel bars, surrounded by three walls, without windows. _What the hell? _It's similar to a prison cell except it's bigger and has a full size bed and a table with two chairs. There was no toilet in the corner, which it's good.

"Good morning. Miss Diamond."

She quickly got off the bed and stepped forward and gripped onto the steel bars. "Where's Kristin?!" She shouted. She had no idea who the older woman in her 40's is on the other side of the bar. She didn't look like she's part of a criminal organization. But then again, she could be wrong since she had been out of it for so long.

"Miss Diamond, you must have lost your touch. You didn't even test to see if the steel bars could zap you before you touched it."

Lucy looked at the steel bars and realized that once again she wasn't thinking when she's worried about the blonde's safety. She turned around and let out a deep breath to calm down. She needed to calm down to think. Acting the way she did won't help. Looking around, she saw a door on the side next to the bed. She walked towards it and opened it and found that she was right. It was the bathroom with a shower.

"I'll be right back." She said calmly to the woman sitting on the chair.

She didn't have to look around inside the bathroom to know that she was being watched.

"Can I have a little privacy, please?" She looked up and spoke to the camera. There was nothing she could do about it. When you have to go, you have to go. After she was done, she stood in front of the vanity mirror above the sink to think about what went wrong. She was taken while she was sleeping. _They knew I was there_. _The woman knows who I am. Kristin is not here_. _This is not good. Scratch Plan B. Stay cool. _She opened the door and walked casually towards the chair. Turning the chair to the direction of the woman outside of the steel bar, she sat down and crossed her legs.

They've taken her watch and her phone. She had no idea what time it is.

"Do you have anything to eat? I'm hungry." Lucy said.

The woman stood up as she clapped her hands twice. "Now…there is the famous Lucy Diamond I heard about."

After a short moment, a young blonde woman dressed in casual clothes came in with a plate and a bottle of water. Lucy stared at the blonde and watched her every movement, noticing the way she walked and the way she was dressed. Lucy stood up and walked towards the steel bars to take a closer look.

"Please step back." The blonde said in a monotonous tone.

Lucy smiled and took two steps back. As the young blonde woman bent down to slide the plate under the bar, Lucy also bent down.

"Hey, is Kristin okay?" Lucy asked politely and the blonde looked up at her.

"Miss Diamond. You'll find out soon enough." The older woman said.

From the way they spoke and how the young blonde looks, Lucy was certain that they're not part of a criminal organization. And for Kristin, she has a good feeling that she's okay. Lucy took the Styrofoam plate and the bottle of water and walked over to the table. She opened the Styrofoam cover and saw 2 eggs, 2 slices of ham and 2 slices of toast. From this, she realized it's morning. She had no idea how long she slept, but from the way she was coughing earlier, she figured that they must have threw some kind of sleeping gas bomb into her bedroom last night.

"Can I get a cup of coffee? I can't think without a cup of coffee. Little cream and no sugar, please…if that's not too much trouble."

"Not at all."

As she started to eat her breakfast, the same young blonde came in with a large styrofoam cup of coffee. Lucy bent down when the blonde bent down.

"Can you tell Kristin that I'll take her to Venice after this is over if she still wants to go with me?" She said quietly to the blonde and flashed her million-dollar smile. "Please…"

The blonde looked at her as if she was hypnotized. Until the older woman cleared her throat, the blonde quickly stood up and headed outside.

"Miss Diamond, you do realize we have cameras here?"

"Yes. But I'm not sure if Kristin's watching." Lucy said as she continued eating her breakfast. She wasn't afraid to let others know how she felt about the blonde. She just wants to make sure that Kristin would forgive her.

"It seems that you already know who we are?" The older woman was a little surprised that Lucy had figured it out.

"What did you do? Put a tracker in her body?" She said after she took a sip of her coffee, without looking at the older woman.

The older woman let out a small laugh. "That's exactly what we did."

"Does she know?" Lucy took a bite of the toast and acted like they were having a casual conversation.

"Now she does."

"You guys put it into her while she was in a coma? You guys are sick." She wants the older woman to know they were as bad as the criminals if they didn't get permission first before putting a tracker into the blonde. Lucy took the last bite of her toast.

"We did it for her safety. Miss Diamond. She got kidnapped once and she was the one who suggested it. Even though she didn't know about it, we had to do it since she's in no condition to defend herself."

"excuses…excuses…" Lucy put down the plastic fork and wiped her mouth. "If you worry about her safety, you should have taken her back when she was in a coma. You used her." Lucy took another sip of her coffee and placed it down on the table.

"Were you using her to catch me or someone else? You know she got kidnapped again. Why didn't you save her?" She said in an upset tone.

"She was never in danger. We have people in the area."

Furious with her response, Lucy stood up as she hit the table hard with the palms of her hands.

"Do you know who you were dealing with? All it takes is a cut in the throat and your people would not have been able to save her! She was in a coma! Damn it!" Lucy burst out in anger.

The older woman stood up and took a few steps forward.

"Miss Diamond. Before any of us took this job, we know that this is a dangerous job. We know that one day we may not come back alive. And for what? For a salary? No. Miss Diamond. If that's all we want, then we could have worked in a 9 to 5 office job. We know that we are risking our lives to save others. Sometimes we make the wrong choices and people die. But in the end, they know that they've done their best to serve their country. They know that they've done their best to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

The older woman noticed that the criminal was still angry for using Kristin as a pawn.

"What I'm saying is…we have to take risks and before we take that risk, we do think about the safety of our people. In her case, we felt that she would not be in danger."

"You felt?" With clenched fists, Lucy moved forward and stood in front of the steel bar. "Do you even know why they kidnapped her?"

"Please…enlighten me."

Lucy snapped her head around and looked around the cell.

"You bitch!" She shouted as she threw the bottle of water at the woman, but missed.

"You don't even know why they kidnapped her and you didn't stop them!" She grabbed tightly on the bars.

"I swear to God! If you ever do that to her again, if you ever put her in that helpless situation again, you'll wish you've never met me!"

There was a moment of silence. The older woman paced back and forth slowly with her hands behind her back without looking at the brunette. After giving the brunette a moment to calm down, she spoke calmly while still walking back and forth.

"It seems that you care a lot about her. You've been talking about how…**I**…put her in danger, how…**I**… don't care if she gets hurt or not." She stopped and looked at the brunette. "What about you? Miss Diamond."

The older woman stepped closer to the brunette but stayed far enough where she couldn't be touched.

"Did you tell her who you really are?"

"Did you tell her why you fell for her?"

"Did you tell her who she looks like?" She said in a quieter tone that was audible only to her and the brunette.

Lucy began to loosen the grip on the bars. Her anger began to subside.

"Do you think a broken heart can heal faster than a bullet wound?"

"What are you doing?" She said in a low voice and looked up at the camera and prayed to God that Kristin wasn't watching. She intended to tell the blonde the truth but not this way.

"Why are trying to hurt her?" She swallowed the lump rising in her throat as she glanced at the camera.

"Miss Diamond. I am merely trying to point out to you…that getting her hurt was never our intention. Just like you…I'm sure that you never thought about hurting her in any way."

Lucy darted her eyes up at the camera, then at the older woman, back and forth a few times.

"Kristin!" Lucy said loudly as she looked up at the camera. "Don't listen to her! I love you because you are Kristin. Do you understand me?!" Her heartbeat pounded rapidly as she stared at the woman in front of her. Lucy couldn't tell from the expression on the woman's face if Kristin was watching.

"I want to talk to her." Lucy said in a soft tone.

Seeing the older woman walking slowly towards the steel door, she knew her request has been denied.

"Wait!" Lucy called out.

The older woman stopped and turned around.

"You need to send someone to protect them. Michel, Alexis, Ashley."

Without saying a word, the older woman left the room. Lucy looked up at the camera and wondered if Kristin heard.

* * *

Standing in front of a door, the older woman nodded to a guard in uniform to open it. Once she entered the room, she saw eight pairs of eyes looking at her.

"I'm Helene Devereux. Head of Division 16 of the la surete." The older woman offered her hand to Michel. After shaking Michel's and Alexis' hand, she bent down and extended her hand out to Ashley.

"Hello there, and you must be Ashley."

After Ashley shook her hand, she tugged on her father's pants. "I want to go back to Keira's place."

Michel and Alexis glanced at each other before turning to look at Helene.

"Ashley, I want to talk to her for a few minutes. Can you wait over there?" Michel pointed to the other side of the room. Helene motioned her assistant to take her to the other side of the room where she can watch tv.

After Ashley was led to the other side of the room, Helene motioned them to sit at the other end of the table.

"Alexis, go with her." Michel asked.

"I want to know what's going on." Alexis said as she held on to her father's arm. "Please."

Seeing that the woman didn't reject to having Alexis along and had already started walking down to the other end, Michel nodded.

"My assistant already explained everything. You are free to go."

Michel and Alexis looked at each other. The assistant only told them that they were there to catch a criminal but they didn't tell them about Kristin being an undercover agent nor did they tell them who they were after. Michel and Alexis weren't sure if Keira was in their custody and they didn't want to give them any idea that they know who Keira is. Maybe they weren't there to catch her. They wished. But the only thing that made sense to Michel was that they were there to get Keira.

Seeing both of them in silence, Helene could tell that they were hiding something.

"I want to see Kristin." Michel said.

"She hasn't woken up yet. She is free to go as well."

Michel didn't believe a word she said and shook his head. "I want to see Kristin…your agent."

Alexis snapped her head at her father.

Helene was surprised that her agent's cover was blown. From the way that Alexis reacted, Helene realized that she doesn't about the blonde. "Well, well, well. I see you've figured it out. Then there is no point in seeing her." She glanced at Alexis who looked confused.

"Kristin…she's one of them?" Alexis asked in disbelief.

"I am sure you will keep her secret…for her safety." Helene said.

"Does Keira know?"

Michel nodded. "She told me."

Alexis now realized now why Keira didn't answer her question last night about her getting back together with Kristin. They're on opposite sides of the law.

"Mr. Couric. It seems that you know more than we thought. Would you care to share this information and in return, we can provide protection for you and your family?"

Michel realized that she doesn't know the reason why they were in that house.

"How do you know we needed protection?" Only one person could have told her that. That would be Keira.

"Let's stop playing guessing games. Shall we?"

"I want to talk to Keira." Michael demanded.

"You don't seem to understand how this works. You're the one who needed protection. With or without your input, we got what we came for."

Alexis gasped and covered her mouth in disbelief. Tears brimmed her eyes when she realized that Keira was in their custody. "I want to see her….please." Alexis begged as she reached out to hold the older woman's hand.

Helene pulled her hand away. "She's a wanted criminal. We cannot allow anyone to see her."

Shaking her head, Alexis couldn't control her tears from flowing down. "No…she's not….she came back for us. She saved us…and she saved your agent….please…let us see her…" She begged again. Then after a very short moment, a realization hit her. "You…you used Kristin to capture her. How could you do that to her? Keira loves her." The thought of Keira realizing that she had been betrayed by the one she loves crossed her mind.

Michel reached out to hold Alexis' hand. "Alexis, Kristin doesn't know anything." He continued to explain the real reason that Kristin came to work for him.

After hearing Michel's explanation, Alexis understood. "Kristin loves her. How could you?"

"It seems to me that she's not the only one who's in love with the notorious criminal."

"Stop calling her that!" Her loud voice caught Ashley's attention.

Michel motioned to her to calm down.

"You have no idea who she is, do you?" Helene said as she leaned forward and looked directly at Alexis.

Alexis leaned forward and spoke in a low angry voice.

"I don't care who she used to be. She risked her life for us. She came back to save us, to save Kristin. She saved a lot of people that you guys weren't able to do. Did she tell you that? You don't know anything about her. So stop calling her that!"

Helene saw the fire in the woman's eyes as she defended the criminal. She pulled back and leaned her back against the chair while tapping her fingers on the table.

This wasn't going anywhere. Michel needed protection for his family but he can't tell them about what happened. He decided to just tell her what he thinks is going to happen, and hoped that they will send someone to protect them.

"So you think those investors who your father swindled will come after you because now they can't get their money back?"

"That's correct."

"Do you know who they are?"

Michel shook his head. "I don't know anything about my father's businesses. I just found out yesterday."

"and that's why they kidnapped Kristin." Helene said as she kept tapping her finger on the table.

Michel hesitated for a moment and nodded. He realized that Keira must have told her about the blonde being kidnapped or they've found out themselves. So he couldn't lie about that. What they don't know is what happened in the warehouse and what happened to Alexis.

After a short moment, Helene stood up. Without saying a word, she started to walk over to the other side of the room until Alexis stood up and moved in front of her.

"Please…let me see her." She begged as she held onto the woman's forearm.

When Helene sidestepped and ignored her, Alexis bent down and knelt on both knees in front of the older woman.

"What are you doing?" Helene quickly grabbed both of Alexis' arms to prevent her from kneeling on the floor.

"Alexis!" Michel called out. Knowing how tough his daughter had always been, he too was shocked to see what his daughter was willing to do.

"Please...I just want to see her." Alexis sobbed quietly.

Helene looked down. Her heart softened as she looked into those gentle teary eyes.

"Is she your first born?" She said to Michel.

Michel nodded.

"Mine's the same way. She doesn't like to take 'no' for an answer." Helene let out a big sigh.

"Honey. She doesn't love you." Helene spoke in a motherly tone, hoping to save her from getting her heart broken.

"I know. I just want to see her." Alexis said as she sniffed back the tears.

After a short moment, Helene gave in. "Give me a minute."

Alexis gasped and thanked her repeatedly.

"Can I see Kristin?" Michel asked with a smile.

"No!"

Michel's smile disappeared as quickly as it came.

"She's not a crim…" Helene cleared her throat as she glanced at Alexis. "I'll let her know you want to see her. But it's up to her and it's not going to be today."

Helene rolled her eyes and left the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After waiting for fifteen minutes, Helene came back with a dark blue folder.

Anxious to see the brunette, Alexis walked rapidly towards her.

"Before I let you see her, I want you to read this." Helene handed her the folder.

When Alexis opened the folder, she saw a black and white picture of Keira with the letters 'Lucy Diamond Strikes Again' in big bold letters above the picture. Alexis looked up at the woman.

"Read it and let me know if you still want to see her."

Helene then motioned to Michel to talk on the other end of the table.

After spending 15 minutes reading ten articles about Keira, Alexis walked over to woman who was still talking to her father.

Seeing the look on Alexis, Helene smiled, thinking that she succeeded in convincing her.

"It's going to take more than that to change how I feel about her." Alexis handed back her folder. "You don't know her. She's a different person now."

Shaking her head, Helene let out a sigh. "I tried." He spoke to Michel, from one parent to another.

"It doesn't matter who she used to be. She saved my girls and she saved Kristin, twice and she saved two others whom she had no connections to. I…am indebted to her." Michel tried to defend the criminal mastermind.

She realized that she's been trying to convince the wrong people. _Of course, they're on their side. She saved them._

"Let's go." She said to Alexis.

* * *

Lying on the full size bed with her eyes closed and her hands on the back her head, Lucy thought about what to do next. _Anthony must know what happened to me by now. _She could hear him say 'I told you so.'_ He's going to contact Scud. Scud is going to try to get to me and he's going to get caught. Damn it, Scud. I have a plan. Just leave. It's not time yet. _She hoped by saying in her head, she could send the message telepathically to him.

Hearing the squeak from the steel door, Lucy turned on her side to face the wall. She knew it wasn't going to be Kristin, so she ignored anyone coming through the door.

"Can somebody take care of the squeaky sound? This is not a dungeon cell…For Christ's sake…Gives me the creeps every time I come through here."

Lucy let out a little smile, knowing a little thing like that could frighten the older woman. Her brows furrowed when she heard more than one person's footsteps.

"Miss Diamond, you have a visitor." Helene said in a gentle voice.

Lucy quickly turned to see who it could be.

"Alexis?"

"Keira!" Alexis quickly ran towards the steel bars.

"What are you doing here? Why did you bring her here?" She said angrily to the older woman.

"Now…is that any way to talk to someone who's doing you a favor."

"Keira, I want to see you."

When Lucy grabbed onto the steel bars, Alexis wrapped her fingers around hers. "Alexis, this is a prison cell. You shouldn't be here."

"I just want to see if you're okay."

"Honey, you've been watching too many horror movies. We don't do tortures here."

_Honey? _Lucy thought to herself.

"Can I go in there…please?" Alexis begged in her puppy dog eyes, with her palms clasped together.

Rolling her eyes, Helena let out a big sigh. "please step back." She said to Lucy.

_What the hell? Why is she being so nice?_ Lucy stepped back against the wall.

"Door!" Helene called out loud and the door opened.

Alexis walked inside as quickly as she could with her injured thigh and jumped onto the brunette, hugging her tightly.

"Alexis, they have cameras here. They're watching us." Lucy tried to pull away.

Unwilling to let the brunette go just yet, Alexis hugged her even tighter as if this could be the last time she will ever see the brunette. "I don't care."

_But I do. Kristin could be watching. _Lucy saw the older woman smirking at her.

_I knew she has a reason for being so nice. _Lucy thought to herself.

Alexis finally pulled back and asked politely. "Can I have some privacy…..please?"

After Helene left, Lucy pulled a chair for Alexis and she sat on another chair in front of her.

"Is everybody okay?" Lucy asked.

Alexis nodded and reached out to hold her hand. "I'm sorry."

"Alexis, I told you before this has nothing to do with you."

"Yes it does. I know everything…Lucy."

Surprised, Lucy immediately jerked back and pulled her hand away. "You know who I am?" Lucy said softly.

"She wanted me to read everything about you before she allowed me to see you." She reached out to hold her hand again. "**Nothing**…is going to change how I feel about you."

Hearing that, Lucy felt relaxed for not having to hide from her anymore. _I wish Kristin would feel the same way. _Her smile disappeared as she thought about the blonde.

"You didn't have to come back to save us. If you didn't, you wouldn't be here."

Lucy held her hands firmly. "Yes I do and I'll do it again if I have to."

There was a moment of silence as both looked into each other's eyes.

"What are they going to do to you?" Alexis asked, unable to hold in her tears.

"Don't worry about me." Lucy said as she reached out to wipe her tears. "What I want to know is are they going to send someone to protect you. Did Michel tell them?"

Alexis nodded as she wiped her tears.

"Okay…good…" Lucy said softly. She wasn't sure how much Michel told them, but believed he was smart enough to keep certain things a secret. "Tried not to go anywhere until all of this over. Okay? If you have to, don't go anywhere alone." She knew Anthony would still send somebody to protect her, but she felt better knowing that they will have more protection.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was planning to take you to Venice today."

"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault. It's them. They used Kristin."

Lucy was surprised at how much she knows.

"Alexis, it's not Kristin's fault either. She doesn't know who I am."

"I know."

"Did you…see her?" Lucy wanted to know if Kristin didn't want to see her or the older woman didn't allow her to see her.

Alexis shook her head. "She wouldn't let us."

Holding the brunette's hand, Alexis noticed her disappointment when she saw her staring into blank space. Alexis rubbed her hand to bring the brunette's attention back to her. Looking into those warm gentle brown eyes, Lucy smiled at the young woman in front of her. After a moment of looking at each other, Alexis stood up and led the brunette towards the bed. Her back faced the camera on the ceiling. She lifted the blanket off and had Lucy sit on the bed. As she began to unbutton her pink blouse, Lucy stood up and stopped her. "They're watching."

"I…don't…care." Alexis whispered and gently pushed her down to sit back on the bed.

"…one last time…" She smiled down at the brunette as she continued to unbutton her shirt.

Alexis took off her shirt and threw it on the end of the bed. Her sexy white-laced bra could be seen by the brunette and anyone watching them in the surveillance room. Unable to control her urge, Alexis crawled on top of the beautiful brunette and gave her a slow gentle kiss before kissing her deeply. Lucy reciprocated the kiss in the same manner as she slowly lay her back down on the bed. Her hands roamed Alexis' back, feeling the smooth flesh. Wrapping her arms around the almost naked upper body, Lucy rolled on top of Alexis. She pulled back slightly and began kissing her cheek and down her neck, not caring if anyone else was watching her. Alexis moaned loudly as she felt the brunette's body pressing against hers. Goose bumps appeared instantly. Breathing heavily, Lucy pulled back and began to unbutton Alexis' pants.

"Wait!" Alexis said as her heart pounded rapidly.

Alexis lifted herself up in the sitting position and pulled the blanket over the brunette.

The blanket covered their bodies up to their shoulders.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Lucy asked in a whisper. Her chest was heaving against the young woman's.

Alexis cupped her cheeks. "I love you."

And with that assurance, Lucy planted a passionate kiss on the young woman who fell in love with her the first time she saw her. Feeling a trail of wet kisses on her neck and down her collarbone, Alexis could not control herself from moaning loudly and calling the brunette's name. Not wanting anyone to see how much she was enjoying it, she pulled the blanket over her head. Each time, the brunette rocked against her body, the bed's springs made a squeaking sound. The moaning, the calling of each others' names and the Lord's name, and the sound that came from the bed's movement could be heard by anyone inside the room and the ones behind the camera. Then five minutes later, the slamming of the steel door and rapid footsteps could be heard.

"Stop it!"

Lucy ignored the demand from the intruder and continued to rock against the woman underneath her. The opening of the steel bar door could be heard.

"I said STOP!" She angrily lifted the blanket off them.

"Hi Kat." Lucy recognized her voice the first time she told them to stop.

Kat's jaws dropped seeing the scene in front of her.

"What…are you…doing?" Kat said in a low voice, not believing the sight in front of her. It wasn't what she and everyone else in the surveillance room thought. Lucy was lying on top of Alexis but with a pillow between them. Both were fully clothed with the exception of Alexis who took off her blouse earlier.

Lucy slowly got off the bed as she took a glance at another person on the other side of the cell.

"What the hell is going on here?!" yelled the older woman who just came in, followed by Michel.

Shocked at the scene in front of him, Michel quickly turned himself around. He didn't see much, just her daughter not fully clothed lying on the bed.

"Alexis, what are you doing?!" He had an idea of what they were doing but hoped there was another explanation of what he saw.

Alexis quickly covered herself with the blanket. Her face instantly turned red. She wasn't embarrassed being seen by the female intruders but she was embarrassed to see her father in this situation even though nothing happened.

Lucy grabbed the blouse and handed it to Alexis.

"Kat, would you mind telling me…what the hell is going on here?!"

Previously Michel and Helene were in another room to discuss the protection plan, but were interrupted by another female guard who told her something was happening inside the cell. When Helene asked her what, the female guard was too embarrassed to even say what she saw and asked her superior to go check it out. Knowing that his daughter was with the brunette, Michel insisted on going with her.

"Ma'am…they were…ummm…we thought they were…having sex." Her last 2 words could not be heard.

"Speak up, agent!"

"WE THOUGHT THEY WERE HAVING SEX! MA'AM!" Kat said loudly as she straightened her posture.

"WHAT!" Helene shouted in disbelief.

As they were talking, Lucy kept her gaze at the blonde who stood still in silence, looking back at her.

After putting her blouse on, Alexis walked over to the brunette. She hugged the brunette one last time and placed a short kiss on her cheek. Both smiled at each other, knowing that their plan worked.

She then walked over to the blonde who doesn't need any explanation to know what just happened.

"Kristin, she loves you. She wants to see you."

Kristin turned to look at Alexis. With an apologetic look, she reached out to straighten Alexis' hair, messed up by what happened earlier. "I'm sorry." She said and took a glance at Michel. She was apologizing for having lied to them about her identity.

Michel walked over to the blonde. "I forgave you last night, remember." He wanted to let her know that he knew about her identity since last night. "We understand and we are happy that you came into our lives."

Michel hugged her gently, being careful not to disrupt her wound. Alexis then hugged her and whispered into her ear. "Don't leave her. She needs you." She gave the blonde a light kiss on the cheek before pulling back.

Michel walked over to the brunette and shook her hand.

"Good luck, Michel."

"Thank you for everything you've done and God bless you." Michel said, feeling sorry that she got caught because of them.

As he walked towards the exit, Alexis followed her father from behind and stopped. She turned back and stopped in front of Kat. "You thought we were having sex?!" Alexis said so loud, everyone in the room could hear her. She rolled her eyes at Kat. "That sounds so crude."

She changed her tone into a gentle voice. "It's 'making love'. You thought we were making love. Now doesn't that sound better?"

Kat was embarrassed about just having to say S word. How this young girl doesn't seem to be the least bit embarrassed about what she said and did is beyond her. They didn't do it but they did make out in front of a group of people.

Alexis smiled at the brunette who was smiling at her and shaking her head. She knew what the former criminal mastermind was thinking at that moment.

As she passed by the older woman, she shrugged her shoulders and let out a smile, knowing that the older woman probably regretted letting her go inside the cell.

"God, I hope my daughter is not like you." Helene said to Alexis.

Alexis didn't plan on doing that with Keira. The idea just came to her and Keira, as if she could read her mind, knew exactly what she was thinking of. Keira, being the thoughtful person that she is, asked her two times if she wanted to go through with it, knowing that there could be male guards watching them behind the camera. She needed to take her shirt off to make it look real. They had no idea if Kristin was watching. If she weren't, then they would just stop the show. Besides, she didn't mind making out with the brunette. If Kristin was watching, then she knew that there would be no way for the blonde to just sit back and do nothing. No woman could withstand watching the one they love make out with another person.

As Helene started to head out the door, she noticed that Kat was following her but not Kristin.

"Kristin?"

Everyone turned to look at the blonde who neither moved nor responded. Kristin had her eyes locked on the brunette as if they were in their own world.

"Kris…" She stopped when Alexis stood in front of her.

"Can you give them a moment?" Alexis interrupted the older woman and took her hand and pulled her to the door as if the older woman was her mother not the head of Division 16 of the La Surete. Seeing that her agent had suffered so much in the past few days, Helene allowed the blonde to settle her feelings with the brunette, hoping that she make the right decision.

Holding onto the steel bar with one hand, Lucy extended her right hand out, hoping the blonde would come closer and hold her hand. She waited and waited. A sharp pain struck her heart when she saw the blonde looking down on the floor.

Lucy slowly pulled her hand back and held onto the bar. "I'm sorry."

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

"No." She said in a whisper.

"Were you planning on lying to me for the rest of my life?"

Lucy shook her head. "Because I know you'll eventually find out…and you did…just sooner than I thought."

"So everything you said last night was a lie? You knew I would find out. And when I do, you want me to choose if I still want to be with you?"

"I do love you. You know that."

Both stared at each other for a moment in silence.

"But it doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Lucy said when she heard no response from the blonde.

She looked at the steel bars and flicked it with her fingers.

It didn't matter if the brunette had lied to her. Kristin felt sorry that the brunette got caught because of her. She stepped closer to the brunette. "When did you find out…about me?" Her tone changed to a softer tone.

Lucy pondered for a moment. "The day we had our last argument."

Seeing the blonde frowning in confusion, Lucy realized that she might not have remembered that night.

"You said you hated this mission." Lucy said softly, remembering that painful day.

"How?…just because I said that, that doesn't mean…"

"I wasn't really sure. But there were other things that gave it away."

"Like what?" Kristin said angrily, angry with herself. She couldn't believe her cover was blown after spending a few days with the brunette. She thought she did a pretty good job of covering up her true identity. Michel and Alexis didn't know.

From the tone of the blonde's voice, Lucy felt that Kristin might have forgiven her. She paced back and forth in her cell as she tried to recall the things they did together.

"Like how you kick that guy's ass who stole your wallet….and you told me you had a black belt….and…"

Lucy tapped her mouth with her finger as she kept pacing. "…and there's Kat, you acted like you had no idea why she's in your apartment"

Lucy stopped and held onto the bars. "…and you beat me at the Buzz Lightyear game…which by the way…you cheated…."

"I did not!" Kristin walked forward slowly, holding her bullet wound. She stood one feet away from the brunette.

Up so close, Lucy noticed the blonde's face wasn't as pale as last night and the color of her lips returned to the original reddish pink color. Pretty soon, she will back to her old self. Lucy thought to herself.

"I guess…we can't have a rematch." Lucy said sadly as she looked into those sparkling hazel eyes that she missed so much.

"…and…you said…you can't quit your babysitting job…" Lucy remembered that day she got rejected.

As the memory of that day flowed into her mind, drops of warm tears escaped the hazel green eyes. The agen stepped closer, reached out to cup her cheeks, and leaned her forehead against the brunette's.

"I regretted ever since that day. If I had gone with you, they wouldn't have found out about you. You wouldn't be here." She sobbed, her voice muffled in thick folds. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault."

Lucy pulled her head back and wiped her tears. "No. This is not your fault."

Wiping her own tears, Kristin nodded her head. "I…That day you left…I…drew pictures of you." Her tears continued to flow down. "Kat told them about you…because…because…I was calling your name…when I got sick." Kristin said as she sniffed back the tears. "She found my sketchbook and…showed it to them."

Lucy's mouth opened wide after realizing how they found out. She then let out a small laugh at the irony. That day, she decided to leave her because she was afraid that the blonde would find out about her true identity. If she had not left her, would she still have drawn those pictures? Would they still have found out? She wondered.

"It's my fault."

Lucy cupped her face and looked directly at her. "Hey…listen to me…this is not your fault. I chose to come back here. Even if they found out who I am, if I didn't come back, they wouldn't have known where I was."

"But you came back…to save me. It's my fault."

Unable to come up with reasons to convince the blonde that it wasn't her fault, Lucy let out a sigh. She extended her arms through the steel bars and wrapped her arms gently around the blonde. "Don't blame yourself. With or without you, I still would have come back for Alexis, Ashley and Michel. Do you understand?"

Kristin continued to sob quietly.

"Kristin, does this mean you still want to be with me?"

Kristin stopped crying and wiped her tears away.

Seeing the blonde slowly stepping away, Lucy felt her heart skipped a beat, thinking that the blonde doesn't want anything to do with her.

"Kat, can you open the door?" She asked politely.

Surprised with her request, Lucy realized what she thought was completely wrong. She stepped back a few steps and waited for the door to open.

"Kat! I'm never going to speak to you again if you don't open the door." She said a little louder.

The door didn't open.

"Kat!…"

Lucy interrupted the blonde. "Kat…you do know who I am, don't you?" Lucy said in a polite tone.

The door remained close.

"You do know that I have friends outside who knows who you are."

There was no movement.

"You do know that this is partly your fault that I'm in here. Do you know what I am capable of and what I can….."

Lucy had not yet completed her question and the door immediately opened.

You just can't be nice to people. Lucy thought to herself.

Once inside the cell, Kat closed the door.

"Thank you, Kat." Lucy and Kristin said in unison as they embraced each other.

After a short moment, Kristin pulled back and looked deeply into brunette's eyes.

"The answer is yes, Lucy Diamond." The blonde said as she tucked the brunette's stray hair behind her ears.

"I love you. Kristinnnnn…." Lucy wasn't sure if Kristin was her real name.

"Smith."

Lucy jerked her head back, surprised that she has such a common last name. "Smith?"

"mhmm…" Kristin nodded.

"I love you, Kristin Smith." Lucy smiled and leaned in to kiss her gently on the lips.

Feeling a sharp pain in her wounded area, Kristin pulled back from the kiss.

"Are you okay?" Lucy said as she helped the blonde lay on the bed.

"Can I see?" Kristin lifted her shirt up as she winced in pain.

A thick bandage covered the wound. Lucy pulled out the sticky tape and the bandage to see if there was blood on the wound.

"It's okay. There's no blood." Lucy had seen too many bullet wounds back in her criminal days. "Looks like it's just going to be a little scar."

Lucy crawled over the blonde to lie next to her. Knowing that the older woman probably wouldn't allow the blonde to visit her as often as she likes, Lucy wanted to spend as much time with her as she can. Leaning on her side, she stared at the blonde. Last night, she wasn't sure whether the blonde would accept her if she found out the truth. But a while ago, when she found out that Alexis accepted her for who she is, there was a big chance that Kristin would do the same.

Seeing the sweet smile on the blonde, Lucy couldn't control her urge to kiss her again. She leaned in to kiss her forehead, then her cheek, then her lips. Being careful not to touch the wounded area, she placed her right hand on the blonde's hip and glided down to her thigh. As she placed a trail of soft kisses on the blonde's neck, the door suddenly opened.

Lucy stopped and looked at the door. The sound of someone clearing her throat came on the speaker.

"Sorry Kat." Lucy and Kristin said in unison. Smiling at each other, both then chuckled and let out a laugh. They were so lost in the moment, they had forgotten where they were.

"Keira…I mean Lucy."

"You can call me Keira. It's fine."

Kristin nodded in understanding and lifted herself up to sit on the bed with the support of the brunette.

"Keira…" Kristin said in a gentle voice and smiled sweetly at the brunette.

"Did you really have to kiss Alexis like that?!"

The sudden change of tone of her voice surprised the brunette, causing her to jerk back.

"I…I…we were trying to make you…"

"I know what you were trying to do and I didn't believe it for a second."

"You didn't? Then why did you come down?"

"Kat and the other girls believed it so she came down to stop you two."

"It was her idea." Lucy said in defense and raised her hands up.

Kristin frowned in confusion. "I didn't hear you two talking about it. I didn't even see her blink. How did you know if she didn't want to do it for real? And did she have to take her shirt off? What if we have guys watching? Did you have to touch her there?" Kristin stared at the brunette's chest to let her know she saw her touching Alexis' breast.

Not expecting a sweet moment could turn into so many questions, Lucy covered her eyes.

Peeking through her fingers over her eyes, she could see that the blonde was extremely upset with what happened. With her arms crossed, Kristin waited for the brunette to answer her questions.

"Okay…let me explain." Lucy said calmly. "We didn't talk about it. I knew what she was planning to do when she looked at me."

"How?"

"How? Well…I…I can't explain it. I just…knew. And she had to take her shirt off to make it look real."

"How did you know she didn't want to…do it…for real?"

"She wouldn't do that." Lucy saw the blonde narrowing her eyes at her. They are talking about Alexis, not some other shy girl. "okay…maybe she would do that. But do you remember what she said at that moment?"

Kristin pondered for a moment as she tried to recall what happened. Under her superior's orders, no one was allowed to enter the room without permission. The time when Alexis entered the cell was also the time she entered the surveillance room. She knew what they were trying to do. Her anger exploded at the moment she saw the brunette touching Alexis' breast. Kat and two other girls agree that they should go down to stop them.

"One last time." Kat said in the speaker to remind her and Kristin rolled her eyes.

"Thank you. Kat." Lucy said and rolled her eyes.

Kristin waited for her explanation.

"Well, before I tell you, please don't get upset."

Kristin let out a deep breath and tried not to get more upset than she already is. "Okay…go on…"

"Well, last night, we had a talk and…she understood." Lucy extended both of her hands out as if to tell the blonde to calm down for what she is about to say next. "She requested a kiss…one last time…so I…kissed her….one last time.." Realizing what she just said, Lucy cleared her throat.

"…and you knew just by that…"

"Well…yeah…one last time means last time…when she said it again…it's really not one last time…since we…already…had…one last time…last night…" Lucy said nervously as she looked down on the bed, taking short glances at the blonde, unsure if she's making any sense.

"…and?…"

"…and…and…" Lucy tried to remember the questions. "…and…"

"Did you have to touch her breast?" Kat said in the speaker. Kristin turned to glare at the camera to let Kat know to stay out of it.

"ummm…I was…ah…caught up…in the moment. So when I closed my eyes…I was…thinking of someone else…You know what I mean?"

Kristin cleared her throat.

Lucy could see her anger subsiding a little.

"Well, you still didn't have to kiss her like that."

"mmm…yes I do…otherwise they wouldn't have believed it and you wouldn't have come down to stop us."

Even though Kristin knew their intention, she was still upset about them making out for real.

_I hope to God she doesn't know about Alyson_. Lucy thought to herself.

"Keira, Alexis wasn't pretending. She meant what she said. She said she loves you."

Lucy moved in closer to the jealous blonde.

"I know and she knows how I feel." Lucy raised her right hand. "I promise it won't happen again under any circumstances."

Lucy saw the concern look in the blonde's face.

"I feel…" Kristin hesitated and wasn't sure if she should say it. "I feel…that you two… have some connection…with each other…you don't even have to say anything to know what each other is thinking…"

Lucy stayed silent. She has no idea what else to say. She already told her how she feels. What more can she say to convince the blonde that she loves her not Alexis.

Suddenly the door to the cell opened. "She's coming." Kat warned in the speaker.

Kristin got off the bed as quickly as she could. Once she walked out of the cell, the door closed. Her boss would probably know what they did if she had time to look at the tape. But Kristin definitely doesn't want to be caught in this situation right now. She stood at the other side of the cell in front of the brunette.

Lucy noticed the blonde's smile had disappeared when she started talking about Alexis.

"Kristin, just know that I love you…not Alexis."

"I know. But why?"

"What?"

"What was it that made you fall in love with me?" Kristin said, looking deeply into her eyes.

This question caught her off guard. Lucy looked down on the floor, trying to think of the right words.

"I'm not Alexis. I don't know what you're thinking."

Lucy's head shot up. _Why is she still talking about Alexis?_

"Keira, I love you…because you're funny. You're charming. You're beautiful…and I've never felt so happy until I met you." Kristin said in her gentle voice and reached up to cup her cheek. "…and I love you even more now because you risked your life to save them, to save me…"

Kristin stepped closer to the brunette.

"and Keira, I…never…thought that I could fall in love with a woman."

Touched by her loving words, Lucy placed a kiss on the back of her hand. She remembered that last sentence was exactly what Amy said.

"…and I love you because…" Lucy was cut off by the voice of the older woman on the speaker.

"Kristin, why are you still there? Go get some rest."

"Yes, ma'am." Kristin glanced at the brunette and mouthed 'goodbye' before leaving the room.

As Lucy watched the blonde leave, she blamed herself. _Why can't I answer her question? She's smart, funny, beautiful, caring, kind. _Lucy slapped herself on the head._ Why can't I just say that? _Lucy let out a deep breath and walked back to lie on the bed. _I'll tell her some other time._

Helene intended to speak to the criminal mastermind about something else. But having just had an argument with her this morning, she knew that the brunette wouldn't want to listen to her. And after learning so many things their team doesn't know about, she'll have to tell her superiors about it.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Miss Diamond."

Lucy let out a smile, knowing that she wouldn't have to listen to the older woman for the day.

* * *

Michel and his family were escorted back to their own house by a group of four men dressed in suits. Both Michel and Alexis were surprised when the men went inside their house to take a look around. One man went one way. Another went upstairs. The moment Ashley entered the house, she headed to the kitchen to ask the butler to make her lunch.

"What are they doing?" Alexis asked, when she saw another man picking up the phone.

"I don't know. But this is not the protection I had in mind."

"I think they're putting bugs in our house."

Michel quickly walked over to the man holding the phone in the living room. "What are you doing?"

"It's for your safety."

Michel grabbed the phone from him. "No. We want you to protect us, not for you to listen to everything we say."

"We have orders."

"Call your boss. I want to talk to her." Michel demanded.

As Michel waited for him to call, it became clear to him that there was another reason that the Superior agreed to provide protection for them. They were trying to catch other criminals…Scott. _Where is Scott? Did he get captured too?  
_

The man handed the phone to Michel. After talking with the Superior, Michel handed the phone back to the man who was ordered to stop what he was doing. The man then called his team and all went outside to look around the house. After closing the door, Michel motioned to Alexis to stay quiet. He looked out the window and didn't see anything suspicious.

"I'm tired. I'm going upstairs." Michel said as he gave her a signal to tell her that they might be listening outside using hi-tech equipment.

Alexis headed upstairs into her bedroom as she waited for her father. Lying on her own comfortable bed with her eyes closed, she thought about Lucy Diamond. Never in a million years would she have believed that Keira is the ruthless, bloodthirsty, notorious criminal mastermind if she had not read the news articles herself. _Bloodthirsty? Ruthless? _How? How could that beautiful charming brunette with the gorgeous dimples and hypnotizing smile be the leader of a criminal organization? As she thought about what happened back in the prison cell where she and the brunette made out, she wrapped her arms around her pillow and her smile grew wide. It felt so real. The way the brunette kissed her on her neck, her gentle touch on her body, the hot deep kisses. There was a moment when she thought Keira was really making love to her until she pulled the blanket over their heads covering their bodies from head to toe. Keira had another purpose in mind. It wasn't just to get the blonde jealous. After they were fully covered by the blanket, the former criminal mastermind whispered something to her ear. Alexis had no idea what it means but she knew it must have been very important.

"Come in." Alexis said as a knock on the door broke her thoughts.

Michel walked in, holding an electronic gadget in his hand.

"Do you have your cell phone?"

Alexis shook her head. Michel motioned her to keep quiet as he walked around the room extending his hand out. After checking everywhere, he turned on her cd player. Once the loud music came on, he walked over to bed and talked freely.

"This is bug detector. Any time you have something important to say involving Keira, make sure you have the music on. I think they're trying to use us to catch Scott."

Alexis nodded in understanding and wasn't surprised. She was, however, was surprised that her father has a bug detector handy.

"When did you get this?" Alexis asked out of curiosity.

"After I found out Jehan worked for my father." He responded.

Earlier Michel received a call from Jehan regarding his father's funeral arrangements. Jehan had everything taken care of and told him to attend the private cremation ceremony tomorrow.

Alexis nodded in understanding. First her grandmother, now her grandfather had passed away, both died from a heart attack. Even though her grandfather had done so many awful things, she still felt sad about his death.

"Are you okay?" Michel said when he noticed her sadness.

Alexis nodded.

"Now, could you please tell me what you were doing with Keira?" He had wanted to ask this question on their way home but didn't want to embarrass his daughter.

Feeling embarrassed about talking about this with her father, Alexis sat up straighter and cleared her throat.

"Alexis, you know she loves Kristin."

"I know. We were… just pretending. We were trying to make Kristin jealous so she would come down to see her."

"I'm guessing it worked." Michel rolled his eyes to show that he didn't approve the method Keira was using. "Was that her idea?"

Knowing how much Alexis loved the brunette, it wouldn't surprise him that she would agree to the idea, even if she were being used.

"ummm…not really…It was mine." Alexis shyly confessed.

Before Michel could give her another speech, Alexis whispered into his ear. What she told him was what Keira wanted them to do.

"She told you to tell Scott to stay away if he contacts us?" Michel asked.

"She also said to tell Anthony not to do anything, just keep watching."

With mouth agape, Michel was surprised that the brunette had another motive for doing what she did with his daughter. Both smiled at each other, realizing that Keira may have a plan to get herself out.

* * *

Next day

Having had time alone to think about her plans the day before, Lucy felt more relaxed knowing that it might actually work if everything turns out the way she expected. But of course, she'd have to think about Plan B if something didn't happen the way she planned it.

"Kat, is it lunch time yet?" Lucy said while lying on her bed after completing her daily exercises.

There was no answer.

"Is anybody up there? I'm hungry!" Lucy yelled.

Then the steel door opened with a loud squeak.

"Almost, what would you like to eat?" Helene asked in a nice tone as she walked towards the brunette.

"mmm…"

"Miss Diamond! You are a prisoner not a guest! You should be begging us right now."

Lucy locked her hands behind her head as she stared at the ceiling as if she doesn't care about the situation she's in. "Begging you for what?"

"Begging us for what? Have you gone completely insane or do you think that by being a law abiding citizen for these past 3 years…you don't have to be pay for all the crimes you've previously committed."

Lucy closed her eyes as if she's not listening to her.

"It doesn't work that way, Miss Diamond." Helene waited to see if the brunette has anything to say. There was no response.

"Or did you think that by saving a few lives…it would get you off scot-free?"

No sound came from the brunette.

Helene began pacing back and forth.

"I'll tell them that you saved my agent's life and the others and I'll talk to them to lessen your prison term."

"How nice of you?" Lucy said mockingly as she kept her eyes closed.

"We can start by you confessing to the top 5 crimes that we've chosen from your long list of activities in the United States and in our country. The representative from the United States has agreed that you will stay in this country to spend your 15 years sentence. The sooner you confessed, the sooner you can start your sentence, the sooner you can get out."

Lucy stayed silent.

"We are being very lenient. Miss Diamond. The crimes you've committed should be more 20 years without parole."

Lucy sat up and rubbed her stomach. "I'm hungry." Lucy walked over to the steel bar. "Kat, can I get a medium well steak with French fries and a bottle of ice cold water!" She said as she looked up at the camera.

Seeing that the brunette wasn't affected by what she said, Helene tried another tactic.

"Maybe we should move you to another room, darker, smaller, colder, with dirty cemented floors …with the toilet in the corner."

"Then why didn't you? Why put me here in this nice…room with a full size bed?" She looked around before turning her attention back to the older woman.

"Is it because you don't have one here? And you wouldn't want to go to those stinky rooms because it gives you the creeps?" Lucy could tell she was surprised by her question.

Helene clapped her hands as she laughed out loud and stopped. "Budget cuts."

"Aaahh…" Lucy nodded in understanding, but she knew the older woman wouldn't admit it in front of her group behind the camera. "I heard about that. So…can I still get my steak? I'll pay for it." Lucy reached into her pockets and forgot that they've taken her wallet. "Kat…just use the money in my wallet!"

"Miss Diamond, if you weren't on the other side of the law, you…would have been a great asset to our team."

"Well, thank you for your compliment. Miss…sorry…I didn't get your name."

"I've never introduced myself? Oh my. I've got too many things on my mind…lately…."

"Budget cuts?" Lucy asked.

"Exactly." Helene reached out to shake her hand. "I am Helene Devereux. Head of Division 16 of the la surete."

"Nice to meet you. Miss Devereux." Lucy said sincerely as she shook her hand. Even though, they got off at a bad start yesterday morning, Lucy found that she was actually much nicer than that other woman…what's her face?…Amy's superior, who keeps forgetting everyone's name. Because she wanted to see if she could find out about their next step, their plans on exposing Benjamin Couric's scam, the only way to get that information is first by being nice.

"Likewise." Having done this for 20 years, Helene knew enough to switch tactics to talk to captured criminals. It's always better than yelling. That always pisses them off and she found that ninety percent of the time, threatening them just doesn't work. It would be easier for them if they could get the criminals to confess. A lot less headache, less documents to write up, less time spent in courts.

"May I ask a question?" Lucy said politely.

"Of course."

"Why haven't you, your department, exposed to the world about Benjamin Couric's scam? I mean, you have been investigating him for a long time, haven't you? And now that he's dead, what are you waiting for?" Since Kristin had been working for a year as a babysitter, she knew that they must have been investigating that son of a bitch longer than that.

Helene walked back and forth with her hands behind her back, thinking of how she should explain this.

"Miss Diamond, our organization is unlike the one you used to be the head of. If you say yes, your followers wouldn't question you. We, as you know, have a lot of departments. Making a decision requires a lot of time. We need evidence, a lot of them. There are rules, politics…and…"

"Your organization screwed up because you waited too long."

"Exactly." Helene stopped pacing when she realized what she just said. "No…I mean…he died too soon."

Lucy rolled her eyes. _Why can't they just admit they screwed up? _"So you're not investigating the people he's involved with?"

Lucy could tell from the older woman's face that she hit the nail on the head. Scud was right. They were trying to hit two birds or multiple birds with one stone. They were also trying to find more about the people whom Benjamin had connections too. But they waited too long. And now that Benjamin's dead, the only ones who will get jail time will be the ones who know about his scam and that's going to be difficult to prove. They could always claim ignorance and pushed the blame back to the dead. There's going to be a lot of law suits and the investors will probably blame the La Surete, the French FBI, if anyone finds out they had known about his scam for quite some time. But of course, they could always deny it and say they don't have enough evidence at that time. The banks that supported his firm will probably be sued also.

Helene tried to change the subject, realizing that she had said more than she should. But knowing that the brunette already knew what was going on, it didn't make that much of a difference if she knew what went wrong. "Now about what we just talked about…."

"Can I get my lunch first? I'm really…really…hungry."

Since today is only the second day, she knew it would be too soon to talk about this. Having read the file on Lucy Diamond, she knew the brunette would never submit to torture, not that they are allowed to torture her.

Helene looked at her watch. Since it was lunchtime and she got a headache after having just got out of a three hour meeting with the heads of other departments, she decided to talk about this tomorrow.

"Kat, get her lunch." She _rubbed her temples to soothe_ the building _headache_ away. "See you tomorrow, Miss Diamond."

The older woman's behavior surprised her. Lucy thought she would want to come back later to convince her to confess.

"hah…that's odd."

When the older woman was about to leave, Lucy knew her request would get turned down but asked anyway.

"Can I see Kristin?"

"You know the answer to that and you know why I can't allow it. I've already turned a blind eye yesterday."

"Then can I at least get a newspaper or magazine?"

Without saying a word, the older woman left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own DEBS or any of the characters used from the movie. They belong to Angela Robinson. This disclaimer applies to all chapters in this story.**

**Chapter 25**

Venice

Scud flew back to the apartment in Venice that night when he lost contact with Lucy and Anthony. Seeing the note on his bed that Lucy left for him, he wasn't thrilled about being left out of the loop. Yesterday Anthony finally returned his call and told him what happened. Anthony had a feeling that Lucy was captured since his men couldn't find Kristin and the Courics were back at their house under someone else's protection.

"She told me to do what?" Scud shouted in disbelief.

"Scott, I think she has a plan." Michel whispered into his office phone and told him to give the message to Anthony.

Scud too had no idea what the message meant either. After hanging up the phone, he called Anthony and gave him the message.

"Well, I'll be darn. How in the world did she manage to get that message out?" Anthony was impressed with brunette.

"I don't know but what does it mean?" Scud said anxiously.

Anthony stayed silent to think about whether he should tell him.

"Anthony, if you don't tell me, I'm going to think of something to rescue her myself! I am **not** going to sit here and do nothing!" Knowing that Lucy did all of this just to prevent him from getting caught, Scud knew Anthony would have to tell him. It would be a suicide mission if he acted alone.

"Okay." Anthony gave in and told him what he thinks Lucy was planning to do.

After hearing what Anthony had to say, Scud dropped his jaws. Now it made sense why Lucy wanted him to stay away.

"Okay, keep in touch." Scud hung up.

Now that Lucy had been caught, he can't go back to Paris. His company is as good as gone.

"Damn it! should have sold it sooner."

Of all the planning they've talked about, they've never thought it would happen this way.

* * *

One week passed. Lucy had not seen anyone coming in to her cell besides the blonde who came in to deliver her meals and the blonde wasn't Kristin. Her requests for the newspaper, magazine, steak and French fries had all been denied.

Lucy bent down to pick up her lunch as the blonde slid the plate towards her under the steel bars.

"Hi." Lucy said and smiled at the blonde. She needed to talk to somebody to find out what it's going on outside. Why has the older woman not visited her in a week?

The blonde did not respond nor made eye contact and slid the Styrofoam cup of water towards her.

"Where's your boss?" Lucy asked politely.

The blonde did not respond again and left the room.

"What the hell?" Lucy said to herself, wondering what was going on. Only the people behind the camera heard.

"Kat! Where is your boss?"

There was no response.

After eating her lunch, Lucy paced around the room in her prison uniform as she thought about her plan once she gets out of here.

Not expecting anyone, she was surprised to see another woman with blonde curly hair in her 30's come in who introduced herself as Miss Devereaux's assistant.

"Is she sick?" Lucy asked.

The question surprised the blonde. "Why would you think that?"

Lucy shrugged. "Just a hunch." Having heard about the budget cuts and seeing how Miss Devereaux was feeling unwell last week, Lucy had a feeling that the older woman would be under pressure from her superiors.

"She's just very busy lately."

"Really?" Lucy said as she raised her eyebrows. Her eyes focused on the blonde's to see if she was lying.

"yes."

"If you're here to ask me to confess, save it."

When the blonde didn't speak, Lucy knew she was right.

"I'll come back tomorrow." The assistant turned to head out the door.

"Wait." Lucy called out and the blonde quickly turned around, thinking that the brunette might have changed her mind. "Tell her when she feels better, come to see me and I'll solve all her problems….well, maybe not all."

The assistant frowned in confusion.

"Tell her to come here before the world knows about 'you know what', because after that, I might not be able to help her. Can you tell her that for me?" Lucy said politely.

After that day, the assistant came in every day to see if Lucy would confess to the crimes she committed. That was an order from her boss and that's what she did every day for a week. She didn't even have to come in, she just opened the door and waited for the brunette's response and closed the door until one day, Lucy couldn't take it anymore for not having anyone to talk to for two weeks.

"Let's talk about it." Lucy said when the assistant opened the main steel door. The assistant, as Lucy expected, was extremely surprised with her response.

Lucy held on to the steel bars with both hands while the assistant who was still a little shocked, stood in front of her from several feet away.

"So tell me, Diane…what are the five crimes they want me to confess to?"

"What? She didn't tell you?"

"No."

"Oh…um…let me go call her."

"Wait, you don't know what they are?" Lucy was a little shock that her boss didn't tell her. She realized that Miss Devereaux must really have a lot of things on her mind. _Budget cuts._

"It's confidential."

"I see. Well, Diane, I'm sure you don't want to bother her while she's resting. She's going to yell at you for disturbing her and she probably can't tell you."

"How did you know she's sick?"

Lucy smiled internally for finally getting someone to talk to her.

"She looked sick last time and she hasn't been here for awhile. So I just made a guess." Lucy shrugged her shoulders.

Diane nodded in understanding.

"So Diane, how long have you been working here?"

"a few months"

_No wonder. _Lucy thought to herself. "Did you tell her what I said last time?"

Diane nodded again.

"Wow, she must be really sick."

When Diane nodded again, a voice came from the speaker. "Diane!" Lucy recognized that was Kat's voice.

"Hi Kat." Lucy said.

Diane cleared her throat when she realized why Kat called her name. "I have to go." The curly blonde quickly left the room.

"Kat! why did you do that? I just want to have someone to talk to. I'm going insane in here. And when that happens, they're going to put me in a mental institution and your boss is going to blame you because I won't be able to confess to anything…you get that!"

There was no response from Kat.

"Kat!" Lucy screamed loudly.

Inside the surveillance room, Kat rolled her eyes. "So what do you want to talk about?" Kat said from the speaker.

"I want to know how Kristin's doing?"

"She's fine. She's getting much better. That's all I can tell you."

Since Lucy was unsure when she and Kristin can meet again, she wanted to let her know why she loved her.

"Kat, tell her I love her." Lucy said as she leaned her head on the steel bar. "I love her because she's smart, funny, beautiful, caring, kind. Can you tell her that for me, Kat?" Lucy asked politely.

"Is that really why you love her?"

Lucy slowly looked up at the camera, surprised with Kat's question.

There was no one else inside the surveillance room, so Kat felt it was safe to ask the brunette. Not wanting others to know about it, she stopped the recording.

"I know about…her." Kat said in a low voice.

Lucy's heart pounded rapidly as the thought of Kristin finding out about Amy crossed her mind.

"Does she…"

"No."

Lucy immediately let out a deep breath as she closed her eyes for a few seconds.

"It's not like that, Kat. It's not what you think. Please…don't let her know. I will tell her myself. Pleeease…."

Seeing that the blonde had fallen head over heels for the criminal, she didn't want Kristin to know about it either, knowing that this would only cause her more pain.

"I won't tell her. But she has access to the files. I can't stop her from accessing those files."

Hearing that, Lucy's heart felt like it plummeted to the bottom of her gut. She knew it would be a matter of time before the blonde finds out. And when she does, Lucy wouldn't be here to explain. _Oh God. _Lucy closed her eyes as she caressed her temples.

"When she finds out, please tell her that I love her for who she is. Kat…please...tell her that for me."

Kat also thought that this wouldn't be a good time for the blonde to find out since she's not fully recovered.

"I'll try to stop her from looking into those files, but I cannot promise you she won't find out."

"Okay, Kat, thank you. I will tell her after this is all over."

"After this is all over? Are you going to confess?"

Lucy neither nodded or shook her head. What she realized was that she can't wait any longer. Her plan has to start now. "Kat, please tell your boss I want to see her now. Tell her it's important."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After waiting for four hours, Helene Devereaux finally came to see Lucy.

As the older woman walked closer to her, Lucy noticed her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen from sleepless nights.

"Jesus, you don't look so good."

"Thank you for noticing and thank you for taking me away from my much-needed sleep."

"Take a seat. What I'm about to tell you will take care of your restless nights."

Feeling extremely tired, it took a moment for her to take in what the criminal mastermind just said. The older woman turned around and sat on the chair.

"First, I need you to turn that off." Lucy pointed to the camera.

Helene shook her head. "Everything has to be recorded."

"Kat, are you the only one up there?" Lucy asked.

Kat didn't respond until the older woman asked the question again.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I need you to promise me that no one except your superiors is not allowed to see today's tape."

Helene nodded.

"I also need you to promise me that no one is allowed to access the files on me and…Amy."

"What is this about, Miss Diamond? Do you realize where you are?" Helene said as she crossed her arms. "Her finding out should be the least of your concern right now."

"I will tell her myself after this is over. I don't want her to find out this way, just not now."

Since this is a small request, she didn't have to put too much thought into it and responded. "All right."

"I also want to see her one more time. Have a romantic dinner set up for us…with candles and roses."

"Miss Diamond, you must have something very important to say to have all these demands." Helene stood up and walked closer to the brunette.

"I do. But before I tell you, I need a deal. I want you to let me go…let me and my friend go. I want you to set us free."

Helene remained silent.

"I need your word. I need something to tell me that you won't go back on your word after I tell you what I know." Lucy said in a serious tone. "Because I need you to let me go after I tell you. Do I have your word?"

Helene saw the seriousness in the brunette's face.

"Kat, are you still recording?" Helene said as she stared at the brunette.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Kat…am I someone you can trust?"

"Yes, ma'am. I trust you with my life."

Lucy closed her eyes for a few seconds and let out a deep breath, hoping that she didn't make the wrong choice in trusting the older woman. She motioned the older woman to come closer and whispered into her ear.

"Are you serious?" Helene said out loud, unsure of whether to believe the brunette.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Why would I be joking?"

"Because you want me to let you go, Miss Diamond."

"Look, I am dead serious about this. That's why I'm taking a chance on telling you. Do you understand why I need your word to let me go?"

Helene nodded and began pacing back and forth. "You have my word, but my boss…"

"Kat! Stop the recording."

"Yes..ma'am."

"I have to think about how to tell him. This has to be handled very carefully." Helene slapped her forehead. "Oh my god…the US already know we got you…they might not let us set you free with this information."

"Just tell them I won't ever step foot into their land again."

"I wish it was that easy."

Helene paced back and forth again. "No…I can't tell my boss. He's not going to agree with this. He'd want the credit himself."

"What!"

"That's how the US knew about you. That's why I'm not feeling well because of that dickhead. Give me so much to do."

Lucy was a little surprise at her foul language.

"I know! We'll wait. We'll wait until we exposed the scam. Then he might agree to your requests."

"When will that be? Are you willing to wait again? What if something happens again?"

Helene pointed to the brunette. "Right…You're right. We can't wait again. We can't let that happen again."

"Not only that, we are not the only ones who know about this. They might get to him first." Lucy explained. She wondered if Anthony found him yet.

"Right, you're right…." Helene slapped her own face to wake herself up and to think more clearly.

"Isn't there anyone else you can trust?" Lucy asked.

Helene pondered for a moment as she tapped her finger on her mouth. "Yes…yes there is! I'll let his boss know. He's more understanding. Yes. That's what I'll do." The older woman said as she headed for the exit.

"Wait!" Lucy called out.

"I'm going to see him now."

"Can I get my steak dinner now?" Lucy said as she rubbed her belly.

"Kat, get her whatever she wants." Helene called out.

"Yes..ma'am."

_Bingo…step 1 complete. _Lucy thought to herself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

1 hour later

Sitting on the chair, Lucy took a bite of the delicious steak that Kat ordered for her.

"m…m…m….this tastes so much better…Thank you. Kat."

Kat couldn't resist asking about what happened earlier. "What did you tell her?" Her voice came from the speaker.

"You'll see…"

When the steel door opened with a squeak, Lucy turned to that direction and noticed the older woman and a black bald man in his 50's.

"Can you take care of the squeaking sound?" The big black man asked the guard politely.

"Right away. Sir." The guard responded.

Lucy smiled internally. It had been more than a week she's been here and no one fixed the door even when the older woman ordered them to. She wondered how long it would take them to get it fixed this time.

Helene introduced her boss's boss to Lucy.

"Miss Diamond." The man said as he offered his hand out.

"Mr. Fontaine." Lucy shook his hand firmly.

"Are you finished with your dinner? We can come back later." He asked nicely when he noticed she was in the middle of dinner.

"Have you eaten yet? If you want to come back later, that's fine." Lucy responded in the same polite manner as she stood behind the steel bars.

Fontaine looked at Helene before directing his attention back to the criminal mastermind.

"This is not what I was expecting before coming in here."

Lucy noticed how slow this guy was talking like he's 70 year olds. "Oh? What were you expecting?"

"Well, I have to be honest. I don't know much about you. What I was expecting?…well…a criminal…you don't look or talk like one…" He turned to Helene. "Are you sure you have the right person?"

Lucy let out a small smile.

"Yes, sir." Helene responded.

"Helene has filled me in what you know and what you want in return. But Miss Diamond, here's what I don't understand. Why would we want to let you go…now that we know that Benjamin Couric is still alive?"

"Because I gave her my word, sir." Helene said and nodded to the brunette.

"I see." He started pacing back and forth. "But you do realize it's not up to her. Just because she gave you your word, it doesn't mean that….."

Lucy cut him off, knowing what he was about to say.

"I know. A week from now, if you don't let me go, he will be killed and your team will be in the same situation you are in right now. So the question is, do you…want him…alive?"

"What?!" Helene asked, surprised with this new information.

Mr. Fontaine turned to look at the older woman and realized that she wasn't aware of this information.

"Miss Diamond, you know you have my word and there is no need to make up more lies."

"Miss Devereaux, first thank you for giving me your word. But do you really think that I would give out that information to someone who I barely know? "

"What you're saying doesn't make sense unless you're telling me you can see the future. If you could see the future, you wouldn't be here." Helene said a little louder.

"Well, let make it more clearer for you. I know he's alive. I know there are a lot of people after him. And if those people don't see me 7 days from now, they will take care of him."

"Let me get this straight. Do you know where he is now?" Fontaine asked.

"No I don't." Lucy said.

"But you do know someone who knows where he is."

"That's right."

"and if that someone doesn't see you 7 days from now, he or she will have Benjamin Couric killed."

"Correct."

Helene stepped closer to the brunette.

"How do we know that they haven't already killed him?"

"Because Helene…that's what I told them." Lucy said calmly.

"You told them? How?"

Both stared at each other in silence for a moment. Lucy smiled at the older woman and allowed her to think about it.

"Kat! Were there any other visitors in here that I don't know about?" At this point, Helene was a little angry with the brunette for leaving this information out, but she understood why.

"No. Ma'am. Just Kristin, Diane, Megan, and that girl who…umm…who we thought that they were…ummm…having Sss….I mean…making love…that time" Kat said in an embarrassed tone.

Helene slapped her own forehead when she realized how the brunette was able to contact her friends outside.

"and you didn't hear what they were saying?!" Helene yelled.

"No, ma'am…we were…umm..distracted." Kat said and cleared her throat.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders and smiled when she realized that the older woman finally figured it out.

Impressed with the brunette's action, Helene smiled at the brunette. "you have this planned out from Day 1."

Lucy shook her head. "Nope, the idea just came to me at that moment. Don't forget, I have no idea she was going to be here."

"But I'm sure you would have found other ways. You could have told Kristin."

"Wrong again. I would **never** put her in that position. She's still on your team." Lucy glared at the older woman, letting her know that she still hasn't forgiven her for putting Kristin in the helpless situation.

Mr. Fontaine, who has been listening, understood what had happened and broke the silent stare between the two women.

"Miss Diamond, you do realize we could look for him ourselves."

"Yesssss, you can try…but do you think you can find him in 7 days? Do you think he faked his own death and not leave the country so you guys can find him?"

The black man looked at the older woman. Both knew that 7 days was not enough time.

_Damn budget cuts. _The black man thought to himself.

"Let's say we can fulfill all of your requests, how do we know that once you leave this place, you will keep the end of your bargain?"

"Well…you'll just have to trust me." Lucy said.

"Trust you? Hah!" Helene laughed out loud. "Maybe we should put a tracker on you. Then we'll trust you."

"You can, but I'm just going to take it out after I leave here."

"We'll have to think about this." Mr. Fontaine said in a serious tone and walked to the door with Helene followed from behind.

Standing at the steel door, Helene stopped to ask one more question.

"Miss Diamond, how do you think that young lady would react if she finds out that you used her to capture her grandfather?"

"hmmm…let me think…either she would thank me for getting the person who put her whole family in danger…or …she probably won't speak to me again."

"That's her grandfather. I don't think she would want to see her own grandfather in prison, no matter how much she hates him." The older woman reasoned.

"I don't think so either, that's why I'm hoping for the latter."

It took a moment for the older woman to understand the brunette's intention.

_Sorry, Alexis. _

* * *

According to Kat, it's 10 pm. It has been 4 hours since Helene left the room. Lying on the bed, Lucy stared at the ceiling. She wasn't worried at all about the 7 days limit since it was just a number that she made up. Knowing Anthony and Scud, she knows that they would wait until she gets out. And if Devereaux and Fontaine don't agree to her plan, she still has Plan B.

The opening of the door caught her attention.

"Oh good… they fixed the squeaking sound." Helene said.

"Good job." Mr. Fontaine complimented the guard.

Lucy sat up on the bed and let out a yawn as she stretched her arms.

"Sorry to interrupt you at this hour, Miss Diamond. You do understand you surprised us with the new information." Mr. Fontaine responded politely.

"I understand. I don't like surprises either." Lucy smiled at Helene, letting her know that she wasn't happy about being captured while sleeping on the same bed with her agent. She wondered how many of her agents knew about this. It must be difficult for the blonde to deal with her coworkers…just like how Amy had to deal with her D.E.B.S friends. If the older woman really cared about the blonde, she could let them all believe that Kristin used herself to capture her. Some wouldn't believe it but others might. Lucy wondered what the older women told her superior.

He pulled a chair out for his subordinate and sat on another chair.

"Well…here's…what…we've de..cided."

Lucy listened intently while sitting on the bed. _Can you hurry it up a bit?_

"If you are able to bring Benjamin Couric…**alive…**back to us, we can fulfill all of your requests except for the part of setting you free."

"What!" Lucy said loudly and stood up. "Are you telling me that getting me behind bars is more important than that son of a bitch who stole billions from investors and…."

"Waaaaait." He said calmly as he extended his hand out. "2 years parole."

"No way." Lucy immediately responded.

"How long have you lived here, Miss Diamond?" He asked.

"over 2 years." Lucy responded.

"Well then…consider that served."

Lucy rolled her eyes. _Why can't they just get to the point? _"and my friend?"

"and your friend too." He nodded.

"The second thing is…this is where the problem is."

He stood up and walked towards the brunette.

"When the…accused gets…arrested, the accused can get bailed out so that…we know he or she…will show up…later."

Lucy rolled her eyes again. _This is going to take forever._

"We simply…do not have…the assurance that you…will not…leave us if we…let you go."

"Do you want money? Is that it?"

Seeing how slowly this is going and wanting to go home to get some rest badly, Helene stood up and explained. "Yes, lots of it but we cannot allow you to use any kind of communication device, no computer, no phone."

"Then how do you expect me to give you the assurance that you need?!" Getting frustrated, she spoke loudly as she grabbed tightly on to the steel bars.

"a Bail bondsman."

"What?" Lucy stared at the older woman.

"We need a bail bondsman. Not only money, we will need someone with status, someone who is willing to guarantee that you will come back to us."

"You're…out…of your freaking minds…" Lucy said in a low voice, surprised and baffled by their decision. "I don't know anybody like that…the only person I know is Michel and you know he's not going to agree to this." _Shit! He probably doesn't have any money left either. He can get it from Anthony.  
_

"Even if he agrees, he's not qualified. You saved his whole family and I wouldn't be surprised if he is willing to risk his entire fortune and his life to save yours." Helene stated.

"So you're telling me if he dies, you guys are okay with that?"

"No, we want him alive. Put yourself in our shoes. We have no way of knowing whether you are telling us the truth or this is one of your Lucy Diamond schemes." Helene reasoned.

"I promise…I'll come back. I will…I'll come back for Kristin."

"That's not good enough. She's one of us…remember. You said it yourself. Don't ever put her into a helpless situation. If you don't come back, she will be on the hook and I am not willing to put her life in your hands."

Lucy let out a deep breath. Holding her bangs up over her head, she paced back and forth to think about what to do. This is not what she expected at all. She expected them to take a chance. _Damn it! Anthony…Uncle Nick…no…I can't get them involved…who?…the philanthropist in Venice…will he do it?_

Lucy was so deep in thought, she didn't notice those two had left the room. After a long moment of pacing around, she flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. _Guess I'll have to wait for Plan B. I hope nobody gets to him first._

* * *

Next day lunch time

Last night, Lucy did not sleep well. Even though she had a plan B, after what happened last night, she wasn't sure if they would be willing to let her go after the whole world knows about Benjamin Couric. They could always look for him themselves. _And if they got too close to finding him, Anthony would kill that son of a bitch and I…I…would still be here…and I wouldn't be able to…_

"Good afternoon, Miss Diamond."

Not feeling like talking today, Lucy continued eating her lunch without responding.

"Have you thought of anyone we could contact?" Helene said.

Lucy took a quick glance at the older woman and noticed she wasn't as tired as last night. "Looks like you're feeling better."

"Yes and I have you to thank for. Mr. Fontaine has taken all of my other duties away so I can concentrate on your case." The older woman smiled widely. "I felt so much better…and I could finally get some sleep last night."

"Good for you." Lucy said in a monotonous tone as she kept eating. All she cared about right now is think of her next step.

Helene sat on the chair with her legs crossed as she waited patiently for the brunette to finish her lunch.

After a short moment, Lucy finished her lunch and dumped the plate and cup in the trashcan.

"I know someone." Lucy said as she sat back down on the chair.

"You do. Let's hear it." Helene said as she crossed her arms. She could tell that the brunette was not happy with how things are turning out.

"On one condition, you cannot tell him who I am."

"Miss Diamond, I don't think you understand how this works. We cannot lie to them. They have to be willing to do this without getting any returns from you. We don't want just any regular bail bond agent that could come up with the money."

"Then I want to talk to Michel."

Helene shook her head and spoke calmly. "Not possible. He has contacts with your friends outside. You said it yourself. That is also why I cannot allow Kristin to be here."

"Then what do you expect me to do? He's going to die if you don't let me out!"

Lucy yelled, frustrated with the current situation she's in.

"Then we'll just have to find him first."

"What? You already started looking for him?"

The older woman stood up and said sincerely. "I…gave you my word and I am sorry I couldn't convince them to let you go. I do believe you that he is alive out there. But, like I said, we are unlike your organization. I…we…have rules to follow. I hope you understand my situation."

With her hands holding onto the bars, Lucy looked down on the floor and closed her eyes as she leaned her head against the steel bars.

The older woman noticed her distress and tried to offer some assistance.

"You've been here for two years. Did you make any friends who you can trust, who trusts you, who…"

Lucy looked up at the older woman and spoke in a dull tone.

"If the whole world knows that he's still alive and you still can't find him, what do you think your boss would do?"

The old woman didn't even have to think about the question.

"He's not going to let you out. He's not going to take that risk." She said in a low voice as she shook her head.

_There goes Plan B._ Lucy let out a deep breath.

Lucy turned around and flopped down on the bed, covering her eyes with her forearm.

Seeing that the brunette didn't have anything else to say, Helene decided to leave.

* * *

Two days passed. Lucy couldn't come up with plan C. Lying on the bed, she wondered if Anthony was able to find him. She wondered if the older woman would keep her word. It's not up to her. She knew that. Even if they started looking, she wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

_There's no other way. There's no other way. I have to get out._

Lucy sat up and called out. "Kat, I want to see your boss now!"

After waiting for 3 hours, the older woman finally came.

"What took you so long?" Lucy said.

"meetings" Helene said as she walked towards the brunette.

"So all I have to do is come back and he won't lose any of his assets? His involvement with me will remain confidential?"

"That's correct. As long as you come back, whether you find him or not, your friend will not lose anything. Everything will be confidential. Only Mr. Fontaine and I will be the only ones who will know about that person. All records will be destroyed afterwards."

"…and Kat?"

"Kat!" Helene shouted.

"Yes, ma'am." Kat spoke on the speaker.

"If any word about this gets out, not only will you be dishonorably discharged, you will be sentenced to at least 10 years in prison. Do you understand?"

"YES, MA'AM!" Kat's loud voice caused the speaker to emit a high-pitched sound, causing the older woman to cover her ears. "sorry…ma'am" Kat apologized in a lower voice.

She hated herself for the decision she was about to make. But there was no other way.

"I need magazines from the States…entertainment magazines."

All Lucy had to do was to tell the older woman to get the name of the passenger who sat next to her on the flight from Paris to Venice, but since she doesn't want to give her too many details like how they met, she decided to do it the hard way. She wasn't even sure if the older woman knows that she went to Venice.

"What?" Helene said, confusion all over her face.

"You heard me. I need the most updated entertainment celebrity magazines."

* * *

**Chapter 26: Chapter 26**

* * *

**Chapter 26**

Sitting on the table with 10 magazines stacked up high, Lucy glared at Kat standing on the other side of the cell.

The camera and the recording were turned off to show the brunette that everything was being kept confidential from this day forward.

"Kat, I said magazines from the US not from here."

"They don't have any."

"Well these aren't going to help me, she's not from here." Frustrated, Lucy took a magazine from the stack.

"She?" Helene and Kat said in unison.

"I thought you said it's a he." Helene said.

"Does it matter?" Lucy responded in an unpleasant tone. Already hating what she had to do, she didn't feel like answering the ridiculous questions.

"What's her name?" Kat asked.

"If I knew, would I be doing this?" Lucy said in a frustrated tone.

"Whoa…you're not making any sense, you don't know her name? Then how do you…." Kat asked.

"Agent!" Helene called out to interrupt.

"Sorry, ma'am." Kat said as she straightened her posture.

"She gave me a fake name, just like I did." Lucy explained, rolling her eyes.

"What does she do? " Helene asked.

"She's a singer."

Kat's jaws dropped. She's not a celebrity fanatic but she enjoyed watching movies and kept up to date with the latest music.

"You…you know a celebrity?" Kat said in disbelief.

Lucy quickly stood up. "Kat! if you talk about this to **anyone**, I swear I'm going to make your life so miserable, you'll wish…"

"I promise not to tell anyone." Kat responded quickly, swallowed in fear as she raised her hand as a promise.

Both kept quiet as Lucy flipped through the pages.

After Lucy went thru one magazine, Kat couldn't resist from asking a question.

"ummm…what does she look like? Maybe I could just search the internet using my phone." Kat suggested.

"Is that your own phone or does it belong to the government?"

Kat placed her phone back into her pocket and remained silent. It wouldn't hurt to look up the megastar on the internet in her phone but Lucy was being cautious and didn't want to leave any traces.

Both sat quietly and waited patiently for the brunette.

After putting the fourth magazine down, she took another one on the stack. After turning to the first page and scanning it for a few seconds, she stopped and quickly flipped back to the cover. Lucy locked her eyes on the blonde on the cover of the page for a long moment, then flipped to another page in the magazine. _Oh my god…She looks so different in person._ Having been in Paris for only 2 years, Lucy couldn't understand what the article was saying about the blonde. But she could tell from the pictures that the blonde wasn't too happy about it. She turned back to the cover and saw that it was this week's magazine.

Extremely anxious to find out who the celebrity was, Kat couldn't control herself from asking again.

"Did you find her?"

Lucy stood up and handed her the magazine.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Quickly walking towards the brunette, Kat grabbed the magazine. Her jaws dropped again, she looked up at the brunette, not believing how the criminal got to know the famous celebrity adored by millions of fans.

"Kat!" Lucy called out.

Kat cleared her throat and began reading the article.

"It says she's being sued by a paparazzi…because she punched him. She said...he was bothering her...and he tried to...touch her."

"What! That son of a bitch!" Lucy shouted. Her anger flared instantaneously, her hands grabbed tight on the bars.

"Do they have proof?" Helene asked.

"they have pictures of her punching him."

"Where did this happen?" Lucy asked.

Kat reread the article and confirmed that it happened in Paris.

"Miss Diamond. This might not work…because she has a lawsuit against her."

"She's defending herself! You know she's innocent!" Lucy wasn't concerned with her situation at this moment. She was more concerned with the blonde's.

"I…don't know that. I don't know her." Helene said.

Kat quickly raised her hand like a kid in an elementary school. "I believe her."

"Do you know her?" Helene said.

"No, ma'am. I don't know her personally but I know who she is and I believe that she wouldn't just punch a guy without a reason. She's a philanthropist and donated millions of dollars to build schools…for the children…and…" Kat stopped when her superior extended her hand out.

"Let me talk to her. Let me find out what happened?" Lucy said anxiously without thinking. When she saw both Kat and Helene staring at her, she realized what she just said.

Helene pondered for a moment. "Let **me**…find out what happened." Before leaving, she ordered Kat to stay behind to look after the brunette.

After her boss closed the door, Kat immediately asked about the famous megastar.

"So where did you meet her?"

Since Kat just helped defend Alyson, Lucy didn't want to be mean to her but she also didn't want to give her any more details either.

"Sorry, you know I can't tell you that."

"Then can you ask her to give me her autograph?"

"No one can know about this, Kat." Lucy reminded her and could tell Kat wasn't happy with her response.

Lucy extended her hand out, motioning Kat to give her back the magazine.

Pouting her lips, Kat reluctantly handed her the magazine.

* * *

4 days later at 6pm

The head of division 16 didn't come back to the cell until 4 days later. Lucy and Kat found it extremely odd and both wondered what happened.

"Check mate!" Lucy called out. If it weren't for Kat keeping her company for the past four days playing various board games, Lucy would definitely start breaking things to get someone's attention

Lucy chuckled when she saw Kat pouting her lips. Having won the last five games in chess, Lucy was starting to get bored.

"Again." Kat said as she began setting up the board.

During these past four days, Lucy learned a lot about the short young woman with the medium straight brownish hair. Kat, like her, didn't have any family. But Kat was more unfortunate. She grew up in an orphanage and the only friends she had were the kids she grew up with but lost contact with them when each of her little friends got adopted one by one. Her only friends were the ones she currently worked with.

"So Kat, if you're not doing this, what would you like to do?" Lucy asked as she placed her pawn 2 steps forward on the chessboard.

"hmmm….I never thought about it. I mean I've only worked here for a couple of years and I do like this job." Kat said as she made her move.

"So there's nothing you're interested in, nothing at all…besides this?"

Lucy and Kat continued to chat about their likes and dislikes. After a moment, Lucy made her move.

"Check mate!" Lucy said.

"Are you kidding me?!" Kat stood up, frustrated that she lost again. This time was even faster than the last game. "I can't believe this. I didn't win one single game!"

Lucy smiled wide as she crossed her arms and tilted her chair backwards.

When the steel door opened, Lucy quickly stood up and focused her attention on the older woman.

"What happened?" Lucy said anxiously.

With a blank expression on her face, Helene stood in front of the brunette.

Not hearing a single word from the older woman, Lucy anxiously asked again.

"Look, I don't care if she agreed to do this. All I wanted to know is what happened to that bastard. Is he still suing her?"

"Here, sign this." Helene handed her some documents. "I've taken care of it and…she agreed."

"She…agreed?" Lucy said softly. Her heart began to pound rapidly, knowing that she will meet the megastar again.

"Are you surprised?" Helene asked.

Staring into blank space, Lucy shook her head. "No."

Lucy slowly looked up and directed her attention back to the older woman. "Did you...tell her...everything?"

"Everything except that we took care of her lawsuit."

"how…how did…she take it?" Lucy wanted to know the blonde's reaction.

"She didn't say anything. She didn't even ask why. She just agreed to it." Helene looked at her watch. Knowing her question wouldn't be answered, she asked anyway. "Have you two been friends for a long time?"

"Yea…a long time." Lucy lied.

After reading the documents and signing it, Lucy requested to see Kristin one more time before she leaves.

Helen took the document and flipped through each page to make sure everything was completed.

"Okay. I'll be right back."

"Wait…I want to see Kristin."

Helene heard her request the first time but pretended not to have heard. She stopped and turned around. "I'm afraid I cannot fulfill your request."

"You promised! I 'm not going to say anything to her. I just want to see her."

"It's not me. She…doesn't…want to see you."

"What?" Lucy said softly in disbelief, confusion over her face. "Why?"

Kat was also very curious to know.

"She…found…out."

Kat gasped, covering her mouth.

_No…no…no. _ Lucy shook her head in disbelief. A sharp pain shot through her heart as if a bullet ran right through it. "How? Didn't you…."

"I did…but you know that there are other resources that…"

"What…did…she say?" Lucy knew that the blonde would find out sooner or later.

"what you need to do right now is focus on ….."

"What did she say!" Lucy shouted angrily.

There was a short moment of silence. Both noticed how hurt the brunette was by the breakup.

"She said…she doesn't blame you….she said thank you for saving her and giving her…the happiest memories of her life."

"Didn't you tell her it's not like that?"

"Now…before you go accusing me of trying to separate you two, I want to let you know that I told her everything you said the first day you were here."

"Where is she?"

Helene let out a big sigh and walked towards the brunette. "I knew you were going to ask that. So I asked her what to tell you if you asked. She said…" Helene cleared her throat. "She said…to tell you…it's over."

_It's...over? _Her heart skipped a beat and sank to the floor. "She…didn't even give me a chance to explain." Lucy said in a low voice as she looked down on the floor.

Then after a short moment, Lucy looked up and shouted at the older woman. "You should've let her in here! So I can talk to her! She would have listened to me! You should've…"

"Hold on. Wait a minute. Donnnn't." The older woman said calmly as she raised her hands up to tell her that she had nothing to do with this. "I…told…her….to…come…to talk to you…but…she won't."

"Why?"

_For the love of God, I hope my daughter doesn't have these problems._ The older woman let out another big sigh. "she said…she's afraid she would change her mind."

"I don't understand." Lucy closed her eyes as she shook her head. "I don't understand."

"I don't either." Helene said.

Then a voice of reason came from the most unexpected.

"because…her heart is telling her one thing and her brain is telling her another…." Kat said in a gentle voice.

Unable to hold in her tears, Lucy turned around and flopped down on the bed, not wanting anyone see her tears brimming her eyes.

Helene had planned on taking the brunette to see the megastar later but seeing how the brunette was so affected by the breakup, she decided to take her tomorrow instead.

"I'll come back tomorrow." Both left to give the brunette some privacy.

With no one else inside the room, Lucy screamed into the bed. She wasn't angry with the blonde. She was angry with herself for not telling her about Amy in the beginning. Would it have ended differently if she had told her about Amy? There was no point in thinking about it now. What's done is done. She knew that there would be no future for them. But there was a moment where she thought that maybe everything might work out after all. And then something else happens. It doesn't matter now. What matters is that the blonde agent is safe. Everyone is safe. She came to rescue them and she did. _She's alive and well. That's all it matters. That's all it matters. _

* * *

Next day 5PM

Today is the day that Lucy told the government officials that Benjamin Couric would be killed if they don't let her out. She tried to think of another plan to get herself out without getting the megastar involved, but couldn't come up with one.

Lying on the bed, Lucy stared at the ceiling with her hands locked behind her head and thought about what to do next after she gets out. When she heard the steel door open, Lucy slowly sat up like she wasn't anxious to get out.

Walking slowly towards the brunette, both Helene and Kat noticed the sad look on the brunette's face as if she didn't care if she had to spend the rest of her life in this prison cell. If Kristin could see her now, maybe she would change her mind. Kat thought to herself.

When the cell door opened, Lucy remained seated on the bed. Both the government officials looked at each other, surprised by the brunette's action.

"Miss Diamond. Get dressed." Helene handed her a big bag. Lucy slowly stood up, took the bag and dragged her feet towards the bathroom to get changed.

xxxxxxxxxx

After 30 minutes, they finally arrived to a luxury hotel. When Kat was about to take the handcuffs off the brunette, Lucy surprised everyone when she took the handcuffs off herself without the key and handed them to Kat.

"How did you do that?" Kat asked.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders.

As she was escorted to the top executive level, nervousness consumed her body. She had put the megastar in danger to save herself. It was a selfish act. It was something she would never do and she regretted it the moment she mentioned her name. It felt like she had betrayed a friend, worse, someone who loves her and someone who meant something to her. She swallowed as she walked towards the luxury room. Her heart beat faster and faster as she got closer to the room. Several feet away from the room, Lucy suddenly stopped.

"I can't. I change my mind." Lucy quickly turned around.

"What?" Helene quickly grabbed the brunette's forearm to stop her.

"She did say something to me before I left. She said...you owe her an explanation." The megastar told her to say that if the brunette changed her mind. _Looks like they must have known each other for a long time to know what the other would be thinking._ Helen thought to herself.

Lucy closed her eyes. _She's right. I owe her an explanation._

"Look, you need her and we need you to get that son of a bitch back alive. Then…you can do whatever you want. Okay?" Helene said in gentle tone, trying to convince her.

Lucy took one slow step at a time like a little girl who was about to go to the dentist's office. Kat held the brunette's left arm and Helene held her right arm to prevent the criminal mastermind from leaving again.

"I'm just curious. How did you take care of that paparazzi?"

"cctv."

Lucy nodded in understanding. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now…can you please go in there so I can go home." The tired older woman pushed the brunette to stand in front of the door and told Kat to stand guard.

After knocking on the door, the door swung opened after a short moment. Stunned still, Lucy swallowed a lump in her throat when she saw the blonde standing in front of her. Her stomach tied in knots. Feeling extremely guilty for getting her involved, Lucy remained still.

Helene rolled her eyes and pushed the brunette gently inside.

With her mouth agape, Kat couldn't believe she got a chance to see the famous megastar in person. _Wow, she's really tall… and pretty. _When the door closed in front of her, Kat pouted her lips.

After the door closed behind the brunette, Alyson walked back into the living room, leaving the brunette still standing near the door.

"Do you want something to drink?" Alyson called out as if nothing was wrong.

Lucy closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.

_Stay cool._ _Just tell her the truth, thank her, and say good-bye. _

"Sure." Lucy said casually and walked into the living room. The living room was huge with a panoramic view of the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night. Having lived in Paris for 2 years, Lucy had seen it before and wasn't surprised to see such a beautiful scene. Lucy took a seat on the couch in the middle of the living room as she waited for the blonde.

"Where's…ummm…Robert? Did he come with you?" Lucy didn't really care about Robert, but just wanted to say something to break the awkward silence.

"No." Alyson said as she took out a bottle from the refrigerator.

"How is he?" Lucy scanned the back of the blonde from top to bottom.

"Fine." Alyson turned around and noticed that Lucy immediately turned her head away to look at something else.

As she walked towards the brunette, she noticed that the criminal mastermind was sitting uncomfortably.

"Here." Alyson placed the drink on the coffee table and sat across from her.

"Thank you." Not wanting to look directly at the blonde, she looked around the room as she took a gulp of her drink. "Wow…this is a nice room." There was a big tv, leather sofas, love seats, dining table, a full size refrigerator, and a custom bar.

"I needed privacy."

Lucy nodded and took a quick glance at the blonde before taking another gulp of her drink. Turning her head to the large window, she stood up and walked towards it and pretended to be admiring the beautifully lit Tower.

"He said thank you."

Without turning around to look at the blonde, she responded softly. "For what?" Lucy took another sip.

"Your investment tip."

"Oh, all I told him was not to be greedy."

"…and he listened…" Alyson handed the brunette another drink and took her empty glass. Lucy didn't notice that she had finished the drink nor did she notice when Alyson went back to the counter to pour another drink. Lucy thanked her again.

"My father wants to thank you too." Alyson let out a smile.

Having been in the cell for more than 2 weeks, Lucy has no idea what was going on with the stock market. But from what the blonde said, she had a feeling that her predictions were right.

"Do you have today's newspaper?" Lucy looked around and when she saw a newspaper on the table behind the sofa, she quickly walked over and turned the page quickly to the business section. She was right. The European and US stock markets were slowly falling. She wondered if Uncle Nick and Anthony listened to her. Flipping through the pages, she scanned the headlines and read the ones that interested her. She knew she would have to explain to the megastar about her identity but wanted to wait until she asks.

Not wanting to disturb the brunette, Alyson sat back down on the sofa, gazing at the criminal mastermind. She had so many questions for her but didn't want to blurt it out all at once. The head of Division 16 of the La Surete told her who she is, what she did, but didn't give her the details of why she would need a bail bondsman. Finding out the brunette's true identity shocked her. _How? How could that be? Do you have the right person? That was her reaction in her mind. How could this brunette that she had fallen in love with be the ruthless leader of a criminal organization?_ At that moment, she remembered that day when the brunette told her that she had killed before but she ended up saying she killed a lobster. Was that true? Did she really kill someone? The older woman didn't say anything about that. If it was true, she believed that the brunette must have a good reason. Just like she had a good reason to punch the paparazzi in the eye. Suddenly, the sound of her phone broke her thoughts.

"Hello….yes…really!" Alyson stood up in excitement. "Why did….ohhhh…okay…Thank you." As the blonde hung up the phone, she noticed the brunette glanced at her before turning her attention back to the newspaper.

Alyson put the phone down and sat on the sofa and let Keira continue to read the newspaper.

Smiling wide, she locked her eyes at the brunette and took a small sip of her drink. Suddenly both turned to the direction of the door when both heard two knocks.

"Are you expecting someone?" Lucy really didn't want to see anyone else right now.

Without responding, Alyson just smiled as she headed towards the door. Lucy's eyes followed the blonde's every moment and realized later that the blonde had ordered room service.

"I hope you haven't had dinner yet." Alyson said as she pushed the cart towards the dining table.

What was on the cart was the unlit candles, the roses, the empty wine glasses; a romantic dinner for two. Lucy let out a low sigh as she thought about how her plan had turned upside down. She had wanted a romantic dinner with Kristin. Not only did she not get her deal, she got the megastar involved.

"Are you hungry?" Alyson said when she noticed the brunette was deep in thought.

Lucy quickly walked over and helped the blonde lit up the candles. After everything was set up, she excused herself to the bathroom.

After a short moment, she came out. _ Oh no. _ The lights were dimmed, soft slow music was on and the megastar was sitting on the dining table patiently waiting for her to come out. Lucy wasn't surprised that the blonde still feels something for her even after finding out about her true identity since Alexis and Kristin both felt the same way. Whoever she used to be didn't matter to them because they had fallen head over heels for her, the person she is now.

As she sat down across from the blonde, Lucy let out a small smile.

"Do you want some wine?" Alyson said as she stood up.

"I got it." Lucy reached out and took the bottle from the cart and poured some into both glasses. In the situation she was in, she wasn't even thinking about the amount of alcohol in the wine. Alyson raised her glass towards the brunette. Lucy became confused when the blonde didn't say anything.

"Go head, you say it." The blonde said.

"ummmmmm….….may the future hold your health….may the future hold your happiness…"

After clinking their glasses, Alyson couldn't control herself from laughing.

"What?" Lucy said after taking a sip of the wine.

"That's what people say in weddings." Alyson chuckled.

"Oh…really?…I…ah…not good at that sort of stuff." Lucy said shyly and began to cut her steak.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Lucy asked how she's been.

"Good. Everything's fine." Alyson wanted to ask her the same thing but decided not to because she knew that she was captured but just didn't know when or how.

"Good…Any….nightmares?"

Alyson shook her head, smiling shyly and put a slice of chicken into her mouth.

With the dim lighting and candles flickering, Lucy could see the red cheeks on the blonde's white skin.

"So that worked, huh?"

Alyson looked up. "What worked?"

"mmm…never mind." Lucy had a feeling that allowing the blonde to see her naked might have helped her get rid of her nightmares but didn't want to embarrass her by saying it. She could be wrong.

"So umm…what are you doing here in Paris?"

"filming"

"filming? Like in a movie?

"commercial."

Lucy nodded in understanding.

Without thinking, Alyson asked her the same question.

"I live here." Lucy said she took a sip of the wine.

Alyson remembered that Keira had said she went to Venice for vacation but wasn't sure if she was telling the truth.

Lucy took a glance at the blonde and quickly looked down at her plate when she saw the blonde looking up at her.

"Here…try some of my chicken." Without waiting for her response, Alyson cut a piece of the chicken and put it onto Lucy's plate.

"Thank you." Lucy did the same with her steak and put it onto the blonde's plate.

It definitely didn't have the same romantic atmosphere as their last day together in Venice.

After another moment of awkward silence, both had finished their dinner. Alyson stood up and walked over to the brunette.

"Let's walk it off." She extended her hand out to the brunette.

Lucy smiled and took the offered hand. That was what she said to her on their last day together.

Unlike the hotel room they were in Venice, this room had a lot of space. Lucy extended her hands to hold onto her hips while Alyson placed her hands on her shoulders. Dancing to the slow soft song, when Lucy felt the blonde's arms wrapping more tightly around her shoulders, she did the same and encircled Alyson's waist and held her firmly. Instantly, it felt like the time they were together on that last day in Venice. The awkwardness was gone. It was time to explain.

"I'm sorry." Lucy whispered into her ears as she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry for getting you involved."

"Thank you."

Lucy wasn't expecting that response. "For what?"

"The paparazzi…you did something…didn't you?" Alyson said as she looked directly at the brunette.

"They did."

"But they wouldn't if you didn't ask them too."

Not hearing a response, Alyson knew she was right. She moved her head back to the previous position, resting her chin on the brunette's shoulder as they continued to move slowly.

"What happened? How did they find out?" Alyson said softly.

Lucy let out a big sigh, knowing that she had to explain. It wouldn't be fair to her to not know the truth.

"I had to come back to save my friends."

Lucy wasn't surprised with the blonde's next question. She knew the megastar would understand.

"Are they safe?"

Lucy nodded on the blonde's shoulder. "Yes."

"What about you?"

Both continued to keep moving in a slow pace.

"Don't worry about me. I'm going to be fine." Lucy closed her eyes, inhaling the strawberry scent of the blonde's hair.

After a short moment, Lucy came to a decision.

"Alyson, don't promise them anything. I don't know what got into me. I should have never told them about you."

Alyson immediately stopped dancing and pulled her head back to look directly at the brunette.

"Didn't she tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Lucy said in confusion.

"I already signed the documents."

"What?" Lucy immediately stepped away and quickly headed out the door. Outside of the room, she expected Kat to be standing guard, but no one was there. _Why didn't she tell me? _She had previously thought that the megastar wanted to see her before signing the documents. Lucy closed the door and leaned her back against it. Letting out a deep breath, she closed her eyes and thought about what to do next. It didn't work out the way she planned, but she did manage to get out.

"Keira?"

Lucy opened her eyes and stepped closer to her. "Alyson." As she was about to tell the blonde that she could still change her mind, she was interrupted.

"Keira, I'm not going to change my mind."

Looking deeply into her blue eyes, Lucy knew that the blonde made her decision. _She signed the documents without even hearing my explanation._

"She said to give these back to you." Alyson handed her a bag.

Lucy opened the bag and found her wallet, phone, and watch. After taking all of her things, Lucy opened the door.

"Keira, where're you going?"

Lucy stopped and closed the door.

"I have to make a call. I'll be back." Lucy said and turned around.

With her hand holding the doorknob, she suddenly stopped again and turned around to face the blonde.

"I promise. I'll be back." Lucy placed a kiss on her cheek to assure her before leaving the room quickly.

* * *

Once outside of the hotel, Lucy took a taxi. The first thing she needed to do was to get a prepaid cell phone. Since there might be a chance that they put a tracer in her phone, wallet, watch, and even the clothing, she got rid of everything and bought a new bag pack, wallet and watch, clothing items and things she would need. After getting the new phone, she made a quick call to Anthony to let him know that she's out. Of course, Anthony was impressed with how she was able to get out. She told him about Plan A which didn't work, but he didn't have to know that.

"Did you find him?"

"yes…well…not exactly…" Anthony said.

"What!…." Realizing how loud she spoke, she repeated in a lower voice as she stood on the street across from the hotel. "what?"

"We know who has been helping him and it's not going to be easy to get to him."

"Someone's protecting him? Who?"

"You wouldn't know who he is if I told you anyway."

He's right, but she still wants to know his name.

"Listen, I'll take care of it and I'll let you know when to meet."

Before he hung up, he had one more thing to say. "Oh Lucy."

"I know. I know. You told me so."

That wasn't what Anthony wanted to say. "Lucy, I'm glad you're okay."

"Thank you for everything, Anthony." Lucy said sincerely.

After getting Scud's new phone number from Anthony, she made a call to Scud who was still in Venice. Lucy took the phone away from her ear when she heard Scud yelling at her for what she did. Lucy didn't apologize. If she had to do it again, she would.

"Scud, are you done?"

"NO!" Scud continued to yell at her.

After a short moment, Lucy felt that he had let out all his anger when she didn't hear any sound from the phone, a foot away from her ear.

"Scud, did you get new IDs ready?"

"Yes."

Lucy could hear his heavy breathing, exhausted from his yelling. She didn't tell him about the deal she made with the government because she had no plans of bringing Benjamin Couric alive back to them.

After hanging up, Lucy let out a sigh as she looked at the hotel in front of her. There was nowhere else to go. Knowing that her apartment and company had been taken over by Division 16, she couldn't go back there. Even though she was free, she needed to make sure she doesn't get into trouble with the local police since only Division 16 knew about her status. Since she made a promise to the megastar, there was only one place to go.

Standing in front of the hotel room, Lucy didn't have to wait long for the door to open.

"Sorry I took so long." Lucy said as she entered the room.

After she closed the door and turned around, Lucy instantly dropped the things she was holding onto when the megastar jumped on her and surprised her with a passionate kiss. Her eyes closed. She reciprocated the kiss in the same manner, wrapping her hands around the blonde's waist.

After a moment, Alyson pulled back to catch her breath.

"I…I thought you're not coming…back." She said as she leaned her forehead against the brunette's.

"I just…have to…get a few…things." Lucy said softly, breathing heavily.

It was like everything was back to the way it was before. It doesn't matter if they know each others' true identity. It doesn't matter if they have no future together. What matters is the time they have together at this moment.

"Would you like some dessert?" Lucy looked down at the box that she dropped and knew everything inside was going to be a mess.

"Is everything okay?" Alyson asked, ignoring her question.

"Everything's fine." Lucy assured her with a short kiss on the lips before picking up the box and pulling her towards the dining table.

Seeing that Alyson was dressed in pajamas shorts and shirt, she excused herself to the bathroom to take a shower. The shower in the prison cell was nice, but that was nothing compared to the huge bathroom with a jacuzzi. Lucy didn't realize how long she had been in the bathroom until she heard a knock on the door.

"ummm…Keira…are you okay in there?"

"I'll be out in a minute. I'm just trying out the Jacuzzi." Lucy called out.

One minute went by, then 10, 20, 30 minutes.

"Keira! you can't stay in the Jacuzzi that long. Your organs are going to get cooked!" Alyson shouted, worrying about the brunette's safety and getting a little upset at the same time for having to wait so long.

"I'm out." Lucy flashed a diamond smile at the blonde as she opened the door.

"Finally" Alyson rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Seeing the brunette in her pajamas clothes, she realized that the brunette had no intention of leaving her when she left 2 and a half hours ago.

"Did you leave me some?" Feeling so much better after soaking her body in the hot tub, Lucy stretched her arms as she walked towards the dining table.

"It's in the frig."

Seeing the unopened box, Lucy realized that Alyson had been waiting for her to eat it together.

Both let out a disappointed sound when they saw the pastries, cheesecake, chocolate cake, etc all messed up.

"See what you did." Lucy jokingly blamed the blonde for the surprised kiss.

"Sorry." She replied in an embarrassed tone.

Looking at each other, both chuckled, then burst out laughing.

Sitting next to the blonde, Lucy took a bite of the mousse chocolate cake.

"So…I'm guessing you've been taking some self defense classes."

"mhm….came in really handy…but…" The blonde dug her fork in the strawberry tart and scooped a small bite into her mouth.

"…but what?"

"he's too strong…if his friend didn't stop him, he would have crushed me."

"Tell me what happened."

Lucy learned that two paparazzis were taking pictures of the megastar. The megastar did not have any bodyguards with her at that time. She minded her own business as she headed towards her car but the two paparazzis continued to snap pictures of her while slowly walking in front of her even after telling them that she was late for an appointment. While she tried to run away from them, one of the paparrazis grabbed her shoulder from behind. The second paparazzi behind her was taking pictures of her nonstop while the other one stood in front of her to prevent her from leaving. When the big guy in front of her extended his hand out towards her face, she felt the need to defend herself.

"So I grabbed one of his fingers and bend it and punched him in the eye…."

Lucy had previously taught her to go for the vulnerable spots of the body.

"Were there anyone else around?"

"There were a few people around but not close by."

"Where's your bodyguard?"

"He was waiting for me in the car. It was close by so I didn't think anything would happen." Feeling she had enough, she stopped eating. " So now they gave me 2 bodyguards."

With the spoon in her mouth, Lucy pondered for a short moment. "mm...Do you think you could have handled this in a different way without hurting anyone?"

"What do you mean? They were bothering me."

"Yes, I know. But do you think you could have convinced them to stop bothering you? I mean…you are an actress."

The blonde's brows creased together as she thought about the question.

"Ohhhhh…" Alyson said after a short moment. "I see what you mean."

If the blonde didn't understand what she meant, Lucy thought about telling her what she did to the bartender without the gruesome details.

The blonde stood up and cleaned up the table while Lucy put the box of desserts back into the refrigerator. Feeling a little full herself, she then stood in front of the large window looking out at the brightly lit Eiffel Tower. With her arms crossed, her mind spontaneously thought about what Anthony said. _He said there was someone protecting the fraudster. It sounded like that person is as powerful as Anthony; otherwise Anthony wouldn't have any problems getting him. What if he can't get him?_

"What are you thinking about?" Alyson said in a gentle voice as she slipped her arms around the brunette's waist from behind. Placing a kiss on the brunette's cheek, she then leaned her chin on her shoulder, holding her tighter.

"You." Lucy said as she leaned the side of her head against the blonde's.

Alyson knew she was lying. "Can I help?"

Lucy turned around in her arms and looked directly at the blonde. "Are you sure you want to do this? You can still change your mind."

"if you can risk your life to save your friends, I can too." With her arms encircling her waist, she pulled the brunette closer to her. "Besides, they don't want my life, they just want my money."

Lucy was curious to know the amount of money.

"100 million dollars."

"What!" Lucy shouted, surprised by the bail amount. "Those sharks!"

"Keira, if they asked for more, I still would have signed it."

Lucy closed her eyes and shook her head. Her hands held the blonde's arms.

"No…It's not just the money, it's your image, it's your career, it's…"

"Keira…" Alyson let go of the brunette's waist and cupped her face and looked directly into her eyes. "It doesn't matter…because you…are worth more than that…you are…priceless." She let out a smile. Those were the same words that the brunette had said to her on the island.

Lucy reached up to hold her left hand and placed a gentle kiss on it. "I promise I will come back. I'm not going to let you…."

"NO…Keira!" Alyson interrupted. "What I want…is for you to be safe. Don't think about me. Think about yourself. You do what you need to do. Don't come back if it means that you're not going to be free." She wrapped her arms around her shoulder. "Please…promise me…" She said softly over her shoulder.

"Alyson…you know I won't do that to you."

The blonde pulled back. "You said it yourself. I'm not always going to be popular. Sooner or later, my career will come to an end, so it doesn't matter how it ends. And I would still have enough money to stay in a room like this. Do you understand?"

And with that, her question was answered. Previously, Anthony had told her to give up the blonde agent and learn to love Nadia. She had asked herself at that time, out of the three, which one she would want to be with. She chose Alyson. She knew that Alyson would give up everything for her and she was right. Lucy closed her eyes for a few seconds and nodded. "Okay."

The megastar let out a satisfying smile after finally able to convince the brunette.

"Hey…you have chocolate on your face." Alyson said softly and pointed to the spot on her own face to show the brunette.

"Where? Here?" Lucy said as she wiped her face with her hand.

"No…don't move." Alyson moved her face closer to the brunette's and instead of wiping the chocolate off with her hand, she planted a kiss on that spot, then another and another.

Lucy closed her eyes when she felt the blonde's tongue pressing against her cheek. _Oh God.  
_Her body shivered at the contact.

Feeling the tip of the tongue running down her cheek and onto her lips, Lucy opened her mouth a little wider and allowed the blonde to slip her tongue into her mouth. Hearing the soft moans from the blonde, Lucy felt her heart beating faster. After a moment, both pulled back at the same time to catch their breath.

"Let's go to sleep." Alyson whispered, breathing heavily to get air into her lungs.

Knowing that nothing was going to happen, Lucy did not reject to the idea of sleeping on the same bed just like all those other nights they slept together.

Inside the bedroom with city lights shining through the huge window at night, Lucy was surprised when the blonde did not snuggle close to her on the comfortable plush king size bed. She stared at the ceiling as she thought about what was going to happen tomorrow. From the way that Anthony sounded on the phone, it didn't look like he was going to call her tomorrow.

"Keira…"

Lucy turned to her right and could see that the back of the blonde, facing her.

"Yes."

"Can you…tell…me what they want you to do?"

Lucy wondered why she was talking with her back facing her. After a short moment of pondering, Lucy felt that the blonde had a right to know.

"They want me to catch a criminal for them."

Alyson quickly turned on her side to face the brunette and lifted herself up to lean on her elbow. "Why? Why you?"

"Because…I told them I know where he is. That's why they let me out." Lucy said in a soft tone.

"Is he dangerous? Are you going to be okay?" Alyson said in a worried tone and shifted her body closer.

"He's not dangerous. He's just an old businessman. He's just hiding right now."

She didn't want to give her too many details.

"Don't worry. I have a lot of friends who's going to help me…and you do know who I am, don't you?"

Lucy said confidently to assure the blonde.

Alyson slowly lay back down on the bed. She felt better knowing that it was only a businessman that they want her to capture and not a serial murderer. She reached out and intertwined her fingers with the brunette's and both stared at the ceiling in silence for a moment.

"Are you…leaving tomorrow?"

"mm….I'm not sure…I'm waiting for my friend to call me." Lucy let out a sigh, knowing that the blonde must not want her to leave so soon. With her left hand, she reached out to take her phone on the table next to the bed to make sure it's on and put it back down.

After another long moment of silence, Lucy thought that the blonde must have fallen asleep until she felt the blonde's hand…trembling…and heard the person lying next to her letting out a few deep breaths.

Lucy turned to look at the blonde. "Is everything ok?"

Pulling her hand away from the brunette's hand, Alyson turned to lie on her side and spoke nervously.

"I'm ready."

"Ready for wha…?" Before Lucy could finish her question, her mouth was captured by the blonde's warm soft lips, the blonde's body crawling on top of hers.

As she deepened the kiss, Alyson took hold of both of the brunette's wrists and held them down against the bed. When breathing became an issue, she pulled her lips away and placed a trail of gentle wet kisses on the brunette's cheek, down her neck and collarbone. Her heart pounded out of control, her whole body was on fire; her sexual urge building up inside of her.

_Oh God, what is she doing? _Lucy felt that something was definitely wrong with the blonde. It's not that she wasn't enjoying what the blonde was doing to her. It's just that she cannot allow this to happen…again. _I only had a little bit of wine. How much did she drink?_

"Alyson, what…are…you…doing?" _Oh Lord_. Her eyes fluttered closed, her heart began to race when she felt the blonde's hand massaging her breast and her ears being nibbled on, triggering her sexual desire.

"I…want to…make love to you." Alyson whispered into her ear. Her hand slid under the brunette's shirt to capture her smooth bare breast. _Finally. _Something she had wanted to do a long time ago. It surprised her that the brunette didn't stop her.

"No...you...don't." Lucy said in her ragged voice and managed to take control of her own hand and pulled the blonde's hand out of her shirt. "You had too much drink."

"I'm ready." She whispered as she continued to kiss her jaw.

Lucy could not believe what she just heard. Last time in Venice, she didn't allow her to go all the way and she didn't have any drugs in her system. _Okay, she definitely had too much to drink. _

_Holy Jesus Lord…help me…_Her eyes opened wide. She could not believe it when the blonde straddled her and took her shirt off showing her bare breasts. The room was dim but she could still see clearly from the city lights shining through the window. Looking at the naked blonde in front of her, Lucy swallowed hard, trying to control her sexual desire. Before she could protest, Alyson immediately crushed her lips against hers and pressed her naked body on top of her. Lifting her upper body up a little, Alyson tried to take off the brunette's shirt.

"Oh God." Lucy said when she felt the blonde's soft naked flesh rubbing against her own.

Alyson smiled when she heard the brunette calling the Lord's name.

"Stop. I can't." _I_s_ she ignoring me or did I just say that in my own mind?_ _No I can't do this. _

"You…don't…want…uhhhhh!…." Her heart skipped a beat, she let out an involuntary moan when she felt the blonde's thigh rubbing against her core. "…to do this."

"I do. I'm ready." Alyson continued to kiss her neck.

Breathing heavily, Lucy gently grabbed her shoulders and pushed the blonde away. "I can't."

"Why?" Alyson said disappointed, pulling back and straddling the brunette.

"Why? Why?" _Oh god. I can't think._ _Look somewhere else._ She couldn't seem to pull her eyes away from the blonde's naked body. She sat up so that her eyes could focus on the blonde's face.

"because…because…" _Why? Why can't I?_ _Kristin doesn't want to be with me. So why can't I?_ She asked herself. She has no other reason not to do it except this is such bad timing. _Damn it! _"…because it's that time of the month." Lucy smiled. That wasn't a lie.

"Oh…" Alyson was totally surprised by her response. She then let out a smile when she realized the reason wasn't because she didn't want to.

"Well…not for me." Kissing her slowly, she lifted the brunette's shirt.

"Alyson, are you sure?" Knowing that this would be the blonde's first time and there wouldn't be any future for them, she wanted to make sure that the megastar wouldn't have any regrets.

"No matter what happens. I'm not going to regret it." Alyson placed a short kiss on her lips. "Now…can you please put your hands up?" Alyson smiled, knowing that the criminal mastermind must have heard that before but in a totally different situation.

Lucy smiled and did as told, allowing the blonde to lift her shirt over her head. 1…2….3…4….5. Lucy counted in her head ,allowing the blonde to stare at her naked body for 5 seconds before giving her a slow passionate kiss. Slipping her hands around the blonde's waist, she pulled her soft warm body closer and pressed it against hers. It was the blonde's first time, Lucy wanted to take it slow. Placing a trail of soft sensual kisses along the blonde's neck and down her shoulder, Lucy hugged the blonde even tighter, feeling the soft breast against her own. _Oh god!_ With their warm naked top pressing against each other, Lucy could feel the rapid beating of the blonde's heart. Her mouth ran from one of side of the neck to the other as her right hand captured Alyson's breast, slowly kneading it. Hearing moans and quick breathing from the blonde, Lucy knew she needed it to slow down even more.

No longer able to remain in her current position, Alyson leaned forward, pushing the brunette gently down, taking the brunette's hand away from her breast. She continued to kiss her jaw, her face, her neck; her mouth ran down placing butterfly kisses on the sensitive areas of the upper body underneath her. This was her first time. She smiled when she heard her name being called. Grabbing the blanket, she moved up and laid on top of the brunette, pulling the blanket to cover their bodies that were aching in need. Sliding herself comfortably between the brunette's legs, she looked deeply into the brunette's eyes. Both were breathing heavily. It was dim. But she could see that the brunette wanted her as much as she did when Lucy lifted her head up to kiss her. Pulling away from the kiss, she slowly rocked her hips, causing both to moan loudly as their naked top rubbed against each other. Her heart pounded out of control. Her breathing became quicker. Warm hands roamed all over her body.

"You lied." She said, breathing heavily.

At this moment, the sensation of the pleasure was so intense, Lucy wasn't sure what she heard.

"huh?"

"It is more fun on the top."

"Yea…it is" Lucy lifted her head up a little to place a short kiss on her lips. Her hands slowly slid down and stopped at the waistband for a moment. Not getting any rejection from the blonde, her hands continued to its destination and slid underneath the panties, kneading the firm globes of the megastar's bare buttocks.

Moaning softly, Lucy closed her eyes and tilted her head backwards when she was about to reach her climax. Then suddenly, the phone rang.

Her eyes opened wide. "Fuck!" Lucy said, absolutely hating the distraction at this moment.

Alyson chuckled and pressed her lower body harder and faster against the brunette's.

"uh!…." Clenching her teeth, Lucy shut her eyes tight as she felt her orgasm passed through her.

Panting heavily, Lucy tried hard to stay focus. "Sorry…I…I…have…to take this."

Staying in her current position, Alyson extended her hand and took the phone for her.

"Can you talk at the same time?" She had no intention of stopping.

Without responding, Lucy quickly picked up the call.

"Hello." Lucy tried hard to concentrate on the phone while her neck was being kissed, her breast being massaged again and…"oh god"

"Lucy…are you asleep yet?"

"No…mmphh..."

"I'll be there tomorrow."

There was no response. Lucy couldn't say anything because the blonde had just slipped her tongue in her mouth.

"Lucy?….Hello?"

Lucy pulled her mouth away and turned her head on the side to catch her breath.

"Scud! Is that why you called?"

"Yes…is everything all right?"

"mmhhmm…..uh!" Lucy let out another involuntary moan when she felt another wave of pleasure coursed through her body.

"Luce…you sounded weird…like…like you're…having…sex…"

Lucy let out a fake laugh. "You're…funny. I can't talk right now. Okay. Bye Scud." Lucy quickly hung up the phone and placed it back on the table.

Alyson burst out laughing in the crook of her neck as she continued to rock against her.

Lucy knew that she heard and knew what she was laughing at. Letting out a smile, she kept her eyes closed, feeling the warm sensation from her private area flowing through her body.

Brushing the bangs away from the brunette's eyes, Alyson smiled, seeing the reaction on the brunette's face as she continued to glide up and down against her core. Memories of the first day they met on the plane spontaneously flowed into her mind. That first day was when she started to have feelings for her. Having had so many boyfriends in the past, she too was surprised that she had fallen head over heels for a woman. What shocked her even more was that she was willing to give herself to the person underneath her, knowing that there wouldn't be any future for them. Of all those past relationships that she had, she never once felt the urge to do it with any one of them. Growing up, she talked about boyfriends with her friends. At slumber parties, they would talk about the guys in school. With her best friends, she would talk about what her future wedding would be like and what she would look for in her future husband. There was no doubt in her mind that someday she would get married and that person would be a man. She had never thought that a woman could be a part of her life. She never thought that her first time could be doing it with a woman. But the brunette was not just any woman. Somehow, she knew that Keira would be the only woman she could fall in love with. There would be no others. _No regrets. I…love…you. _She leaned in, kissing her slowly and gently.

After a moment, Alyson rolled off the brunette to allow their rapidly beating hearts to normalize, to catch their breaths, to wait for their bodies to cool off. Five minutes passed. Lucy turned towards the blonde and shifted closer, placing one kiss on her shoulder, then another, and another all the way up to her neck, her cheek. Hovering over the blonde's face, Lucy remained still for a short moment.

Alyson reached up and pulled her in for a deep kiss. With that confirmation, Lucy slowly peppered her with gentle kisses on her cheek, down on her neck, and collarbone. Her body slowly shifted down and stopped when she reached the blonde's breast. She looked up at the blonde for any signs that would indicate she would want to stop. When the body underneath her arched up, Lucy took it as a sign to continue. Alyson gasped loudly and spontaneously called the brunette's name when she felt her breast being sucked on. This being her first time, she had no idea what to expect and how her body would react to it. The sensation caused goose bumps to rise all over her body. Her breathing became even quicker than before. Squirming underneath the brunette, she threaded her fingers into the brunette's locks. When Lucy was done, she kissed her way to the other. Then suddenly the phone rang again.

"Fuck!" It wasn't Lucy who said it this time. It took a moment for Alyson to realize that the sound of the ring came from her phone.

"Oh my god! I forgot to call my mom!" Alyson said in a panic voice and quickly reached for her phone on the desk next to her.

Smiling wide with a plan in her mind, Lucy moved her body up and lay on top of blonde.

"Do you think you can talk at the same time?" Lucy said as she placed herself between the blonde's legs. Without waiting for her response, she slowly rocked her hips against the blonde's while kissing her neck.

"Hi mom. Sorry…uh!…I…ah…forgot." Her heart pounded rapidly not only from what the brunette was doing to her but also because she was afraid her mom would find out. What she's doing right now would definitely drive her parent's nuts especially her mother.

"Is everything okay? You sounded like you're out of breath."

"mmm fine…Mom…I…ah…just jogging on the treadmill….ah!" The blonde cried out after taking the phone away from her mouth and shut her eyes tight when she felt her orgasm passed through her.

Hearing the blonde's response, Lucy chuckled into the crook of the blonde's neck, causing Alyson to quickly cover the phone.

"At this hour? Who's that?"

"Just…the tv…mom" Breathing heavily, she mouthed to the brunette to stop laughing while covering the phone.

Lucy smiled again and rolled off the blonde. She had no idea why she was doing this to the blonde. But she was having a good time with it. Alyson thought that the brunette was giving her a moment to finish the call, but she was wrong….dead wrong! Lucy had no intention of stopping. She leaned in to kiss her neck, her left hand glided down, cupping her breast, causing the blonde to let out an involuntary moan.

"Hello…hello!…"

"Yes…mom" Alyson quickly stopped the brunette's hand from moving and tried to control her quick breathing.

Not waiting for approval this time, Lucy took her hand away from the soft flesh and slid her hand underneath the blonde's waistband, intending to give the blonde her very first. But of course, she would wait for the blonde to hang up first.

At the gentle contact, Alyson gasped out loud, finding it extremely difficult to carry on a conversation with someone else's hand massaging her crotch. Again, this being her first time, she had no idea how her body would react to it. _Oh God!_

"Honey…are you o….ARE YOU DOING WHAT I THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"NO! I'm not…mom…I…" Immediately, Alyson took the brunette's hand out of her shorts and motioned to the brunette to stop what she was doing while pointing to the phone.

"Don't lie to me!…I know when you're lying to me. Honey, we've talked about this. You're still young."

Alyson quickly got off the bed. "Mom…I'm ….no…I'm not going to get pregnant….I…I just know…..No…mom…that's not how you taught me…what? I don't need to take a cold shower.….okay….mom….okay…okay…okay….I promise I'm not going to do it…what!….you want to talk to him?" Alyson stopped pacing back and forth and looked at the brunette who was waving both of her hands side by side.

"Mom…I promise I'm not going to do it….." Alyson rolled her eyes as she listened to her mom's nonstop lecturing. "What do you want to ask him?"

"My mom asked if you believe in God."

"He said yes…mom…..what! I can't ask him that." Extremely frustrated with her mom's phone call, she wanted to hang up but knows that if she does, her mom would call her manager Paula to come by and check up on her…in her room. And there's no way in hell she will let that happen.

Alyson put the phone speaker on as requested and mouthed a 'Sorry…I have to.' to the brunette.

"Son…what's your name?"

"Mom!" Alyson rolled her eyes.

"Son…do you love her?"

Pinching her throat, Lucy said in her deepest voice. "Yes ma'am." Lucy said sincerely and smiled at the blonde.

"How old are you?" Her mom asked.

"Twenty-seven…ma'am." Lucy continued to talk to her in a manly tone.

"Now son…you are young too." The megastar's mom continued to lecture her about what they believe in, responsibilities, and why she doesn't want her daughter to have sex before marriage. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes…I understand." Lucy winked and smiled at the blonde.

"Good. Now should I trust you that you're not going to do anything or should I call Paula to check up on you?"

"Mom! I…" As Alyson was about to promise her mom one more time, Lucy interrupted.

"That's not necessary. Ma'am. I promise."

"Good night…mom" Alyson spoke loudly in the speaker and hung up.

Feeling extremely embarrassed, Alyson flopped down on the bed, covering her eyes with her forearm. Lucy lay next to her. Later, she couldn't control herself and burst out laughing. Alyson turned to look at the half naked brunette and she herself laughed out loud at what just happened.

"Wow…I really like your mom." Lucy said sincerely.

"Yea…" Alyson said as she stared at the ceiling.

"What would your father do if he found out?"

"He wouldn't have asked to speak with you and just called Paula to come over."

"I like your father too." Lucy said. Having an over-protective father is always better than having a father who doesn't care.

Lucy moved her body and lay on top of the blonde.

"Now…where were we?"

Frowning in confusion, Alyson thought that the brunette would understand that she couldn't just ignore her mom's request.

"I'm sorry…I can't." She cupped her cheeks and apologized for starting this.

"I know…but we can do something else." Lucy smiled as she raised her eyebrows up and down.

Realizing what she meant, Alyson gave her a short kiss on the lips. "Then…I think it's your turn."

Not thinking about anything but the blonde underneath her at this moment, Lucy leaned in kiss her lips. Taking it slow, alternating head angles, both continued kissing for a short moment. Lucy pulled back to kiss and lick her lightly on the neck to arouse her. Her hand slid down, gently caressing her breast. Moaning loudly and uncontrollably, Alyson gritted her teeth with the unbearable arousal building up inside her. With the sensual touching and the brunette breathing into her ear, it didn't take long for her body to react. Her body was aching in need to orgasm. She opened her legs wider, inviting the brunette to rock against her sex. Taking the hint, Lucy buried her face into blonde's neck, placed both hands on the bed and slowly glided her hips against the blonde's to prolong the pleasure building up inside. Lucy whispered into the blonde's ear. "I love you." She had wanted to say that on their last day together in Venice. But knowing that there would be no future for them, she decided not to. But now, she just wanted to let the blonde know that.

Hearing those words, Alyson moved the brunette's face to look directly at her.

"I know." Back in Venice, she knew that the brunette loved her, just not as much as she loved the brunette. But it didn't matter who loves whom more. What mattered was at this moment, the brunette confessed her love for her and was willing to make love to her without any kind of drugs involved.

Lucy moved the hair away from the blonde's face. As she continued to glide her half naked body up and down against the blonde's, her heart beat out of control. Goose bumps rose all over her body as their chests heaved up and down against each others'. Breathing raggedly, Alyson closed her eyes and tilted her head backwards when she felt the powerful sensation of her orgasm building up. Feeling the fingernails digging deep into her back and hearing the whimper from the girl each time she pressed against her core, Lucy knew what was about to happen. She neither slow down nor speed up, hoping to extend the pleasure for both of them. She continued to rock against the blonde in the same pace. As she too was about to reach climax, the phone suddenly rang.

"Fuck!" Both opened their eyes and said in unison. Alyson never liked to swear but this is just getting ridiculous. It seem like someone up there in the heavens above doesn't like what they're doing.

"Is that your father?" Lucy asked, trying hard to multitask.

"No, it's…your….phone." Alyson said in ragged breathing, trying to ignore everything.

_If it's Scud again, I'm going to kill him. _Since she was on the blonde's side of the bed, there was no way she could pick up the phone on the table without moving away from the blonde. And there is no way in hell that she's going to stop at this moment, just to pick up a phone call. "Ignore it."

"Are…you…sure?" Alyson managed to get the words out as she panted heavily even though she didn't want the brunette to stop. Her eyes fluttered close as she was about to reach the peak of orgasm.

Noticing the state that the blonde was in, Lucy continued. Nothing is going to stop her not even if the hotel is on fire. After 3 rings, the phone stopped ringing. _Thank you. _It was quite distracting even if the volume was very low. After a short moment, hearing the long moan from the blonde, Lucy realized that Alyson had reached her climax.

"Oh God" Lucy said in the crook of the blonde's neck when she was about to get her release. _Please no phones. No distractions._

With her hands grabbing onto the sheets, Lucy continued to rock against the blonde, hoping to send herself to oblivion one more time. The feeling of pleasure was so much more intense that the first time in Venice without the drugs in her system.

Then suddenly a loud buzzing sound came from the hallway outside of their room.

"No fucking way!" Lucy called out in disbelief. She had never sworn so much in one day not even when she was the leader of the criminal organization.

"Oh my god!…it's a fire alarm."

"Wait…it may be a false alarm." Lucy tried to convince the blonde. Damn it! Lucy tried to ignore it but the sound was just too distracting and the mood was completely ruined.

"ummm…Keira….I think…we should…go before my bodyguards break down the door."

"Right…not a good idea." Lucy reluctantly got up and turned the lamp on the table next to her.

Both blinked a few times to get adjusted to the light. Standing up, both stared at each other with eyes wide open for a moment. Now that the lights are on, they could see each others' top naked body more clearly.

_Holy… mother of god. _Lucy swallowed hard, looking at the half naked sexy body in front of her.

Alyson immediately crossed her arms to cover her chest. She had no idea why she was being so shy all of a sudden.

"Keira, can you pass me my shirt?" Alyson said to the stunned still brunette.

Both quickly got dressed and headed towards the door.

"Wait. There are going to be reporters outside. When we go downstairs, pretend you don't know me. I'll come back up later."

"No…let's just go together." Alyson took hold of her hand.

It's been a few minutes since the fire alarm went off. Footsteps in the hallway could be heard.

"Alyson, listen to me, I'm not free yet. I can't let anyone know about me. Don't worry about me. I'll be right behind you. But don't look for me." Since the megastar is well known around here, she doesn't want pictures taken with her and the blonde together.

The bodyguards shouted as they knocked on the door non-stop.

"GO! Follow them."

"No. Come with me!"

Lucy cupped her cheeks and kissed her on the lips. "It's going to be alright. I'll be back….…and then maybe…we could…do it with lights on." Lucy said calmly and smiled, trying to lighten the seriousness.

"Keiraaaa!" She wasn't sure if the brunette was joking, but her cheeks instantly turned red just thinking about it.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"Go and don't look for me." Lucy opened the door and hid behind it.

"…we have to go." The bodyguards quickly took the megastar's hand and escorted her down the Emergency Exit.

A few seconds later, Lucy opened the door and followed the blonde from behind, careful not to get too close. Down the emergency staircase, there were a lot of people lining up to get down the stairs. Some were panicking, some were calling on the phone, and some were shouting and yelling at the people on the lower level to keep moving. Nobody knows if there is a real fire or if it's just a prank. They were on the 6th floor of the hotel and the line was moving very slowly. Lucy wasn't afraid at all. This was nothing compared to the plane incident. One staircase down from her, she could see the blonde being protected by her two bodyguards. Suddenly Lucy remembered the phone call she received earlier that rang at the worst timing ever.

She reached into her jacket pocket. "Shit! I forgot my phone."

Since the line was moving very slowly, she ran back upstairs. As expected, it was completely empty and quiet in the hallway on the 7th floor. Lucy turned around the corner and was surprised to see two men dressed in black clothing standing near the megastar's room. Each carried a backpack. Strange. Lucy looked around and noticed a camera on the ceiling at each end of the hallway. Walking slowly towards them, she pretended to be a guest and minded her own business. As she passed by them, both turned their backs facing her.

Lucy walked slowly and before reaching the end of the hallway, she heard the door closed.

"Something's not right."

She looked around to see if there was anything to use to take them down.

"Aaah…just what I need…and for the right moment." Lucy took a fire extinguisher and walked towards the megastar's room. She cut the plastic wire with the swiss army knife she bought earlier and made sure the fire extinguisher works.

"Works perfectly." She said after spraying it on the floor.

Previously, Alyson had given her one of the hotel keys but instead of using it, she felt it would be better to knock on the door.

Knock. Knock. Lucy stood casually at the door, waiting for those guys to open the door for her. But of course they wouldn't, as expected. So she knocked on the door again…and again…again to annoy the hell out of them.

Finally, one of the guys opened the door.

"Can I help you?" The man said angrily.

"Ah…yes…I was wondering if you could help me open this." Lucy took the fire extinguisher and gripped the handle. Aiming at the man's eyes, she sprayed it and kicked the door wide opened. As the man cried out, Lucy kicked his groin hard and used the fire extinguisher to knock him down, causing him to fall flat unconsciously on the floor. Then as expected, when the other man came out, Lucy sprayed it towards him, blinding him for a moment. She put the extinguisher down and threw a powerful front kick in his face. "Hi..ya!" She shouted as she gave him a roundhouse kick to the face, causing him to fall hard on the floor.

"Oh good…he's still conscious." Pressing down his back with her left foot, she took his right hand and twisted it behind his back so that he wouldn't be able to fight back.

"Owww!" He cried out.

Lucy turned to make the other man was still unconscious.

"Tell me why you're in this room or I'll break your arm." Lucy pulled it towards her to let him know she's serious.

"This is our room!"

"Wrong answer." Lucy pulled his hand back more, causing him to scream out in pain.

"Now let's try again. Why are you in this room?"

"We…were…hired to video tape her…!"

"Who hired you? Is that why you set the alarm off?"

Hearing no response, Lucy twisted his arm tighter.

"Aahhhh!…Yes!…This guy…he said he needed…to teach her a lesson."

Lucy smacked his head hard with her hand for ruining her moment.

"When did you put the cameras in?" Lucy wasn't sure if they were here to take the cameras out or put it in. She wanted to make sure that what they were doing before in the bedroom wasn't recorded. But she had a feeling that they were here to put it in.

"We just started."

"Do you want your arm? I ask you again. When did you put the cameras in?" Lucy said slowly and pulled his arm to an awkward position as if it was about to break.

"Don't…please…We didn't put it in yet. That's what we were trying to do." He said as he kept hitting the floor with his left hand. "Oww!…let go!…it hurts!"

"Thank you for your cooperation. Now go to sleep." With her fingers, Lucy applied pressure on an area on his neck, knocking him out.

Letting out a big sigh, Lucy looked around. "Damn…what a mess…" She picked up the hotel phone and called the head of Division 16. She can't tell the police about this. If she did, there would be a lot of paperwork.

"Miss Diamond, why are you calling me at this hour?" Helene picked up the call after 3 rings.

"What? It's not that late." She looked at the watch. "It's only 10:30PM. Sorry to bother you. But I have a problem and you need to come right now so I don't have to call the police."

Lucy took a few minutes to tell her what happened.

"…And can you bring me a hidden camera detector please?" Even though that guy said they didn't install anything yet, she still needed to make sure.

While she was waiting for the older woman, Lucy took a look around to see if there was anything she could find to tie them both up.

"telephone wires and tv cables…this will work."

After tying them up, Lucy took a look inside their bags to see if there's anything useful she could use. "Amateurs…" Lucy said when she found the camera equipments not as sophisticated as what Scud has, but she did find a hidden camera detector.

After taking a look around the bedroom, she felt relieved to find nothing out of the ordinary. She checked the smoke detector, behind the mirrors, the paintings, under the mattress, the closets, etc. She then remembered the phone call she received earlier and called the number back only to find that it was a wrong number.

After 30 minutes, there was a knock on the door.

"Finally." Knowing that Alyson has a hotel key, she knew it wouldn't be her.

"Oh my god!" Helene, Kat and the manager said when they saw how messy the room was. Behind them were three men belonging to Helene's group.

"Take them out." Helene ordered her men.

"Hi Kat." Lucy walked back into the living room and boosted herself up to sit on the dining table, dangling her legs.

"Where is she?" Kat wanted to see the megastar so she was really happy when she got the call from her boss. But she had no idea what happened.

"outside with the others." Lucy had no clue of the situation outside.

"Close the door. Don't let anyone in." Helene ordered.

"Too late." Lucy said when she saw the megastar at the door with her two bodyguards. She wanted to get everything taken care of first before the megastar gets there. But since the fire department found out it was a false alarm, they let the guests back in.

"What is going on here?"

"Hi" Lucy smiled and waved to the blonde. She pushed herself off the table and as she was about to explain what happened, the manager of the hotel beat her to it. It made perfect sense that he should be the one apologizing and doing the explaining. He told the blonde that there were intruders who came in her room. He didn't know who set off the fire alarm.

"How? How did they get in here?" Alyson asked in an angry tone.

"I am so sorry, Miss, we don't know how but we will find out." He spoke with a French accent. The manager kept apologizing to the blonde because if this ever gets out, the hotel would be in deep shit.

"The first thing to do is get you another room. I will get that ready for you right now. Please give me some time and I will find out what happened." He apologized again and left the room.

Since everything was fine, Alyson told her two bodyguards to go back to sleep.

"Keira, how did you get back up so fast?"

"I never left." Lucy shrugged her shoulders.

Alyson frowned in confusion and expected her to explain in more detail.

"One second." Lucy said and excused herself and walked towards the man who was scanning the bedroom for any hidden cameras.

"Find anything?" Lucy asked.

"Nothing." He continued to scan the living room.

When she walked back into the living room, she saw Helene and the blonde having a conversation and Kat was stunned still, staring at the megastar.

_oh shit, I hope she didn't tell her about the cameras. _Lucy was afraid that the megastar wouldn't want to stay in a hotel ever again if she found out what happen.

Seeing the megastar quickly walking towards her, Lucy knew that she found out.

"Keira, did they?" Alyson whispered.

Lucy shook her head and smiled. "They were about to. That's why they set off the fire alarm. Don't worry. I took care of it."

Alyson immediately relaxed her shoulders and smiled. Lucy sidestepped her and walked towards the head of division 16 while narrowing her eyes at her. Alyson followed from behind.

"Did you really have to tell her everything?"

"Sorry?" Helene had no idea why the brunette was so upset.

"Now she's going to be paranoid about staying in a hotel room." Knowing that the blonde had nightmares about the plane incident before, she was worried that this whole incident would affect the blonde in other ways.

"Miss Diamond. I told her for her own safety. There are crazy people out there who are willing to do anything to make a few bucks. With her status, she is a target. Now she can more cautious."

"Well, not everyone is like you. Some cannot…"

Alyson was really surprised with the way the brunette was talking to the head of the Division 16. "Keira!…" Alyson wanted to stop the argument before it gets out of control. What she was afraid of was that the older woman would change her mind about letting the brunette out. She grabbed the brunette's forearm and pulled her to the corner, not wanting to embarrass her. Lucy reluctantly followed.

"I'm fine. I know about these things."

"Oh…you do? So you're not afraid that…"

"I have one of those." Alyson pointed to the guy with the hidden camera detector.

"Oh…good…" Lucy was surprised that she knew what that was.

"Are we all set?" Crossing her arms, Helene stared at the criminal mastermind. She didn't appreciate how the brunette was talking to her.

When Lucy waved good-bye without saying anything, Alyson felt the need to at least thank the older woman for taking care of things since this whole thing happened because of her. Alyson shook her hands and escorted her to the door.

Holding the door opened, Alyson expected the shorter girl, Kat, to leave as well. But she noticed when she came in that the shorter girl had been standing there, just staring at her.

"Kat!" Lucy called out to bring her out of it since she wanted to get back to what she was doing before.

Kat jumped at the loud voice and cleared her throat.

"Hi, my name's Kat. I am a fan of yours." She extended her hand out.

"Oh… …thank you." Alyson shook her hand, realizing why she was standing there as if she was hypnotized.

"I really love your music." Kat said as she locked her eyes on the blonde and continued to shake her hand. "You're really pretty and…tall." To Kat who's only 5 feet, the blonde who's 5 feet 8 inches is really tall.

Lucy rolled her eyes and walked over to help the blonde out in this situation.

"Okay. Thanks for coming. Good night. Kat." Lucy gently pushed her out the door.

After Lucy locked the door, she whispered to Alyson to stay quiet until they get another room.

Being cautious, she wanted to make sure the older woman didn't come to plant any bugs inside the room.

Lucy's jaws dropped when she found out Alyson also had a bug detector as well. As they were being escorted to another room by the hotel manager himself, he continued to apologize to the megastar and told her that the cost of her stay will be free of charge. Of course, that wasn't what the megastar wanted to hear and the manager knew that. What she wanted to know was how the intruders were able to get inside the room, but he didn't have an answer for that yet.

The new room, located on the same floor, wasn't as big or as fancy. He apologized again before he left.

"Keira…" Alyson called from the bedroom door.

"yes." Lucy walked towards her. "oh." Both stared at the 2 beds inside the bedroom. "Well, at least it's queen size." Lucy said.

After scanning the bathroom for any bugs and video cameras, Alyson decided to take another shower since she went outside and because she desperately needed to take one after what they did. Lucy checked everywhere especially the bedroom…multiple times. When the blonde was done, Lucy also decided to take another shower because of the mess from the fire extinguisher.

After she was done, she turned off all the lights in the living room and the bathroom. Standing in front of the bedroom, she noticed that the blonde was already in bed…..sleeping. _Shoot. _The curtains to the windows were closed. The lamp on the table between the two queen size beds was on. After locking the bedroom door behind her, she slipped underneath the blanket on the other bed since she didn't want to disrupt the blonde from her sleep. She took a look at her watch and realized it was past 11PM. Lucy turned to look at the blonde and let out a big sigh. She was hoping that they could continue where they left off. _Those damn intruders. _When she finally found someone who's willing and someone whom she wanted to do it with, something had to happen and ruin it. Even though they're not really doing it, she still enjoyed it. Lucy turned off the lights. The room was even darker than the first room they were in without any lights on. Staring into the darkness, her mind spontaneously thought about what happened. What if I didn't get her involved? Would I be able to get out? Scud and Anthony would think of something. Kristin would still leave me. Alyson would get sued but it probably wouldn't affect her that much. Those damn intruders would be able to get in, took videos of her being naked in the bathroom, then upload the videos online, potentially causing the megastar a great deal of problems. Lucy closed her eyes and smiled. She had previously regret getting the blonde involved, but now, knowing that she was able to prevent something big from happening to the blonde, she felt that she made the right decision.

* * *

Next morning

Hearing the sound of the door closing, her eyes fluttered open. It took a short moment for her to remember where she was. She didn't have to look to see if the blonde was still in bed when she heard singing coming from the bathroom. Lucy smiled as memories of last night flowed into her mind. Her thoughts were broken by the ringing of her phone.

"Hello"

"Can you talk?" Scud asked.

Lucy wondered if he figured out what she was doing last night.

"Yes. Scud." Lucy said in a dull tone.

"Which hotel are you staying in?"

"…this is the …" Lucy stopped. "ummm….actually…why don't you go stay with Anthony?"

"Whyyyy?"

"umm…." _Shoot. Why? _"Where are you?"

"I'm still in Venice. I'm going to take a later flight….why are you ignoring my question?"

Lucy placed her finger on her mouth when she saw the blonde coming in, motioning her to keep quiet.

"Scud, just go stay with Anthony. I'm waiting for him to call me. Okay? See you later." Without waiting for a response, Lucy hung up.

"Good morning." Alyson said while drying her hair with a towel.

"Good morning." Lucy cleared her throat and got off the bed. "Are you done? " She pointed to the bathroom.

Alyson was planning to give her a kiss but seeing that the brunette needed to go badly, she just nodded and smiled.

After taking a quick shower, Lucy came out and saw that the blonde was dressed in her casual day clothes and ready to head out.

"Where're you going?" Lucy asked.

"I have to go to work." Alyson grabbed her jacket and bag and noticed that the brunette wasn't too happy.

"Sorry" Alyson stepped closer and hugged the brunette.

"No…no…I understand. I just thought maybe we could go out later." Lucy slipped her hands around her waist.

"Does that mean you're not leaving today?"

Lucy couldn't promise her that she'd still be here when she gets back from work. "I'm…ah…still waiting for my friend to call me."

It was the megastar's turn to feel disappointed. "I…understand." Knowing that this may be the last time she'll ever see the brunette again, she leaned in to give her one last passionate kiss before hugging her tightly.

"Sorry about last night." She whispered into her ear. "I'll make it up to you…tonight." That is to let her know what to expect if she decides to stay one more night.

Knowing the megastar's intention, Lucy swallowed hard and stayed silent.

Before heading out the door, the megastar smiled and winked at the brunette. "See you tonight."

Speechless, Lucy stood still, watching the blonde leave the room. Holding her rapidly beating heart, Lucy walked over and flopped down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Now what I am going to do?" There was nothing else she could do except wait for Anthony's call. A minute later, Lucy thought of something and quickly got dressed and left the room. Down at the lobby area, she looked around. _Shoot_. She then headed to the restaurant inside the hotel and let out a smile when she saw the blonde eating breakfast with a bunch of people including her two bodyguards. Since there was nothing else to do, she thought it would be a good idea to follow the megastar to find out what her daily life was like. Sitting in the corner in the bar area eating her breakfast, she watched the megastar, chatting and laughing with her coworkers. Not only her coworkers, her bodyguards also joined in the conversation and laughed along with them. Strange. If she didn't know that they were her bodyguards, she thought they were her friends.

"They must be talking about the fire alarm last night." Lucy said to herself. When she saw that they were about to leave, Lucy quickly put the money on the table and left the hotel. She grabbed a taxi and asked the driver to wait outside of the hotel. After a moment, she asked the driver to follow the two suvs in front where Alyson's group got into.

It took half an hour to get to the destination, at a place near the airport. After taking 2 hours to capture a short video footage there with the blonde in it, they then headed to another place, another half hour ride to Pont Alexandre III, a famous arch bridge that spans the Seine. But this isn't the area where they want to take the video. The group headed down to an area underneath the bridge to be closer to the Seine.

With today being a workday, there weren't too many people there. Lucy stood from an area high above looking down at Alyson's group as they began to set up the equipment to take another video footage. Being the megastar, Alyson had her own chair and umbrella, shading herself from the sun.

"Wow. This is pretty boring." Lucy was surprised how long it took to set up the equipment. She took her phone out to make sure she didn't miss any calls and put it back inside her pocket. When she looked down, she noticed that the megastar was gone. "Where did she go?" She looked around and saw that she was walking up the long stairs with a female and her two bodyguards. "uh oh. Is she coming this way?" Lucy quickly ran to another area, pretending to be a tourist. She turned to take a peek and saw that the blonde was heading in the opposite direction. With sunglasses and a hat on, she followed the blonde from a distance. She stopped when she found out where the blonde was heading to a building…probably bathroom break. Lucy took a look at her watch and realized that it was almost lunchtime. Since she's a little hungry, she grabbed herself a quick bite to eat first. After she was done eating, she went back to watch the megastar at work.

"Oh good, they started filming." Lucy saw the megastar walking along the walkway, next to the Seine. Then a good looking young man walked towards the blonde and stood in front of her and handed her some flowers. The man then hugged the blonde and stepped away from the camera. "Huh?…weird…" Lucy wondered what the commercial was about. The place wasn't even that nice. It was dirty. But it was quiet. Too quiet. She could only see a few people far away. Lucy wondered why they would pick this place, instead of up on the bridge where most of the people are.

"Cut!" The director said. "…one more time."

"boooorrrrinnng…." Lucy said to herself as she placed her elbow on the wall and leaned her chin on the palm of her hand. Feeling extremely bored, she let out a yawn and stretched her arms.

"Maybe I should call Anthony to see what he's up to." Lucy took out her phone. As she was about to make the call, she was distracted by a commotion below.

"What the hell?" Lucy looked down and saw 3 guys, dressed in black, who seem to be bothering the group. One guy was wolf whistling to the megastar and as he headed towards her, her bodyguard quickly ran towards her to block the guy from getting near her.

The other bodyguard stood near the female director while they were being pestered by two other guys.

"I'm going to call the police!" The female director shouted.

One of the guys immediately took out a knife and extended it towards the female director.

The bodyguard then grabbed hold of his wrist and twisted it, causing him to drop the knife. He then kicked him in the stomach and punched him in the jaws, thus knocking him down on the cement floor. Although he was unable to block a punch to the face from the other guy, he quickly recovered and threw one strong punch into his stomach, causing him to fall down on the ground.

While this was happening, the guy standing near the megastar pulled out a knife. Protecting the megastar behind him, her bodyguard told her to move back. As the guy swung the knife at him, he dodged it by jumping backwards. He then tried to kick the knife away but missed. The guy swung the knife back and forth as he moved forward. Seeing an opportunity, he kicked the bodyguard in his stomach causing him to kneel down on the floor. Then he landed flat on the floor when the guy punched his face. As the troublemaker was about to kick the side of the bodyguard's abdomen, he suddenly stopped.

"OW!" He cried out loudly and reached his hand over his back to feel the pain.

Unaware of what hit the gangster, the bodyguard immediately grabbed his left leg up, causing the guy to land hard on his butt. He quickly stood up and kicked his knife away from his hands.

"Nice" Lucy said.

One of the crew quickly then called the police and the troublemakers quickly ran away.

Not wanting to be seen by the police, Lucy walked away and stood at an area to wait for the police to come. She wanted to make sure the 3 guys don't come back for revenge. After the police came, Lucy felt it was safe to leave them. She stood on the famous bridge and watched the blonde at work. From where she was standing, she couldn't see them clearly, but could still see where Alyson was standing.

After an hour, they were done. Lucy continued to follow them. She was surprised that they didn't eat in a restaurant. Lucy saw 2 guys holding bags of takeout and passing it to the crew sitting in the suv.

"They must be late for something." Lucy said when she saw the suv driving away.

Sitting in the taxi following the suv, Lucy wondered how the megastar could get used to this kind of life. Next stop was at a radio station. The second suv already left. After half an hour, she saw the blonde, her two bodyguards and a female companion coming out of the building. Fans stood near the entrance waiting for her to come out. "She must be really tired." Lucy couldn't see her face from far away, but knew that she would be. Greeting her fans with a smile, Alyson signed several pictures and shook the people's hands as she walked back to her suv with her bodyguards next to her. Lucy continued to follow the suv in the taxi. After a half hour ride, the suv stopped in front of a brick building. This part of the city wasn't familiar to her. When she was about to get off the taxi, she received a phone call from Anthony.

"Yes…okay…I'll meet you there."

Lucy looked at the blonde who was walking towards the brick building. She had a feeling that she might not be able to go back to the hotel tonight.

"Sorry" She knew that this day would come but she just didn't realize it would be so soon. This time was even more painful than the last time. Lucy took a few deep breaths to soothe her aching heart. "Bye" She whispered to herself.

After an hour ride to Anthony's rented apartment, Lucy shook her head to stop thinking about the megastar. During the entire ride, she thought about whether to leave her a message. Maybe she should meet her one last time to say goodbye. Maybe…_oh for god sakes…_Stop it…stop it!Lucy told herself to stop thinking about the blonde.

Standing at the door of an apartment, she looked to the left and right to see if anyone was following her before knocking on the door. Inside, she saw the same group of people who were at the warehouse.

"Hey, Lucy, welcome back." Extremely happy to see the brunette, Anthony gave her a hug.

As she sat down on the couch, Anthony's followers walked over to the dining room to give them more privacy.

Anxious to know about Benjamin, Lucy immediately asked. "So what's going on?"

"Before I tell you, tell me. How did you manage to get that message out?"

The woman who rescued Alexis walked over and handed her a bottle of water and Lucy politely thanked her.

"Well, they're not very smart. They allowed Michel's daughter to see me, so I just gave her the message."

"just like that?" His eyebrows creased together. Anthony was expecting something else. "They must have cameras. How could they not know?"

Lucy cleared her throat and took a drink of the water. "I…gave them a little distraction and they had no idea what happened."

"Interesting…so they were smart enough to capture you but they weren't smart enough to notice what you did."

"they're really not that smart….I just let my guard down…that's all."

Lucy previously told him on the phone how they were able to capture her by putting a tracker into Kristin's body.

"Lucy, now are you willing to let her go?" Anthony spoke in a serious tone.

"Anthony, she knows who I am and she's willing to be with me."

"Did she leave them?"

Lucy shook her head. "…she found out about Amy…" She let out a big sigh and looked up at the ceiling. "…we're…over…now.."

"So...she doesn't want to be with you because she thinks you…."

"Let's not talk about that now…." Lucy took a drink.

Anthony stared at her in silence for a moment, realizing how much pain she must be in. The criminal mastermind left everything to be with Amy. Now she got caught trying to rescue someone who looked like her. In the end, she ended up being alone again.

Lucy quickly straightened her back. "But don't hurt her…don't let anyone touch her." Lucy said as she pointed a finger at him. She was afraid that Anthony would stop protecting her now that they're no longer together.

"Sure. I understand….but Lucy, we couldn't find her anyways. She might be staying inside."

"Yea…she needed to recuperate."

Anthony nodded in understanding and asked another question to change the subject.

"So how did you convince them to let you out?"

"I already told you. They want him alive, so they let me out. And in return, they're going to let me and Scud free."

"But we're going to kill him, right?"

Lucy nodded. "After **I**…kill him, we'll just leave. That's all." Lucy stressed the word I.

Anthony frowned in confusion because what she's telling him didn't quite make sense to him.

He leaned forward and said in a low volume. "Are you hiding something from me?"

"No." Lucy said as she looked him in the eyes. Because if she didn't, Anthony could tell she's lying.

"Because what you're saying doesn't make sense. Why would they trust you to let you out so you can get that son of a bitch? Why would they trust you when you told him that he's alive?" Anthony suddenly stood up. "Shit! Lucy. They're following you." That would be the only logical explanation. They let her out so she could lead them to the others.

Lucy stood up and extended her hands out to calm him down. "No. Anthony. They're not following me."

"But this doesn't make sense."

Lucy motioned him to sit back down. She realized that Anthony wouldn't let this go if she didn't tell him the truth. So she decided to tell him but not everything.

"Can you just trust me on this? They're not following me. They have something that's very important to me. So they know I would go back to them."

"Oh…then that makes sense." Anthony rubbed his chin while pondering for a moment. "So after you kill him, you're going to go back?"

"No."

"Ohhhh….I see now. So…you made them think that whatever they're holding is very important to you, but it's really not." Anthony let out a laugh and applauded the brunette. "How in the world did you manage to do that?"

_Not exactly. She is very important to me. I haven't decided what to do yet. _Lucy thought to herself.

"Like I said, they're not very smart." Lucy said and let out a fake smile. Even though the megastar told her to think about herself, she wasn't sure she could just leave when the time comes.

She waited for him to stop laughing. "Now can you tell me what's going on?"

Anthony took a look at his watch. "Let's go."

"Where're we going?" Lucy said as she stood up.

"To get you into a nice outfit for tonight's formal party."

"What?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

On their way to the designer boutiques shops in Paris, Anthony told her that the person who's protecting Benjamin Couric will be at a private party tonight held by a well-known businessman. Anthony who had done legal businesses with the businessman was also invited to the private party.

"What is his name?" Lucy asked.

"Jean Claude Leblanc"

Anthony was right. Even if he told her who that powerful leader is, she has no idea who he is.

_I really have to have Scud to keep me informed. _Lucy thought to herself. Anthony told her how much power he has, how other organizations don't dare to get involved with him or offend him in any way.

Then a thought suddenly came to Lucy. "Is that why Lionel didn't do anything to that bastard? Do you think Lionel knew who was protecting him?"

Anthony snapped his fingers. "You know what…he probably does…that's why he told you…so you can take care of it for him…hmmm…now that makes sense…he's going to get his money back and he got someone to take care of that bastard without getting involved with Jean Claude."

Lucy smiled. She got to admit that Lionel was one pretty smart man. She wasn't mad that he was using her to get to Benjamin since she wanted to kill him herself anyways.

Lucy learned that during these days while she was in the prison cell, Anthony had been talking to other leaders of criminal organization to see if they want to join forces to force Jean Claude to give up Benjamin Couric. But it turned out that some of those who lost money because of his ponzi scheme weren't willing to offend Jean Claude.

"I haven't talked to Lionel yet but it doesn't look like he's going to agree since he's going to get his money back." Anthony said.

"Do you know why he's protecting him?"

"I'm not sure. But it looked like they've known each other for a long time."

Lucy didn't feel good knowing that she might have to go against Jean Claude alone. It would be like going against Anthony and there is no way she could win. Even if Anthony is willing to help her, this has nothing to do with him. She didn't want him to get in any kind of trouble because of her. At this moment, revenge seem to be impossible.

There was a long moment of silence. When Anthony saw the brunette staring out the window, deep in thought, he held her hand to comfort her. "Hey, let's see what he has to say tonight."

Lucy nodded and turned to look out the window again. She escaped death a lot of times. But this time was different. She was looking for it. All she had to do was walk away and forget about revenge. She and Scud could go on living in another country with fake identities. But how could she just leave now that she knows who killed Amy? She can't go on living with that knowledge, without getting her revenge.

"I can't. I rather die." She said in a whisper.

"What?" Anthony turned to look at the brunette.

"I can't let him live. No matter what. He has to die." Lucy clenched her teeth and fists.

Anthony nodded and patted her shoulder to indicate that he will help her.

With the mood she's in, Lucy didn't take long to pick out an outfit to wear. She didn't feel it was appropriate to be wearing a dress even if it's a formal party. She needed to dress as Lucy Diamond not Keira Holmes.

* * *

A luxury black suv stopped in front of a hotel. When a hotel staff opened the car door, he let out a gasp when he saw a stunning young woman slowly stepping out. Wearing an elegant black wide legged pants and a black sleeveless V neck top, Lucy extended her hand out and placed it on Anthony's hand. With her hair bound in a ponytail, one could clearly see she was wearing a pair of glistening heart shaped diamond earrings. The sleeveless top revealed her tan toned defined arms. As she walked in her black high heel shoes to the entrance of the hotel, with her arm clinging through Anthony's arm, Lucy noticed people staring at her. She wasn't sure if they were looking at her shimmering diamond necklace, the outfit that showed off her sexy figure perfectly or the way she was walking, _with confidence_ and ease….or at the handsome man dressed in a black Armani suit next to her. Attracting attention was not her intention.

"They're staring at us." Lucy said as she continued walking, pretending not to notice the stares and whispers around them.

"No, they're staring at you. Do you realize how stunningly gorgeous you look? Not only men, the women are looking at you….and they're not jealous…looks like they want to jump on you."

"Anthony!" Lucy said in a quiet voice, controlling her urge to roll her eyes.

She wasn't even showing that much skin, so she had no idea why people would be staring at her.

The function room was located on the 10th floor of the hotel. Guests lined up to show their invitation cards to the people standing at the door of the function room. Security guards stood at the elevator and the entrance of the function room.

"Have you ever been here before?" Anthony asked.

"Nope."

Once inside the room, they were escorted to their table with white tablecloths in the back. Huge windows surrounded half of the room. Lights were dimmed to create a relaxing atmosphere. Some people stood near the window to admire the beautiful view of the city lights, buildings, and the night sky. There was a dance floor and a stage in the front. Some had already started drinking while sitting in the bar area.

"What kind of party is this?" Lucy said when she saw teenagers chatting among themselves.

Lucy had previously thought this was a business party.

"He just said it's a private party."

There were about 30 tables. Round tables had 8 seats. Smaller tables had 4 seats. Lucy and Anthony sat in a smaller table with 4 seats. Sitting across from them were an old couple in their 70's.

After politely introducing themselves to the couple, Lucy looked around and noticed that there were young people in their teens and 20's, mostly girls. This place reminded her of Ashley's party, except this place looked more like a restaurant.

"Do you see him?" Lucy looked around.

"No."

"Do you have the time, dear?" The old woman asked.

"It's almost 8." Lucy politely responded.

"Can you tell them to start serving dinner, dear? We're hungry."

Lucy looked at the old man who had been staring at her since he sat down across from her.

"I…I…" Lucy looked at Anthony and both knew what the other was thinking. "Sure." She couldn't tell the waiter what to do, but she could ask if they could serve the old couple dinner first.

Lucy raised her hand and immediately two waiters walked towards her. After telling them what she needed, she learned that dinner was about to be served and they offered to get them some warm dinner rolls first. Lucy thanked both of them and within a very short amount of time, the waiter came back with 2 baskets of dinner rolls with butter.

Anthony smiled at the brunette. He didn't need to say anything. Lucy understood why he was smiling. It's not only the waiters who were staring at her. The people in the other tables nearby were also staring at her.

"There he is." Anthony said.

Near the bar area stood a tall muscular white male with brownish hair, about 50 years old. Standing next to him is a sexy young female of Mexican descent, holding onto his forearm. When Anthony stood up, Lucy did the same and both excused themselves to the older couple.

As she walked to the man who was feared by other mafia leaders, Lucy wasn't afraid at all. All she wanted to know is why he was protecting that fraudster. Lucy let go of Anthony's arm and both together walked by side by side.

Anthony had never met Jean Claude in person but after everything that happened, he knew that Jean Claude must have heard about him from the other mafia leaders who did not agree to join forces with him.

As Anthony walked slowly towards him, he saw Jean Claude looking at him.

Seeing that Jean Claude wasn't paying attention to him, the man turned around to see what caught his attention. With jaws dropped, he too was mesmerized by the presence walking towards them. No, he wasn't looking at Anthony. He was looking at the gorgeous brunette. He stepped aside as she walked closer to him.

Without saying a word, both Lucy and Anthony stood in front of the leader and locked their eyes at Jean Claude. The unknown man stood stunned still, staring at the brunette.

Anthony extended his hand out. "I'm Anthony."

Jean Claude shook the offered hand. "Jean Claude"

"and you are?" Anthony politely extended his hand out to the Mexican girl next to Jean Claude.

"Sylvia."

Jean Claude extended his hand out to Lucy. "Keira." Lucy said as she firmly shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you. Keira" Jean Claude nodded his head as he felt the firm shake of the brunette's hand.

"Likewise."

There was a moment of silence. Anthony was hoping that Jean Claude would tell his girlfriend to leave, so he can start the conversation. But Jean Claude just kept staring at him.

"So the reason we're here is because…."

Jean Claude finally extended his hand out, motioning Anthony to stop talking. He then asked his girlfriend to go back to her seat.

Lucy turned to the unknown man who was staring her and asked him politely to leave so they can have a private chat.

Jean Claude was surprised that Anthony didn't do the same as he did.

"She's not your girl?" Jean Claude asked.

"No. She's a friend. She's here for the same reason."

"and what would be that be?"

"We want to know why you are protecting him." Lucy said in a serious tone.

"so if I tell you why, you would stop what you're doing?" Jean Claude responded in the same tone.

"No." Lucy and Anthony said in unison.

"So what would it take for you to stop?" Jean Claude said to Anthony.

"until he's dead." Lucy said.

From the tone of brunette's voice, Jean Claude realized that she is not an ordinary girl, like his bimbo girlfriend.

"and why do you want him dead?"

"Can you tell us why you are protecting him?" Lucy wanted him to know if he answered her question first, she'll tell him.

Looking at the brunette, Jean Claude could tell that she wanted to kill the one he's protecting.

"Very simple. He's a smart man. He could help me make a lot of money."

"Smart? You do realize a lot of people are after him."

Jean Claude let out a small smile. "You haven't answered my question."

Lucy tried not to show her anger boiling inside of her. She breathed in and out to calm her anger, remembering who she is and remembering what Anthony said to her numerous times. Never show them your emotions. Don't let them know what you're thinking.

"He killed my friend." Lucy said without showing any emotion.

"I see." Jean Claude took a glance at Anthony then at Lucy.

There was a long moment of silence. Both were waiting for Jean Claude's decision. Jean Claude knew that if he still chooses to protect the fraudster, hell will break lose. Then it will eventually get the police involved and this will affect his legal and illegal businesses. What he doesn't know is how far Anthony would go. Would he sacrifice everything he has to kill that man?

"What can I do so you can just let him go?"

"You'll have to kill me." Lucy immediately responded. She needed to let him know that she was adamant that she wanted him dead.

"and if you kill her, I will kill you." Anthony said in a serious tone.

Jean Claude let out another small laugh.

"Anthony, you know it won't be that easy."

"Jean Claude, I know. But I will do whatever it takes. I will make your life miserable. You will make my life miserable. Nobody wins. The question is is he worth it?"

Then someone on the stage announced that dinner will be served and requested that everyone be seated to enjoy the entertainment.

"Well, nice meeting you both. I'll let you know." Jean Claude shook both of their hands.

"Don't take too long." Anthony said behind his back. Jean Claude didn't respond and continued to walk back to his seat.

Anthony and Lucy smiled at each other, knowing that there is a good chance that Jean Claude would give him up.

When they got back to their seats, the band on the stage was playing and the singer started singing. The old couple was already eating their dinner. From the way they're eating, Lucy realized how hungry they were. They weren't even tasting the food, just chew and swallow. They looked like they haven't eaten in days. Halfway through her dinner, Lucy noticed that some people, teenagers, young and old adults had already finished and were dancing to the beat of the soft rock on the dance floor. Happy with the outcome of the previous conversation, Lucy felt more relaxed than before. She looked to the direction of the table where Jean Claude was sitting and saw that he was having a good time with his girlfriend and talking to the young man next to him. She elbowed Anthony to take a look.

"Who's that?"

"mmm….I think that's his son." Anthony said.

"Geez…his girlfriend looks about the same age as his son."

"Are you surprised?"

"Guess not. How many….." As she was about to ask him about Jean Claude's family, at the corner of her eyes, she noticed that the older woman was gagging.

"Oh my god." Lucy quickly stood up and walked over to the woman. From behind, she lifted the older woman up and wrapped hands around her waist to give her the Heimlick maneuver. Lucy pressed into the victim's abdomen with quick upward thrusts. Their table was on the back row, so only the two waiters and the guests nearby noticed this. Everyone else was watching the singer and the dance floor.

"C'mon" Lucy lifted her up as she gave her another quick and forceful thrust into abdomen. Then after another thrust, a piece of chicken flew out from the older woman's mouth, almost hitting Anthony in the face.

Lucy gave the old woman a moment to calm down. The waiters quickly came over to see if she needed to go to the hospital.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked as she rubbed the old woman's back.

After drinking some water, the old woman nodded and sat back down.

Those who saw what the brunette did were amazed. At the same moment, those who were watching the singer clapped their hands when the band finished playing.

"Slow down. Okay?" Lucy said as she helped her with the glass of water. Seeing that the old woman was still shaking, Lucy reached out to hold her cold hands. Rubbing it gently, she tried to calm her down.

"Thank you, dear." The old woman said.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked the old man who again had his eyes locked on her, stunned in silence.

When the man didn't respond, the old woman shook his shoulder to bring him out of his thoughts.

Then suddenly a man in a suit quickly came over to their table and bent down to the older woman's level. Lucy learned from Anthony that this was his party. Anthony was also surprised to learn that the old couple were his parents. After shaking hands with Anthony, he thanked the brunette multiple times for saving his mother. When he asked his parents to sit with them up at the front, the older woman refused.

"The music is too loud." The older woman said, causing Anthony and Lucy to let out a smile.

"I want to sit with her." The older woman reached out to hold the brunette's hand. "Sit, dear."

"Me too, son. Go back to your seat." The older man spoke with authority.

Frowning in confusion, the host turned to look at his father and noticed what he was looking at. He stepped back to look at the brunette from head to toe and realized why his father wanted to stay. He was also stunned by her beauty. Even though the brunette was wearing a simple elegant outfit, there was something about her that captured everyone's attention. He looked around and saw that other guests nearby and the waiters were all looking at the beautiful brunette, standing in front of him. Knowing that the brunette had a man next to him, male guests could only gaze at her and wish that they were the one sitting next to her. The host motioned the brunette to sit. Standing between his mother and the gorgeous brunette, he took out a business card and handed it to her.

"If there's anything that I can help you with, please let me know."

Lucy took the card and thanked him. He then excused himself to make an announcement on the stage.

They later learned that this private party was held for his daughter's sixteenth birthday.

Lucy gasped and asked Anthony. "Did we get any gifts?"

"I didn't know." Anthony said.

"Don't worry about it. Dear. She has everything she wants. He's spoiling her." The couple nodded to each other in agreement.

Hearing the comment, Lucy and Anthony let out another smile.

When the older woman stood up, Lucy immediately asked where she was going. From what happened earlier, she felt that someone should be keeping a close eye on her.

"restroom."

"I'll go with you." Lucy excused herself.

As they walked down the hall to the restroom, Lucy held on to her forearm. At the corner of her eyes, she noticed people staring at them again. She wasn't afraid to be recognized as Lucy Diamond this time since she had a deal with the head of Division 16. If someone did recognize her, then all she had to do is give her a call. Back in the criminal days, she's used to having people staring at her. But people were staring at her because they knew who she was. They were afraid of her. Here, people were staring at her for a different reason.

Once she was done, Lucy waited for the old woman and as they walked slowly back to the seat, she noticed that guests were paying attention to the stage in the front not her. _Thank God. _She didn't really like all the attention that she was getting. On their way back to the seats, Lucy suddenly stopped. The familiar voice caught her attention and she slowly turned her head around. With mouth agape, she stared at the stage in disbelief.

"What is she doing here?" Lucy said to herself when she saw Alyson singing on the stage. She wasn't expecting an answer from anyone but was surprised when the old woman responded.

"My granddaughter is a fan of hers. That's what she wanted for her 16th birthday and that's what she got….spoiled brat." While the old woman kept mumbling about her dissatisfaction for her granddaughter and son, Lucy kept her eyes locked on the blonde. _But she's a megastar. What is she doing here? _The dance floor was filled with excited teenagers and young adults as they watched the megastar perform in front of them. Some guests continued to chat amongst themselves since they had no idea who the megastar is.

"Are you her fan too?" The old woman asked when she noticed the brunette wasn't moving.

"What? No…I don't know who she is. I thought I saw a friend of mine." Lucy said as they kept walking back to their seat.

Taking her seat, she noticed that Anthony and the old man were focusing their attention to the megastar.

"Anthony, can we go?" Lucy whispered. She wanted to get out of here before the blonde sees her. It's not that she doesn't want to see her. It's because she doesn't want to pretend she doesn't know her in front of other people.

"Wait…later." Anthony responded without looking at her.

"Don't tell me you like that kind of music?" Lucy was surprised that Anthony even has time to listen to the music with his busy schedule.

"It's cool. It's got a beat to it." Anthony said as he moved his head up and down to the beat of the music. "…and she's hot with the guitar." He leaned in and whispered, not wanting the old woman to hear him. Seeing Lucy rolled her eyes at him, he creased his brows. "Don't tell me you don't think she's hot?"

Lucy didn't respond and shrugged at his comment.

"Look at her…look at that….sexy body…that…" When Anthony was about to say something that wasn't appropriate, he noticed the old woman was narrowing her eyes at him.

Anthony cleared his throat and stopped talking.

"Do you want to meet her? I can introduce you."

"What?" Lucy and Anthony both snapped their heads at the old woman and asked in unison.

"You know her?" Anthony asked in disbelief.

"Yes, she's a really nice girl. Isn't she…honey?" She asked her husband who nodded in response.

Lucy learned that the megastar was performing here as a request from her father who is a friend of the host and has business dealings with him.

"I want to meet her." Anthony responded with excitement like a teenage boy who was about to meet his idol.

"Anthony…no…"

"Why not?"

"ummm…because…" Lucy took a look at her watch. "…because it's late…she's probably very tired after this and she probably doesn't want to meet with us."

"It's only 9." Anthony responded and wondered what's up with the criminal mastermind.

After the megastar was finished, she was invited to sit with the host and the birthday girl. When the band started to play soft slow romantic music, guests of all ages went up to dance with their partners. Jean Claude and his young girlfriend were dancing closely together.

"Do you want to meet her now?" The old woman asked.

"Yes." Smiling wide, Anthony immediately stood up.

"Wait." Lucy said as she pointed to the direction of the dance floor. Both were extremely disappointed when they saw Jean Claude's son had asked the megastar to dance with him. _ Damn it! _

Anthony sat back down and stared at the megastar. After a short moment, Lucy suddenly stood up.

"What's the matter?" Anthony was startled by her action.

"We forgot to give Jean Claude our number. Let's dance." Without waiting for his response, she took his hand and pulled him towards the dance floor. She didn't plan on letting the blonde know that she was here. But after seeing how Jean Claude's son was dancing so closely with the megastar, she couldn't control herself from getting a little jealous. She felt the need to separate them. She cannot dance with the megastar in front of all these people, but at least, she can keep that pervert away from her.

On the dance floor, they moved closer to Jean Claude and his partner.

"Jean Claude, do you have our number?" Lucy interrupted the man who was holding his partner close to him.

Unhappy with the interruption, Jean Claude pulled back from his sexy date. "No. You'll know when I want to talk to you."

"Here. This will save you some time." Anthony pulled out a business card from his chest pocket and extended his hand out towards Jean Claude.

Seeing that he won't be left alone until he takes it, Jean Claude took the card and put it into his pocket. Lucy then led Anthony to move behind the megastar. Before she show herself to the blonde, she let out a few deep breath.

"Be nice." Lucy said to Anthony as they kept moving.

"What makes you think she'll dance with me?"

"She will." Lucy said with confidence.

_Here goes. Let's hope she won't call my name. _The last thing she wanted is let Anthony know about them.

As they moved next to the megastar who was having a conversation with the young man, Lucy stared at the blonde.

Alyson wasn't too interested in dancing with this guy. Having been working since this morning, all she wanted to do right now is go back to the hotel and go to sleep. She let out a fake smile and pretended to be interested in what the guy was talking about. She tried to control herself from yawning. With her left hand on his shoulder, she twisted her hand slightly to look at her watch. Her tired eyes then looked up and was shocked to see a pair of dark brown eyes staring at her.

"Hi" Lucy said without making a sound.

Her jaws dropped immediately and her eyes opened wide.

Okay. That was not the reaction that Lucy was expecting. Lucy pulled back from Anthony's shoulder and stopped. She tilted her head to give him the signal to ask the megastar to dance.

"May I cut in?" Anthony asked politely.

Lucy winked at the blonde to bring her out of the stunned gaze.

The young man was reluctant to let him cut in at first, but when she saw the even more beautiful brunette, he stepped aside and gladly switched partners.

"I'm Anthony." Anthony was expecting the megastar to introduce herself but found it strange that she wasn't even looking at him. He followed her line of sight and wondered if she was looking at the jackass's son or the criminal mastermind.

"Is she your girlfriend?" The megastar asked. She knew that she wasn't but wanted to know what their relationship was. Why is she here?

"No, she's just a good friend."

Now Anthony understood why she was staring at the her since the brunette had captured everyone's attention tonight.

"your friend looks absolutely stunning." Alyson said as she continued to scan the brunette from top to bottom. This was the first time she had ever seen her in a formal attire.

"She's not the only one." Anthony complimented. "I'll tell her you said that."

Meanwhile, Lucy was getting extremely bored with the guy she's dancing with. He introduced himself but she quickly forgot what his name was. She let out a fake smile as he continued to compliment on her physical appearance and tell her how lucky he was to be able to get a chance to dance with her.

"Are you an actress?" He asked.

Lucy shook her head.

"A model?"

Lucy shook her head and wondered why the music hasn't stopped yet.

"What do you do?"

"you don't want to know."

When Lucy finally couldn't stand it anymore, she stopped and excused herself.

The music finally stopped and everyone returned back to their seats. _Thank God_.

Lucy could see that Anthony was extremely happy that he got a chance to dance with the megastar.

"Wow…she's really hot!"

"Anthony, she's too young for you."

"I know. I just think she's hot. That's all."

Both were surprised when the old woman spoke again. They didn't realize she was listening.

"She doesn't have a boyfriend."

"Oh really…Did she say she's interested in older guys?" Anthony asked the old woman.

"Anthony!" Lucy rolled her eyes. _What have I done? _"Can we go now?"

"I can dream, can't I? And no. It's rude to leave in the middle of a party."

After the birthday girl blew out the candles, the waiters served everyone a piece of cake and desserts.

As she was eating the cake, she noticed that the megastar was walking towards her table.

_What is she doing? _Lucy swallowed and shook her head slightly, motioning the blonde to stop. Her heart spontaneously beat rapidly. She then let out a deep breath when the megastar bent down at the old woman's level and gave her a kiss on the cheek and hugged her.

"Hello dear." The old woman said.

Anthony instantaneously dropped his fork when he saw the stunningly beautiful blonde again.

"sweetie…I want to introduce you to my friends."

When the blonde stood next to her, Lucy looked somewhere else.

"This is …." The old woman extended her hand to Anthony.

"We've already met." The megastar said.

"He thinks you're hot and sexy. He couldn't stop talking about you."

Not expecting that the old woman would say that, Anthony felt extremely embarrassed and immediately dropped his jaws.

_Oh my god. _Lucy didn't know whether to laugh or feel embarrassed for him.

Anthony stayed silent and let out a small smile. At this moment, everyone around them had their eyes on their table. He wasn't sure if they could hear what the old woman just said.

"…and this beautiful woman here is…what's your name?"

Lucy had no choice but to respond. "Keira." She extended her hand out to the blonde.

"Keira…nice to meet you." Alyson shook her hand and let out a smile.

When the old woman told her how the brunette saved her a moment ago, Alyson was shocked. It seem to her that wherever she goes, she always ended up saving someone.

Seeing that this is a good time as any before the old woman say something else to embarrass him again, Anthony stood up.

"It's nice to meet you." Anthony shook the blonde's hand. "We'll be leaving now."

Guests from other tables also started to leave.

Lucy then stood up and was surprised when the blonde told her to wait. _What are you doing? _Lucy thought to herself as she frowned at the blonde.

"You…have something on you face." Alyson pointed to her own face.

"Keira…I'll meet you out front." Anthony said. .

Lucy relaxed a little when Anthony left. But the old couple was still sitting there.

Lucy took a napkin and wiped her face.

Alyson looked around and saw that everyone around them had left except for the old couple and the waiters who were cleaning up the tables. She needed to tell the brunette something but wasn't sure how she could do it without attracting attention.

"I'll be leaving now." Lucy said to the couple politely.

The old woman stood up to give the brunette a hug. "God bless you. Dear."

Lucy walked over to the old man and gave him a hug.

Seeing the opportunity, Alyson waited for the brunette to give her a hug.

If Anthony were here, Lucy wouldn't give the blonde a hug because it just doesn't make sense.

Lucy shook her hand and hugged her lightly.

"You look absolutely stunning. See you later." Alyson whispered and pulled back with a smile.

Holding her hand firmly, Lucy took a moment to look at the blonde one more time. "Take care." She said softly without smiling. She wasn't sure if she could go back tonight. Maybe it would be better just to say goodbye here. As she turned around to leave, she tried to pull her hand away but could not. The megastar was still holding on to her hand.

"Take…care?" Alyson said in a trembling voice. _Did she really mean that? Is this the last time they will see each other?_

Lucy looked around to see if anyone was watching them. The waiters were busily cleaning up the tables. The old couple was walking back to the front. Guests were lining up to leave the party.

Not wanting to give anyone the idea that they know each other, Lucy pulled the blonde's hand away from hers.

"I have to go." They knew that this day would come but didn't realize how hard it would be. Lucy took a few steps backwards. "Take care of yourself." She said one last time. Her heart ached when she saw the blonde looking sadly at her. "I love you." She said without a sound before turning around and headed towards the Exit.

* * *

During the drive back to the apartment, they made sure they weren't being followed. Back at the apartment, Lucy was surprised to see Scud. She had totally forgotten that he was flying back.

Extremely happy to see his friend, Scud immediately ran towards her and hugged her tightly when she entered the apartment.

"Scud, I can't breathe."

When Scud let go of her, he noticed how different she looked and took a step back.

"Wow, you look stunning!"

"yea…yea…I know." Lucy said in a dull tone and went into the bedroom to change into her casual clothes. Those words reminded her of the megastar.

"What did I say?" Scud asked.

Anthony shrugged as a response.

After changing into casual clothing, all of them sat on the couch to think about what Jean Claude would do.

"Would he just give him up so easily?" Scud asked.

"No." Anthony and Lucy said in unison.

They told him the reason why he was protecting him.

"Just for money. No way. It has to be something else." Scud reasoned.

Lucy nodded.

"He must be hiding something from him." Lucy said.

"and Jean Claude cannot let anyone know about this…" Anthony added.

"So why doesn't he just kill him?" Scud asked.

"why doesn't he kill him?" Lucy asked the same question and pondered.

"maybe this information is very valuable to him and he needed to make sure no one gets it." Anthony said. "and he knows he can't threaten him with anything because he knows he won't give it up no matter what."

"then it has to be some kind of incriminating evidence." Lucy said.

"bingo!" Scud called out.

"then who has this evidence?" Anthony said.

It didn't take long for the former criminals to respond. Only one person would know.

"Jehan!" Scud and Lucy said in unison.

"If we know Jehan has the evidence, then Jean Claude would too. So why doesn't Jean Claude go after him? All he had to do is threaten him, destroy the evidence and kill them both." Anthony took a glance at Scud then at Lucy. "… and don't tell me he's not going to give it up even if his life depends on it."

"What would you do if you know that you're going to die after giving it to him?" Lucy said.

"So you're saying Jean Claude would rather do nothing, let them live and play along…and risk the chance of the evidence getting leaked out?" Anthony leaned his back against the couch. "This doesn't make sense, guys. I know I wouldn't risk it."

"Maybe he just found out and he's doing something right now." Lucy said.

"Okay, then that makes sense." Anthony said.

"Then let's visit Jehan tomorrow." Scud asked and let out a yawn.

Seeing how late it was, Anthony left the 4 bedroom apartment with his followers, leaving one man and a woman behind to look after the former criminals.

It's 11:00PM and Lucy still couldn't sleep. There were too many things to think about. Her mind spontaneously thought about Jean Claude at one moment then jumped to think about the megastar in another. Each time she felt she didn't make the right decision, her mind, on its own, kept thinking about what she could've done instead. _I shouldn't have got her involved. I shouldn't have. But if I didn't she would've been in trouble. _"Stop it. Stop it!" Lucy angrily took the pillow and covered her head with it, trying to stop her active mind. After a moment, Lucy got off the bed and walked to the kitchen to get herself a drink. What she needed right now is something to put her to sleep, something to knock her out. She opened the refrigerator and was disappointed to find nothing helpful.

"Hey."

Lucy was surprised to see the woman who rescued Alexis at this hour. "Hi."

"Can't sleep?"

"Do we have any cold medicine here?"

The woman let out a chuckle.

"I'm serious. Do we?" Lucy said.

"Are you all right?" The woman said in a serious tone. She noticed how the brunette was completely different from the one she saw at the warehouse.

Lucy took out a bottle of strawberry wine cooler from the refrigerator. Sitting on the couch, she turned on the tv as she took a big gulp of the drink.

"Those won't put you to sleep." The woman said and sat on the armchair.

"I know."

She looked at the brunette for a moment and noticed that something was wrong.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, thank you." Lucy said while looking at the tv and flipping the channels. She doesn't feel like talking about her problems to anyone right now, especially to someone she doesn't know that well.

"Then…can I talk to you about my problems?"

That was unexpected. Lucy turned to look at the woman and nodded.

The woman let out a deep breath. "I want to leave this life."

"Why?" Lucy said as she took another drink. Having been the leader of a criminal organization for years, she knew all the reasons. Some of her followers quit because they wanted to start their own family. Some grew up and realized that they don't want this kind of life anymore. Some fell in love and their other half wanted them to quit, kind of like her. There were a lot of reasons.

"I'm sick of it. I mean sometimes I like it….you know…like the time I rescue your girl. I felt so good about that…but then there are other times when I see the people I know got seriously hurt…and there's nothing I could do to help them."

Lucy stayed silent and allowed her to continue.

"When you beat the shit out of that guy in the warehouse, I was right there with you….….bam!" The woman threw a few punches in the air and Lucy let out a smile.

"But…what if he's on my team, I can't just stand there and do nothing."

"Those are the rules."

"I know…but I can't…I can't take it anymore…"

The woman slumped her back against the couch and stared at the ceiling.

There was a moment of silence.

"Tell me the truth. Did you ever regret leaving?" The woman asked out of curiosity.

"What did I say at the warehouse?"

"You said you'd do it again."

"…and I would…for her." Lucy said without a doubt.

"…but you lost everything…." The woman didn't know what happened to Amy. But she knew that the girl the brunette left everything for was no longer with her.

Lucy let out a big sigh and stared into blank space.

"If she didn't come with me, maybe she would still be here." Lucy took another big gulp of the drink. The woman realized that the criminal mastermind wasn't talking about her empire. She was talking about the D.E.B.S agent. She was 'everything' to her.

"But…if I…have another chance to do it all over, I…don't think I would be able to let her go…." Lucy nodded and said to herself as if there's nobody around. "…I would…I…would…do…it all over again." Looking into blank space, she let out a smile as the thoughts of her days with Amy flowed into her mind.

"No regrets?" The woman asked again.

Lucy shook her head and smiled to herself without looking at the woman.

"If you have no regrets, then why can't you sleep? "

With a frown, Lucy slowly turned her head to look at the woman. "What?"

"You heard me."

Lucy looked at the woman in the eye. Both stared at each other for a long moment in silence.

She jerked back when the brunette suddenly stood up and glared at her.

After a few seconds, Lucy headed back to the bedroom in a hurry.

"Shoot…now I got nobody to talk to…."

After a short moment, she was surprised to see the former criminal leader had changed into her day clothes, walking towards the door.

"Where're you going?" The woman said as she stood up.

"I'm going to try to get some sleep." Lucy opened the door.

Thinking that she might have said something to offend the brunette, the woman apologized.

"Hey, I didn't mean to upset you…."

"You didn't. Can you tell Scud not to call me?" Lucy said in a gentle voice.

"Sure." The woman nodded.

"Thanks." Lucy said in a genuine tone before closing the door.

* * *

Lucy stepped out of the taxi and looked up at the building in front of her. She counted 1..2..3…4…5…6…7. At this time of the night, almost everyone had the lights off and gone to sleep. She took a look at her watch. It's almost 12:00AM. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling loudly, she said to herself. "No regrets."

Standing in front of the hotel room, Lucy took out the room key. "Should I call her first?" After a moment of pondering, she decided to just put the hotel key card in. She slowly turned the handle and was surprised to find that she could open the door. It didn't have the security guard latch on. _Oh my God. Alyson. _She made a mental note to remind the blonde. The lights were off. Lucy closed the door behind her and latched the door. From the city lights shining through the window, the living room was bright enough so she could still see where she was going. As she walked closer to the bedroom, she heard a faint voice coming from inside. Dim light shone through the slit of the bedroom door. _She's still awake. _Not wanting to scare the blonde, she raised her hand and as she was about to knock on the door, she stopped.

"Nothing's wrong…mom…I just couldn't sleep."

Lucy could hear the blonde blowing her nose and sniffing in her tears.

"….no…I'm not crying…..no…he's not here….mom…..he left….he's not coming back…no…we didn't broke up…well…we did…but it's not like that….he just had to leave…"

Lucy knew it was wrong but couldn't control herself from eavesdropping. She placed her ears closer against the door.

"What!….NO!…mom…he didn't leave because I won't let him…he's not like that…he just had some important things to do."

_"It wouldn't have worked out anyways." _Alyson thought to herself.

"I'm okay…I just missed him…that's all"

There was a moment of silence.

"yes…mmhmm….What's he like?..mmm…He's gorgeous…mom…yes…gorgeous….you should've seen him today…oh my god…he looked absolutely stunning…"

Lucy let out a smile.

"…everyone was looking at him and not me…I know…mom…I'm just saying that's how good he looked….yes….and he's charming….funny…smart…sexy…yes…sexy…mom…he's kind and caring… ….what?…no…mom…he doesn't like me for my money….he has a lot of money…he might even be wealthier than me….what does he do?…umm….he…no….I know what he does. I just can't tell you. He made me promise not to tell anyone. Not even you. Mom."

Lucy could hear the blonde letting out a big sigh.

"I know he has money….because he donated half a million dollars to charity….yes…I'm not lying. What? What's wrong with him? What do you mean? There's nothing wrong with him….I didn't say he's perfect…no….he doesn't have another girlfriend…he had a girlfriend but they broke up the same time I broke up with that jackass…sorry…mom…no…mom…he didn't go back to his ex….Yes…I'm sure he didn't.

There was another moment of silence.

"We met on the plane…a guy was bothering me and he came to my rescue…he had no idea who I was…yes…he knows now…and then he saved me again…several times….Did you hear about the lawsuit?…mhm…..he did that….yup….mmhhmm…"

Lucy heard another big sigh from the blonde and a squeak from the bed.

"He didn't promise me anything. We know we can't be together. No…we didn't talk about that….we just know…how?…because we have different lives…." Alyson let out a deep breath. "Is it because I'm famous?… mmm…yes and no_…. she's famous too just not in a good way_…I don't know…mom…I don't know what I'm saying either…"

Lucy heard the blonde sniffing loudly again.

"I love him…and he said he loves me…but we can't be together…. mom…we just can't ….it's…complicated….. I just missed him….that's all…"

Lucy felt her heart aching at this moment.

"….his name? oh…it's…umm….it's umm…Luke….yes…Luke…like the skywalker…mmhmm…"

Lucy let out a wide smile.

"….you want to see what he looks like?….I…don't have a picture of him….I don't know…I just never thought of it…..… ….Mom… I'm fine ….I just wish we could spend more time together…that's all…..I…just wish …..aaahh…ahhh….AAAHHHH!"

_What the hell? _Lucy immediately opened the door and was again surprised that the blonde didn't lock it.

Startled by the intruder, Alyson stopped screaming and dropped the phone.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked as she looked around to see why the megastar suddenly screamed out loud.

When she saw the shocked blonde looking at her without responding, Lucy stepped closer and gripped her shoulders lightly.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked again in a low concerned voice.

She then turned to the direction where the blonde was pointing.

"Oh…." Lucy took a tissue and wrapped the spider that was crawling on the table and walked to the bathroom to flush it down the toilet.

While walking back to the bedroom, she heard the megastar explained to her mother why she was screaming.

"I'm fine…really…I'm fine…mom…okay…good night." Alyson immediately hung up and slowly turned to look at the brunette.

"What are you doing here?" Alyson said softly.

"I heard you screaming. So I want to make sure you're okay." Lucy said as she walked closer to the blonde and let out a smile. Even with the dim lighting, she could tell that the blonde had been crying.

Alyson stayed silent and allowed the brunette to continue.

"I…couldn't sleep and I wanted to see you." Lucy confessed and stepped closer to wrap her arms around the tall blonde.

Realizing that the brunette felt the same way, Alyson pulled her in closer, sobbing happily and softly onto her shoulder. When the brunette barged in, it was like someone up above was listening to her. Her last thought before she screamed out loud was wishing the brunette were here and there she was…appearing right in front of her.

After a moment, the megastar suddenly realized that the brunette might have heard the entire conversation.

"Keira…how long have you been here?"

"Sorry…I didn't mean to eavesdrop." Lucy pulled back. "But you really should remember to lock the door."

"You heard everything?" She said in an embarrassed tone.

Not wanting to embarrass the blonde, Lucy cupped her cheek and rubbed it gently with her thumb. She noticed how tired the megastar was by her red rimmed puffy eyes. She leaned forward and placed a short gentle kiss on her lips.

"It's late. Let's go to sleep."

After taking a quick shower and changing into her pajamas top and shorts, Lucy smiled when she saw the blonde was already sleeping peacefully. This time, she chose to sleep on the same bed with the blonde. Lucy slowly slipped underneath the blanket, careful not to disrupt the tired blonde from her needed sleep, and closed her heavy eyelids. After a short moment, her eyes rapidly moved under her eyelids. Something was preventing her from falling into a deep sleep. Lucy managed to open her eyes a little but couldn't see anything in the darkness.

"Wha..zz that sound?" With her eyelids drooping, Lucy mumbled in a low voice to herself. She wasn't expecting anyone else to respond and was surprised when she did get a response.

"next door."

"whaaat?" Lucy whispered. Her mind wasn't fully awake.

She blinked a few times to get adjusted to the light that the blonde had just switched on.

"They've been doing that since I came back. That's why I couldn't sleep." Alyson said in a tired voice.

Lucy sat up and rubbed her eyes. When she realized what that sound was, Lucy dropped her jaws and turned to look at the blonde who was smiling at her.

"Are they?"

"mmhhmm"

"Oh…my…god…" Lucy said slowly. That's the sound of a couple having sex in the next room. Lucy covered her ears when she heard the screaming and moaning from the couple next door.

"What kind of shitty hotel is this? How could the walls be so thin?"

With mouth agape, the megastar immediately covered her mouth and sat up.

"Keira, you don't think they heard us in the other room, do you?"

"no…no…we weren't that loud…." Lucy tried to convince her. She herself wasn't but the megastar was kind of loud. "…and that's an executive suite, there are no rooms next to the bedroom.

"Right…right…" Alyson felt a little better.

Unable to stand the noise anymore, Lucy banged on the walls.

"What are you doing?" Alyson whispered.

"If I can't get any, then they can't either."

"Keiraaaa!"

"What?…." Lucy turned and noticed the blonde's cheeks instantly turned red. It took her a few seconds to realize what elicited that kind of reaction on the blonde.

"no…no…I mean…sleep, if I can't get any sleep…." She wanted to let the blonde know she didn't come back just for sex. _God._

"Oh…" Alyson cleared her throat. She remembered that she did promise the brunette that she'd make it up to her. But having worked all day, all she wanted to do was to get some sleep.

While Lucy kept on banging on the walls, Alyson lay back down on the pillow and looked at the brunette. She couldn't control herself from laughing quietly at what the brunette was doing.

After punching on the wall a few more times, Lucy got tired and lay back down on the pillow.

"We should get another room tomorrow." Lucy said and let out a deep breath.

"Tomorrow?" Alyson wasn't expecting the brunette to stay for another night.

"I don't know how long I can stay." She shifted her body closer and kissed her gently on her forehead. "I want to…spend more time with you too."

Snuggling closer to the brunette, Alyson placed her head on the brunette's shoulder.

With her hands wrapped around her, Lucy closed her eyes, feeling the blonde's warm body close to hers.

"I'm…leaving…this Friday."

That was unexpected. With the way things were going with Jean Claude, she had a feeling that they weren't going to get a response from him for at least a week. There are things that she would need to do with Scud and Anthony, but she feels that she would be able to spend more time with the megastar. But now, this caught her by surprise. Lucy pulled the blonde closer and shut her eyes tight to hold in her tears. She placed a kiss on her head to let her know that she will be here with her until she leaves.

Resting her head on the brunette's shoulder, Alyson closed her eyes. A drop of tear flowed down from the corner of her eye. Not wanting to ruin the mood, she quickly brushed her tears away and changed the subject.

"Do you hear that? They stopped."

"Thank God."

Not wanting the brunette to see her tears, Alyson turned off the lights and returned back to the previous position.

"Do you have to work tomorrow?" Now that she knows that they won't have much time together, Lucy wants to spend as much time with her as she can.

"Are you going to follow me again?"

"You saw me? where?" Lucy wasn't happy that she had been found out.

"at the studio"

"Oh…" Lucy let out a little laugh when she realized how the blonde knew. She didn't get caught. She allowed herself to be caught. After she got off the phone call with Anthony, what she wanted at that moment was for the blonde to turn around so they could see each other one last time. So she stood near the building, next to the taxi, and hoped the blonde would turn around. But she didn't. It must have been after she got inside the taxi.

"What's so funny?"

"I thought you saw me at the bridge."

"You were at the bridge?…" Alyson pondered for a moment. "it was you…you did that…" She realized why that guy with the knife suddenly screamed. "Why didn't you….mmm…never mind…" She understood why the brunette didn't come out to show herself. In the darkness, she reached up to feel the brunette's face and placed a long kiss on her cheek to thank her.

After a short moment, exhaustion took over and both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Chapter 27: Chapter 27**

* * *

**Chapter 27**

After nine hours of sleep, Lucy would have been able to continue sleeping peacefully with the blonde lying close to her if it wasn't for the annoying noise.

"What…the…hell?" Lucy groaned as she opened her eyes, squinting and rubbing them.

The megastar stretched her arms and yawned loudly. Blinking and rubbing her eyes, she smiled at the annoyed brunette.

"Oh…my…God!" Lucy said in a husky voice and covered her ears to block the same moaning and screaming sound from the room next door.

"I have to go to work." Alyson said with a smile before getting off the bed.

As Lucy was about to ask her when she would be back, her cell phone rang. She let out a sigh, knowing that it must be Scud. She picked up the phone as she watched the blonde headed to the bathroom.

"Hello."

"Where are you?" Scud asked. He wasn't worried. He was curious to know why she left last night.

"I'm fine. Scud. What's up?"

"What's up? Lucy, did you forget what we have to do today?"

Lucy wants to hang up the phone as quickly as possible before the blonde comes back since she doesn't want Scud to know where she is.

"Did you find him?…..okay….I'll meet you there." Lucy hung up and quickly got dressed.

While waiting for the blonde to come out of the bathroom, she took all the sheets out of the other bed to make it look like someone had slept on it and checked the room for bugs since she wasn't sure if the blonde remembered to do that last night. Lucy checked the living room and did the same to the bathroom after Alyson came out.

xxxxxxxxx

Standing at the door, both were ready to head out.

"When are you coming back?" Lucy asked. She wasn't sure when she would be back herself. But if the megastar would be back early, she was thinking of making an effort to do the same.

"I'm not sure. Depends how it goes…"

Noticing the disappointment on the brunette's face, she leaned in to kiss her cheek.

"Oh shoot…"

"What?" Lucy said when she saw the blonde quickly reached into her bag.

The megastar took out a tissue and wiped the lipstick off the brunette's face.

"I don't have lipstick on." Lucy whispered and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her cheek. She planned on doing just that, but when she took in a sniff of her captivating scent, she couldn't control herself and continued to place soft kisses down on her neck. "You smell nice."

"It's my new perfume." She tilted her head to allow the brunette to kiss her throat.

"Keira…I…I really have to go…they're going to come up, looking for me." Even after spending a few nights with her, the brunette could still make her heart race out of control.

"See you tonight." Lucy wanted to let her know that she will be waiting for her no matter how late. She wasn't expecting to continue where they left off. She just wanted to spend more time with her.

Alyson did promise the brunette she'd make it up to her. But not knowing what time she would be back, she would have to break that promise again. "I might be back after midnight."

"Why so late?"

"I have…to…" Alyson stopped and wondered if she should tell her. She decided not to. "I have to go. Don't wait up." She was about to place a kiss on her lips but stopped when she remembered that she had lipstick on. She quickly opened the door and headed outside, leaving the brunette wondering what she was doing tonight.

* * *

Sitting inside a rented car parked on the street near Jehan's apartment, Anthony and Scud waited for the criminal mastermind to join them.

When Lucy entered the car, Scud immediately asked where she went.

"I couldn't sleep, so I just went out to relax my mind."

"But you didn't come back." He spoke in a tone where all could tell that he was upset and worried.

"I just stayed in a hotel nearby."

Scud stayed silent and frowned at the brunette.

"I'm fine. Scud. I just had something to do. Okay?" Lucy didn't want lie to him but didn't want to explain herself either.

"Guys." Anthony pointed to the front. "Let's follow him."

After following him for twenty minutes, they noticed that they weren't the only ones following him.

"What should we do?" Scud asked.

"Don't worry. I got it covered." Anthony took out his phone and made a call. "slow down that blue sedan."

Shortly afterwards, a car cut in front of the blue sedan and another car blocked it from changing to the left lane. Lucy looked behind and saw that it was way behind them.

The ride took another thirty minutes and they arrived to a house in a secluded area near the woods.

While they waited for Anthony's men to catch up, Scud took out his laptop and found that the house belong to an elderly woman.

"Do you think he's here to meet Benjamin?" Lucy asked.

"If he is, that would save us a lot of trouble." Anthony said.

Once the men got there, Lucy requested a gun.

"Why?" Anthony asked.

"What do you mean why?" Lucy planned on confronting Jehan herself.

"Lucy, my guys will take care of it." Anthony said. "There's no need for you to show yourself."

Lucy saw his men and the woman, whom she talked to last night, holding guns passed by her.

"We're not here to kill him."

"Don't worry, they're tranquilizers."

After a moment, Anthony received a call from his guys telling them that it was all set to go inside.

Anthony put the speaker on his phone on. Lucy informed them that an elderly woman might be inside and get Jehan out of the house if they can.

Inside the car, all three listened intently.

"We've got him. There's an old woman and her nurse inside." Anthony's man spoke on the phone.

"Who's the woman?"

"His mother, boss."

"Ask him where the package is." Anthony said.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jehan said.

Inside the car, all three shook their heads and rolled their eyes.

"Beat the crap out of him." Lucy said. "But don't kill him."

Cries of pain and screams were heard from the phone.

"Okay, that's enough. Ask him if he's holding some kind of evidence against Jean Claude."

"No…I don't know…" Jehan let out a few coughs. "….what you're talking about."

"Threatened to kill his mother." Anthony said.

His men did as told.

"NO!…I swear….I don't have what you're looking for….I don't know what you're talking about….Please…I swear…"

They could tell that he was in pain from the sound of his voice.

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Scud asked. He couldn't tell by listening to the voice.

"There's only one way to find out." Lucy said. She took the phone and told Anthony's man to repeat exactly what she said.

"I'm going to ask you a question. If you're lying, you'll know what's going to happen to you and your mother. Think carefully before you answer. Where…is….Benjamin…Couric?"

All three stayed quiet to listen to his response.

"He's…he's…with Jean Claude. I don't know where….I'm telling the truth…I swear….Please…"

"Shoot. He doesn't have anything." Lucy said.

"Ask him why Jean Claude is protecting him." Scud asked. Both Lucy and Anthony nodded and thought that he should know the answer.

"They've known each other for a long time. They've been helping each other."

"Damn it!" Lucy shouted when she realized that there was no incriminating evidence against the mafia leader.

"Ask him if Jean Claude knows about the scam?" Scud spoke on the phone.

"No…" Jehan immediately responded.

"Well, that son of a bitch. He lied to everyone." Anthony said.

After getting all the information they needed, they drove back to Paris.

Sitting on a table outside of the restaurant, Lucy, Scud, and Anthony talked about what to do next while eating their lunch. While Lucy and Anthony were enjoying their lunch, Scud looked uncomfortable eating out in the open instead of inside the restaurant.

"Scud, relax." Lucy said.

"How can I relax? We're in Paris. Look at all these people." Wanting to get out of there as quickly as he can, Scud took a big bite of his sandwich, then another.

"Scud, we're not fugitives. I had a deal with them. If we get caught, they'll take care of it."

"Yea? what makes you think they're not going to change their mind?"

"because they want him…he's more important than us." Lucy assured him. "Now sit back and relax. You look like a criminal." She whispered.

"relax…man" Anthony smiled and patted his back.

"Well, what can we do?" Lucy said as she took a drink of water.

"Nothing. We just have to wait for his call." Anthony said as he put a french fry in his mouth.

"All this waiting is driving me nuts." Lucy let out a big sigh.

"I know. Lucy, it's only been a day. We'll get him. Okay?" Anthony tried to comfort her.

After eating lunch, they decided to take a stroll in the busy streets of Paris. As they turned around the corner, they saw a crowd of people in the middle of a pedestrian walkway. Out of curiosity, Anthony walked towards the crowd with Lucy following from behind.

"Hey…there are police there." Scud whispered when he saw 3 police officers looking at the crowd. He rolled his eyes when no one paid any attention to him.

Standing behind the crowd, Anthony couldn't see a thing.

"What are they looking at?" Lucy asked.

"Can't see." Anthony responded.

* * *

When three big guys and police officers walked towards the crowd, the people began to move back and stepped away from the café. Then someone announced on the speaker and spoke in French asking the people to move back and stand along the other side of the wall. Anthony and Lucy followed the crowd.

Line dividers were placed in the middle of the street and a few men and police officers stood near it to prevent people from crossing it. Acting like one of the law abiding citizens, Anthony and Lucy stood still, waiting to see what the crowd was looking at. Lucy turned to see where Scud was and saw that he was far away at the end of the crowd. When the person came out, everyone screamed and called out her name.

"It's her!" Anthony said, extremely happy to be to see the hot sexy star again.

"Oh." Lucy said when she saw the megastar waving to the crowd.

When she saw Anthony waving his hands to the megastar, Lucy immediately pulled his arm down.

"What are you doing?" She whispered.

"What do you think I'm doing? I want her to see me." Anthony kept waving his hand. "My god...she's so...hot."

"keep your hormones down. Old guy."

"I'm not that old. Besides, she might be interested in older guys."

_I doubt it. _Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Here she comes. Here she comes." When Anthony whistled loudly, Lucy covered her eyes. "she saw us."

She pulled her hand down away from her eyes. _Yup. She saw us. _

"Hi" She mouthed and smiled as she waived with her right hand. Alyson smiled back and continued waving to the crowd.

With so many people around, she was surprised that the blonde recognized her. Lucy looked up and noticed Anthony was smiling with excitement as he stared at the hot young megastar. Then suddenly she felt someone tapping on her shoulder.

"Keira!"

As soon as she turned around, she felt a pair of arms wrapped around her tightly.

"Hi…Alexis." She's not surprised that Alexis wasn't afraid to show her emotion even though there were so many people around. However, she was surprised when Alexis kissed her on the cheek.

"Umm…Alexis…we're in public."

Alexis pulled back, took her hand and pulled her towards the back of the crowd. The people in the back happily took her place.

With her back leaning against the wall, Alexis hugged her one more time.

"I was so worried about you." Alexis said. With everyone screaming and shouting for the megastar, no one was paying attention to them. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…I…mmphh" Lucy was unable to continue when Alexis planted a kiss on her lips.

Surprised with the kiss, Lucy immediately pulled back. _Oh shit. _Lucy quickly turned around to see if the megastar saw them, but she couldn't see a thing with the people in front of them.

"Let's talk somewhere else." Lucy took her hand and led her out of the crowd. When she looked back, she saw the megastar looking at her. Even though she's waving and smiling, Lucy knew that she must have seen them. _Shoot._ This was not how she wanted to spend the last few days with the megastar. When they turned around the corner, Lucy looked around to see if they were being watched.

"Where are they?" Lucy knew that the Head of Division 16 had sent someone to protect them.

"They?" It took a moment for Alexis to figure out who she was talking about. "They're not with me. Dad hired two bodyguards." She pointed to the direction of the men who were walking towards them. Alexis extended her hand, motioning them to stop.

"How's Michel? Does he need any help?"

Alexis reached up to cup her face and smiled sweetly at her savior. "Keira, do you need any help?"

Lucy reached up to hold her hands. "You already did."

"Well, if you need me to create any more of those types of distraction, you just let me know." Alexis smiled wide.

"Thank you. I don't think that would be necessary."

"I'm sorry." Alexis said sympathetically as she looked into her eyes.

"Alexis, I told you before it's not your fault…"

"No…I mean…about Kristin."

"You...saw her."

Alyson shook her head. "I heard from my father. He ran into her the other day."

Lucy nodded in understanding, realizing why Alexis asked if she was okay.

"It wouldn't have worked out anyways." She swallowed to relieve the sharp pain she suddenly felt in her heart.

"I'm so sorry." Alexis hugged her to comfort her.

"I'm fine. As long as she's okay, that's all it matters."

Alexis pulled back to look directly at the brunette.

"Is it because of who you are? Is that why she doesn't want to be with you?" She wanted to know the reason why Kristin chose to leave her. "Keira, I don't care…and I don't mind….I…"

Lucy knew exactly what she wanted to say. She reached up to cup her cheeks.

"Alexis…she didn't leave me because of who I am. She doesn't mind either. It's something else."

Lucy pulled her in and hugged her tight. "I'm sorry." She apologized for not being able to return her love.

Alexis shook her head onto her shoulder. "I'm sorry." She apologized for thinking that Kristin broke up with her because of her true identity.

The sound of someone clearing his throat nearby caught her attention. She turned and saw that it was Scud. But Scud wasn't smiling at all. He tilted his head and when he moved aside, Lucy could see who else was looking at them from 15 feet away. _Oh Jesus. Why are you doing this to me?_

Lucy moved one step away from Alexis as her eyes fixated on the blonde. _She looked pissed. _ Lucy knew she had a lot of explaining to do.

"Cut!" The director yelled from several feet away. "Good take! That was perfect!"

Even after yelling cut, the megastar continued to stand there, staring at the brunette. They could tell that she wasn't happy. Others thought she was still in the acting mode. Lucy swallowed hard. She wanted to explain right away but knew that this wasn't the right time for both of them. All she could do was say 'I can explain. It's not what you think.' in silence and hoped the megastar could understand her lip movement.

"Hi!" Anthony said as he waved to the megastar.

Alyson waved back and smiled and headed back to where the director wanted her.

"Isn't she gorgeous, man?" Anthony said to Scud and continued to stare at the megastar.

"mhm…she sure is." Scud responded as he looked at the brunette. "Isn't she, Keira?"

Lucy cleared her throat and rolled her eyes at Scud. She knew he figured out where she was last night.

"she's alright."

"alright? C'mon, look at her. She's sizzling hot."

"Keira, I have to agree with him. She's not just all right, she's beautiful." She too stared at the megastar. "But I think you're more attractive, though."

When Anthony heard the comment from the girl, he turned around and immediately noticed the way she was looking at Lucy. He cleared his throat and introduced himself.

"I'm Anthony." He extended his hand out.

Alexis shook his hand and Lucy introduced her.

"Anthony? Is he the one who saved us?" Alexis asked and Lucy nodded.

To thank him, Alexis gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek.

"Wow." Anthony said as he scanned the pretty girl from top to bottom. "If I knew who I was saving, she didn't have to ask, I would have gladly volunteered."

"Thank you. But sorry, my heart belongs to her." Alexis said as she clung her hand around Lucy's arm.

Lucy shook her head and smiled at the girl. _Did she really have to be so straightforward?_

"Oh really…" Anthony smiled and winked at the brunette. "I like her. She's really direct…unlike Nadia….now I know why…"

"Anthony…" Lucy frowned at him. _Oh my God. Why did he say that? _

"Who's Nadia?" Alexis asked. "Wait…Nadia…isn't she Ethan's sister? The one you saved."

"yes…and…actually…he saved her…" Lucy didn't want to take any credit when Anthony is here.

"Yours truly" Anthony raised his hand.

Surprised with the information, Alexis stepped forward and placed another light kiss on his cheek. "Thank you...for saving all of us."

Lucy rolled his eyes when she saw Anthony moving his eyebrows up and down.

Scud felt a little left out. "Hey! I helped too."

Alexis smiled and placed a light kiss on Scud's cheek.

"…and of course, you too." Instead of kissing the brunette on the cheek, she grabbed her head and pulled her in for a passionate kiss.

With mouths agape, Scud and Anthony stared at them in disbelief.

"mmmpphh….…Alexis, we're in public." Lucy looked around to see if the megastar was nearby. She let out a big sigh of relief when she didn't see the blonde.

"Sorry…it's just that I'm not going to see you again…am I?"

Seeing the sad look on the girl's face, Anthony excused himself to give them time alone.

"Hey listen, I'm going to go." He motioned with his thumb towards the direction of the megastar. "I'll meet up with you guys later. Okay? …and ah…nice to meet you…Alexis.."

Taking the hint, Scud also excused himself and joined Anthony to watch the megastar at work.

Not wanting to be caught by the megastar again, Lucy took Alexis' hand and led her far away from their current location.

With their hands held together, they continued walking with no particular destination in mind. Her bodyguards followed from behind.

"Are you hungry?" Lucy asked and Alexis shook her head.

As they passed by some shops, Lucy bought 2 large blankets and some snacks. As they continued walking, Alexis was surprised when she finally realized why the brunette bought those things. In front of her was a large public park. There were only a few people in the afternoon on a weekday. Lucy took her hand and led her to a quiet area under the tree. While Lucy placed the blankets on the grass, Alexis told her bodyguards to give them some privacy.

Lying on the blanket, both admired the beautiful view of the blue sunny sky. Alexis took the brunette's hand away from her stomach and lay her head on her shoulder. Lucy smiled and allowed the straightforward young lady to snuggle close to her. Alexis then pulled the second blanket over them. Underneath the blanket, Alexis hung her hand over the brunette's abdomen. When she came out this morning, she never thought that she would be able to see her again. She looked around for anyone passing by before leaning in to kiss the brunette on the cheek. What she wanted to do was to kiss her on the lips, but decided not to because she was afraid that the brunette might want to leave if she did. She placed her head gently on her shoulder and relished the moment, the last moment they will have together. With her eyes closed, Lucy felt relaxed as she breathed in the fresh summer air. She tried not to think of anyone or anything else and give this moment to the woman who's so in love with her.

After a long moment of lying close together, Alexis broke the silence.

"Keira…." Alexis said as her hand rubbed gently on the brunette's abs. "Does Nadia like you too?"

Lucy immediately opened her eyes, surprised with her question.

"She's...very nice. If you get to meet her, promise me, be nice to her, try to be her friend. She's a little shy, she's a chef…and she…."

"You didn't answer my question."

Lucy tried to avoid the question, but knew she couldn't.

"mmm…probably because she thought I saved her and her brother…."

"Keira, I can't be her friend."

_Maybe I should've just said no. _Lucy thought to herself. "Why?"

"Her father and brother died because of my grandfather. How do you expect her to be friends with me?

Lucy turned to lay on her side.

"Alexis, it's going to be difficult for her to forgive at first, but I know…she will be able to accept you, Michel and Ashley eventually. If you have a chance to meet her someday, will you at least try to be friends with her?"

"Do you like her?"

Lucy saw no point in answering her question.

"She's not like you. She needs friends like you to give her confidence. She…" Lucy wondered if she should tell her. She lay on her back and looked at the sky.

"Her family doesn't know that she's…like us. She has been hiding it all her life. She said her parents wouldn't understand if she told them."

"You didn't answer my question."

"If you get a chance to meet her someday…." Lucy couldn't continue when Alexis suddenly planted an open mouth kiss on her lips.

After a moment, Alexis pulled back and hovered over her face. "Okay…for you…I'll try to be friends with her."

"Thank you." Lucy smiled back. "…and one more thing, you've gotta watch out for her stubborn brother."

Alexis let out a chuckle. "Why? Did he fall for you too?"

When Lucy let out a lopsided smile, Alexis dropped her jaws. "You're kidding?" It wasn't hard to believe since the brunette is gorgeous. It reminded her of her friend's brother who fell for her. Do they know?"

"Yes, before I left. He was quite shocked to find out about her sister…and me."

Lucy continued to talk about them, what they do, what they're like, and the funny things that happened at the island. When she told her what happened before she left, Lucy herself laughed out loud as the memories flowed into her mind. She was expecting Alexis to laugh with her but was surprised to see a blank expression on her face.

"she kissed you to show her brother that she's gay?"

Seeing the look on Alexis' face, Lucy realized that maybe she shouldn't have told her. No woman likes to hear the one they love kissed someone else. _Oh no. Alyson's not going to forgive me._

"Well…she didn't have the courage to tell him, so she kissed me to show him…like a goodbye kiss."

"a goodbye kiss?"

"mmhmm…"

"You mean like this." With her top half of the body lying on top of the brunette, Alexis leaned in to give her a peck on the lips. "Keira, that kiss can't convince her brother that she's gay."

"mmm…no…not like that…a longer kiss…"

"You mean like this." She planted a closed mouth kiss on her lips that lasted for 5 seconds.

"If a girl kissed me like that, that doesn't make her gay. She probably wants to see what kissing a girl feels like."

What Alexis just said reminded her of the megastar when she kissed her on the plane. The megastar said the same thing. She wanted to feel what it's like to kiss a girl. That's why it surprised the heck out of her when the megastar was willing to go all the way with her.

"mmm…no…she didn't kiss me like that…"

Alexis then pulled the blanket over their heads and leaned in to kiss the brunette. It started out as a soft gentle kiss, then she deepened the kiss.

"mmphh..." Lucy could feel Alexis' tongue in her mouth and tried to push her away. That was too much. Alexis pulled back to catch her breath. She lifted the blanket off her head and lay her head back down. Panting heavily, both looked up at the sky as they inhaled air into their lungs.

"like that?" Alexis said, breathing heavily.

"yea...like that..." Lucy didn't expect her to do that.

"She's…definitely…gay." Alexis said. That was more intense than the kiss she gave her friend whose brother wouldn't believe that she's gay.

Lucy knew what Alexis was trying to do. It wasn't because Alexis didn't believe Nadia was gay. What Alexis wanted was one last unforgettable kiss.

Later, Lucy got up and took out some snacks she bought earlier.

"Do you want some?"

"Sure." Alexis sat up.

Lucy noticed there was a spider crawling on the blanket towards Alexis. When Alexis saw what she was looking at, she took a napkin and carefully grabbed the spider and dropped it on the grass.

What would the megastar do at this moment? Screamed out loud in her high pitched voice. _That's what she would have done. _Lucy let out a smile._  
_

"You know, I would have just killed it." Lucy said.

"No you wouldn't. If it doesn't bother you, you would have just let it go."

Lucy thought about what she said and realized that she's right. If the spiders didn't bother the megastar so much, she would have just let it go.

"You're right." Lucy said and laughed internally. She had told herself to give this moment to Alexis and not think of anyone else, yet she couldn't control herself from thinking of the megastar.

When Lucy stretched her arms, Alexis immediately walked behind her and massaged her shoulders.

"Alexis, you don't have to."

"I want to…this is all I could do for you." She whispered as she squeezed her tight shoulders. "Here…lay down."

Lucy didn't feel that it was appropriate to do this in public but since there wasn't anyone around except the bodyguards who were standing far far away, she lay down with her front facing the ground.

As her tense neck was being massaged, her eyelids spontaneously closed. It wasn't as comfortable as being on the bed, but her stiff sore shoulders felt really good at the moment. After her back was done, Alexis told her to turn around. As her thighs and legs were being massaged, Lucy opened her eyes and gazed at the young woman.

_If she knew what I was going to do to her grandfather, would she still love me the same way? If I tell her, she would probably try to convince me to let it go. Killing him wouldn't bring Amy back, that's what she would say. But I can't just let him go. It bothers me so much; I can't go on living. I can't_. _He has to die. _

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"hmm? What did you say?" Alexis said as she massaged her right arm.

"Can you…forgive me?" Lucy said in a serious tone.

Alexis stopped. Her eyebrows creased as she looked at the brunette. As she waited for her to continue, she wondered what the brunette wanted forgiveness for.

"Keira, what's wrong?" She leaned forward and gently rubbed the brunette's cheek with her thumb.

"I…I can't…"

Alexis listened intently as she looked at the beautiful face in front of her. Knowing that this could be their last time together, she tried to remember every detail.

"…stay…"

Alexis leaned in to kiss her soft lips.

"I know." She smiled gently at her. "Do you have to go now?"

That wasn't what Lucy wanted to say. But she knew she couldn't tell her. Lucy took a look at her watch.

"not yet."

Locking her hands behind her head, Lucy closed her eyes while Alexis continued to massage her legs. She didn't have anywhere else to go. She was just waiting for Anthony or Scud to call her back. She wondered if they're still watching the megastar at this moment. _Shoot. Alyson said she wouldn't be back until after midnight. After midnight, I would be too tired to explain what happened. She would be too tired to even listen to me. She would probably kick me out of the room._ _Do I need to get my own room just in case? _Lucy let out a big sigh.

While she was thinking of the megastar, she didn't realize what happened until she felt something heavy on top of her.

"umm…Alexis, what are you doing?" Lying on top of her was Alexis and a blanket covering both of them. That was definitely not what she had in mind when she bought the two blankets.

Alexis placed a gentle kiss on her cheek before laying her head on her chest.

"Sshhhh" Alexis pressed her body against the brunette and held onto her waist to prevent her from moving. "just for a little while…I'm not going to do anything." Alexis said as she closed her eyes. With her head leaning on the brunette's chest, she could hear the rhythm of her heart. With her body pressed against hers, she could feel the softness, the bumps, and the curves of the brunette's body.

_Right. That's what the megastar said last time. _

"people could be watching."

Alexis looked around and didn't see anyone. Even if there were, she wouldn't care. She smiled at the brunette for picking such a quiet secluded area.

"There's no one around….I promise. I'm not going to do anything." She returned to her previous position and laid her head back on her chest, feeling the rise and fall of her chest.

When she tried to push her off, she felt Alexis holding her tighter. After a few tries, Lucy finally gave up. She looked to the left and then the right and around to make sure there's no one around. She really doesn't want any surprises at this moment. She prayed that the megastar doesn't suddenly appear.

"Keira….we're going to England after this over."

Lucy wasn't surprised. "Good…You can spend more time with your mother."

Alexis slowly lifted her head up. "How did you….?" When she saw the smile on the brunette's face, she remembered who she was talking to. She laid her head back down on her chest.

"Will you come visit me if you have a chance?"

"Of course we will." Lucy immediately responded.

With her hands hung around the woman on top of her, Lucy looked up at the blue white sky. She wasn't thinking of anything, just watching planes and birds fly by. Alexis got her wish, lying comfortably on top of the brunette. With her eyes closed, she savored the moment. After a long moment of silence, she let out a smile as a thought appeared in her mind.

"Don't forget me."

Lucy frowned in confusion, wondering why she would say that. "How can I forget you? You…are the only woman who ever asked me out while I was eating my lunch."

Alexis moved her body up and hovered over the brunette's face. "I don't want to be remembered as that. I was thinking of…leaving a mark on your body so you won't forget me."

"You mean, like a tattoo. No way…I don't think so." Lucy isn't too fond of needles.

That's not what Alexis was thinking of. But it was a good idea.

"You don't have any tattoos?"

"No."

"Oh" It surprised her that she didn't have one. She thought all gang members, especially the leader, would have at least one.

"mmm, that's not what I was thinking of. I was thinking of leaving a mark on your arm or…"

"a mark?"

Alexis nodded and took her arm. When Lucy saw what she was about to do, she quickly pulled back. "Alexis, I don't need a bite mark to remember you."

"Then how about this." She pulled the blanket over their heads and leaned in to whisper into her ear.

Lucy couldn't hear what she was saying but when she felt wet kisses on her neck, a hand caressing her breast and her private part was being…_oh god…_she figured out what Alexis said to her. This has gone way too far. Lucy quickly rolled over on top of her body and grabbed the hand that was on her breast.

"You want to be on top? Well, why don't you say so?" Alexis wasn't embarrassed at all about what happened.

"Very funny." Lucy shook her head at the fearless young woman. She then stood up and helped Alexis up.

Since Anthony hasn't called yet and it's still early, Lucy asked where she would like to go. Alexis pondered for a moment. She then looked inside her wallet and then closed it.

"Let's walk around."

As they took a stroll through the streets of Paris, Alexis held onto the brunette's hand. Wearing sunglasses and a hat, Lucy stayed alert to see if they were being followed. She learned from Anthony that a few of the mafia leaders are aware that Benjamin Couric is still alive and knows that Jean Claude is protecting him. Those who fell into his scam aren't willing to go against Jean Claude. So how are they going to get their money back? Will they go after Michel or do they think Jean Claude is protecting them too? If he is protecting them, then why did Lionel dare to go after them? Lucy stopped when her hand was held back. Standing near the Eiffel Tower surrounded by tourists, she turned to look at the extrovert. Following her line of sight, she noticed that Alexis was focusing her attention at a horse ride carriage passing by.

"Alexis?"

Alexis turned to look at the brunette and both continued walking, hand in hand. When they passed by street artists, Alexis had wanted to have their face drawn together, but Lucy explained why it wasn't a good idea. That was how she got captured, but Lucy didn't tell her that. Alexis was disappointed but she understood. In front of them, when Lucy saw a couple getting off a horse carriage, she walked quickly towards it and pulled the fearless girl with her.

She had ridden in one of these many years ago with Amy and wasn't sure what the cost would be now. Luckily, she got more than enough cash from Anthony to go on a one-hour ride through Paris.

After telling her bodyguards to come back to the same place after an hour, Alexis hopped on to the carriage. Under the shades of the carriage, she held onto the brunette's arm and leaned her head against her shoulder. They lived in Paris so they weren't really paying attention to the surroundings. Riding in one of these with the one she loved felt so different than riding it with her family.

As they rode through the streets of Paris, Lucy saw people looking at them. But she wasn't afraid of being recognized. She had sunglasses and a hat on and with the shades from the carriage. It was impossible for people to even see what she looked like. What they were staring at is two women sitting very close together, one with her head leaning on the other's shoulder and their fingers intertwined. Lucy didn't care what others think nor did Alexis. It's not like they were making out. Even if they were, Alexis wouldn't give a damn. Lucy turned to look at the bold girl leaning against her shoulder. Her eyes were closed. Her sweet smile reminded her of Alyson when they rode on the gondola in Venice.

"Jesus" Lucy said when she realized that she again spontaneously thought about the megastar. What she really wanted to do right now is explain to the blonde why she was hugging another woman. But she knew she couldn't, not now.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the street that was not that crowded, Anthony stood at the front of the crowd and locked his eyes at the blonde while Scud leaned his back against the wall by himself with his arms crossed. He had been standing there for almost an hour, waiting for Anthony and Lucy. He didn't mind waiting since they had nothing else planned. But he found it extremely funny and ridiculous at the same time when he saw the powerful leader Anthony was star struck and mesmerized by the beautiful megastar.

_If he only knew._ Scud smiled to himself. He wasn't sure what happened between his friend and the blonde. But when he saw the face on the megastar when she saw Lucy hugging another woman, he had a feeling that something was going on between them. Where did she go last night? Why was she acting so strange? All these questions were answered when he saw the megastar. And of course, when he saw the brunette's lip movement 'I can explain. It's not what you think.', that alone confirmed that something was going on between them, something serious. _ "_Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, what are you going to do?"

"Cut! Good take!" The director said loudly.

After a moment, the megastar approached the crowd and Anthony being taller and bigger than most of the females, he got to be the first one to have his picture taken. After getting her autograph signed on his shirt and hand, Anthony finally gave the others a chance and left the crowd.

"Wow! Look at this." Anthony showed the picture on his phone to Scud.

"Can we go now?" Scud controlled his urge to roll his eyes.

Anthony looked around. "Where is she?"

"She didn't come back yet."

"Oh…then let's wait for her here." Anthony said and turned to look at the megastar.

_Oh my God. _Scud thought to himself.

"I'm going to ask her out." Anthony smiled while looking at the blonde.

"What! Are you crazy!" Scud said so loud, the people nearby stared at him. " She's not going to go out with you. She's a superstar." He whispered.

"Yes…so…I have to try. It's okay if she says no. But I have to try."

"Anthony, you're almost twice her age. You know what she's going to say. Why do you even bother?"

"hey, some girls like older men…and I don't look my age. You don't know until you try. That's why you're still single. You should take my advice. Even if something looks obvious, you should still give it a try."

_I'm not single. I'm just waiting for Janet. _Scud let out a big sigh. There was nothing he could do to stop Anthony from making a fool of himself.

"Did Lucy tell you we ran into her last night? I…got to dance with her." Anthony said happily as he moved his hands and body like he was dancing. "Whoa!…she's so beautiful…and her singing is not too bad either."

Scud immediately slapped his own forehead. _Oh my God.  
_

After a moment, the crowd ran after the megastar as she headed for her car. Surrounded by two big guys and the police, the megastar was able to safely enter the car parked on the end of the street.

"Shoot…She's leaving. Scud…let's follow her." Without waiting for Scud, Anthony grabbed a taxi. There wasn't enough time to go back to get his car that was parked on another street. He quickly threw his car keys to Scud and asked the driver to follow the megastar's suv.

"Oh my god, what is he doing?" Scud didn't expect the leader of criminal organization to do that. _He must be really lonely. _"Now what am I going to do?"

* * *

When she saw her bodyguards standing at the familiar place at the end of the street, Alexis knew the ride was almost coming to an end.

Feeling that this might be their last moment together, she locked her eyes on the brunette's and held her hand tightly, unwilling to let her go just yet. As they gazed into each other's eyes, the buzzing of Lucy's phone broke their gaze. Thinking that it might be urgent, Lucy quickly took the call.

"Okay." Lucy said calmly on the phone. After telling Scud where she was, she hung up. "Alexis, I…have to go."

The carriage stopped at the red light. Alexis reached up to cup her cheek and looked directly into the brunette's mesmerizing eyes. With a small smile, she thanked the lord for giving her one last moment with the brunette.

"One last time…" She whispered.

Lucy smiled at those three words and leaned in to kiss her softly on her lips. She pulled back to look into the eyes of one of the most interesting girls she has ever met. As the carriage started moving, she leaned in to give her one last kiss. At this point, Lucy didn't care if anyone was watching them. She didn't stop until the carriage came to a full stop at the end of the long street. Alexis kept on kissing her until she heard the horse cried out 'neigh!' She narrowed her eyes at the driver and wondered if he had hit the horse on purpose to interrupt them.

Lucy let out a small laugh when she saw the disappointed look on Alexis' face. After getting off the carriage, Alexis wanted to stay with the brunette as long as she can and stood there to wait for Scud to pick her up.

"Take care of yourself." Lucy said as she gave her one last hug.

"Thank you for everything."

While they were hugging each other, a loud voice caught their attention. "Lucy!"

"What the hell?" Lucy said in a low voice. She was surprised when she saw Anthony inside the taxi,waving to her. _Why is he in a taxi? _On the phone, Scud just told her that he would be picking her up.

"I have to go. Take care." Lucy said as she stepped backwards slowly.

"I love you."

Without responding, Lucy quickly ran towards the taxi and got inside the car. Once inside the car, she raised her hand and waved goodbye to Alexis for the last time. She wished Alexis didn't say those three words because it made her feel really bad for not being able to return her love. She didn't want to say 'I know' or 'I'm sorry' because she had said that before. She didn't want to say 'I love you too' because she doesn't. So she chose to remain silent.

When she could no longer see Alexis, she turned to the excited grown up in his 40's who wasn't acting anything like his age at this moment.

"What's going on?" Lucy wondered who they're after. "Is it him?" Lucy said when Anthony pointed to the suv in the right lane a couple of cars further down.

That suv looked familiar to her.

"She's in that car." Anthony said as he raised his eyebrows up and down, with the biggest smile on his face.

"Who?"

Not wanting the driver to know, he leaned in to whisper into her ear. When she learned who he was chasing after, her jaws immediately dropped. Numerous thoughts came crashing into her mind. She wasn't surprised about what Anthony was doing. She was thinking about whether the megastar saw her with Alexis.

_How the hell am I going to explain this?_

"Did you see what we were doing back there?" She wanted to know if Anthony saw them kissing. If he did, then the megastar might have to.

"What were you doing? I just saw you hugging her. Were you two doing something else?"

"nope." Lucy immediately responded and cleared her throat. She did feel a little better.

After getting a phone call from Scud, she told him what street they were on.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Why?….because I want to have some fun. I never get to do this when I was younger…all work and no play…I'm getting bored….besides I really want to ask her out." Anthony turned to look at the stunned brunette who was staring at him. "What?"

"Nothing." Lucy shook her head to clear her mind and slumped her back against the seat. She looked at the man in his 40's who's acting like a hormonal teenager. She couldn't tell him about her and the megastar. She couldn't stop him from what he's doing.

"Do you have a plan?"

"plan?..mmm…no…I'll just ask her when she's alone."

"You do realize that she's going to reject you." Lucy held her hands up when she saw his eyes narrowing at her.

"I'm just saying that the chances of her saying yes…to you…are very very slim…like impossible."

"Lucy, out of all the people, I thought you would understand why I'm doing this."

_He's right. _He was talking about her and Amy. If she had listened to the people around her, she and Amy would have never been able to be together.

"Sorry. You're right." Lucy nodded in agreement. She decided to just sit back and neither discourage or encourage him.

After a moment, he told the driver to stop when he saw the megastar getting off the vehicle. When she saw the megastar entering the restaurant with several other people, she realized that the blonde must not have eaten lunch yet.

"Here's my chance." Anthony quickly paid the driver and both got out of the taxi. "Are you coming?" He asked when he saw Lucy was dragging her feet behind him.

_Should I? Damn it. _Lucy inhaled a deep breath and let it out.

"Yes." Since the megastar is leaving soon, she wanted to spend as much time with her as she can even if it's just watching from a distance.

The restaurant was somewhat empty at this hour. Since they already had lunch, they chose to sit at the bar where he could get a good view of the gorgeous megastar. Anthony ordered a plate of fried chicken tenders and a drink for himself. As she took a sip of the non-alcoholic drink, Lucy smiled when she saw the megastar having a good time with her friends. She looked around and noticed that people weren't paying attention to her. Most of them are older men who sat near the bar counter to watch the sports channel. The other people sitting on the tables were chatting amongst themselves. Maybe that's why they chose to eat so late. She wondered.

"Look at that smile." Anthony said as she elbowed the brunette. "That smile is to die for."

"Who are you calling?" Lucy said when she saw him taking his phone out.

"I'm just checking her out on the net. I want to see if she has a fiancé or boyfriend."

"If she does, would you still ask her out?"

"yes…but I don't think she's engaged…." Anthony said as he pressed a few buttons on his phone.

Lucy continued to stare at the blonde. She has a feeling that the conversation that they're going to have tonight wasn't going to go smoothly.

"…hmm…it says here…she has a boyfriend…"

"She does?"

"…and it says she has a few exes…and one of them is 12 years older than her…" His eyes lit up. A big grin appeared on his face. "Hey, I might have a chance."

"Have you checked your passport lately? You are more than 12 years older than her."

Lucy apologized when she saw him narrowing his eyes at her again. "Look…I don't mean to…"

Anthony suddenly stood up.

"Where're you going?" Lucy held on to his forearm.

"How do I look?" Anthony said as he straightened his shirt and smooth back his hair.

"Fine" Lucy responded in a dull tone. There was nothing she could do to stop him. Anthony slowly walked towards the megastar's table.

Lucy could see the surprised look on the blonde's face when she saw Anthony. Everyone on the table stayed silent as Anthony introduced himself to her friends. Lucy let out a small smile and waved to the blonde who wasn't smiling at her. Anthony pulled a chair from another table and sat next to the megastar. Everyone including the megastar turned to look at her. Lucy let out a fake smile and waved to everyone. "Geez Anthony, what are you doing? "

Sitting on the round table, one of the men asked Anthony if the brunette was his girlfriend.

"No…she's just a friend." Anthony let out a small laugh.

"Is she single?" Another man asked.

The woman sitting next to the megastar smiled at the two guys. "They act like they've never seen a pretty woman before." She said to the blonde. Alyson let out a smile and glanced at the brunette. _Even in casual clothing, she looks stunning._

"She's…unavailable." Anthony responded.

When both men let out a disappointed 'Awe' in unison, the woman couldn't prevent herself from laughing out loud.

"The beautiful ones are always taken." One man said.

Anthony immediately turned to the megastar. "Are you…taken?"

Everyone at the table was surprised at his forwardness. They stared at the blonde and waited for her response.

Lucy couldn't hear what they were talking about, but could see that the megastar wasn't comfortable. She wondered if she should interrupt their conversation.

"Actually, I am."

"You are?" Everyone asked in unison.

Her brows creased as she glanced at each of one. "Yes"

"Who is he?" One of the men asked.

"You know I can't tell you."

_Shoot. _Anthony thought to himself.

"How long have you guys been dating? Is it serious?" The woman next to her was anxious to know.

"Oh look, it's time to go." Alyson said as she took a look at her watch.

As she was about to stand up, the woman pulled her back down.

"Okay, okay, no more questions."

Anthony wasn't going to give up so easily.

"Well, whether you're dating or not, you should keep your options open. I…was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me tonight." All eyes and ears focused on the blonde.

Alyson was hoping by telling a lie, he would take the hint.

"She's unavailable tonight." The woman responded for the megastar. "We have to work."

"Yea…lots of work…we probably can't get back until after midnight." One of the men responded as he stretched his arms.

"Oh…what kind of work?" Anthony asked out of curiosity.

"You don't know?" Another man asked. "Wow, I thought everyone in this city knows."

Anthony later explained that he's not from Paris.

"She's having a private concert."

"a concert?" A big grin appeared on Anthony's face. "I like to go. Where do I buy the tickets?"

"Sorry, it's all sold out…in less than 10 minutes." The woman responded.

"You're kidding?" Anthony said with disappointment. "I mean…of course it would be all sold out…because you're hot…I mean…famous…" He corrected himself when he saw everyone staring at him. "Is there any way I could get a ticket?"

All of them shook their heads. One of the men looked at his watch and announced that it's time to go.

When everyone stood up, Anthony took his business card out and gave it to the megastar and her friends.

"Let me know if there are any seats left and I'll be right there. Money is not a problem."

Alyson smiled shyly and shook his hand. "We have to go."

The others were surprised by his title on the business card.

While the others were shaking Anthony's hand and talking to him about his business, Alyson walked towards the exit. She stopped and glared at the brunette who let out an apologetic smile. At the corner of her eyes, Lucy could see that Anthony was still talking to the others. She took the opportunity to approach the blonde.

"I can explain. She's just a friend." Lucy said in a low voice.

"Is she your ex?" Alyson whispered and let out a fake smile so that others wouldn't notice there was anything wrong. If she was her ex, then she could understand why. Some of her exes were also very stubborn.

"She…." When Lucy was about to explain, she saw the group coming this way.

Lucy cleared her throat and extended her hand out. Taking the hint, Alyson shook her hand and let out a fake smile.

She then leaned in to hug the brunette and whispered into her ear.

"You should get yourself another room just in case." Alyson pulled back and let out a smile. She wanted the brunette to know that if she's not satisfied with her explanation, she's not letting her sleep in the same bed or the same room.

_Right._ Lucy nodded in understanding.

After the group left the restaurant, Lucy was curious to know if the megastar agreed to go out with him. If he did, then she must have done it just to piss her off. "So what happened?"

"She said she has a boyfriend and she has to work tonight."

"Oh really…" Lucy smiled internally.

"She's having a private concert tonight. Too bad there aren't any seats left."

"A private concert?" Lucy wondered why the megastar didn't tell her. She would love to see her perform again. "Well, I'm sure you'll get a chance to see her in concert some other time." Lucy tried to comfort him.

Anthony pondered for a moment. "You know what. I can buy her company."

"What?" _Has he gone completely insane?_ "Anthony, she's not that type of girl. If you buy her record label company, she's just going to try to stay away from you."

His eyebrows creased. He leaned forward to look directly at the brunette.

_Oh shit. Does he know? Did I say too much? _

"yea…you're right…she's not that type of girl. If she is, I wouldn't be interested..."

Lucy felt relieved that she was able to talk him out of it.

* * *

After meeting with Scud, Anthony called his guys to see if they found out what Jean Claude is up to.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing." Anthony said.

Now that they know that he's helping Benjamin because they have worked together for a long time, they wondered if he was willing to give him up so easily. As they sat on a table outside a café, they talked about their next moves.

"Let's do that." Lucy said and everyone agreed.

As Anthony was about to call his guys to make the next move, he received a phone call. He did not recognize the number and picked it up anyways.

"hello" Anthony quickly pointed to the phone and mouthed 'Jean Claude'. "Yes…how are you?"

Both Lucy and Scud stayed silent and waited for him to finish the call. They were all surprised to hear from him so soon.

"What did he say?" Scud asked.

Anthony looked around to make sure no one was listening.

"He wants to meet Friday night."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Now that they know when to meet with Jean Claude, they'd need to start their plan right away. Inside the apartment, Anthony's followers gathered around as they talked about their plan. After an hour, his followers nodded in understanding and left the apartment. Anthony, four of Anthony's followers including the dark haired woman whom Lucy talked to last night, and Lucy continued to talk about Jean Claude while they waited for Anthony's men to call back with information. Scud logged into his computer to find more about Jean Claude's businesses.

After half an hour of waiting, Lucy thought of something to do. Today is Wednesday. Friday is the day that Alyson will be leaving. She wondered if the megastar has to work tomorrow. Last thing she wanted was to leave things unsettled.

"Hey, I'll be right back." She said to Anthony.

"Where're you going?" Anthony asked out of curiosity.

"I have to buy some things." It wasn't a lie. She left the apartment in a hurry.

After 3 hours, Lucy finally came back. All wondered where she went because she came back empty handed. Since there were more important things to talk about, Anthony told her what his men and Scud found out.

"Who's hungry?" Lucy said since they won't be able to do anything today and it's almost dinner time. After dinner, she plans to go back to the hotel to wait for the megastar.

"Lucy, Uncle Nick called." Scud said.

"Uncle Nick?" There was a look of surprise on her face. She let out a bigger smile when she learned that they're going to meet him for dinner.

Anthony looked at his watch. "We should get going."

While they drove to the destination, Lucy learned that Uncle Nick had again wanted to meet with them on a boat.

"He didn't say much. He just said to meet him there." Anthony said.

When they finally arrived at the Port Henri IV, they saw a line of people boarding a large white boat with an open upper deck. There were no other boats nearby.

"Are we in the right place?" Scud asked. This is where tourists come to take a ride to get a view of Paris along the Seine. He never went on one of these but knows that a dinner cruise for about 3 hours on a large boat like this isn't cheap.

Anthony quickly took out his phone and called his boss. After he hung up, a man in a tuxedo later came and asked them to follow the people that were boarding the boat. While they were lining up, they noticed how excited the people behind them were. They wondered why Uncle Nick would want to board one of these with so many people instead of renting a private yacht like last time.

Once inside the boat, people were escorted to their seats. There were approximately 15 round tables with 8 seats each. Each table was elegantly set up with white table clothes, a vase with red flowers and two candle holders. The large windows allowed guests to get a good view of the seine river and the city of Paris. The color of the carpet and chairs created a warm and inviting atmosphere_. _Guests gasped audibly as they entered the room with modern-designed interior.

"This way." The man in the tuxedo led them up the stairs to the upper deck where other guests weren't allowed. On the upper deck, they could see the Eiffel Tower at a distance. But that wasn't what Lucy was looking for. She turned around and once she saw the man standing near the railing and looking out at the water, she quickly ran to him and hugged him as if she hadn't seen him for years.

"How are you? Uncle Nick." Lucy said as she hugged him tightly.

"Good….good…Lucy, you…" He stepped forward and looked at her closely. "…you…look great!" He was surprised that her being captured didn't affect her in any way. He was expecting her to lose a few pounds from being held in the holding cell for about two weeks. Who knows what type of food they were feeding her or what they did to her. But instead, she didn't look as worried as last time. He wondered if it was all a façade.

All sat on a table on the upper deck. Anthony filled him in about Jean Claude and Benjamin Couric including the details of how Lucy was captured. Lucy really didn't want him to know about that. He realized why she wasn't as worried when he learned that she was able to save all her friends.

"There is one thing I don't understand. Lucy, why did they let you out so easily?"

Anthony wanted to answer the question for her but he decided not to.

"Because they want him alive and I told them if they don't let me out, my friends will kill him." Lucy gave him the same explanation she gave to Anthony and hoped Uncle Nick would stop asking.

Uncle Nick turned to look at Anthony and then at Scud.

Before he was able to ask another question, Scud beat him to it.

"So they believed you…just like that?" The expression on his face told everyone that he didn't believe her.

Anthony cleared his throat and wondered if he should say anything.

Lucy also cleared her throat. "Yes, they're desperate…and they want him alive, so…."

"Lucy, you're planning to bring him back to them?" Scud asked, confusion all over his face.

_What the hell is going on here?_

"Lucy" Anthony said in a tone to tell her that she should just tell them the truth.

Both Uncle Nick and Scud stared at him.

Lucy let out a big sigh.

"They let me out because they have something that's very important to me." Lucy glanced at Scud and Uncle Nick and wondered who was going to ask the next obvious question.

Scud immediately scratched his head. "What do they have?"

"Get this. She made them think it's very important to her but it's really not." Anthony let out a big smile to show her that he was impressed.

"Whaaaa?" Scud's face contorted in confusion. "What do they have? Do we have to go back and get it?"

"It's nothing. I'm not going back to them. After we're done, we'll get out of here." Lucy hoped Scud would stop asking.

"You're not going to tell me. Are you?" Scud said.

Seeing how the brunette wanted to avoid the question, Uncle Nick tried to change the subject.

"What about…her?" Uncle Nick forgot the name of the blonde agent.

"She's…fine…she's…safe."

Uncle Nick nodded in understanding. From the expression on her face, he could tell that she and the blonde agent won't be together.

"So what are you guys planning to do?"

In the middle of their conversation, the 1200 square meters boat started to move. Uncle Nick's son came up to tell them that dinner was about to start. They learned that all of the guests worked for Uncle Nick's legal company and this was his way of showing his appreciation for his workers.

"Wow…what a great idea!" Anthony said.

"He thought of it." Uncle Nick pointed to his son.

The sky was beginning to darken. All were extremely hungry. Inside the room, they noticed that there were a lot of empty seats.

"Did your employees forget it was today?" Scud asked out of curiosity.

Nathan then explained that he didn't want the boat to be so crowded. In the front was a stage for the band and a small dance floor.

Uncle Nick sat in a square table with Lucy, Scud, and Anthony near the window where it's not too close to the live band. Anthony's men sat on another table. Nathan sat on a round table with his employees. After making an announcement, dinner was finally served. Each table had a bottle of champagne Louis Constant. First course meal was scallops on a bed of fresh tomato with basil crumble. Everyone was enjoying the food and the beautiful atmosphere. Halfway through the main course, Lucy caught everyone's attention on her table when she suddenly dropped the fork on her plate. When Anthony and Scud saw the shocked look on her face, both turned to see what she was looking at.

A smile immediately appeared on Anthony's face when he recognized one of the people on the stage.

"It's her." Anthony said excitedly as he shook Scud's shoulder. The megastar wasn't on the stage but he realized that this was her private concert.

"How did you get them here?" Anthony asked his boss.

Uncle Nick frowned in confusion. "We bought all the tickets."

His jaws dropped and came back up slowly. "Lucy, it's her. This is **her** concert." He was so happy. Even Uncle Nick found his reaction to be a little strange.

"Nathan…bought all the tickets?" Lucy said in disbelief

"He's a fan of hers. You saw her last time, remember?" Uncle Nick responded.

Lights dimmed. Everyone applauded and screamed in excitement towards the stage when the megastar came out. With candles lit on each table, it created a romantic atmosphere.

_"__bonjour, comment tout le monde est"_ Alyson spoke on the microphone on the center of the stage.

"Hello, how is everybody tonight?"

Guests called out her name and whistled loudly. Alyson first thanked everyone and explained that this was her first private concert on a boat on the Seine before singing her first song.

When Lucy saw Scud looking at her, she looked down at her plate, eating her dinner as if she wasn't interested.

"What's wrong with Anthony?" Uncle Nick whispered when he saw how Anthony was completely focused on the singer.

"He…um…likes her."

"You're kidding?" Uncle Nick said in a low voice.

Lucy let out a small smile and returned her attention back to the plate while taking glances at the blonde. In between the songs, guests were welcomed to ask questions while the boat crew took away their dinner plates and served the last course meal, peach and meringue French pie. When one fan asked if she currently has a boyfriend, there was a moment of silence and everyone listened intently.

"Well, let's just say I'm not looking for one, right now. I want to focus on my music."

While Lucy thought that was a good answer, Anthony wondered if she was lying to him about having a boyfriend.

After each song, the megastar allowed two guests to ask her a question.

After finishing her dessert, Lucy locked her eyes on the blonde like everyone else. She was glad that the megastar wasn't wearing any skimpy clothing. She did promise her that she wouldn't be one of those people who would wear outfits that show a lot of skin to get more publicity. What she was worrying about was how the megastar would react if she sees her at this moment while she's performing. Would she forget the lyrics to her song? After an hour, the host announced that the next question will be the last and asked who would want to ask it. Immediately, almost everyone in the room raised their hands including Anthony.

_Oh no. _Lucy immediately covered her eyes, hoping he wouldn't be chosen.

"The last question goes to…"

_Please no…no. Please._

Lucy looked up when she heard a familiar voice.

Nathan stood up and all his employees focused on him.

"I…um…I…" Nathan cleared his throat.

While people sitting next to him cheered him on to ask the question, the others wondered what their boss wanted to ask. With the dim lights, they couldn't see the expression on his face, but could tell from his hesitation, he was embarrassed to ask it.

"I…was wondering…if you would like to dance with me after this?" Nathan asked politely. Some of his employees were screaming 'Yes' and clapping their hands and others gasped out loud at how gutsy their boss was.

_No…no…not him too. _Lucy shook her head.

"Damn it! He beat me to it." Anthony said to himself.

Alyson didn't expect that and looked back to her band members for advice. They gave her a smile and shrugged their shoulders.

"…pleeeease…." Nathan begged with a squeal and the entire room burst out laughing except for Anthony and Lucy.

Even Alyson let out a smile at his cuteness. It was just a dance and she didn't want to embarrass anyone.

After the megastar agreed, everyone clapped their hands. The people sitting next to Nathan patted his back as he sat down and let out a deep breath and thanked the Lord.

"He's smart. He beat me to it." Anthony told his former boss.

Uncle Nick couldn't help but laugh at his comment while Lucy let out a fake smile and took a drink of water.

"For this last song…" Alyson took an acoustic guitar from her band member and hung it around her neck. Everyone including the boat crew stayed silent.

"I've been working on this new song…and it's not completed yet. So you'll get to be the first to hear it." Guests clapped and cheered loudly. "This song...is about…meeting someone... you know that it will never work out, but you go for it anyway… you've come to love that person so much, all you want is spend time and cherish the moment you have with that person…and…no matter how it ends...you...wouldn't have any regrets…." She smiled and stared into the darkness of the crowd. "…no regrets…" She whispered to herself and everyone heard and wondered if that was the name of the partially completed song.

She turned to the drummer and nodded.

When she started singing the new song in acoustic version, Lucy placed her hand over her mouth as she stared at the blonde. She remembered some of the lyrics and realized she was singing the song about them.

_No regrets. _Lucy thought to herself. _No matter how it ends. _She took a deep breath and exhaled it out slowly to keep her tears from forming. At this moment, she noticed Scud was looking at her. She didn't turn away and didn't care if Scud knew. She continued to look at the blonde and listened to every word in the song.

After the song ended, there was complete silence in the room. When Lucy heard the song the first time, it had a happy beat to it. But this version sounded completely different, so serious,so touching. The music and her voice immediately pulled her in and she could actually feel what the megastar was feeling. The silence in the room told her that she wasn't the only one who was moved by it. When Alyson slowly lifted her head to look at the crowd in the dim lighting and let out a gentle smile, Nathan was the first one to stand up and applaud. Others followed suit and gave her a standing ovation.

Lucy realized that maybe this was why the megastar didn't tell her about the concert because she would have insisted on coming and would have tried to find a way to get on board if there weren't any seats left.

After giving the megastar a moment to thank everyone, Nathan slowly approached her and extended his hand. The band began to play slow soft music. Guests cheered and clapped their hands. Lucy wasn't jealous. All she was thinking about was what Alyson said before the emotional song. It seemed like she wasn't upset with her anymore. After the short dance, the host invited everyone to the other side to have a picture taken with the megastar in groups of ten.

"Wow! what was that?" Anthony said.

"What?" Scud and Lucy pretended not to know what he was referring to.

"What? Were you even listening?"

Surprised at the one who spoke, they all turned to look at Uncle Nick. "Looks like she's in love."

Lucy swallowed and hoped nobody noticed her reaction earlier.

"You think so?" Anthony didn't want to believe it but he knew it was true. He wasn't the only who felt it. "Maybe it's just a song she wrote."

Letting out a smile, Uncle Nick shook his head and patted Anthony on his shoulder. "Sorry."

When Nathan came in and asked if they wanted to have their picture taken, Uncle Nick responded for them. It wasn't a good idea to have the former criminals to get their picture taken, especially with a famous megastar.

"I do!" Anthony said and stood up.

"Anthony, no!" Lucy called out loudly and stood up.

"Why?"

_Why? Shoot. Why can't he? Think. Think. He's not wanted by the FBI.  
_

When Lucy couldn't come up with a reason, Anthony went to the other side with Nathan.

"Nathan….she's unavailable." Anthony hung his arm around his shoulder.

"I know." Nathan responded with a smile.

"Is there anything wrong?" Uncle Nick asked, surprised with her reaction.

Lucy shook her head as she slowly took her sit. "I'm just worried that he's going to try to ask her out again and get rejected again."

"You don't need to worry about him. He can take it."

Uncle Nick leaned forward to look at Lucy more closely. "I'm worried about you. Are you okay? Is there something bothering you?"

While the people were getting their pictures taken, the boat crew cleared the tables. After a moment, everyone came back to the tables and talked amongst themselves. Some stood near the wide windows and watched the lighted city of Paris slip by.

When Anthony came back, Lucy wondered if she should meet with the megastar.

_But how? Without anyone noticing?_

"What are they doing back there?" Lucy asked.

"Eating."

Lucy was surprised that they haven't eaten dinner yet at this hour. "They haven't eaten dinner yet?"

"They did, they're just hungry."

"Was she surprised when she saw you?" Lucy was curious to know her reaction.

"Shocked!" Anthony said.

What she wanted to know is if Alyson knows she's here.

"Really…" She pretended not to be interested and hoped Anthony would continue talking about the megastar.

"Yup. She asked me how. I said I have my ways." Anthony leaned forward to the center of the table. "I asked her about her last song….I asked her if she's in love."

"you didn't?" Scud thought Anthony was being absolutely ridiculous lately.

"She didn't answer my question. But her face says it all. Her cheeks instantly turned red." Feeling unhappy, Anthony slumped his back against the chair.

Seeing the reaction on Anthony's face and knowing that he was right about the megastar, Uncle Nick couldn't help but laugh.

Lucy decided to wait until she gets back to the hotel to apologize to the blonde since she didn't want to risk the chance of being seen by others.

"I'm going up to get some fresh air." Lucy said.

"Don't stay up there too long. The game is going to start soon." Uncle Nick said.

"Game?" Scud immediately asked.

"Nathan thought of it. He wants to make it more fun for everyone. You'll see." Uncle Nick said.

On the deck near on top of the stairs, Lucy looked up and saw the dark sky with glistening stars. She inhaled deeply, reveling in the warm air of summer. She walked towards the front of the boat and stood near the railing. She had never ridden on one of these before, but found that the views of Paris while traveling along the river around dusk were breathtaking. The city of love lit_ up_ in the evening, making it possibly more beautiful than during the day. As she walked along the railing to admire the spectacular city, she stopped and was surprised to see Nathan and Alyson up on the deck.

_What is he doing? God, I hope he' s not hitting on her.  
_

"Hi...Keira." Nathan said.

Alyson wasn't surprised to see the brunette. She had a feeling that she was on board after meeting Anthony. She was more surprised about them knowing each other.

"Hi, Nathan."

Lucy didn't even have to ask what he was doing up here. He quickly explained himself.

"We were just admiring the view." It was obvious that he was hitting on the megastar_. Can't blame him.  
_

Lucy nodded in understanding and glanced at the blonde.

"This is Keira. She's a friend of my father's." Lucy extended her hand out and the megastar shook it. Both pretended that they've never met.

Since the megastar is here, Lucy wants to get her alone.

"Your father said you have something to do downstairs."

"Oh my gosh, that's right. I totally forgot." Nathan said as he slapped his forehead. He has been trying to get to know more about the megastar and completely forgot about his employees downstairs.

He turned to the megastar. "We're having a game downstairs. Would you like to join us?"

"A game…mmm" Alyson pretended to be interested and pondered for a moment. "No, I think I'll stay up here."

That was not the response Nathan was expecting since he did plan on including the megastar in the game.

"Are you sure? You shouldn't be alone up here."

"Go ahead, Nathan, I'll be here." Lucy assured him that everything was going to be fine.

After getting a call from his father, he had no choice but to leave without the megastar. After he left, Lucy later called Scud to let her know if anyone was going up on the upper deck. He asked why but she told him to stop asking and just do it for her.

Lucy looked around to make sure no one else was up on the deck while the megastar focused on the amazing view of the city, all lit up.

Lucy wanted to slip her arms around her waist but decided not to since she wasn't sure if there were any cameras installed on the upper deck.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy felt that this was the right time to explain.

"She's…just a friend. She hasn't seen me since I was…captured." Lucy turned to see the reaction on the blonde. "She was worried about me."

Alyson continued to look at the city as if she didn't hear a single word.

_Okay, this is not going so well. _"Alyson, can you talk to me, please?"

There was a moment of silence. Lucy couldn't tell what she was thinking. It didn't look like she was upset. It didn't look like she even cared.

As the summer _breeze_ blew softly through her hair, she turned to look at the brunette. Previously, she was stunned and upset when she saw the brunette kissing another girl. But all that anger went away when she told her audience about her last song.

"Weren't you listening? Keira, it doesn't matter." She spoke softly and let out a sweet gentle smile. Whether the brunette was dating someone else or not, it didn't matter because she loved her just the same. They have no future together. All she wanted was to spend time with her before she leaves.

"Of course it does. I want to tell you why she was kissing me. She…loves me, but I don't feel the same way and she knows that." Lucy wanted to let her know that she wasn't cheating on her. When she decided to 'sleep' with her, she has no intention being with anyone else while she's with her. She wasn't sure if the blonde saw them kissing in the carriage. She felt that she shouldn't lie about it.

"I gave her a good bye kiss. That's all it was."

Looking at the stunning beauty in front of her, Alyson wasn't surprised that there would be others falling for her. She reached out to brush the brunette's hair away from her eyes and tugged it back behind her ear.

"I…believe you." She smiled when she saw the brunette immediately let out a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders. Her hand cupped her cheek and she gently rubbed it with her thumb.

Thinking that that megastar might have forgotten where she was, Lucy whispered. "Alyson, there might be cameras."

"I'm just wiping the dirt off your face." Alyson smiled to let her know that she knows what she's doing.

They turned to admire the beautiful shining buildings of Paris and listened to the sound of the waves splashing against the boat. Standing side by side close together, Lucy felt it was safe to hold the blonde's hand. Even if there were cameras, only their backs would be captured on video. At this time of the night, they wouldn't be able to see anything clearly at this dark side of the boat anyways. The atmosphere was so romantic. Alyson internally thanked the Lord for giving her this memorable moment.

After a long moment, both jumped and quickly let go of their hands when they heard a voice from behind.

"There you are." Uncle Nick said.

_Scud. Why didn't you call me? _

It was dark. He couldn't see the expression of their faces but noticed that there was something strange going on when they jumped apart from each other. Unbeknownst to them, he had been standing behind them for a moment. He was surprised that Lucy didn't notice.

"Uncle Nick." Lucy hoped he didn't suspect a thing.

After shaking hands with the megastar, Uncle Nick handed Lucy a small box with silver wrapping and a black ribbon around it.

"I want to give this to you before I forget. Happy Birthday."

She thanked and hugged him tightly.

At the corner of her eyes, Lucy could see the surprised look on Alyson's face. Later, one of Alyson's band members came up and asked the megastar to go downstairs.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked when she saw the megastar being dragged toward the stairs.

She learned that Nathan was giving gifts away by random drawing and he wanted the megastar to pick out the grand prize winner.

"…Looks like my boy has a crush on her..." Uncle Nick smiled as he leaned his forearms on the railing, looking at the magnificent view of Paris.

"He's not the only one….Anthony…and everyone downstairs." Lucy let out a smile.

Every time he thought about Anthony being interested in the young blonde, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. "…Anthony…Anthony…Anthony…" He said as he shook his head.

Lucy smiled at his reaction, but her smile quickly disappeared after his next comment.

"…but…it looks like she only has eyes for…you."

Lucy jerked back slightly and let out a fake laugh. "…that's funny, Uncle Nick….haha.." She cleared her throat when she saw Uncle Nick gave her a serious look. He saw right through her. She wondered how long he had been standing behind them a moment ago. _Scud!_

"Scud was on the lookout, Lucy."

She didn't want to lie to him so she stayed silent.

"They way you reacted to that song. That song…is written about you."

Lucy continued to remain silent and looked at the calm water of the Seine river.

"Did you see her reaction when she found out it was your birthday?" Uncle Nick wanted her to know how he figured it out. Only those who were paying attention to the megastar instead of her, like Anthony, didn't notice.

"Should I not have given you the gift last time?" He wanted to know if they met on the island when he gave her the opportunity to see the megastar perform.

Lucy smiled and shook her head. She knows that Uncle Nick would keep her secret but she didn't want to give out any details of how they met to anyone. What she wanted to do was have someone help the megastar if she decides not to go back to La Surete. She still has not yet decided what she's going to do after killing the fraudster.

"She's…she's…" Lucy hesitated and wasn't sure if she should tell Uncle Nick.

"Lucy, you can trust me, you know that."

Lucy turned to look directly into his eyes. "I know, but I don't know if I should get you involved."

_Get me involved? _Uncle Nick realized that there was another reason for her hesitation. It wasn't just about the megastar falling in love with her. She was worried about his safety.

"Lucy, your father saved me many times. I wouldn't be here without him…"

"…and I wouldn't be here without you…" Lucy said to let him know that he doesn't owe her father anything.

He nodded in agreement. "That's right…we're friends…What do friends do?…we help each other if we can. Even if I die tomorrow for helping a friend, I wouldn't have any regrets." He paused and allowed his words to sink in. "No regrets. Isn't that what she said?"

Lucy couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. Uncle Nick laughed along with her.

"Is that the name of the song?" He asked to lighten the mood.

She really didn't want to talk about her love life with anyone, especially Uncle Nick. It was like talking about her love life with her father, which she never did because she found it extremely uncomfortable.

Lucy immediately covered her face in embarrassment. "I have no idea."

Noticing how the topic of her love life was affecting her, he let out another laugh and hung his arm around her shoulder in a fatherly way. "Okay, I'm going to stop."

He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to look directly at him.

"Now…can you tell me what's going on?" He won't let her off that easily.

"You can't tell Anthony."

"Why?"

Lucy let out a sigh. She has no idea why either. If anyone could help the blonde, it would be him. But she really doesn't want him to know about her and the megastar.

"I don't know. The less people know about this, the better." Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "…and if you find that you can't help her and only Anthony could, then ask him for help but don't tell him about us." She wondered how Anthony would react if he found out.

"help her?" He frowned in confusion and wondered what the megastar has to do with any of this.

"She's… the important thing…that I was telling you about earlier." Lucy cleared her throat.

After Lucy told him the real reason why they let her out, she was surprised with his reaction. She expected Scud or Anthony to say that but not Uncle Nick.

"Well, I'll be damned…..wow!…" He said as he scratched his chin and pondered for a moment. "Lucy, this could destroy her career."

"I know." Frustrated, Lucy held her bangs up over her head and let out a deep breath.

"She told me not to come back."

"WOW." He said again and realized just how much the megastar loved her.

"I…haven't…decided what to do yet." She gripped tight on to the railing with both hands.

"Do you want my advice?"

Lucy shook her head because she knew what he would say. "I have to make the decision myself."

"If something happens to her, I just need you to help her if you can…without getting yourself in trouble."

Understanding the brunette's intention, he softly patted her shoulder and nodded in understanding.

After a long moment, loud footsteps nearby caught their attention. Both smiled at the megastar several feet away. Uncle Nick smiled at the brunette and as he was about to leave, Lucy asked if there were any hidden cameras on the upper deck.

"No…and I'll make sure no one comes up." He whispered with a grin.

As he passed by the megastar, he gave her a warm smile and pretended that he didn't know anything.

Leaning her back against the railing, Lucy waited for Uncle Nick to disappear from her view before extending her hand out towards the megastar, motioning her to hold on to her hand.

Unsure of why the brunette suddenly didn't care about the cameras, Alyson ignored her hand and walked straight towards the railing.

Lucy smiled, knowing why she didn't take the offered hand.

"Is today your birthday?"

Lucy shook her head. "Tomorrow."

"Your real birthday?"

Lucy nodded.

"So you're going to be 28?" She remembered that the brunette told her mother her age but wasn't sure if it was the truth.

"…mhm…" Lucy didn't ask her about her age since all she had to do was search the web if she really wants to know. But if she had to take a guess, she guessed it would be about 24 or 25.

"How do you usually celebrate it?" She wanted to know more about the brunette.

"before I came here, I celebrated it with a group of friends" In the old days, her followers wanted to make a big deal out of it but she chose to celebrate it with just a few people. The reason was because she was afraid that all her followers would get drunk at the same time. Then they would be vulnerable to attacks by their enemies. A party without booze and women would be too boring for her followers. With so many followers, there is no way to prevent them from drinking too much.

"…and these couple of years, I just celebrated it with Scud…nothing special…we just go out and eat."

"How do you want to celebrate it tomorrow?"

Lucy took out her cell that was buzzing. There were 2 text messages from Scud. Lucy realized that Scud did inform her that Uncle Nick was coming up before but she was too busy thinking of something else and just didn't feel the vibration. The other text message was to inform her that it's all clear. She turned off the vibration and switched it to loud volume. Lucy put the phone back into her pocket and stepped closer to the blonde.

"There are no cameras up here and nobody is going to come up." She assured her and slipped her arms around her waist and leaned in to kiss her soft beige colored lips.

"Didn't you have red lipstick on this morning?" She couldn't see the color in this dark area where they were standing but remembered that she didn't have it on when she was singing.

"It keeps rubbing off."

"Well, I much prefer this color." She said in a gentle voice and kissed her again.

"Keira, you didn't answer my question."

"I thought it was obvious. I…want to celebrate my birthday with you."

"Obviously, you weren't listening again. I said how…not with whom."

"Right…how…umm…well…I kind of like what we're doing now." Lucy didn't need a birthday cake. She just wants to spend time with the megastar.

"I don't have to work tomorrow."

"Really?" Lucy said with a big grin. "Then let's think about it tomorrow." She continued to kiss her softly.

"I…was…listening." She said as she placed a trail of kisses on her neck.

"It was…very touching." She whispered into her ear and hugged her tightly.

Speechless, the megastar held her tighter. If she knew the brunette was here, she probably wouldn't have sung the last song because she would be too embarrassed to do so. But it all worked out.

After a moment, when they saw the shining Eiffel Tower, they knew the ride was about to end.

"I'm going to go first." Alyson said as she pulled back. She didn't have to say 'see you back at the hotel'. She knew the brunette would be there.

Lucy nodded and waited for all of the passengers to leave before heading downstairs.

On the main deck, Lucy gave Uncle Nick one last hug and shook Nathan's hand.

"Thank you. Nathan. This was great." She wanted to thank him for giving her a chance to spend time with the megastar.

"Here pick one." His hand held a black hat.

Lucy had no idea what he's up to but did as told. He then asked Scud, his father, Anthony, and his two followers to do the same.

Nathan then announced the number and asked who had it.

"Congratulations." He handed Lucy a large yellow envelope.

All stared at him in confusion except for Uncle Nick.

"It's the grand prize, Lucy." Uncle Nick said with a smile.

"I thought this is for your employees." Lucy said. "I can't take this. Here, give it to one of your employees." She handed it back to Nathan.

"No, you won it, fair and square."

Scud and Anthony have no idea what the grand prize is. All they know is that the megastar randomly picked out the number from the hat and nobody stood up to claim the prize. Both congratulated Lucy. They really didn't care what the grand prize is since they could probably afford it. Everyone got off the boat except for Uncle Nick who wanted to speak with the brunette.

"Nathan won't take it. You take it." She had no idea what's in it but she felt that she wouldn't be able to use it anyway.

"Lucy, just keep it. If you can't make it, keep it as a memory."

Uncle Nick saw the confusion on her face and asked her to open the envelope.

Inside the envelope were two VIP tickets to the megastar's concert for next year.

That was why Nathan wanted the megastar to pick out the grand prize winner.

"Uncle Nick, I…If I can and if I have time, I'll buy the tickets myself."

"Lucy, don't you understand? It was meant to be yours and nobody else's…not Nathan's…not Anthony's…." She understood what he was trying to say since she used the same method to convince the blonde that there was no reason to be afraid of flying just because of the plane accident. It happened for a reason.

"You two didn't meet on the island, did you?" Uncle Nick really wanted to know if he brought them together.

Lucy smiled and shook her head.

Knowing that the brunette wouldn't give him any more details about how they met, he let out a smile before heading towards the Exit. He turned around and had one more thing to say to the former criminal mastermind. "Lucy, I have a feeling that you're going to see her again, someday."

* * *

It was past midnight. Lucy wanted to head back to the hotel as soon as possible but since Anthony was giving them a ride back to the apartment and she didn't want him to suspect anything, she waited until she got back to the apartment.

After getting off the car and saying good night to Anthony, she called for taxi service.

She knew that Scud had figured it out by now so she didn't try to hide it from him.

As Scud waited with her outside the apartment for the taxi, he couldn't resist the urge to ask about her relationship with the megastar.

"So…was that…" Scud didn't even have a chance to finish his question. Lucy stopped him from asking.

"Scud, please don't. I'm not going to tell you."

Scud immediately crossed his arms. The look on his face told her that he was unhappy that she's not sharing the information.

"Then can I ask what the grand prize is?"

"just 2 tickets to some show"

"Oh…well, since you probably won't be able to use it, maybe just give it to Anthony."

"he doesn't have the time and he wouldn't be interested." She said as she looked to the left to see if any cars are coming. "I'll just give it to someone else."

"Would that someone else be Alyson?"

"Nooooo..., she wouldn't be interested either." _She's at the center of the stage. _"I'll just give it to the next person I see."

"You mean, the taxi driver?"

"Exactly."

"Lucky him." Scud said in a dull tone and pouted his lips since Lucy won't tell him anything about the megastar. He understood. It's her love life and it should be kept private especially because the one she's with is a megastar. If the world knows about them, it would do a lot of damage to her career.

Both suddenly jumped when someone spoke from behind.

"Hey." It's the dark hair woman who rescued Alexis. "What are you guys waiting for?"

"taxi…." Lucy said.

The dark hair woman nodded. It wasn't her place to ask her where she was going or where she went last night. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine."

"Lucy" Scud said and tilted his head.

"What?"

Scud rolled his eyes. "Grand prize."

"oh…um…I ah…changed my mind."

With a frown on his face, Scud realized that she had no intention of giving the tickets away. She was lying to him…again.

After a moment, the taxi came.

"Only call me if it's an emergency. Okay?" She said to Scud.

* * *

Since she didn't want anyone to know where she was going, Lucy told the driver to drop her off on a street near the hotel.

She looked up and noticed the lights were on in Alyson's room. Once she got off the elevator on the seventh floor, she took a left and a right down the hallway. She stood in front of the door and put her hotel key card in. On the doorknob hung a 'Do not Disturb' sign. She slowly opened the door and noticed that the small piece of paper was still there halfway below the knob. This was to make sure that no one entered her room while she was away. She wasn't worried about anyone putting hidden cameras in her room since she's not famous. It's a nice trick. She'll have to show the blonde later.

After taking a shower and changing into her sleeping clothes, she called her room.

"Keira, where are you?" Alyson was expecting her to be late, but not an hour late.

Lucy decided to have a little fun with the megastar. "Well, you told me to get myself another room…so I…"

"Stop joking around. Where are you?"

"Open the side door."

"What?"

"Open the door in the living room."

Alyson did as told and unlocked the door. When she opened the door, she saw the brunette standing there, holding a rose.

She was even more surprised when she saw her dimly lit room filled with vases of roses on the tables next to the king size bed, on the round table near the couch, and on the tables near the LCD tv and lamps. Pink silk rose petals scattered on the floor and on the bed. A few small glass jars of lit candles were placed on the tables far away from the bed. Lucy didn't want to overdo it with the candles since she would have to put it out later and the smell of smoke would ruin the atmosphere.

Her jaws dropped as she walked around the room.

"Keira, when…how…why…?"

"Why?" Lucy thought it was obvious.

"I mean…"Alyson knew why. The couple on the side was making too much noise and this was the brunette's way of showing her how she felt about her.

"You like?" Lucy gave her a red rose.

"I love it." She held the rose to her nose and took a sniff.

Seeing that the blonde had already taken a shower, she leaned in to kiss her softly. The atmosphere was romantic. Everything was perfect except for the timing. Knowing that the megastar must be too tired to do anything else after working more than 12 hours, she knew that she must wanted to get some rest now.

"Are you tired?" Lucy asked.

Alyson nodded slowly with an apologetic smile.

Lucy smiled gently. "Go to sleep. I'll take care of everything." Lucy lifted the blanket for her and tucked her into the king size bed.

"Good night." Lucy whispered and kissed her forehead.

"good night." After working a long day, it didn't take the exhausted megastar long to fall asleep.

The first thing Lucy did was to turn off the lamp near the blonde's side of the bed. She then took all the candles and put it out under the sink in the bathroom to minimize the smell of the smoke. Since she was unsure if the megastar remembered to scan the entire room for bugs and hidden cameras, she scanned the bathroom and made a mental to do the other rooms tomorrow. Inside the megastar's bedroom, she took the phone charger. As she was about to close the bedroom door, she heard some noise coming from the room next door.

"You've got be kidding me….it's past 1AM." Lucy rolled her eyes and closed the door. When she booked this room, she really wasn't sure if she should since it would be a waste of money. If the megastar wouldn't forgive her, she could always go back to the apartment to sleep. But now, she believed that she made the right choice. There was no way for anyone to fall asleep, listening to that god-awful noise.

After making sure all the doors were locked and plugging in both of their cell phones into the charger, she slipped herself into the king size bed. Not wanting to wake up the blonde from her needed sleep, she stayed on her side of the bed and kept her hands to herself. City lights shone through the window near the tv. She felt it was safe to leave the curtains open on that side. There was enough light where she could still see where the bathroom is without tripping over anything. After a moment, exhaustion took over and she closed her heavy eyelids.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

next morning

Her eyes moved under her eyelids. She heard noises but didn't want to open her tired eyes. When she felt something wet on her face, she let out a smile.

"Good morning" She whispered and smiled. Her eyes remained closed. She knew exactly where she was and whom she's with.

"Keira…it's almost lunch time." The blonde whispered into her ear.

It took a moment for her to realize what the blonde said. She immediately opened her eyes and blinked to get adjusted to the light, not the light from outside, the light from the lamps.

Lucy yawned loudly and stretched her arms and legs.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" She said in a husky voice as she rubbed her eyes.

Standing on the end of the bed was the megastar in her casual day clothes. She frowned when she saw all the lights were on. She turned to look out the window and realized why the blonde didn't wake her up. It was pouring rain outside. The sky was gray and flashes of lighting appeared.

"Oh…" Lucy said with disappointment. She had wanted to go out with the megastar today. She even bought a wig for her so that she wouldn't be recognized. _Shoot. Guess we'll have to stay inside. _Her lips then curled up at that thought. Staying inside the whole day wouldn't be bad either.

"Where…where're you going?" Lucy said when she saw the megastar heading out the door.

"I have to meet with my crew. I'll be back later."

"Alyson"

"Keira, I have to go, otherwise they'll come up."

"Alyson" Lucy pointed to the door that goes to her room. "You should use this door."

"Oh...right...See you later." She blew a kiss and Lucy raised her hand to catch it and placed it over her heart.

After she got changed, Lucy remembered what she has to do from last night. After scanning the megastar's room for hidden bugs, she went downstairs in the lobby to buy a cup of coffee and a croissant even though it's almost lunchtime. Coffee...just one cup...each day...that's all she needed. Small floor mats were placed from the entrance door to the front desk. Hotel staffs were busily cleaning the floors as guests entered the hotel. In the restaurant, she could see it was packed with hotel guests. She looked around and couldn't find the megastar inside. With so many people, she didn't think the megastar would be inside. Otherwise, there would be chaos. Guests would recognize her and ask for her autograph. _She must be in one of their rooms. _Since there was nothing to do, she went back to her room to wait for the megastar. After calling Scud, she learned that they weren't able to find anything new on Jean Claude. Pacing around with nothing to do, she decided to go down to the exercise room. After almost an hour, she came back up only to find that the megastar didn't come back yet. While she was taking a shower in her room, she heard a knock on the door.

"Keira, lunch is here." She called out loudly from outside the door. She wanted to make sure the brunette wasn't taking a hot bath again like last time.

The megastar ordered lunch from the restaurant downstairs. While she was setting it up on the table in her room, she was a little surprised to see the brunette wearing the hotel's robe instead of her clothing.

"Did you just take a shower?" Alyson wondered why she would take a shower at this hour.

"I just came back from the gym."

Alyson nodded in understanding.

"Sorry, I took so long. They wanted me to play cards with them."

"Are they going to check up on you?" Last thing she wanted was have someone interrupt their last day together.

"I told them I want to get some more sleep."

Lucy nodded and took a bite of her chicken.

"here" Alyson scooped up a spoonful of mash potato and put it in front of her mouth.

Even though there were no candles, no flowers, and no music, the atmosphere was still romantic. Lucy took the hint and opened her mouth wide. Each let out a smile as they continued to feed each other. After they were done with lunch, they sat on the couch, leaning against each other as they watched a movie together. The movie was spoken in French. Thank goodness for the subtitles. Suddenly, Lucy took the remote and changed the channel when she realized that she had seen this before.

"Hey...I want to watch that." Alyson said.

"It's boring."

Alyson grabbed the remote but the brunette was unwilling to let go.

"Keira. I want to watch that."

When Lucy was still unwilling to let go, Alyson tickled her sides. _That always works._

Alyson quickly changed it back to the previous channel. Her jaws dropped when she realized why the brunette suddenly changed it. The actor and actress were making out in the shower and they were showing a lot of skin. Alyson swallowed as she felt a rush of heat coursed through her body.

"Have you…seen this before?" She spoke in a low voice as she kept her eyes on the tv.

"No. I just heard about it." Lucy said as she locked her eyes on the megastar. She wasn't lying. Scud was watching the movie one day and she just happened to pass by it. She remembered a part of it. Since she wasn't interested it, she left Scud alone to watch it by himself.

"It looked…like they're really doing it."

Lucy noticed the blonde's cheeks instantly turned red. She had no idea why the blonde would still be blushing at this moment. It's not like they haven't done what they're doing. They just haven't done it in the shower.

"It looked…so real."

Lucy took her remote and shut off the tv. Alyson immediately turned to look at the brunette. She saw her pupils dilate and she knew what the brunette was thinking. It's her fault. She started it again. She was the one who wanted to watch. She was planning to continue where they left off the other night but just not now. Even with all the curtains closed and the gray sky, the room was still bright. She swallowed again when she saw the brunette leaning towards her. Unable to control her sexual desire building up inside, she closed her eyes and waited for the kiss. When that kiss never came, she opened her eyes and saw the brunette standing in front of her.

"I'm going to take a walk." Knowing that the blonde wouldn't want to do in the daytime, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to control herself. So the best thing to do is to leave, let her hormones calm down and come back later…much, much later.

Alyson quickly grabbed on to her hand. "Keira…you're going out in that?" She pointed to her robe.

"oh." Lucy had totally forgotten what she was wearing and walked towards the bed.

Sitting on the couch, Alyson watched the brunette's every moment. She knew why Lucy suddenly wanted to leave the room. After letting out a deep breath, the megastar walked towards her.

"Keira…." Alyson said from behind the brunette.

"mhm" Lucy responded as she grabbed her clothing.

"I want to give you your present."

Surprised that the blonde got her a present, Lucy turned to face the blonde.

"Alyson, you don't have to buy me anything. I'm just happy you're here."

Alyson took 2 steps forward, wrapped her arms around her, and whispered into her ear. "Unwrap it and let me know if you like it."

"Okay."

Alyson moved two steps away. Lucy frowned in confusion when the blonde just stood in front of her. She was expecting her to give her the gift but the blonde wasn't moving. When she saw the blonde's cheeks flushing a bright red, she realized what she meant. _Oh._ She swallowed hard as her heartbeat began pounding against her chest. She couldn't believe what the megastar was suggesting. Last time she made the suggestion to do it with all the lights on, she could tell that the megastar wasn't comfortable with that idea. Besides, she wasn't serious about it. She forced her eyes to look away from the blonde and pretended that she didn't understand.

"So you want me to look for it? Okay. That sounds fun…..hmmm….let me see..." Lucy turned around and let out a smile that the blonde couldn't see. She lifted the blanket and pretended to be looking for the present. "Nope….not here….hmm…" She then lifted the pillows and found nothing. Of course, there wouldn't be anything under there. Her body froze when she felt a pair of hands slipping around her waist.

Lucy slowly turned around in the blonde's arms and wanted to ask if she was sure but she didn't need to when the blonde kissed her.

"Happy Birthday." Alyson whispered and unbuttoned the first button on her blouse. She willed her heart to stop pounding so fast. It will be her first time so she's a little nervous.

Lucy leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. She took over and unbuttoned the second button. She then placed a trail of soft kisses on her neck while trying to unbutton the rest.

"Do you like this blouse?" If not, she was going to tear it apart.

"Yes." Alyson said and wondered why the brunette asked. She tilted her head, letting out a soft moan as the brunette nibbled her neck.

When Lucy finished unbuttoning the last one, she carefully took it off. Her task was first to unwrap the present. But when she saw her white lace bra…_Oh God…_she couldn't control her hand from touching it while sucking gently on her neck, causing the megastar to moan loudly at the contact. All the window curtains near the bed were closed. As Lucy continued kissing her collarbone, her hands moved down to unbutton her pants. She pulled it down gently, leaving her boy shorts on since she wasn't sure if the blonde was allowing her to take all her clothes off. Her hands then glided upwards on her back and easily unhooked her sexy bra, throwing it on the table next to the bed. There was one piece of clothing left. Breathing heavily against her face, Lucy leaned her forehead against the blonde's and slipped her hands underneath her waistband. Her hands stopped at that point for a short moment. Not getting any rejection, Lucy pushed down her waistband, letting the boy shorts drop to the floor. Lucy pulled back slightly. What she saw in front of her was perfection.

"I love it." Seeing how nervous the blonde was, standing naked in front of her, Lucy removed her own robe. She noticed where Alyson was staring, her naked chest, then down below when she dropped her own boy shorts.

Both stood looking at each others' bare body for a moment.

Alyson swallowed when saw the completely naked brunette in front of her. Her eyes full of hot desire. She had seen it before just not up so close.

Lucy kissed her softly and slowly on the lips. Her hands roamed over her body, caressing the soft flesh, causing the blonde to gasp and moan. She led the blonde towards the bed as she continued kissing her. Gently pushing the blonde on the bed, Lucy crawled on top of her, looked down and admired the amazing body underneath her. They had the whole day together. She intended on taking it slow. She took her time and slowly kissed every inch of the megastar's body down to the belly area. Hearing the moans from the megastar and seeing her chest rising and falling rapidly, she knew it was time.

Lying on the bed naked with her eyes closed, Alyson gasped inward when she felt her upper body being smothered with kisses, sucked and gently nipped. This wasn't her first time, but it felt like it was; being kissed this way. "...Keiraaa..." Her head thrust backwards against the pillow, her eyes closed, her cheeks flushed red, her chest heaving, her body covered with goose bumps, trembling under the brunette's touch. She moaned involuntarily when she felt wetness on her breasts and a warm hand gliding up her inner thigh onto her sensitive area, gently stroking it.

"Oh God...Keira..." She didn't realize that she said that out loud. Her breathing quickened even more. The sensation was unlike anything she had ever felt before, doubling in intensity. When the brunette asked her if she was sure, this wasn't what she had in mind. Her eyes shut tight, her fingers gripped tightly on the sheets, muscles of her legs tightened on its own, she inhaled deeply, waiting for what was about to happen. But when it didn't happen, she exhaled, slowly opened her eyes, and saw the brunette moving on top of her.

Lucy climbed on top of her, pulling the blanket to cover their bodies, leaving space between their naked flesh. It's a little chilly without any clothing on. Besides, she knew that the megastar would want their bodies covered, regardless. Lucy hovered over the blonde's face and looked into her ocean blue eyes, as if asking for permission to proceed. Alyson pulled her in for a deep kiss to assure her that she was ready for whatever is about to happen. Lucy gently let her body down, pressing the blonde's sexy body against the clean white sheets. The incredible sensation made their heart beat even faster, causing both to moan loudly at the same time. Her eyes locked onto the blonde's, letting her know that it's about to happen.

Hovering over her face, Lucy didn't have to ask if the megastar was ready. She could feel her wetness, her legs widening for her, her rapid heartbeat, her ocean blue eyes sparkled with love and desire. _She's ready. _Lucy leaned in to give her one short kiss before gently gliding her lower body up against the blonde's, staying in that position for 2 seconds before gliding back down and repeated in that same slow pace. She could see her rosy cheeks. She could see her eyes shut tight. The sudden gasp, the sound coming from her lover, the tight hold Alyson had on her shoulder blade the moment she moved against her told her that she wasn't expecting whatever she was feeling. What surprised her was when Alyson later opened her eyes. Lucy smiled, knowing that it must have taken her a lot of courage to look at her at this moment.

This was unlike all those other nights, separated by a few layers of clothing. This time was different. This was more intense. She could feel the brunette's muscle, the soft flesh, the heat emitting from her hot body, the bumps, the curves, the wetness mixing with her own. They were...making love. Each time she felt the brunette's private area pressing into hers, a soft moan escaped her mouth, a wave of pleasure spreading from her throbbing core to the rest of her body. Her breathing was abnormal, she knew that. She found it impossible to breathe normally or slow down her heart rate that skyrocketed the moment the brunette laid naked on top of her. If she had not kept herself in such good shape, if she did not work out several days a week, she would have a heart attack right now. Breathing heavily, she wondered why the brunette suddenly stopped. She was about to reach her climax and this was definitely not the right time to stop.

Lucy smiled, lifting herself up a little and looked down at the naked body underneath her. _Oh God._ What she wanted to do was prolong the state they were both in. After adjusting her position, Lucy continued where she left off.

It didn't take long for the blonde to get back to the state where she was in before. Her eyes spontaneously closed. She gasped at the intensity of the feeling, moaning louder each time the brunette glided up against her core. "unhh...unhh...Keira" She cried out, letting her know she was about to reach her climax again, hoping she wouldn't stop again.

Feeling the fingernails digging deep into her back, hearing her cries of love, cries of pleasure, cries of need, Lucy understood and continued rocking her, moving a little bit faster, pressing harder and deeper into her. If there was a bed in the other room next to them, she was certain that those guests would be able to hear it, not the small squeaking sound coming from the bed, but the sound coming from both of them, more so from the blonde, as her moans and whimpers became louder and more frequent.

After a moment, both moaned loudly as a wave of heat and pleasure coursed through their veins. Lucy adjusted to the pace and rhythm she set earlier. Alyson's moans became softer and less as she was slowly being brought down to a blissful, euphoric state.

Lucy gazed down at the blonde, also gasping for air. She smiled when she saw the look on the blonde's face. That look said it all. That look of surprise. That look told her she had never experienced that before. That 'what was that?' look.

Alyson swallowed, still thinking about what just happened, trying to stop her heart beat from beating so fast. She didn't have to look at herself in the mirror to know that her cheeks were burning red. She wasn't expecting her body to react like that. She wasn't expecting it to feel like that; She wasn't expecting herself to scream like that; the difference between a few layers of clothing; her first time.

Leaning her forehead against the blonde's, Lucy placed a short kiss on her lips and gently rolled off. Breathing quickly to get air into her lungs, Lucy closed her eyes and relaxed her exhausted body.

Pulling the blanket over her shoulders, Alyson closed her eyes. Her body curled up, still feeling the effects of what happened, a different kind of feeling; a warm, pulsating sensation in her sensitive area.

After a long moment, after her breathing and heartbeat normalized, after the intensifying sensation left her heated body, Alyson shifted and snuggled closer to the brunette. Her hand hung around the brunette's toned stomach. She kissed her cheek before resting her head next to her shoulder and let out a satisfying smile. She didn't have to tell the former leader how amazing that was, knowing that she probably knew from her reaction. It brought back memories of the first time they did it with clothing on, the time the brunette was drugged. She thought that was an incredible feeling getting her first orgasm. But that feeling was nothing compared to what she just felt.

"Do you want to take a shower?" Feeling a little wet, Lucy wanted to take another shower.

"mmm…"

Lucy couldn't help but let out a smile when she saw the blonde looking down in embarrassment. _She's so adorable. _She had no idea why the blonde would still be embarrassed after what they just did.

"maybe…." Alyson stopped when she heard someone knocking on the door.

Both were startled and immediately turned to look at each other, wondering who it could be.

"Are you expecting someone?" Alyson asked.

"No" _ Who would know I'm here? God. Please don't let it be Scud. _

Lucy lifted the blanket and got off the bed. Alyson gasped when saw the naked brunette walking over to her side of the bed. The sight of the naked brunette still affects her.

"Keira, do you want me to…"

"No…I'm not going to let anyone in." Lucy said as she tied her robe.

She tiptoed towards the door and looked through the peephole.

_Who the hell is that?_ Lucy didn't recognize the man on the other side. She stayed silent to see what he would do. After a few more knocks, the man stepped back from the door and looked at something in his hand. From what Lucy could tell, it looked like he knocked on the wrong door.

"Who was it?" Alyson asked.

"He got the wrong room." Lucy said as she propped her pillow against the headboard and sat up on the bed next to the megastar who covered herself with the blanket above her chest. It really scared her for a moment there. She thought it was either Scud or the older woman from Division 16.

"So what were you saying before?" Lucy remembered that her question wasn't answered. She was expecting a quick response but when she didn't hear one, she could tell something was on the blonde's mind when she saw ocean blue eyes looking deeply into hers.

There was something Alyson wanted to know about the brunette but she wasn't sure if she should ask. Ever since she was approached by the Head of Division 16, curiosity filled her mind. Even though they won't ever see each other again after tomorrow, she still wants to know more about the person whom she fell in love with, who just made love to her. She slowly leaned her head on the brunette's shoulder.

"Keira."

"hmmm" Lucy placed a kiss on her head.

"Can you...tell me...more about yourself?" Alyson spoke in a gentle voice.

"mm...well, I used to own a company that sells surveillance devices and gaming software but **they** took all of that...and I'm interested in trading, investing...you know that already...I know martial arts...you know that already too...mmm..." She whispered. "I can't eat dairy products...but don't tell anybody that." Lucy let out a small laugh.

Alyson was a little surprised that the brunette was lactose intolerant, but that wasn't what she wanted to know.

She looked up at the brunette. "How did you became the leader of a criminal organization?"

There was a moment of silence. Both were looking into each others' eyes. No longer smiling, Lucy wasn't sure what to tell her. _Doesn't she already know everything about me? Didn't Helene tell her? What did she tell her?_

Alyson cupped her left cheek and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I just want to know more about you."

"What...did she tell you?"

"I want to hear it from you." She assured her with another kiss. "I love you." She wanted to let her know that no matter what she did before, her feelings toward her wouldn't change.

"My father was..." She began telling her the story how her father wanted to keep her away from the family business and how she inherited everything from her father after he died. She didn't hide the businesses they were involved in since she was certain that the Head of the Division told her already. What she was afraid of was that the megastar would ask her if she killed anyone. If she told her the truth, would she get nightmares?

"You went to Yale?"

Lucy smiled, but knew deep inside that wasn't what the blonde wanted to know.

"Why do you look so surprised? You don't think I'm smart enough to be accepted to that?"

Alyson knew that she did overreacted. Leader of criminal organization having gone to Yale sounded...odd to her.

"What about you?"

"My career...started when I was in high school...so I didn't get a chance to go. But if I applied, I'm sure I would be accepted to an Ivy League school too."

"I'm sure." Lucy said in a genuine tone.

A sudden thought then appeared in Alyson's head. "You're not still doing that? Are you?"

"No. But if I was, what would..."

"Keira, I love you." She leaned in and kissed her lips, then another and another. "No matter what." She said between kisses. "But if you..were still involved, then I...would try to...convince you to stop."

Lucy reciprocated the kiss in the same manner and slipped her hand underneath the blanket but froze when she heard the next question. Her heart spontaneously skipped a beat.

"So why did you stop?" It was a simple question. It was obvious to her that the brunette went to Paris to get away from the US government. She continued kissing her cheek and didn't realize that her lover stopped moving until a moment later. Alyson pulled back to look directly into the former criminal's eyes and frowned when she saw the brunette's look and mood had changed completely. "Keira?"

Lucy didn't want to lie to her but it hurts every time she was reminded of Amy. "Do you really want to know?"

Without hesitation, Alyson nodded two times.

"I...fell in love."

Alyson's eyes and mouth spontaneously opened wider. All the information she learned about the brunette's past lovers instantly flowed into her mind. She remembered everything that the brunette said to her when they were on the plane. _She gave up everything to be with her lover and her deceased girlfriend...Amy...did the same. _ Now everything was clear. _Damn it. _She chastised herself for asking the question.

"...sorry..." Alyson kissed her gently on the lips, apologizing for bringing up her past.

Lucy let out a small smile and shook her head, letting her know that she doesn't blame her for wanting to know more about her past.

"What about you? Is there anything about you that the media doesn't know about?"

"You mean, besides what I'm doing now."

Lucy chuckled at the blonde's comment.

"mm...don't believe everything you read about me."

"Okaaaay."

"Especially the part about me flirting and making the first moves..."

The only time Lucy read about her was when she was in the cell. But if the magazine said that about her, she would have believed it since she did make the first move on her. "O...kaaayyy..."

Alyson slapped her lightly on the shoulder. "I mean it. I was never the initiator."

"Never?"

Alyson rolled her eyes. "Okay. Just once" Seeing that the mood was back to where it was before, she shifted her body and straddled the brunette, grabbing the blanket over her shoulders.

"If you read the articles, you'll notice that they say a lot of bad stuff about me." She said as she leaned in to kiss her cheek and continued down her jaw. "Don't believe them."

"Oh? Like what?" Lucy wrapped her hands around her naked body, closed her eyes, feeling the warm kisses on her neck.

"They said...I'm a...player."

"Oh really..." Lucy trembled as the wet kisses on her neck sent a shiver down her spine.

"I'm not."

"You're not?" Lucy said in a whisper. Her eyes still closed. Her hands stroking the blonde's spine up and down.

"They said...I slept...with all of them." Alyson kissed her lips and continued peppering her with butterfly kisses on the other side of the neck.

"They did?" At this moment, Lucy wasn't really paying attention when she felt hot breath in her ear and her earlobe being nibbled on. _Oh God._

"I didn't."

Lucy's hands glided down, gently kneading the blonde's tight buttocks. She gasped and moaned softly when she felt the tip of megastar's tongue running down her neck. "You didn't?" Lucy responded but wasn't really paying attention to what the blonde was saying.

"Did you even hear what I just said?"

Surprised with the change in the tone of voice, Lucy opened her eyes. "huh?"

Alyson smiled at the look on the brunette's face, the effect she was having on her. It's her fault. She shouldn't be talking and kissing at the same time.

Lucy tried to remember what they were talking about. "I...know." Her hands glided up underneath the blanket. She shifted her body closer to the blonde. Their lips almost touched. "I'm your first." Lucy closed the gap and kissed her passionately.

The blanket dropped when Alyson released the hold. She reached down to untie Lucy's robe.

While kissing her deeply, Lucy allowed the blonde to take off her robe. She then pulled back to allow both of them to catch their breath and as she ran her mouth down, Alyson lifted herself up. "uhhhhh..." She tilted her head back, pressing her upper body against the brunette's touch. This isn't the first time she's been in the position, her knees on both sides of the brunette's thighs, but it's the first time she saw herself in this position. She looked down and saw her lover 'loving' her sensitive areas, capturing one with her mouth, the other with her hand. She wanted to remember each moment she spent with her lover, especially tonight, their last night together.

"I love you."

It wasn't the first time that Lucy heard her confession. Releasing the hold she had on the blonde's breasts, Lucy looked up and saw that there was something different about her, her small smile, her sparkling blue eyes. Lucy wondered what she was thinking about at this moment. "I..." As she was about to say the same thing the blonde said, she couldn't speak when the blonde captured her mouth in an open mouth kiss and gently pushed her down on the bed. Her wrists were then pinned down above her head.

When Alyson finally pulled back, Lucy opened her eyes and saw a pair of eyes looking deeply into hers. She could feel that there was something wrong and wanted to ask, but the megastar beat her to it by speaking first.

"You're beautiful." Alyson smiled, hovering the brunette's face.

Before Lucy could reply back with the compliment, her mouth was captured in another hot kiss.

"Ohhhhhh...Alyson..." She couldn't see what the blonde was doing, but she could feel what the blonde was doing under the blanket, kissing every inch of her body above the belly. Lucy previously wanted to take a shower, but that was no longer in her mind.

Alyson kissed her way back up as she continued to stroke her lover's sensitive area. She could feel her wetness. She could could feel her lover aching in need. Her hand glided back up as she slipped herself between the brunette's legs, their naked bodies rubbing against each other. _We really have to take a shower after this. _

"This is definitely better than playing card games." Alyson said, causing the brunette to chuckle.

Seeing the brunette's eyes closed, Alyson smiled at the reaction she caused. She kissed her lips each time her body glided up against hers. Being a few inches taller, she propped her elbows above the brunette's shoulders, gently stroking her cheek. So much has changed about herself since she met the brunette, she didn't think any of it was possible. She wondered what her parents would say if she decided to quit her career to be with her lover, a woman who was once a criminal. She wondered what her parents would say if her career comes to an end because of the brunette. She never thought that she could be so much in love with someone that she is willing to give up her career, her image, her life...for the one she's making love to at this moment. There is no doubt in her mind that her lover would do the same, risk her life to save hers. _I love you. _Feeling legs spreading even further apart underneath her body and warm hands pressing her buttocks each time she glided up against her lover, Alyson concentrated back on the current moment. Her body moved in a quicker pace as she moaned along with the brunette. Her moans getting louder as she was about to...

Then suddenly the phone rang.

Lucy opened her eyes and saw the 'what the eff you see kay' look on the blonde's face.

"Where's the phone?" Alyson looked around. "Oh God. It's on the coffee table."

"Are you expecting an important call?"

After the ringing stopped, Alyson let out a smile and continued where she left off. Her smile quickly turned upside down when the phone rang again.

"NO…" Breathing heavily into the crook of her neck, Alyson stopped moving. Realizing that her friends and crew member could come up if she doesn't answer it, she immediately got off the brunette, put the robe on and walked rapidly to pick up the phone.

"Hello...Oh hi dad" She walked rapidly over to the brunette and pressed her down with her hand, motioning her not to go anywhere.

Lucy was surprised when the blonde crawled on top of her. She didn't think she would want to continue when she's on the phone with her father.

"Nothing….just working out…." Holding the phone with one hand, Alyson took off her robe, then pulled the blanket over them with the other.

"Yes…tomorrow." Alyson said as she lay on top of the brunette, placed a finger on the brunette's mouth, motioning her to be quiet and pressed the speaker on.

Lucy spread soft kisses on her neck, keeping them as quiet as possible while roaming her hands all over the blonde's body.

"Everything…went…well. They…loved it." Alyson tried to control her rapid breathing; her sexual arousal building up under the brunette's soft touch.

Lucy stopped when she heard her father talking about her.

"I saw her. I did. I thanked her." Alyson said as she looked down on the brunette.

Lucy smiled when her father called her a genius.

She rolled her eyes when she saw the brunette nodding her head.

"Yes, she's a genius." Alyson then let out a shriek when the brunette suddenly flipped her over and rolled on top of her.

Besides preferring to be on the top, Lucy, like the blonde, didn't get her release yet but preferred to continue after the phone call. She did the same thing the blonde did awhile ago, putting a finger on her lips, motioning her to keep quiet. But when the blonde spread and bent her legs wide and up and pulled her closer, Lucy knew what she needed. Alyson pulled the blanket over their heads while her father continued to talk about what would happen if he did not listen to the brunette's advice. Lucy could still hear him under the blanket but was focusing on something else. Alyson was also concentrating on the same thing. After finally getting the release she was seeking, Alyson moaned loudly and put her legs back down when the brunette slowly came to a full stop and rolled off.

"I know you probably don't understand what I'm talking about, but honey, she's a life saver. I know you're busy and you probably want to do something else when you have time, but this is your money, you should take some time to learn how to manage it. Okay?"

"Okay…dad…see you to..mor...row." She said in shuddered breath, as she tried to catch her breath.

"Okay, honey…don't overdo it…"

After she hung up, both couldn't resist from laughing out loud at his father's last comment.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You…want you father to know about us." Lucy couldn't think of any other reason. If her mother was on the other line, she would have figured out what they were doing from the moaning and the bed's squeaking noise.

There was a moment of silence. Lucy wondered if she was right.

If she wasn't famous, no one would care about her love life. There were moments where she did want to talk about it with someone. But with whom? She can't tell her friends, even her best friends. She can't tell her mother. Her mother would never understand. Her sibling, no way. Her father may be more understanding as long as she isn't doing it with a man and getting pregnant. If he found out by accident, then so be it. That was her thought.

"I…don't…know…I guess…I just want someone to talk to…."

_Someone to talk to? _Lucy found it extremely odd why she would want to share her love life with anyone. Scud wanted to know and there was no way she would tell him about what they did.

"You want to tell them what you're feeling, why you fell for me?"

Alyson remained silent.

"Is that why you wrote the song?" Lucy said in a gentle voice. She understood why. That's how most of the songs were written. Writers write about their lives, their feelings and emotions that they feel at a certain moment.

Alyson again didn't respond.

"That…was very touching. I think everyone knew how you felt."

"You think so." Alyson said softly.

"They all felt it." Lucy turned her head slightly towards the blonde. "I…felt it."

Alyson smiled, shifted closer and hung her arm over the brunette's stomach.

"…and…" Lucy hesitated.

"…and what?"

"…and Uncle Nick figured it out."

Alyson immediately dropped her jaws and lifted her upper body. "No way!"

Lucy nodded and the blonde dropped her face into her neck to hide her embarrassment. She realized why Uncle Nick gave her that look on the boat.

Stroking her golden hair, Lucy tried to comfort her.

"He's not going to tell anyone….and….Scott knows too…."

"What!"

Lucy let out an apologetic smile. "Don't worry, they're not going to tell anyone."

Alyson shook her head. "That's not what I meant." She saw confusion on the brunette's face and dropped her head back on her shoulder. "You…have someone you can talk to."

Lucy realized the reason. She had forgotten that the megastar was just a normal person. Unlike her who had spent most of her life with males, her followers, she became tough like them, even tougher because she's the leader. She didn't want or need to talk about her love life with anyone. She didn't care what other people think. If she did, she wouldn't have given up everything to be with Amy.

She lifted the blonde's head to look directly at her.

"Alyson, I don't talk to anyone about my love life. What we have is between you and me. It's nobody else's business. That's what makes it special." She hoped this will comfort the blonde.

"You don't like to kiss and tell." Alyson joked.

"You…can talk to me." She knew that wasn't what the blonde meant.

"…or you can talk to your mother about Luke…" Lucy remembered the blonde had a great time talking with her mother about her, just not the real her.

Alyson couldn't resist chuckling, then laughing loudly. "I think…we've done…enough…talking." She spoke between kisses.

Lucy gasped when the blonde rolled on top of her and pressed her body against her core. _Oh God._

"Alyson…your father said not to overdo it." Not that she wasn't enjoying it, but what she really wanted was a shower.

"I never listen to my father." Ignoring the brunette, she leaned in to kiss her earlobe and rocked against the stunning body beneath her, hoping to send waves of pleasure through their hot bodies one more time.

* * *

Lying on the bed, Lucy took a look on the blonde's cell phone on the table and realized that they've been in bed for 2 hours, mostly talking and resting in between. She learned that Alyson was unlike her. Lucy had always been tough, even when she's just a little kid. If someone makes fun of her, she would let him or her know that she's not to be messed with. But Alyson was a typical teenager who had experienced bullying. She wasn't like Lucy who would go against the bully. She would ignore them any way she could. If they were walking on the same sidewalk as she was, she would walk on the other side of the street just to avoid them. That was the only way to prevent herself from getting into trouble as well as causing any trouble for her parents who had no idea. As a kid, she found it difficult to make friends in school. She has friends but not many. She wasn't sure why. So she ended up spending a lot of time in her bedroom, either reading a book or practicing on a guitar or piano.

"That's when I started writing..." Alyson said, leaning her head against the brunette's shoulders.

"That's when you wanted to become a singer?"

Alyson shook her head. "That happened later." She told her story in excitement about that moment when she sang her first song in front of a large crowd. "They were listening to me. Everyone was listening to me. I found that I could do something else with it. It's not about being popular. It's not about having people like you. It's not about making money. It's about making a difference. I...could make a difference."

_Alyson, how can I not come back? How can I let you end the career that you love...for me? _"...and you are making a difference..." Lucy said, trying not to show what she was thinking.

Alyson reached up to caress her cheek. "I'm not the only one."

"I am nothing compared to what you can do." Lucy said in a genuine tone.

While caressing the brunette's cheek, Alyson leaned forward and placed a short kiss on her lips. "You...are more important to me."

Lucy wondered if the blonde could read her mind. While looking deeply into each other's eyes, a chuckle then came from the blonde when she heard the brunette's stomach growling.

"Are you hungry again?" She asked teasingly, remembering that the same thing happened last time after they had 'sex'.

It's several hours until dinnertime. Lucy did feel a little hungry. She always does especially after intense workouts.

"Do you want to grab something to eat downstairs? " Alyson asked.

"Light snack, then hot tub."

"shower, light snack, then hot tub." Alyson said.

_Shower and hot tub. _A big grin appeared on the brunette's face. "Okay."

Alyson quickly got off the bed and picked up her clothing to cover herself. "I'll go shower in my room. See you later."

That wasn't what Lucy had in mind. Pouting her lips, she got up and saw the big mess she made; the roses in the vases have to be dumped out, the rose petals on the floor have be cleaned up, and the sheets on the bed have to be changed.

* * *

Sitting across from the blonde in the hot tub in her bathroom, Lucy crossed her arms and pouted her lips. She wasn't hiding her body from the blonde because there was no need to. After taking a quick shower and eating a light snack, she was asked to wear her bra and boy shorts before being allowed inside the hot tub.

Wearing a dark blue bikini and spreading her arms wide, the megastar closed her eyes and leaned her head back, feeling relaxed and comfortable as streams of hot water shot out, massaging her back.

Lucy had no idea why the megastar was still embarrassed about being naked in front of her.

_Could it be that she doesn't want to be naked in a hot tub that had been used by others? I don't mind. So why did she want me to wear something? Maybe she's still shy? Shy? Strange. She's the one who initiated. She's the one who wants to keep going. "_I don't get it."

"hmmm" Alyson said in her current position. "Did you say something?"

Lucy didn't mean to say it out loud. But since she did, she wanted to know what the blonde was thinking.

"I said I don't get it."

"You don't get what?" She lifted her head to look at the unhappy brunette sitting a few feet across from her.

"Why do I have to wear this and this?" Lucy pointed to her bra and boy shorts. "…and why are you wearing that?"

"It would be silly wearing long pants and shirt in the hot tub. Don't you think?" The megastar smiled.

Lucy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms again.

Seeing the brunette's disappointment, Alyson burst out laughing.

"…just because you've seen me naked, it doesn't mean I'm going to walk around with no clothes on…"

"Why not?"

"…because that's...what separates us from humans and animals…"

_Did she just call me an animal? _Lucy thought to herself._  
_

"That should only be done for special intimate moments." She smiled when she saw the brunette narrowing her eyes at her for having just called her an animal. "Imagine two people who loved each other very much, living in a house, just the two of them, not wearing anything all the time while they're inside the house. She paused to let it sink into the brunette's head.

"Now…can you imagine what it would be like in their intimate moments together? "

_She has a point. It wouldn't be as intense. No fireworks. No surprises. No urge to explore._

"Besides, I don't feel comfortable not having anything on." _Besides, I wouldn't be able think seeing you naked._

"Did you just call me an animal?"

Alyson smiled and remained silent. With an expressionless face, Lucy shifted to the other side and sat next to the blonde.

"Animals…aren't…that…gentle." Lucy spoke in a gentle voice into her ear. She wanted to let her know just because she feels comfortable being naked around her doesn't mean she's an animal. She had been especially gentle with her since it was her first time and because she's a superstar. She didn't suck hard on her neck or crushed her lips because she was afraid that it would leave a hickey or love mark on her exposed skin. Reporters would have something to say about that.

Alyson reached up to cup her cheeks and looked directly into her eyes. Droplets of water covered the brunette's face.

"You...are the most...gentle...and...considerate animal...I have ever met." She leaned in to give her a short kiss.

_That still makes me an animal._

"Then do you consider this a special intimate moment?" Lucy leaned in to kiss her gently on her cheek and neck.

All Lucy wanted to do was to be allowed to take off her undergarments in the hot tub. She wasn't expecting anything else.

"Keira…" Alyson cupped her face. "Clothing stays on." She chuckled when she saw the brunette pouting her lips.

As they relaxed their joints and muscles in the hot tub, Lucy gently massaged her shoulders from the back.

"Feels good." Lucy asked as she squeezed her tight shoulder.

"mhhm…thank you."

After Lucy was done, Alyson offered to do hers but the brunette declined. Since she didn't do anything strenuous yesterday or today, she didn't feel she needed it.

After a moment, Lucy got out of the tub while the blonde stayed behind to relax for a few more minutes. She went to the blonde's bedroom to get the hidden camera detector. Before she went Alyson's room, she had called the hotel service to have someone come up to clean her room. She noticed they weren't done yet when she heard the sound of the vacuum in her room.

While waiting for her room to be ready, she stood in front of the large window, looking out at the heavy rain pouring over the beautiful city of Paris. Gray clouds covered the sky, hiding the light away. It was gloomy, a feeling of sadness covered the city. That was how she would have felt if she was alone. But today she had the megastar to celebrate her birthday with her, to love her…unconditionally.

Tomorrow, they would go their separate ways…again. Tomorrow would be their final farewell. She would miss her, but she didn't feel as sad as last time. Alyson is a megastar. If she wanted to know what she's doing, whom she's with and where she is, all she had to do was search the net.

Alyson knew they wouldn't have a future together. That was the first thing she told her at the island. It's complicated. That's what she said to her mother. All she wanted was to spend more time with her and that's what she got. She wanted her to love her back and that's what she got. She said it last night before she sang her song. She just wanted to cherish the moment together. Lucy felt better when she realized that there wouldn't be a final farewell. She could actually visit the megastar if she wanted to.

"What are you thinking about?" Alyson said as she snaked her arms around her waist.

Lucy turned around in her arms. She reached up and gently rubbed her cheek. "You."

A sense of déjà vu washed over her. But this time was different. This time, she saw it in the brunette's eyes. She believed that the brunette was in fact thinking about her.

"Thank you…for being here. Thank you…for loving me...unconditionally. Thank you… for celebrating my birthday with me. Thank you…for…."

"Keira" Alyson interrupted her. "Thank you…for saving me. Thank you…for loving me. Thank you…for being part of my life."

Both smiled and leaned in for a long gentle kiss.

Holding each other, they danced in their white robes to the comfortable silence in the room and stopped when they heard Lucy's stomach growling again.

"Do you want to order room service now?" Alyson said in a gentle voice and at the same time wondered how the brunette could be in such fantastic shape when she clearly eats more than she does.

"I'll order it. What would you like to eat?"

When the megastar was about to respond, her cell phone rang. Both turned to the direction on the table.

It was her manager Paula calling to ask her if she wants to go down to eat dinner early. They were afraid there wouldn't be any seats left since all the guests would probably eat downstairs in the bad weather.

"Okay. I'll meet you guys down there."

Lucy wondered where she was going.

"They want me to go eat dinner with them."

"oh" Lucy said disappointed.

"If I don't go, they're going to come up to see if I'm okay."

Lucy nodded in understanding.

"I'll think of something and I'll come up as soon as I can. Okay?"

After the megastar left, Lucy found her room to be completely cleaned. She took the hidden camera detector and scanned the room before calling room service to order one romantic dinner. Since the dinner won't be here until an hour later, she decided to go for a walk inside the hotel. Lucy did the same thing as last time and put a small white piece of paper on the side of the door before closing it. As she walked past Alyson's room, she saw a good-looking man about 30 years old coming out of the room next to the megastar's. She realized that he must be the one who was making all that moaning noise at night. Lucy shivered and shook her head when she remembered the god-awful noise that he was making. As she waited for the elevator to come up, there was an elderly man and an elderly woman holding hands standing next to her. When the elevator door opened, the couple stepped inside and Lucy followed. Lucy pressed the button and when the door was about to close, a hand reached in to prevent the door from closing. The door reopened and Lucy recognized that it was the same young man. Lucy smiled and stepped aside to let him in. He was quite good looking, dark brown hair, cleanly shaved, tall and well built. She turned to the elderly woman who suddenly gasped out loud. Following her line of sight, Lucy realized why she was so shocked. Another good-looking man came in and had just kissed the man with dark brown hair on the...lips.

_Oh. That's where the god-awful noise came from. _Holding hands, both gentlemen turned around to look at the shocked elderly woman. Both smiled and turned back around. Lucy tried hard not to laugh at the stunned woman. There's always going to be people who just don't understand. In their eyes, people like her aren't normal. Some even believed that people like them aren't born like that. They believed people like them learned it from others. That's why a lot of countries don't allow gays to adopt. Lucy laughed at this every time she heard about it. She had a mother and a father. Then how come she turned out the way that she did?

As a young child, Lucy always knew she was different. She had no desire to be with a man. She doesn't even think about them in the way that she thinks about girls. When she was a young teenager in school, a boy caught her staring at a pretty girl. When he tried to tell his friends, she punched him in the face and threatened him that if he starts that rumor, she's going to start a rumor about him too and make his life a living hell. But later she found out that the reason he stayed away from her was not because of her threat but because he found out who her father was and what he could do.

After the male couple got off the elevator, the elderly woman couldn't resist saying 'what is this world coming to?' to her husband who tugged her hand, motioning her to keep quiet. If she wasn't an elderly, Lucy would have said something.

In the lobby, people were heading in different directions. Some were leaving and some were heading to the restaurant. Having nothing to do, Lucy stood in front of the large window watching people and cars busily passed by in this dark rainy day. When she saw a car splashing water all over a woman as it drove by, she let out a little gasp and felt sorry for the completely drenched woman. _Drenched._ Memories of her and the blonde agent spontaneously flowed into her mind. The day they met, they were completely soaked from the thunderstorm. She wondered where Kristin is and what she's doing at this moment. Lucy shut her eyes tight and shook her head to get rid of her thoughts. _Stop it. Stop it. Stop thinking about her. It's over. _

After blowing out a few deep breaths to clear her mind, she looked up at the gray sky and wondered what the weather would be like tomorrow. Then suddenly, when she felt a hand grabbing her shoulder, her reflex kicked in. She spontaneously grabbed on to the hand and twisted it as she turned around, causing the young lady to yelp.

"Owww!"

"Jesus! Kat, what are you doing here? Didn't they teach you not to do that?" Lucy immediately let go of her hand.

Thank goodness the lobby area was busy with people walking around and nobody was paying attention to them.

"Geez…this is a hotel. What do you think it's going to happen in a hotel?"

When she saw the look on the brunette's face, Kat remembered what happened last time in the megastar's room.

"Right. Sorry." Kat said.

Lucy crossed her arms and wondered what she's doing here.

Kat looked around. "Where…is…she?"

"Who?"

"You…know"

It took a moment for her to realize who she was looking for.

"eating dinner with her friends"

Kat smiled as she bit on her lip and turned her head towards the restaurant.

"In there?" She said, pointing to the restaurant.

Lucy nodded and rolled her eyes.

"Do you think I can…"

"No" Lucy cut her off, knowing what the short woman wanted. "Kat."

"yes" Kat turned her attention back to the brunette.

"Do you like her?"

"mhm" Kat nodded vigorously, smiling wide and when she realized what the brunette actually meant, she quickly corrected herself.

"NO…I mean I like her….but not like like her…not in that way….I'm not…okay?" She said as she shook her head, making sure the brunette understood what she meant.

"Just asking." Lucy shrugged her shoulders. She crossed her arms and waited for her to speak.

"Anyways, I was ordered to come here to see if you're still here and if you are, then they want me to ask you what the status is."

"Status?" _What the hell?_

"mhm…"

"Well, then you go back and tell her to shove it up her ass."

Kat immediately jerked back, surprised with her words.

"It's only been a few days. He's well and alive and the deadline is not up yet."

"So…you want me to tell her exactly what you said?"

"Yes." Lucy smiled as she thought about how the head of Division 16 would react to her inappropriate comment.

"o..kay…is there anything else you want me to tell her?"

"No"

Kat nodded and stood still. Lucy wondered what else she has to say.

"Is there anything else?" Lucy asked.

"mmm…no…no…" Kat said as her eyes looked up and around. "mmm…Is there anything you want to ask me about?"

Lucy was surprised with her question. She did want to know one thing.

"How's Michel?"

"He's fine. We're protecting him. We didn't notice anyone suspicious following him."

_That doesn't' mean nobody is following him. _"How's Ashley?"

"Fine."

"Alexis?"

"Fine…"

"What about…." Lucy wondered if they found out about Alec and Nadia. Did Michel tell them about Alec and Nadia? She decided to ask Anthony instead of given them more information. "Never mind."

Kat slowly nodded while looking at the brunette as if she was waiting for the brunette to say something.

"Is there anything else, Kat?"

"mmm…." Kat pondered for a moment and wondered if she should say something.

When she decided to say something, the brunette interrupted her.

"Can you accept gifts? I mean…are you allowed to accept gifts?" Since Kat loved the megastar so much, she thought about giving the VIP tickets to her.

"from whom?"

"me."

Kat frowned in confusion, wondering why the brunette would want to give her something. "You want to give me a present?"

"Sure. Why not? I just want to thank you for that time in the cell."

"Oh…" Kat didn't expect that. She did violate a few rules during that time for the blonde and her. "Thank you. But I can't."

"Are you sure? It's something that you really really really want."

_Something I really want._ She wondered what it could be. "How much is it?"

"I don't know. Maybe thousands of dollars."

"Thousands? No. I can't. I'm not allowed to."

"Oh…then never mind." _I tried. Maybe Uncle Nick was right. They belong to me._

When Lucy was about to walk away, Kat asked if she could get an autograph from the megastar since that doesn't cost any money.

"No" Lucy immediately responded and narrowed her eyes at her. Kat pouted her lips.

"Wait…" Kat called out.

Lucy stopped and turned around.

Kat cleared her throat before speaking in a soft voice. "Do you...want to know about…her?"

Lucy's heart immediately skipped a beat. She was just thinking about her and now someone came to tell her what she wanted to know. Should I ask where she is? Should I ask what she's doing? Lucy swallowed a lump in her throat as she stared into blank space. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to soothe the sharp pain that suddenly shot through her heart. If she asks her first question, there would be another question, then another, then another. Then what? It's just going to hurt her even more. If the blonde agent changed her mind, she would have been here with Kat. Her not being here told her that nothing's changed. _Besides, after tomorrow, after I kill that son of a bitch, I won't be here_.

"Keira?"

"No Kat. I don't." Lucy said with an emotionless face and walked away towards the elevator. Her eyes began to brim with tears. She pushed the elevator button multiple times, hoping that it would come down faster. As soon as the elevator door opened, she stepped in quickly and hit the close button. All alone inside the elevator, Lucy stood in the corner and leaned her head against the wall to hide the tears forming in her eyes. Knowing that there were cameras in the elevator, she didn't want anyone to see her teary eyes. If Anthony saw her now, he would say that she's gone soft. She admitted it. Ever since she met Amy, ever since Amy passed away, she hadn't been the same, no longer the same Lucy Diamond.

She took in a few deep breaths to hold back her tears, soothing her aching heart. When she heard the elevator door open, she wiped away the tear that was about to flow down her cheek and turned around. As two women entered the elevator door, she looked down on the floor, thinking about what just happened. _I should, at least, ask if she's okay, right? All I want to know is if she's okay. I would be happy just to know that. _As the elevator door was about to close, Lucy extended her hand between the elevator doors, stopping it from closing. Then she leaped out and pressed the elevator button multiple times.

"C'mon. c'mon." Lucy said as she kept pressing the down button. She looked up and realized both elevators were going up. She snapped her head to the right and ran towards the Exit sign. She pushed the door open and quickly ran down four flights of stairs. Breathing quickly, she ran towards the rotating entrance door. It was still raining but not as heavy as before. She looked to the right, then to the left but couldn't see Kat. _Where are you? _She held her hand over her eyes and slowly scanned each person across the street, looking for a short woman in a black raincoat. There were a lot of people wearing a black raincoat, carrying an umbrella. She walked to the right to get a better view. _No. I can't see her._ Then she ran back to the left. Noises were everywhere from the cars passing by, from the splashing of rain, from the rain hitting the ground.

"Kat!" She called out to the person in front of her. She quickly ran up towards her and realized it wasn't her when that person turned around.

She was unaware that the hotel restaurant was behind her. Guests who sat near the window could see her running without an umbrella, soaking wet. The megastar was one of those guests.

"Kat." She whispered and smiled when she saw the agent near the corner across the street. She jumped into the street and waited for the cars to pass by. "c'mon…c'mon."

Then all of sudden, her eyes moved away from the shorter woman and focused on a ball rolling out into the street. A little girl about five years old was running into the street, trying to catch the rolling ball. She turned to the right and saw a car approaching fast.

"no…no…no" Without thinking for her own safety, she quickly ran towards the little girl.

"Kat!" She shouted while focusing her attention to the little girl. A loud screeching sound was heard and everyone turned to the direction where the sound came from. Lucy grabbed the girl and picked her up and ran as fast as she could towards the other side for safety.

At the corner of her eyes, she saw the car was unable to stop in the slippery road and about to hit them. "Holy shit!" With all her strength, she threw the girl towards the group of people. Then she jumped as high as she could to avoid being hit. Screams were heard. When she landed on the hood of the moving car, she jumped again on the top of the car to prevent the momentum of the moving vehicle from throwing her off. Once her foot landed on the trunk, she quickly leaped one more time. When she was about to hit the ground, she bent her knees and moved her shoulders forward to get ready for the impact. After landing on her toes, she pushed her upper body forward and rolled on the wet hard ground.

Holding her breath, Lucy opened her right eye, then her left. She let out a deep breath when she found herself unharmed under a truck. The truck was right behind the unstoppable car. When she saw it was coming, there was no time to react so she lay flat on her back, holding her stomach in and hoped the driver doesn't turn his steering wheel.

"Are you okay?" Kat called out from the back of the truck.

Lucy moved her arms and legs to see if anything was broken.

"Yeaaaahhh…" She said in a dull tone as she tried to calm her beating heart.

"We have to go." Kat spoke urgently in a low voice, hoping no one noticed. But some people did noticed.

A crowd of people gathered around the scene where the little girl was.

"yea…yea.." Lucy shifted her body towards the end of the truck. Once she got out, Kat took off her raincoat and put it over the brunette. She requested the brunette to wait for her at the other corner of the street.

As her heart pounded rapidly, Lucy quickly walked towards the other end of the street while looking around to see if anyone was following her. When she saw someone looking at her, she decided to get into a taxi and take a ride around the block for several minutes. Once inside the taxi, she let out a few deep breaths and brushed her hair with hands.

"ouch…" She winced in pain. A fair amount of skin was scraped off on the palms of her hands. There was some blood and some small pebbles still stuck on her palms. Lucy touched her face to see if there were any injuries. She pressed on her elbows and her arms and knew she's going to get some bruises tomorrow. She slumped her back against the seat and relaxed her exhausted body as she looked at the rainy weather outside. _I may not be the same Lucy Diamond emotionally, but I'm still the same Lucy Diamond physically, even better_. Lucy smiled to herself.

After driving around three times, she saw Kat standing in the rain in the corner waiting for her. The crowd dissipated and people continued on with their business. Lucy got off the taxi and both walked to another street to talk.

"Is that little girl okay?" Lucy asked in a concern voice.

"She's fine."

"they could have surveillance cameras here."

"I know. I called my boss. She'll take care of it."

Lucy nodded and noticed that Kat was looking at her in a strange way.

"What?"

"You could have died." Kat was extremely surprised that the former ruthless leader of a criminal organization was willing to sacrifice her life for someone she doesn't know.

"you would have done the same."

Kat shook her head. "I couldn't do what you just did."

Lucy frowned in confusion. She thought that was the reason she joined the government agency, to save people.

"I couldn't jump over that car like that. WOW! How did you do that?" Previously, her jaws dropped when she saw her jumping over the car. It was like a stunt scene performed right in front of you without any wires. She wasn't the only who's shocked.

Lucy raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders. "reflex"

Kat nodded and smiled at the brunette. _Ruthless criminal? Yea...right._

"So did you want to ask me something?" Kat had a feeling that she wanted to ask about the blonde. _Oh my God._ If something happened to her just because she wanted to know about her, she would never have forgiven herself. The thought just occurred to her.

"mm….I…ah…I…" Lucy cleared her throat. "That comment about shoving it up her ass. Forget I said that."

"Oh." Kat was surprised that it wasn't what she thought. "okaaaay. Is…there…anything else?"

Lucy knew she was giving her another chance to ask about the blonde agent.

"mmm" Lucy let out a deep breath as stared down on the floor. When she held her bruised arm, she remembered that she was wearing her raincoat. As Lucy was about to take it off, Kat stopped her.

"Keep it. They might recognize you."

"Thank you but no."

"Why?"

"Because there could be bugs in this coat."

"There aren't any bugs in my coat. I had it washed the other day."

When Kat saw the 'are you kidding me?' look on the brunette's face, she realized what she meant.

"I wouldn't do that." Kat said, a little upset about her accusation, but later realized the brunette had a point.

"You wouldn't. Your boss would." Lucy reasoned.

Lucy handed her back the coat. She still had one question but even without asking it, she knew what the response would be. If something had happened to the blonde agent, Kat would have told her. So she changed her mind and decided to just go back to the hotel.

"See ya. Kat." Lucy's stomach growled again.

"She's fine." Kat called out from a few feet away.

Without turning around, Lucy let out another deep breath. "Thank you." Tears spontaneously formed and her heart ached every time she thought about the blonde agent. "Tell her…to take care of herself." Without waiting for a response, Lucy headed back to the hotel to spend the last day with her other love.

Kat watched the brunette disappear from her view before walking slowly back to the taxi. She looked around before entering the back seat, making sure nobody was following her. Sitting in the back seat of the taxi, she asked the driver to start driving.

"Is she okay?"

When Kristin saw how the brunette was almost hit by the car, she cried out so loud, it startled the taxi driver.

Like everyone else, she was shocked when the brunette jumped over the car. It looked like she had superpowers. She was so worried. She got out of the car and wanted to see the brunette herself but Kat signaled her to stay put. When she saw the brunette was able to walk without limping, she let out a sigh of relief, knowing that she wasn't badly injured.

"Fine. Just some minor scrapes on her hands."

Kristin nodded and waited for her to continue. She looked at Kat and saw that she was deep in thought.

"Kat?"

Her thoughts were broken. "Yes"

"What…did…she say?"

"She said to shove it up her ass." Kat chuckled, and covering her mouth.

"What?"

"Sorry" Kat knew that's not what the blonde wanted to hear. But she just couldn't resist.

She turned to look at the blonde and spoke with a serious tone.

"I asked her...in the hotel. She…hesitated and said No…and then left."

Kristin immediately covered her mouth, unable to control the tears from flowing down her face.

"She…didn't…?" She said in a trembling voice, thinking that the brunette must be still angry with her.

"Is she…angry with me?" Kristin said as she sniffed in her tears.

"I don't think so. I think she changed her mind. That's why she came out."

Wiping her tears away, she waited for her to continue.

Kat explained what happened. The crude comment from the brunette made them both let out a small laugh. Kristin felt a little better, knowing that the brunette wasn't angry with her.

"She said…to take care of yourself."

Hearing that, her heart immediately dropped to the floor. Kristin covered her aching heart. Knowing that she would never be able to see the brunette again, she couldn't control herself and broke down immediately in front of Kat, in front of a stranger. It was something she never thought she would do. Kat shifted closer and allowed the blonde to cry on her shoulder.

"Sssshhhh" Kat patted her back lightly to comfort her.

_Her heart is telling her one thing; her mind is telling her something else._

The sudden burst of crying startled the driver. From the rear mirror, he could see the blonde crying uncontrollably on the other woman's shoulder.

"What would you do, Kat? What would you do?" She spoke into her shoulder as she continued to cry. She couldn't think anymore. It hurts too much. _If Kat said to follow my heart, then that's what I will do. _

"Kristin..." Kat let out a sigh. "...you have to make that decision yourself."

Since she has never been in love, she doesn't know what it feels like. She doesn't know how much it hurts not to be able to be with the one you love. She can't tell her to sacrifice everything for the sake of love. What if the brunette doesn't feel that way about her anymore? Why did she say 'take care' if she still wants her? Why didn't she want to know more about her if she still wants to be with her? She didn't even try like she did in the cell. _Something has changed._

"I'm sorry." She said as she stroked her hair up and down.

* * *

As she walked inside the hotel, Lucy frowned in confusion, wondering why people were staring at her. _Shit!_ Lucy wondered if they recognized her as the one saving the kid.

When a hotel staff approached her and handed her a towel, she let out a sigh of relief. _I must look like shit._

Lucy thanked the staff and quickly headed towards the elevator. On her way up, she wondered if the megastar was still in the restaurant. _Oh shoot_. She totally forgot about the room service. She hoped the dinner isn't here yet since she doesn't want to eat a cold steak. _Did I put the 'Do not disturb sign on'? _

She walked rapidly towards her room and found that the sign was on the knob. She slowly opened the door and noticed the white piece of paper was still there. Feeling extremely uncomfortable in her wet clothes, she wanted to take a shower immediately. But before she did that, she called the room next door to see if the blonde came back yet. She locked the door to her side of the room just in case friends of the megastar would come up to visit her.

"Keira, WHERE ARE you?!" Alyson said loudly in a concerned tone.

Lucy immediately held the phone a few inches away from her ear.

"I'm in my room."

"OPEN THE DOOR!"

Lucy frowned in confusion, wondering why the brunette was shouting.

When she hung up, she heard the blonde knocking on her door as if there was an emergency.

"Okay. Okay." Lucy quickly walked towards the door in her wet clothing.

As soon as the door was unlocked, Alyson pushed the door open and scanned the brunette from top to bottom.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?" Alyson said as she touched her shoulders, her arms, her face, and all over her body.

"I'm fine. Why?"

It took a moment for Lucy to realize that the megastar might know what she did. But how?

Alyson wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly. "You scared me to death"

"You saw me?" Lucy spoke softly on her shoulder.

The megastar didn't respond, holding her lover in her arms as she thanked the Lord.

Lucy knew how much the blonde loved her and remained silent, hugging her tighter.

They stood in that position for a moment until an embarrassing sound came from the brunette's stomach. Alyson pulled back and smiled sweetly at the brunette.

Both turned to the direction on the door when they heard 2 knocks.

"Dinner's here." Lucy said and walked towards the door. Since she didn't want anyone to know who she's having a romantic dinner with, she didn't allow the hotel staff to push the cart inside. Lucy decided to take a quick shower before eating dinner. After she was done, she walked out and noticed the table was already set up with candles lit and the room was dimly lit. It was like the other day when they had the romantic dinner except this time they were completely comfortable with each other.

"I'm starving." Lucy said as she sat down. This time they didn't toast each other before taking a sip of the wine.

Lucy's eyes opened wide and licked her lips as she stared at her juicy medium steak. She was hungry before she left the room and after using so much energy, she was starting to feel weak. She quickly picked up the fork and knife. When she tried to slice the steak, she immediately dropped the utensils when she felt a stinging pain in her palms.

"What's the matter?" Alyson quickly walked over when she saw the brunette wincing in pain and looking at her palms.

"Oh my god!" Spots of blood were oozing out of her torn skin. Alyson quickly took a napkin and covered her injured palms.

As she was about to walk away and go into her room to get some bandage, Lucy grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"Alyson, I'm okay."

"You have to put antibiotics on it before it gets infected."

"Later." Lucy placed her hand on her stomach. "I'm really, really hungry. I think I'm going to faint if I don't eat something first." Lucy could feel her hand was starting to tremble, realizing that she must have over exerted herself earlier.

Alyson let out a small smile when she heard her stomach growling again.

Since the brunette had trouble holding on to her utensils, the megastar decided to feed her.

"Open wide." Holding a fork up with a slice of steak in front of the brunette's mouth, Alyson spoke to her as if she was feeding a child.

Lucy happily opened her mouth wide.

"mmm..mmm…mmm" She said as she tasted the juicy steak.

The megastar could tell how hungry the brunette was when she finished her entire meal, the potatoes, the dinner roll, the steak and even ate some of her dinner.

Lucy stood up and stretched her arms, feeling so much better now that she's full.

* * *

Sitting in the couch in her pajamas shorts and short sleeve shirt, Lucy winced in pain each time the blonde dabbed the antibiotic ointment on her scraped skin.

"Who were you looking for?" Alyson asked as she wrapped a bandage on her hand.

Lucy realized that she saw a lot more than just how she rescued the kid. "I…was…looking for Kat."

Alyson remembered who Kat was and nodded. "Why?"

"I…forgot to tell her something." Lucy told her why the agent came and the crude remark she made.

The blonde shook her head and smiled at the unbelievable brunette who doesn't seem to be afraid of anything or anyone.

After wrapping up her right hand, she did the same on her right forearm. Her left palm wasn't as bad so she just placed a small white bandage on it.

"Anywhere else?"

"yea…could you take a look at my back?" Lucy wondered if she scratched her back when she rolled on the pavement.

When the megastar lifted her shirt, she let out a small gasp, immediately covering her mouth.

"What? Is it bad?"

"Not that bad." She cleared her throat and quickly put some ointment on.

After she was done, Lucy noticed the blonde's cheeks were all red.

"I'm going to take a shower." Alyson said and quickly headed back to her room.

_Strange._ Lucy went into the bathroom to look at her back in the mirror.

"Jesus!" She couldn't see all of her back, but could see enough to know where the scratches and blood marks came from. They looked like scratches made by a cat, the megastar…that is.

"…and she calls me an animal…"

* * *

Sitting comfortably on the center of the couch, Lucy flipped through the channels on the television to see if there were any news about the accident. She had been doing that for 20 minutes and didn't see any news about the rescue. She hoped that the Head of Division 16 did something about it. If she couldn't, Lucy hoped the surveillance cameras with the bad weather would prevent others from recognizing her. The accident happened outside the hotel so there definitely would be some captured videos of her running pass the entrance door. _Maybe Scud could do something about it. But then he'll know I'm here. Shoot._

"Is the news on?" Alyson asked as she flopped down next to the brunette and focused on the tv.

"Did they talk about you?"

Lucy frowned when she saw how excited the blonde was. It was like she wanted people to know that she saved the little kid.

"Alyson, they can't know that it was me."

She completely forgot about her status. What she wanted to see was how she was able to jump over the car. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking. It's just that…I want to see how you jumped over that car…it's soooo…incredible…so unreal….so unbelievable…it was like you've got super powers…how did you do that?!"

"a lot of practice"

Alyson smiled, remembering that was what she said back in Venice when she tried to take her shirt off.

"Really? Do you work out every day?" Her eyes slowly scanned her body from her chest to her midsection to her bottom, then back up. What she wanted to know is how the brunette could eat so much and still stay in such good shape. She herself is in shape but not as sexy as the brunette's.

"…not everyday…sometimes every other day…" Lucy smiled when saw the blonde's eyes focusing on her body instead of her face.

She leaned in closer to the blonde and whispered. "You…know…you don't look too bad yourself. You…look…amazing." She leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips.

As she placed gentle kisses on her neck, she whispered. "You…look…perfect."

She leaned forward and laid on top of the megastar and spoke softly between kisses. "You…look…hot…with the shorts…and the guitar." Lucy hovered over the blonde's face and looked at her left eye, then on the right, then on her lips, and back up.

Alyson swallowed as her heart beat rapidly. Her breathing became quicker as her sexual desire starts to build up.

"Do you…want to…try something new?"

Alyson swallowed again. "Something new?" _What does she mean by that? She's not thinking of…I can't…  
_

"something more interesting"

"more interesting?"

"something so incredible…you wouldn't want to stop…" Lucy whispered seductively.

Alyson swallowed again. Her heart pounded so fast and so loud, she had trouble hearing what the brunette was saying. With the tv still on, it made it even harder.

"I…" She said in a trembling voice.

"C'mon." Lucy got off the blonde and pulled the blonde up.

"Keira…I…"

Lucy pulled her towards the bed.

"….I can't…"

"Sure you can." Lucy jumped up on the bed.

_Maybe I should have given her something else for her birthday. But damn, it did feel…g..._

"what are you doing?" Alyson said in confusion when she saw the brunette jumping up and down on the king size bed.

"You want to know how I jumped over the car. So I'm going to show you how and you can try it. Okay?"

"Oh."

Lucy smiled when she saw her disappointment. She knew what the blonde was thinking.

"First, you'll have to learn how to roll properly without hurting yourself. You have to roll on your shoulder like this." Lucy demonstrated the Parkour rolling technique on the bed.

"After you learn that, then you'll need to learn how to land with your toes." Lucy jumped up and showed her how to land properly on the bed, then again, and again.

"Then you'll be able to do this without getting hurt." Lucy jumped off the bed and landed on the floor and rolled to the ground.

"See. If you do it right, it won't hurt that much." Lucy held her breath when she suddenly felt a dull pain on the back of her right shoulder. _Must be from the impact earlier. _

"Now you try."

"I'll be right back." While Alyson quickly headed back to her room, Lucy wondered why the blonde's cheeks turned instantly red again.

When Alyson came back, both got on the bed and Lucy showed her how to roll first. Then when Lucy started jumping up and down, she noticed the blonde wasn't looking at her eyes. Lucy stopped jumping when she realized the megastar was looking at her chest. She was wearing her pajamas clothing but she wasn't wearing a bra underneath it.

"Very funny." Lucy said as she crossed her arms. She realized why the blonde went back to her room…to put her bra on.

Alyson couldn't control herself and burst out laughing while rolling on the bed.

Lucy got off the bed and let the blonde try it out. After learning how to roll on the bed, she practiced landing on the floor with her toes. Lucy took the blanket and lay it on the floor so it wouldn't hurt that much.

"Do you need to take a break?" Lucy was surprised that she didn't feel dizzy like most people usually do after rolling a few times.

"No"

"Okay. Now try jumping on the floor and roll on your shoulder. Put your hands out like you're catching a football."

The first time Alyson did that, it did hurt a little. After several tries, Lucy asked her to try jumping off the bed which isn't very high. She immediately clapped her hands, surprised how fast the blonde was able to grasp the concept.

Without even asking, the blonde jumped up on the bed and did the parkour roll again…then again and again.

"Wow!….I'm really impressed." Lucy said to the exhausted megastar lying on the bed.

"That was fun." Alyson smiled as she tried to catch her breath.

"Yea…I knew you would like that." She leaned on her side and gave the blonde a moment to catch her breath before placing a kiss on her cheek.

" Now...where were we?" Lucy hovered over the blonde and kissed her softly on the lips. Her right hand glided down and slipped under her shirt. She had forgotten the blonde had her bra on. As she was about to move her hand to the back to unhook her bra, the blonde pushed her away.

"I'm going to take another shower."

_Another shower?_ Lucy raised her eyebrows and smiled wide. "Can I come?"

"No" Alyson immediately responded and got off the bed. "I'll be right back." She said as she gave her a sweet kiss on her pouting lips.

* * *

Lucy went back to watching tv. After a moment, she heard Alyson calling, asking her to go into her room. As she walked towards the door, she thought it was odd that the door was closed. When she opened it, she was completely surprised. All of the lights have been turned off in the megastar's room. City lights shone through the window. Standing several feet away from her was the megastar holding a small birthday cake lit with candles.

"H..a…p..py birth…day to you…H…a…p…py birthday to you."

Her voice resonates so beautifully that all she could do is listen in awe.

"H…a…p…py birth..day to Lu…cy."

"H…a…p..py birthday…toooo…yooooou."

With the flickering flames shining on the birthday girl's face, Alyson could see tears brimming her lover's eyes. She leaned in to give the brunette a short kiss on her cheek.

"Happy birthday, Keira."

The cake was beautifully decorated with chocolate covered strawberries with chocolate drizzle and shavings. It was small, but more than enough for two. Ten candles were placed in the shape of 2 and 8.

Touched and surprised, Lucy swallowed to hold in her tears. What she wanted to do now is hug the blonde and kiss her for all she's worth.

"Make a wish." Alyson said in a gentle voice.

Lucy took two seconds and blew all the candles out with one quick blow. She immediately took the cake and put it on the table and hugged the blonde around her waist tightly.

The birthday girl didn't say anything, but the megastar knew she was moved by it.

They stood embraced for a moment until the brunette felt something strange on the blonde's back.

Lucy pulled back and could tell from the dim lighting that the megastar was wearing a pair of short tight black shorts and a black sleeveless sports bra like leather top, exposing a small part of the midsection above the belly. _Wow!_

"umm…Alyson…why are you wearing that?" Lucy realized why she didn't let her join her in the shower earlier. The outfit was similar to what she wore at the island when she performed for her and Scud except the top wasn't showing that much skin. She looked even hotter.

"Let's eat first." Alyson ignored her question and took the cake to the brunette's room.

Having eaten too much earlier, Lucy was still full and only wanted a small slice of the cake. The megastar took one of the chocolate covered strawberries and fed it to the birthday girl.

"mm….this is really good. Where did you get it?" Lucy said.

"from the restaurant downstairs"

Lucy nodded in understanding realizing that the blonde had a plan when she went downstairs to eat with her friends.

After they finished eating, the megastar put the music on from her phone and both danced slowly to the soft romantic music in the dim room. Lucy wrapped her arms around the taller blonde and rested her head comfortably on her shoulders. Facing the wide windows, the megastar could see the lit up Eiffel tower and knew the day is almost coming to an end. She hugged the brunette tighter as if she was going to disappear in any moment. After the first song ended, another song came on. But this song had only the sound of a guitar playing. Lucy understood why when the megastar started singing softly over her shoulder. She was singing their song. Lucy closed her eyes, listening to the beautifully written lyrics, her captivating voice, just relishing the moment.

"That's…beautiful." Lucy whispered after the song ended.

"I'm glad you like it." Alyson leaned into to kiss her gently on the lips. Lucy then placed a trail of gentle kisses on her neck.

Knowing where this would lead to, the megastar immediately pulled back.

"What's wrong?"

"I…don't want to go to sleep yet." She knew that after they do it, they would be too exhausted to have a conversation and would fall asleep afterwards, which it's not what she wanted to do. What she wants is to spend more time with the brunette.

"I wasn't thinking of going to sleep either." Lucy let out a lopsided smile and raised her eyebrows.

"Let's watch a movie." Alyson quickly pulled away and turned on the tv.

Frowning in confusion, Lucy wondered why the blonde suddenly pulled away.

With their fingers intertwined, both sat closely together as they watched another movie spoken in French. _Oh...my...God. Why did I pick this one? Do all French movies have sex scenes in them?_. The movie was showing a man and a woman ripping each other's clothing off and both landed on the table and was about to….

Alyson took the remote and changed the channel. Lucy swallowed, trying to control her sexual urge. She turned to look at the blonde and wondered what she was thinking. _She did wear a sexy outfit. Did she not want to do it? It's okay if she doesn't. _When she felt the blonde's hand rubbing and squeezing hers, she noticed something different. The megastar's fingernails were all much shorter than before. _Okay. If she doesn't want to do it, then why cut her nails? Maybe she changed her mind?_

Alyson changed the channel back and hoped there weren't any more sex scenes. After a long long moment, Lucy let out a yawn. She wasn't sleepy, but she was starting to feel a little sore on her shoulders.

"I'm going to sleep." As she was about to stand up, the blonde suddenly pulled her right hand down, causing the brunette to yelp when she felt another dull pain on her right shoulder blade.

"Are you okay? What's the matter?"

Lucy reached over to her right shoulder as she winced in pain. "It's nothing…it just hurts a little."

"Where? Here?" Alyson said as she pressed on her right shoulder blade.

"There. Ah!..ssss" Lucy yelped at the contact.

The blonde lifted the back of her shirt and saw that her shoulder blade was swollen. She quickly went into her room and grabbed a bag and put some ice in it.

"Is that any better?"

Lucy laid comfortably on the bed with her back facing upwards while Alyson held the bag of ice over her inflamed shoulder blade.

"mhm" With her eyes closed, Lucy smiled.

"here…take this…it's ibuprofen." It was quite obvious how she got the pain. Lucy took the pills as told.

As they waited for the swelling to decrease, the megastar massaged her shoulders and legs, kissing her in various places in between. "get some rest." This was not how she thought the night would end.

Hearing that, Lucy opened her eyes and reached out to grab the blonde's hand, preventing the blonde from leaving. It was quite difficult not to focus on the blonde's upper chest because her top was designed to push up her breasts, making it look perkier. She was showing a lot of skin on the top. Lucy didn't realize she was licking her lips while she was looking at her chest. She looked up and saw the blonde smiling at her. _She noticed._

"Why are you wearing that?"

"It's my new outfit for my concert. Do you like it?" Alyson did a full turn.

All the brunette could think of was if she, as a female, is staring at her chest, then that would capture the attention of every man. They wouldn't be paying attention to her music. They would be paying attention to her upper body.

"Don't you think…that is showing a little too much?"

The megastar sat back down on the bed and noticed that the former leader was looking at her chest again and not her face. "I'm not even showing any cleavage."

"I know but…do you think you can wear something else that doesn't show...that much?"

As the blonde shifted her body closer, Lucy's eyes spontaneously glanced at her chest, then back at her eyes, back and forth.

"It's not showing that much. This top covers more areas than a sports bra."

"But I just think that if you want people to listen to your music, you should wear something with…more…material." Lucy swallowed, trying to control her sexual desire.

Alyson leaned in closer and noticed the effect her outfit had on the brunette. "if they like my music, then even if I wear a winter coat on the stage, they'd still like it."

When Lucy realized that she wasn't getting through to the blonde, she sat up straighter.

"Alyson, I just think that…" She couldn't speak when the blonde suddenly kissed her.

"For your eyes...only." The top was originally designed for her to wear but the megastar also thought it showed too much skin. Since the brunette thought she looked hot in her stage outfit, she decided to wear this just for her.

_For my eyes only?_ Lucy swallowed hard. Ideas of what she was going to do with that outfit immediately appeared in her mind. _Ripping it off from her body, that's what she wanted to do with it. _ As Lucy leaned in to kiss her lips, the blonde suddenly stepped back, away from the bed.

"You want me? Come and get me."

"Come and get you?" Realizing that the blonde was playing hard to get, Lucy was undecided on what to do. She could just sit here and let the blonde come to her, because she knew Alyson eventually will. She was used to do that in the old days. She rarely chased after the girls. The girls voluntarily go to her.

"I think I'll just lie here." Lucy said and turned on her body sideways away from the blonde as if wanting to go to sleep.

That wasn't what Alyson expected her to say. She noticed the way the brunette looked at her earlier. She had an idea what the brunette was thinking at that moment. The expression on her face, her eyes glowing, her tongue sliding in and out for a moment, four letters were practically written all over her face...Love, Lust, and...

Lucy knew she succeeded when she felt a warm hand gliding up from her thigh to her butt.

"Keira..." Alyson said in a sweet gentle tone.

With eyes closed and a small smile, Lucy responded. "hmmm"

"Did you hurt your booty earlier?" Alyson spoke seductively in her ear as she gently rubbed her behind in a circular motion.

"no" Lucy wondered why she asked. The moment she responded, she quickly realized why. "OWW!..."

She frowned at the blonde who stood a few feet away near the end of the bed. She didn't expect the blonde to slap her behind. _Why did she do that?_

"You want me, come and get me."

Without hesitation, Lucy jumped off the bed. Screaming in her high pitch voice, Alyson ran towards the living room. The room wasn't as big as the one next door, so there wasn't much space to run around. They ran around the sofa two times. Panting and giggling at the same time, Alyson stopped while standing between the sofa and the tv when the brunette stopped running after her. It felt...fun. It felt as though she was chasing her literally and metaphorically. The idea just came to her a moment ago. She didn't want the night to end so early. What she wanted to do was have more memories with the brunette, not just memories of them watching movies together or making love on their last night.

"try to catch me..."

"You don't think I can?" Lucy said as she walked around the sofa.

"I don't think you can." said the blonde standing between the tv and the coffee table.

"Then you don't know me too well." without hesitation, Lucy jumped over the sofa, then jumped on the coffee table.

"AH!" Surprised by the sudden movement, Alyson screamed and quickly ran towards the door near the bed where it leads to her own room. When she turned the doorknob and opened the door, she screamed again when the brunette kicked the door shut. Bang! It startled her.

"Got ja..." Lucy said as she wrapped one arm around her waist.

Alyson turned around, her back against the door. "Is this...the other side of you I haven't seen?"

"Are you scared?" Lucy said in her Lucy Diamond voice as she pressed her palms against the door on each side of the blonde's head, preventing her from leaving.

Alyson shook her head. "I wouldn't be here if I am. Show me the real you."

Lucy frowned, unsure of what she meant.

"Show me...the real Lucy Diamond." Alyson said in a serious tone.

After a moment of staring at the blonde, Lucy stepped closer, their face two inches apart. She reached up and slowly glided the back of her hand from the blonde's face down to her neck, swiping across her upper bare chest, her shoulder, down the length of her long arm before grabbing her wrist, holding it up and pressing it against the door. She then leaned in, their cheeks almost touching.

"Are you sure? You might not like the real me." Lucy said in a dark tone and took the blonde's other wrist, held it up and pinned it against the door.

"I want to know." Alyson replied in a soft tone, trying to control her heartbeat from racing out of control.

"What about you? Are you really the good girl they say you are or... " She leaned forward and spoke into her ear. "Is there a darker side of you?"

"Would you like...to...see...my dark side? You might not like it."

"I'll be the judge of that." Lucy closed the gap between their lips and pulled back for a short moment before devouring her mouth with her own. She kissed her feverishly from her jaw to her neck while pressing her wrists against the door as if hungry for sex, not for love. No longer gentle, Lucy kissed hard on her skin, from her neck down to her overexposed area above her chest. She was surprised when the blonde held her head and pulled her up for a deep kiss, her tongue thrusting hard and fast into her mouth. When she tried to pull back, Alyson kept moving forward, forcing her to move backwards. She stopped when the back of the knee hit the edge of the bed and let out a low gasp when the blonde pressed hard on her chest, pushing her down on the bed. In front of her she saw something else she had never seen before, the animalistic side of the megastar. Dressed in black leather shorts and a black sports bra like outfit, all she needed was a whip, looking like she was about to tame an animal. _I'm the animal. _ Lucy swallowed and shifted back as the blonde crawled on top of her.

Straddling the brunette, Alyson reached down and realized that she didn't have a belt on. _Dang it. _Keeping her lion tamer eyes on the brunette, like an animal on four legs, she hovered over the brunette lying flat on the bed. Like an animal looking at its prey, she scanned the brunette, moving her body up and down before grabbing the brunette's wrists and pressing them against the sheets next to her head. With a serious look, she leaned closer and stared at the brunette underneath her. Like a tiger tasting its food, she slowly stuck her tongue out, licked the brunette's face from the bottom to the top, and again.

_Oh god._ If she wasn't already turned on, that would do it. Lucy closed her eyes when she felt the blonde's tongue licking her cheek down to her neck, nipping, sucking, and..."AHHH!" Her eyes opened wide. "You bit me?!" Lucy tried to feel the bite on her neck but couldn't. Her wrists were still pinned down.

"Would you like to see more of my darker side? We could...do...something...else." Alyson spoke in a wicked way as she scanned the brunette's chest and further down while licking her bottom lip.

"Stop playing around. It hurts."

"Hey! I wasn't that bad. Was I?" Alyson let go of the brunette's wrists, disappointed that the brunette found out that she was only acting.

"Is it bleeding?" Lucy touched the bite mark and tilted her head up to let the blonde see. She couldn't believe that the blonde did what Alexis had wanted to do. She didn't think that was her intention, though.

_uh oh_. Alyson didn't mean to bite that hard. There's a bite mark on her neck. She blew on it to soothe it. "I'll make it better, okay?" She said in a gentle voice and placed a gentle kiss on it, then another and another.

All the curtains were closed. All the lights were off except for the lamp on the table next to the king size bed. All of their clothing were tossed somewhere on the floor, the bed, the chair.

Lying on top of the blonde with a blanket covering their naked hot wet bodies, Lucy stopped for a moment to catch her breath. They had been doing this for half an hour.

"This is the real Lucy Diamond?" Alyson said, breathing heavily against the brunette's face. What she felt was like the first time they made love. The brunette was gentle, considerate, and knew where she was allowed and not allowed to touch.

"Were you expecting something else? Don't believe everything you heard about me. Most of them aren't true." Lucy whispered, hinting that no one else can know about it.

What Alyson heard was that she was a ruthless notorious leader of a large criminal organization. She wasn't sure if the brunette was showing her true self, the way she used to be. That's how they usually portrayed crime bosses on tv. They don't want love. They want sex; rough, hard sex. And they always get what they want, whenever they want, any way they want. She didn't think the brunette would be like those type of crime bosses, but still she wondered what she was like.

"You were pretending?"

Lucy smiled. "It was kind of fun...wasn't it?" She thought so. Acting, she never thought she could be better at it than a real actress who's lying underneath her. But the blonde looked disappointed.

"Sorry, but I'm not into that sort of thing." Lucy said in a low voice. "...but if you want, I could..." Lucy stopped when the blonde cupped her cheeks.

"I love you...just the way you are." She lifted her head up to give her a short kiss. She's not into that kinky stuff either. "How did you know I was pretending?"

"mm..." Lucy looked down on the blonde's chest and looked back up.

"what?"

Instead of telling her what gave it away, Lucy showed her by placing a trail of kisses from her neck down to her chest. When that didn't arouse her enough, Lucy shifted down, kissing her bare breast, caressing the other with her left hand.

"ohhhhh...Keira..." Alyson moaned loudly and spontaneously arched her back when she felt her tongue on her sensitive area.

Lucy moved back up.

"Look." Lucy looked down on the blonde's chest, rising and falling rapidly. "You can't control that."

It took a short moment for Alyson to understand. When she asked the brunette to show her the real Lucy Diamond, she was quite nervous and Lucy saw right through her. "I guess...I would need more practice."

"more practice?" Lucy thought she was just pretending, not practicing for another role that involves that type of kissing. "you're not thinking of taking those kind of roles, are you?..because you promised me..."

"There's a role I really want to play. She's a badass, but then she turns good in the end. But there's this part where she has to..."

"Alyson, you promised, no roles where it requires any kind of nudity."

"there's no nudity."

"what about kissing?"

"Keira, most roles require that...it's only a little kiss..."

"little? what you just did, that wasn't a little kiss, that was like what you would see in a rated R movie, that was more than..." Lucy continued on ranting, trying to convince the blonde from not accepting that role.

Alyson internally smiled at the brunette's reaction. _She's jealous. She_ planted an open mouth kiss on her lips to stop the brunette from talking. "I'm kidding."

"Oh..." Lucy wasn't sure why she reacted that way, like an overprotective jealous girlfriend. It's not like they're going to be together. One of these days, Alyson is going to be with someone and she would be happy for her. But the thought of the megastar kissing a stranger in that way on tv made her blood boil. Kissing her lover behind closed doors is one thing. Kissing a stranger on tv is another. With that type of kiss, there would be touching, bodily contact, just like what they're doing right now...but on tv. She just couldn't accept that.

Seeing her still eyes looking down at her, Alyson said in a gentle voice as she cupped her cheeks. "What are you thinking about?"

Lucy placed her hand on her face and caressed her cheek with right thumb while capturing every detail of her face. "I'm thinking...there must be...thousands of people who would want to be...me, right now...at this moment."

Alyson didn't expect her to say that, but was touched by it. "Thousands?" She shook her head. "millions..." Alyson said in a cocky tone.

"millions?..." Lucy chuckled at her arrogant response. She was surprised she didn't say billions.

Both remained silent for a moment as they gazed at each other's eyes. No words need to be said, both knew what each other was thinking. It was almost time to say good night. This night will be their last, this moment will be their last.

"Jealous?"

Lucy chuckled loudly again and nodded. "They would be so jealous...of you."

Alyson rolled her eyes at the comment, but agreed that it could be true. She was certain that people would find the brunette more attractive than her. She was certain, if the brunette's picture was placed on the cover of a magazine, her lover would be famous, maybe more famous than her. She was certain that her lover would capture the hearts of millions. "Yes, they would be."

Lucy didn't expect her to agree. She placed a kiss on her lips, then another on her cheek, and continued on her neck. "They would be so...jealous...of me." Lucy said between kisses, letting the megastar know how she really felt. She lifted her head when she felt a pair of hands pushing her head up. Lucy stopped what she was doing and waited for her to say something but when the blonde didn't speak a word, just looking deeply at her, she spoke to break the silence. "There would be a long line of people from here to the US wanting to kill me, if they found out." Lucy said as a joke but noticed that the blonde might have thought more into it than what it really was by her frown. She quickly added. "...and the first one in line would be Anthony..." Lucy smiled when the blonde laughed out loud.

"Then we can't let him know, can we?"

"no...we can't..." If Anthony finds out, Lucy wasn't sure what he would do. Not talking to her for months is a possibility. Not wanting to talk anymore, Lucy continued where she left off...kissing her neck. "We can't...let anyone...know."

Alyson wanted to say something in response to that but all that came out of her mouth was a loud gasp and a moan when she felt fingers on her private. She decided to say what's on her mind later because right now, she had trouble thinking.

It didn't take long for the blonde to get her arousal build up. Knowing that tonight would be their last night together, both had their eyes opened and gazed at each other to remember the detail of each others' face, the reactions, the emotions as they love each other. Lucy realized how much the blonde has changed from the first time she met her on the plane. It was like what Robert said, the megastar became stronger and more confident of herself, and less shy in bed...that's what she thought until...

Alyson closed her eyes, her head jolted back against the pillow, feeling the sensation spreading through her body as the brunette slowly rocked against her core. _Oh God. _Her involuntary moans and groans became louder and louder as she was about to reach climax.

The blanket slid down to her waist when Lucy straightened her arms, pressing her palms on the sheets above the blonde's shoulders, lifting her upper body up at an angle. Her injured right palm hurt a little but she could withstand the pain. She swallowed, breathing heavily at the sight beneath her, the naked chest heaving, the hard erect nipples, the stomach rising and falling rapidly like a wave, the tiny birthmark near the cute belly button, the tightening of the abdomen muscles were apparent each time she glided up. Further down, she could see...

Her eyes were then forced to turn away when the blonde cupped her cheeks and pulled her head back down.

Lucy smiled sheepishly. Knowing that the blonde wasn't at that comfort level yet, she didn't try that again. Her mouth ran down from the blonde's lips to the jawline to the neck. A loud moan came from the blonde, then another and another each time Lucy pressed into her. After a moment, her own body trembled when she felt her orgasm passed through her. Breathing heavily against the blonde's neck, she stopped briefly to let her body take in the intense sensation.

"Keira..."

Lucy pulled back to look at the blonde. When the body beneath jerked up, Lucy knew what she needed. Their bodies moved against each other in synchronization. Then both cursed in disbelief when they heard the phone ring.

"Did you…forget to call…your…mother?…" At this moment, with her heart pounding out of control and lack of oxygen in her brain, her mind wasn't functioning at its best. Lucy didn't realize the ring came from her phone. She had previously turned off the vibration when she was on the boat.

"It's…your…phone..." Alyson said in ragged breath and closed her eyes as she was about to reach the peak of her climax again.

Lucy tried to ignore it but it kept ringing. Thinking that it must be important, she quickly picked up the phone.

"Hello." _This better be important. _

"Lucy, are you okay?!"

"Yes, why?" Lucy said while rocking faster against the blonde.

When the blonde let out a loud long involuntary moan, Lucy realized that Scud must have heard. _Oh shit. _Lucy froze, looking down at the blonde who was breathing heavily._  
_

"Who's that?"

"The tv" Lucy winked at the blonde who mouthed a 'sorry' for moaning so loud.

"Is it Scott?" Alyson whispered and Lucy nodded.

"Which channel are you watching?" Scud asked

"What the hell, Scud. Why are you calling?"

"Luce, you're on tv!"

"WHAT!"

"Did you save a little kid today?"

"He said I'm on tv." Lucy whispered to the blonde.

It shocked the brunette when Alyson took her phone.

"Hi Scott, it's Alyson. Which channel?" Since Scott already knew about them, she didn't see a point to hide it from him.

After Scud told her, she gave the phone back, pushed the brunette off her, and wrapped herself with the blanket before walking towards the tv.

Scud had a feeling that she was with the megastar and that just confirmed it. The sound that he heard earlier, he put two and two together and figured out what they were doing.

With mouth agape, Lucy was stunned by what the megastar just did. _Now he knows everything._

"Lucy! Lucy!"

"Yes." Lucy held the phone back to her ear as she stared at the megastar sitting on the couch, wondering why she did that. She had been trying to protect her image. She had been trying to prevent Scud from knowing even though Scud knew whom she's with. He didn't know at which point their relationship was at.

"Sorry to interrupt…again." Scud figured out that she must be with the megastar at that moment doing the same thing when he called from Venice.

"Do you think they can tell it's me?"

"No, the picture quality sucks. I just want to make sure you're okay. It sounds like you're okay if you're doing what I think you're…." The phone went dead. "….doing." Scud smiled, looking at his phone.

After Lucy hung up, Lucy wrapped the bed sheet around herself and sat next to the megastar. The channel was showing a video of the brunette running after the kid and jumping over the car and falling to the ground. The video was so grainy and unclear, probably due the bad weather, one couldn't tell if the kid was a boy or girl.

"Wow!" Alyson said in disbelief, still shocked at how the brunette was able to do that.

_Damn it._ Lucy realized that the head of division 16 wasn't able to stop this from appearing.

The video replayed over and over again. From what she could understand from the news broadcaster, they have no idea who the mystery hero is. Parents of the kid she saved thanked the mystery person and that was all Lucy could understand.

"I still can't tell it was you."

Lucy sighed in relief.

After the news was done, Alyson walked back to the bedroom in her room to call her mother since she didn't want any interruptions later.

Lucy grabbed all the clothing on the floor and put it neatly on the table next to her side of the bed for later use since she didn't feel comfortable wearing nothing while she's sleeping.

After calling her mother, Alyson grabbed her pajamas shorts and shirt and her phone.

Once inside the brunette's room, Alyson saw her standing still, looking out the window at the lit up Eiffel Tower. She walked over to the brunette who was deep in thought and wrapped her blanket around her from behind.

"Hey…let's not think about tomorrow, okay?" The megastar had a feeling that that was what the brunette was thinking about.

"Okay." Lucy said softly as she leaned the side of her head against the blonde's. Both gazed at the beautifully lit Tower for a long moment in silence.

"Thank you." Alyson said and placed a kiss on the cheek.

"For what?"

"For getting this room." Alyson told her that the couple next door was at it again.

Lucy chuckled and when she told the megastar about what she found out about the 'couple', Alyson was also stunned.

"Well, that explains it." She couldn't understand why all she heard were the sound of a man's voice.

Lucy doesn't know when the blonde is going to leave tomorrow. So before she forgets, she decides to give it to her now. She grabbed the black jewelry box from the room's safe.

Lying on the bed, she opened the box. "I want you to have this."

Alyson dropped her jaws, looking at the beautiful diamond necklace and earrings. It was beautiful, more beautiful than the ones she has. It was the diamond necklace Lucy wore to the private birthday party. This was unlike the earrings that she gave her in Venice. This had a lot more diamonds and was a lot more expensive. Anthony bought it for her for the party. She didn't think he would mind if she gave it to someone else.

Alyson thanked her and put the jewelry box back on the table next to the king size bed. It was getting late but she didn't want to sleep yet. Lucy slowly lay down when the blonde began kissing her. Roaming her hands all over the blonde who was lying on top of her, Lucy knew it wasn't the right time to ask but was very curious to know.

"Why did you let Scott know you're here?"

"Didn't you say he already knows about us?" Alyson said between kisses.

"Yes, but he doesn't know everything."

Alyson hovered over her face and spoke seriously. "Keira, I'm not going to announce to the world about my personal life. But if someone finds out about us and tells the whole world, I wouldn't care." This was what she wanted to say previously before the brunette began making love to her.

She brushed the stray hair away from the brunette's eyes.

"When I…saw you save that little girl…how you jumped over that car, I wanted to look for you. I didn't care if anyone knows. All I wanted to know is if you're okay. But Paula stopped me."

She rubbed her cheek gently with her thumb.

"I was…crying. They had no idea why. When they told me they couldn't find you, my mind…I…was thinking of the worst…like maybe you were stuck under the…tire…I wanted to go outside and look for you myself. I couldn't think."

Lucy realized why the blonde was so emotional when she saw her.

"But Paula said if they can't find you, then that means you're okay…she said maybe you don't want to be found." She rested her head on her shoulder. "That's when I stopped crying. They were all looking at me like I was crazy."

Lucy wrapped her arms around her. "sorry." She wasn't sure how the conversation got to this point.

Thinking that the brunette didn't understand what she was trying to say, Alyson lifted her head and looked directly into her eyes. "Keira, it doesn't matter who knows about us…as long as you're okay, as long as you're free."

She wanted to let the brunette know one more time that she shouldn't come back if it means she's not going to be free.

"Do you understand?" They had previously talked about this. But the megastar wanted to remind her.

Lucy nodded.

"You promise?"

Lucy hesitated.

"Keira, promise me!"

_How can I make that promise to you? I can't. _

"I promise…" _as Keira not Lucy…_

Alyson looked into her left eye, then her right then back again to see if the brunette was lying to her.

"Good, I'm not done yet."

"What do you want to talk about?"

Alyson whispered into her ear. "I mean…I'm not done yet."

When she felt the tip of her tongue on her neck…_oh…_Lucy realized what the blonde meant. Alyson pulled back to place a gentle kiss on her forehead, the tip of her nose, then both sides of her cheek. Lucy closed her eyes and allowed the blonde to place a faint kiss on her eyelids. While capturing her mouth in a passionate kiss, Alyson slipped herself between the brunette's legs and as she was about to rock against her, she dropped her head onto her shoulder.

"Why does this keep happening to us?"

Since they were on the brunette's side of the bed, she wouldn't be able to reach the phone without getting off the brunette. After the phone stopped ringing, the megastar didn't move and waited to see if the phone would ring again like last time.

"what's that?" Lucy said.

"Who's knocking on my door at this hour?" Kristin said, frustrated with the interruption at this moment.

Lucy reached out to pick up her phone and saw that it's almost midnight. Both snapped to the direction of the megastar's phone.

"I swear. Someone up there doesn't like what we're doing." Alyson said in an upset tone as she rolled off the brunette to the other side to pick up the phone. She looked up the ceiling as if telling the lord above. "Why do you keep doing this to us?"

This was one side of the megastar she's never seen. _So that's what happens when she gets upset._ Lucy couldn't resist letting out a quiet laugh. She didn't want to laugh too loud since someone was at the door.

"Hello"

"Oh…hi Paula. What's up?" Alyson said as she rolled her eyes, causing the brunette to chuckle.

"No…not yet. Oh…you're outside…okay…hold on." Alyson hung up.

* * *

After speaking with Paula, Alyson stood behind the door to Keira's room and took a few deep breaths before entering.

She looked around and didn't see the brunette and realized she was inside the bathroom.

"Keira?" Alyson said as she knocked on the bathroom door.

"I'll be right out." Lucy said loudly from the bathroom.

_Another shower? _Alyson smiled, knowing why she needed another one.

When she turned the doorknob, it surprised her that the brunette didn't lock the door. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly a few times to calm her nerves before opening the door.

Lucy peeked out of the shower curtain and was surprised to see the blonde. She was even more surprised when she saw the blonde locking the door. _Why is she locking the door?_

"Is everything okay?" Lucy asked, hiding her naked body behind the shower curtain.

She swallowed when the blonde dropped her robe on the floor and walked towards her.

_Holy mother of God. _Her heart began to race. She had no idea why her body was still responding this way. It's not like she hasn't seen it before.

"I…wasn't…finished." The megastar said as she stepped inside the shower.

After sliding the curtain closed, she wrapped her arms around the brunette and captured her mouth in a deep...hot...kiss, their wet bodies slipping against each other.

Half an hour later, clouds of steam filled the bathroom. Mirror fogged up from the hot steamy shower. Her hot wet body pressed so close to the blonde's, there was no gap in between. Hot water from the shower head sprayed against her back.

"I...can't...breathe." Lucy said softly into her ear.

Alyson felt the same way, she could hardly breathe herself and it wasn't just because of the steam. Her arms wrapped around the brunette's neck. Her soaking wet body was pressed against the wall. She didn't think it was possible that it could get any more intense as what they did a while ago until the brunette lifted her up. She was surprised at how strong her lover was, even with her injured hand.

Lucy pulled her head back to give her one gentle kiss on the lips before slowly letting go of the blonde's long silky smooth legs, letting them slipped down gently on the bathtub, one at a time. Both gasped for air as their foreheads leaned against each other's. Dark brown eyes followed the stream of water running down the curves of the perfect body in front of her one last time. Her eyes then slowly looked up and noticed that her lover was doing the same. She leaned in to give the megastar a passionate kiss and pulled back quickly because if she didn't she was afraid that Alyson would faint from the heat and lack of oxygen.

Lucy came out first and left the bathroom door slightly open, letting air flow into the steamy room. Dressed in her pajamas shorts and shirt, her body trembled when she thought about what just happened. She couldn't believe the blonde changed her mind.

"Keira, can you get my pajamas? It's on the table near the bed." Alyson peeked out the door, hiding away her naked body behind it.

After the blonde got dressed and dried her hair, she saw the brunette sitting on the bed, waiting and watching her. Alyson smiled shyly and looked down on the floor as she walked towards her side of the bed. She turned the lamp off to hide her blushing cheeks and slipped underneath the blanket. Lying her head on the pillow, she pulled the blanket over her body up to her neck. Her body shivered involuntarily when she thought about what just happened. If they continued any longer, she was afraid she was going to pass out not because of the steam, because what they just did was so much hotter, so much more intense than the movie they saw this afternoon. She didn't think it would be any different from what they did before, but it was a different kind of feeling and it was her first time, so she felt a little embarrassed by it.

Lucy frowned in confusion, wondering why the blonde became so shy all of a sudden. _God she's so adorable._

Lucy cleared her throat to break the silence. "What did Paula want?"

"Oh…she saw the news about you…so she just wants to tell me about it.."

Lucy turned the lights off and lay her head on the pillow. City lights shone through the window. She turned and saw that the blonde was facing her. She extended her right hand, inviting the blonde to sleep on her right shoulder like all those times they slept together. Alyson shifted her body closer and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Happy birthday." She whispered. Knowing that the brunette had injured her shoulder, she took the brunette's arm and placed it back on her side. Instead of sleeping on her shoulder, she leaned her head next to it and intertwined her fingers with the brunette's.

"what time is your flight?" She needed to know because if it's an early flight, she would have to set the alarm. Feeling exhausted after what they just did, she would have a difficult time waking up.

"3"

_Oh Good. _ _That's before I have to_ _leave. _Lucy thought to herself.

"What did you wish for your birthday?" Alyson was curious to know.

Lucy was surprised that she would ask. Everyone knows that it won't come true if you tell anyone.

Hearing no response, Alyson knew why. "Good night, Keira." Alyson said, keeping her gaze and smile at her lover as long as her exhausted body allowed her to.

"Good night."

* * *

**Chapter 28: Chapter 28**

* * *

**Chapter 28**

It was daytime. No sunlight shone through the window. Light rain fall from the gray sky. If it wasn't for the nonstop ringing of her phone, Lucy would have continued sleeping. Rubbing her eyes with one hand and reaching out to pick up the phone with the other, she stretched her legs and body.

"Hello" She said in husky voice. Her tired eyes remained closed.

"Lucy, are you awake yet!" Scud shouted, realizing that she must have had a damn good night last night.

"hmm…" Lucy slowly opened her eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's 10. Hurry up and come over or….I'll come over."

"Why? What's up? Did something happened?" Lucy yawned loudly.

"No…nothing happened. We need to talk about tonight."

"Can we talk later?" Lucy turned to the right and noticed Alyson wasn't there.

"This is important! We have to get ready for tonight." Scud said in a commanding tone, not pleased with his boss's behavior.

"I know. Scud. I'll call you back." Lucy hung up. When she pushed herself to sit up, she immediately felt the same dull pain on her right shoulder blade. "Damn that hurts."

She looked around and noticed the black jewelry box was still on the table. When she got off the bed and stood up to stretch her body, she was disappointed when she saw it was still raining outside. _Shoot. _

Standing in front of the vanity mirror in the bathroom, she smiled when she saw a pinkish beige lipstick on her cheek. _I thought I felt something this morning. _It was a kiss from the megastar. After getting dressed, she cleaned up her room and put everything in her bag, getting ready to check out. The check out time was 12. She walked over to the door that goes into Alyson's room and found that it was locked on the other side.

"hmm…maybe she went out."

_Maybe she's downstairs. _Lucy decided to check out first. She didn't bother to open the window curtains. Making sure she didn't forget anything, she checked the rooms one more time and turned the lights off. After she closed the door, she saw a cleaning lady in front of Alyson's room. She walked past the room and headed for the elevator. Two people were also waiting for the elevator. As she waited for the elevator, standing behind them, she thought about last night…her and the megastar in the shower. She wondered what changed her mind. She did say happy birthday later. _Another birthday present._ Lucy smiled as she placed her hand on the cheek where the blonde kissed her. When the elevator door opened, she suddenly froze. The guests inside the elevator asked if she was coming. Lucy didn't respond and stared into blank space as she thought about the blonde last night, how her behavior changed after talking with Paula. T_he door to her room was locked. The cleaning lady_. _Shit. Something's not right. _Lucy quickly ran back to Alyson's room. The door was opened. Inside the room, the cleaning lady was changing the bed sheets. She looked around and didn't see any bags, clothing, luggage, or anything that belonged to the megastar. She asked the cleaning why she's cleaning the room so early. Her response confirmed that she was right. Alyson…left this morning. _Why didn't you tell me?_ Feeling confused, she walked back into her own room and flopped down on the bed. She knew this day would come but what she didn't understand was why the megastar didn't tell her. They could've said goodbye just like last time. She didn't even take the jewelry box she gave her. _Why? Alyson, you can't just leave like that. You could've left me a note, something…_

"A note." Lucy quickly got up and looked around. She wouldn't have just left without saying anything. She looked under the bed, lifted the pillows, sheets, blanket, the vanity mirror, the shower, tables, couch, drawers. There was nothing. _Damn it! Should've got her number_. Lying flat on the bed, she thought about how to get in touch with the megastar. It wouldn't be that difficult since all she had to do is ask Scud to look for it or get her email account. She could send a secret message and the blonde would figure out it was her. But then what? Ask her why she left without a word, just say goodbye and never keep in touch again? Lucy slowly got up as she let out a deep breath when she realized why the megastar left without saying a word. They said everything they needed to last night. What else was there to say?

* * *

Outside of the hotel, Lucy looked up at the gray sky with drizzle and light rain, letting rain drops fall on her face. She wasn't complaining to the Lord about another day of bad weather. Instead she was thanking the Lord for giving her a whole day yesterday to spend it with the megastar. "Thank you." Lucy closed her eyes and inhaled the warm moist air. When she felt bigger droplets of rain falling on her face, she quickly covered her head with her jacket and grabbed the next taxi that she saw in front of the hotel.

* * *

Once she stepped inside the apartment, all eyes focused on the brunette.

"Hey guys." Lucy said with a smile.

Anthony, Scud, the dark haired woman, and one of the Anthony's men were sitting on the couch. Two others were standing nearby. Everyone, especially the dark haired woman, noticed how different her attitude was from before. Scud, of course, understood why. All watched the smiling brunette as she walked back into her room to get changed. Anthony wanted to ask Scud about the criminal mastermind but didn't want to ask in front of his followers. After Lucy came out, Scud told her about what they found out about Jean Claude's business.

"So we could use that…if he doesn't give up that son of a bitch." Lucy said angrily.

What she learned was Jean Claude was doing business with the son of the elderly woman whom she saved at the party. The elderly woman's son is in charge of a real estate project. This project is so big, it would last for many years and he would need to hire private construction companies. Jean Claude, being the owner of a construction company, wants to be part of this multi billion dollar project.

"The thing is he wouldn't lose any money if he doesn't agree. He just won't make a few hundred million." Scud said.

"What do you think, Anthony? Do you think he would give him up over a few hundred million?" Lucy asked.

"It's hard to say. We don't know what kind of relationship they have." Anthony said as he rubbed his chin.

Everyone directed their attention to Anthony when his cell phone rang.

"Yes….. …okay….keep following him." Anthony hung up and stood up.

"Listen it's still early" Anthony took a look at his watch and noticed it's almost lunch time. "Let's get some lunch first."

"Great idea, I'm starving." Lucy said as she stood up. Before she came, she bought herself a cup of coffee and a croissant from the hotel.

"Guys, can't we just order in?" Scud wasn't afraid of being recognized by the police. He was afraid that Jean Claude would do something to them.

Both Lucy and Anthony frowned at him. "Scud, I know you're worried. I can assure you he's not going to do anything to us. We're meeting him tonight. If he wants to do something, he'll do it then."

As they were about to head out of the apartment, Lucy stopped Anthony.

"Wait a minute." Lucy quickly ran back to her room and came out after a short moment.

She handed the jewelry box back to Anthony. "Here. I don't think I would be needing this."

"Keep it. I bought it for you."

"Thank you. But I really don't need it." Lucy handed it back to him.

"Lucy, when I give things away, I don't take it back. It's yours." Anthony said as he pushed the jewelry box back.

As they were pushing the jewelry box back and forth, Scud was getting a little dizzy.

"Oh for Christ's sake…" Scud grabbed the box away from Lucy and opened it to see what kind of jewelry it is. His eyes opened wide and he gasped out loud when he saw the shining diamond necklace and earrings. "Wow! This must be really expensive."

"That's why I don't want it." Lucy said. Hearing her own words, she suddenly realized why the megastar didn't take it. _Oh. _

"What's this?" Scud said as he took out a folded paper.

When Lucy saw the pinkish beige imprint of a kiss on the paper, she quickly grabbed it from Scud and shoved it into her pants pocket.

Scud frowned in confusion and stared at the brunette. "What's that?"

"nothing." Lucy took the jewelry box and quickly ran back into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

"I knew she would leave me a note." She said excitedly. As she was about to take the note from her pocket, she heard Anthony calling.

"Lucy, c'mon." Anthony shouted.

Lucy decided to read it later.

* * *

Inside the car, since Anthony was sitting next to her, she didn't feel it was the right moment to read the note. _Thank goodness he didn't take the box._

Inside the restaurant, Anthony, Scud, and Lucy sat in one table while Anthony's followers sat in another nearby. The restaurant was crowded since it was still drizzling outside and nobody wants to sit outside.

"Relax, man." Anthony said when he saw Scud looking around.

Lucy wasn't paying attention to them. All she wanted to do is get herself alone and read the note.

While they were eating, Anthony thought this would be a good time to ask.

"So Lucy, what's going on?"

"hmm…what do you mean?"

"You've been acting strange lately. Where did you go last night?"

Lucy glanced at Scud who immediately raised his hands up, indicating that he didn't tell him anything. Her eyebrows creased, wondering how he found out. _Shoot._ She remembered the dark hair woman saw her last night.

"I just stayed in a hotel. It's nicer there."

When Anthony named the hotel she was staying at, Lucy immediately dropped her jaws and wondered how much he knows.

"How did you know?" She wondered if he had someone following her.

"So that was you, wasn't it?" His eyes opened wide.

"me what?" Lucy swallowed hard and took a glance at Scud. _What the hell is he talking about?_

"You save that kid, didn't you?" He leaned in and whispered.

Realizing what he was talking about, Lucy immediately relaxed his shoulders and nodded.

"Wow!" He said loudly. The restaurant was so loud and noisy, everyone was minding their own business.

"I don't even think I can do that. That was….very impressive." He noticed his followers in the next table heard what he said. They were the ones who told him about what they saw. "Wasn't it guys?"

Everyone agreed and nodded. "incredible!" The dark haired woman said.

Lucy let out a small smile and could tell from their faces that they were all very impressed.

"Anthony, how did you know it was me?" Even Alyson couldn't tell it was her when watching the video.

"My guys were there."

Lucy immediately dropped her fork. "You're following me?" She said in an upset tone.

Noticing the angry look on the brunette's face, Anthony quickly explained.

"No…no…they were following…her."

"Who?" Scud and Lucy asked in unison.

"the blonde agent" He whispered.

With mouth agape, Lucy was stunned still. Her heart immediately skipped a beat. She realized Kristin was with Kat at that moment. _She saw everything. What is she doing there? Why did Kat bring her there? Did she want to see me? _Questions crowded her mind. _Oh my God. _For some reason, every time someone brings up the blonde agent, she felt like she cheated on her. While she was thinking about the blonde agent, she didn't realize Anthony had been calling her name.

"Lucy?"

Lucy shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Did you get hurt?" Anthony noticed the bandage on her hand when she entered the apartment.

"Just a little…no big deal." She said as she rubbed her palm gently. She was glad to know that Anthony still had someone looking after the blonde agent.

When she shifted her right shoulder and winced in pain, both men noticed.

"Lucy, are you alright?" Scud said.

"Yea, my shoulder….it's just a little swollen. That's all. Do we have any ibuprofen in the apartment?"

Anthony asked his men to see if they have any and the dark haired woman volunteered to get it.

Lucy was extremely curious about the blonde. "So…what has she been doing?"

Anthony shrugged his shoulders. "You just said to protect her. You didn't say to find out what she's up to."

"Right." Lucy said in a low dull tone and continued eating her lunch.

Knowing what the brunette was thinking, Anthony shook his head and let out a smile. He knew she still loved the blonde agent. "Lucy…Lucy…Lucy…what are you going to do?"

Lucy looked up and frowned at him, wondering what he's talking about.

"So there's Alexis and Nadia…and you don't like either of them?"

Lucy rolled her eyes and took a bite of the French fries.

"If I were you, I would choose…." He turned to Scud whom he noticed has been very quiet.

"Scud, who would you choose?"

"Neither." Scud immediately responded while eating his lunch, unsure why Anthony was being so nosy about the brunette's love life.

Lucy completely ignored them and reached out to grab her glass of water.

"I would choose…Alyson." Anthony said as he tapped his finger on his mouth, thinking of something.

Lucy immediately spit out the water she was drinking at Scud and started coughing.

Scud was also a little startled with his response and looked at Anthony at the same time the brunette spit out the water from her mouth. He quickly wiped his face with the napkin.

Frowning in confusion, Anthony watched the two shocked faces staring at him. Sensing that something was wrong, he remained silent while glancing at Scud, then at the brunette who was choking.

_Does he know? Does he know? _Lucy's heart beat began to beat rapidly. She remained silent as she watched him with a blank expression. Anthony always said never let the others know what you're thinking. But she just couldn't control her spontaneous reaction when she heard the megastar's name being mentioned. From the expression on his face, it doesn't look like he knows.

Scud moved his eyes to look at the brunette and understood the signal that was given to him.

"So…who's Alyson?…..Is she your new target?" Scud said.

"You know who Alyson is." Anthony said with an emotionless face as he glanced at both of them.

_Oh shit. He knows. _Lucy thought to herself. She looked down on her plate and continued eating as if she wasn't interested in their conversation.

"No…I've never heard that name before." Scud continued to pretend.

"How about you, Lucy? Have you ever heard of that name?"

With a mouthful of food, Lucy shook her head while looking down on the plate.

He leaned and whispered. "Alyson…is…the megastar."

Lucy again couldn't control her reactions and coughed out everything in her mouth.

"Jesus, Lucy…are you alright?" Scud said, knowing why she reacted the way she did.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Anthony said in a concerned tone. "Maybe you should go to the doctor to get it checked. You must have landed pretty hard."

"I'm fine. Really. I'm fine." Lucy took a drink of water and glanced at Scud, signaling him to continue asking about Alyson.

"What do you mean Alyson is the megastar? I thought her name is…."

"I've been checking her out online."

"You didn't. Why? Don't tell me you're still interested in her? "

Anthony narrowed his eyes at Scud. "I'm bored. Okay? Look at you…you played those silly games when you're bored."

It's true. When there's nothing to do, that's what he does on the computer, play online games. Scud immediately apologized.

"I was just curious….that's all...I…found out that the name she's using now is her stage name. Alyson…is her real name."

"Reeeeaallyyyyy?" Scud pretended to be interested and turned to see Lucy's reaction.

Lucy was really surprised but tried not to show it on her face. _So she didn't lie about her name. _Realizing that Anthony doesn't know about her and the megastar, she became more relaxed and excused herself to the restroom to clean herself up. She wasn't sure why she reacted the way she did. Does it really matter if Anthony knows?

"So what else did you find out about her?" Scud asked.

As she headed to the restroom in the back of the restaurant, she stopped when she heard someone calling her name.

Lucy turned around and saw a young man with a big smile approaching her. She recognized the young man and quickly scanned the area to see who else was here.

"Hi Keira."

"Hi….um…" Lucy pretended not to remember his name. "….Thomas…right?"

His eyes opened wide and a bigger smile appeared on his face. "you remember.."

Of course she remembered. The plan that they spoke about before Jean Claude called was to follow his son Thomas. If needed, they would use him as a bargaining chip to exchange for Benjamin Couric.

"What a coincidence to see you here?"

_Wait...coincidence?_ Lucy wondered if this was a coincidence or something Anthony had planned and didn't tell her.

_It doesn't look like he knows who I am. _Lucy thought to herself.

"I'm having lunch with my friends. You?"

"Same here."

Lucy nodded and faked a smile. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes when she noticed him scanning her from top to bottom. _Scumbag. Pervert._

"Well, I'm going to…" Lucy said as he pointed to the restroom area.

"Hey I was wondering if you're not busy tonight, if you would like to go out with me, maybe watch a movie and dinner?"

_Tonight? Well, I'll be darn. He doesn't know anything._

"mmm….I'm not sure…I might not…"

Thomas immediately took out his business card. "Call me…anytime. If you need anything, let me now. If you need me, I'll be right there."

He turned to look at this friends who were calling him.

"Call me." He waved as he walked back to his friends.

Lucy stood still watching them leave the restaurant.

After using the restroom, she quickly headed back to her seat and told Anthony and Scud what happened. She was so curious to know if Anthony set this up, she had forgotten to read the megastar's note in the restroom.

"Did you know he was going to be here?" Lucy whispered.

When Anthony let out a cunning smile, both knew this was his plan.

"Why?" Scud asked.

Anthony leaned in and whispered. "I want to see if he knows what his father does."

"Well, he doesn't…because he just asked me out." Lucy responded.

Anthony smiled as if he knew this was going to happen.

"How do you know he's not pretending?" Scud asked, then continued with this thought. "Why would he pretend?" He asked and pondered for a moment.

"There's no reason for him to pretend." Lucy said.

"Well, then that makes it even easier. All you have to do is call him out tonight and we'll keep an eye on him." Anthony said.

Lucy and Scud nodded, impressed with his plan.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was still raining outside. Lucy and Scud headed back to the apartment with the dark haired woman and one of Anthony's men. Anthony went back to his place. Inside the apartment, the first thing Lucy did was lock herself in the bedroom. She quickly took out the megastar's note out of her pant pocket.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Last night, Paula came to tell me that we have to leave early because of the weather. Sorry, I lied._

_Thank you for the diamonds. But I liked the earrings you gave me in Venice. Those meant so much more. _

_Thank you for being part of my life._

_Because of you, I became stronger. _

_Because of you, I've learned what it's like to truly love someone and what it's like to be loved._

_When they told me about you, my mind went numb, not because I found out who you really are, but because I was going to see you again. I wanted to see you. I wanted to help you. But at the same time, I was confused. I asked the Lord why bring us back together again. Why bring us together again when there wouldn't be any future for us? But then when I found out what you did for me, I realized that you didn't need my help. I needed yours. You came back to save me. _

_When you said you love me, there was a moment when I thought maybe we could be together. It was wishful thinking on my part. At that moment, I've completely ignored why you were here, what you have to do. Then when you saved that little girl, everything became clear. You didn't come back just for me. That little girl needed you to save her. Then there were all those interruptions. It became clear to me that we were never meant to be together. Like you said, things happen for a reason._

_Remember, as long as you're okay, nothing else matters. Please keep your promise. _

_I love you and always will._

_Alyson_

_p.s. Last night was AMAZING. No regrets._

* * *

Lying on the bed, Lucy held the note over her heart. _Alyson. _ _How could you say you didn't save me? _Lucy reread the part where she had given the blonde hope that they could be together and felt a tinge of regret for confessing her love. _Should I not have said I love you? But I do. A part of me does. _Lucy let out a smile when she reread the last sentence. _Amazing. Sure was. _As memories of her and the blonde making out in the shower flowed into her mind, a shiver ran through her body.

Her thoughts were then broken by two knocks on the door. Lucy shoved the note back into her pocket before opening the door.

"Do you need to put some ice pack on you?" the dark haired woman said.

Lucy completely forgot about her pain while she was reading the megastar's note. Lying on the bed, Lucy allowed the dark haired woman to place the ice pack wrapped in a towel on her right shoulder blade.

She winced in pain at the contact.

After 5 minutes, the woman lifted up her shirt to see how bad the swelling is.

"What the hell is that?" The woman asked.

"What?"

"There are blood marks and scratches."

"Oh…um…nothing…just cat scratches."

"cat? how?"

"Is it still swollen?" Lucy tried to change the subject.

"I…think you should see a doctor."

"I'm okay. It just hurts when I do this." Lucy lifted her arm.

"Listen, I'm not trying to tell you what to do. But we don't know what's going to happen tonight. If you go to the doctor now, maybe he can give you some stronger pain killers. We need to be in our best shape tonight."

Lucy pondered for a short moment and agreed. After giving her regular doctor a call, she sat in the living room to wait. Her doctor was busy so she couldn't get an appointment immediately.

"So Lucy, where's Alyson?" Scud whispered as he raised his brows up and down. No one else was in the living room except for them.

"She left."

"oh…went back home?"

Lucy shrugged her shoulders as she focused on the television set. "I didn't ask. She didn't tell me."

"I bet. You guys were too busy to talk." Scud chuckled.

"Scud!" Lucy quickly looked around to see if anyone heard what he said.

"What? She's not afraid to tell me. So why are you hiding it from me?"

Lucy let out a big sigh and remained silent.

"You know, for a minute there, I thought Anthony found out." Scud whispered. "I wonder how he's going to react if he knew."

Lucy remained silent. She doesn't know either.

"If he found out, he's going to be…so shocked." Scud smiled as he imagined the scene.

He turned to look at the quiet brunette and noticed her frustration. "Is there something wrong?"

"no."

"Lucy, talk to me. I'm your only friend. I'm the only one who knows you. You don't have to tell me about the details about you and her. Just tell me what's bothering you."

Lucy let out a big sigh.

"You can't help me."

"Even if I can't help you, sometimes it helps to have someone to talk to."

Hearing that reminded her of the megastar. She said she wanted to talk to someone about their relationship but there's no one she could trust. Those she trusts wouldn't understand. _She's right. I am lucky. Even if I don't want to talk about it, Scud will always be there to listen if I change my mind. _

"Do you think I'm cheating on Kristin."

"What?" Scud said, not believing that this was the reason that's bothering the former criminal mastermind.

"Lucy, she broke up with you. She's not with you." Scud shifted his body closer. "You did not cheat on her. Okay?"

"Then why do I feel like I am…I did." Lucy let out a deep breath. "Why do I feel like shit?"

"Because…you love her…and you don't want to hurt her."

Scud could tell that she was still upset with herself.

"Let me ask you a question. Before you decided to sleep with Alyson, do you think there could be a chance for you and Kristin to get back together?"

"Of course not! If there is a chance, then I wouldn't have…"

"Exactly. And I know you. You wouldn't sleep with someone you don't love." Scud leaned in closer.

"And I know that you love Alyson, otherwise, you wouldn't have gone all the way with her."

Lucy let out a big sigh.

"Lucy, nobody, not a man or woman, wants to know that their ex is dating somebody else. So if you ever get a chance to talk to Kristin, **do not** tell her."

Lucy leaned her head back and looked up the ceiling.

"You didn't cheat on her. Lucy. The relationship ended and you started a new one." Scud tried to convince her.

"Now if I'm dating someone else, then I would be cheating on Janet because our relationship never ended. vous comprenez?"

Lucy pondered for a moment as she looked up at the ceiling. "She broke up with me."

"yes she did." Scud said while watching tv.

"She doesn't want to be with me."

"No she doesn't." Scud agreed.

"We're not going to be together."

"That's right." Scud responded as he changed the channel.

Lucy let out a smile, realizing what was bothering her. It was like being dumped by her first girlfriend. She had a difficult time accepting it. So she went to the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, for two years to get over her. Even after coming back, she was never really over her ex. So she occupied herself with work and went to blind dates, one after another because that's what Scud wanted her to do. Then she finally got over her ex when she met Amy.

She knows that she and the blonde agent can't be together_. _She knows that their relationship ended. But there's always this tiny part of her that just won't accept it. _It'll take time._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside a small bedroom apartment, Kristin sat on the couch, wrapping her arms around a cushion as she stared at the tv. The tv was on, but she wasn't watching it. She was in deep in thought, thinking of the criminal mastermind.

Sitting next to her, Kat let out a sigh as she shook her head. It shocked her when she found out that the blonde agent had fallen in love with the criminal mastermind. How could I miss that? With all those training she had, how could she not noticed that there was something wrong with her friend? When the blonde got sick, when she called the brunette's name in her sleep, that's when it hit her. If she didn't tell her superior about the blonde's strange behavior and what she found from her sketchbook, then the former criminal mastermind wouldn't have been caught. If she wasn't captured, then maybe they would be together now. Seeing the sadness and the pain that the blonde agent was going through, she felt a tinge of guilt.

"Kristin, please don't be like this."

When Kat heard what her superior said about the blonde breaking up with criminal mastermind, she too was surprised. What was she thinking? Did she think this through? During the time in the cell, when she saw them kissing, cuddling, confessing their love for each other, she thought that Kristin would understand how the brunette felt about her and would ignore the fact that she looked like her previous lover. The brunette sacrificed her life for her. Isn't that enough to prove that she loves her for who she is and not because who she looks like?

Kristin remained silent.

After meeting with the brunette that day in the cell, Kristin no longer had access to the building and she understood why. If Keira had asked her to relay the information to her friends outside, she would have agreed to it. But after finding out the real reason that she was making out with Alexis, she knew that the brunette wouldn't have put her in that spot because Keira wouldn't want her to get in trouble. When Kat told her about it, she was shocked and impressed with the brunette's plan.

Then one day, she noticed her colleague was looking at her in a strange way. That colleague, Megan, the one who brought food into the confinement cell for the brunette, was staring at her as if she had seen a ghost. Then one day after Megan got off work, she followed her and confronted her. At first, she had thought that maybe Megan was looking at her differently because of her relationship with the criminal. All it took to get the information out of the young woman who was still in training was a sad story about herself, about having no siblings, no parents, no friends, nobody to talk to and that was how she fell in love with the criminal who cared deeply for her. Threatening Megan would have worked too but she would be in a lot of trouble if her superior found out. Her plan worked and Megan fell for her touching story and told her about Amy. Her heart dropped to the floor when she learned about Amy. Things that didn't make sense before now does. That's why the brunette fell in love with her the first time she met her. How is it possible? She asked herself repeatedly. She tried to search for Amy's background but she couldn't find any since she was a D.E.B.S agent. _She loved me because I look like her. She thinks I'm Amy. _That was what went through her mind repeatedly. She wanted to talk to the brunette to hear her explanation. But she wasn't allowed inside the building. As days passed by, she thought about the moments when they were together, the things they talked about, and the questions that the brunette asked. _She was trying to find out if I was Amy_. Then when she finally came to a conclusion that Keira wasn't in love with her, she decided to end the relationship before she finds herself in too deep. When her superior came by to see how she was doing, she took the opportunity to have her superior pass the information to the brunette. She was surprised when her superior had allowed her to see Keira. She thought about it but decided not to because she was afraid that she would give in to her charm and her captivating million dollar smile. If they were together, she knows that her mind would never stop thinking whether the brunette was loving her as Kristin Smith or her previous lover, Amy Bradshaw.

"Kristin, please talk to me."

After she broke up with the brunette, as days went by, she wondered if she made a mistake. It was so painful not to be able to see the one she fell in love with. Each day, she took out her sketchbook to look at the drawing that she drew. Then on some days after coming back from doctor's office, she would just sit on the couch and draw more of her. One drawing after another. She finally stopped when she couldn't take it anymore and begged Kat to take her to see the brunette. She wanted to talk to her. But Kat could not because she had orders. When she learned that Kat would be in serious trouble if she let anyone know about the brunette's whereabouts, she stopped bothering her.

Kat turned off the tv and saw that Kristin was still in her current state, unmoved.

Ever since she broke up with the brunette, she hadn't been like before. She went to the doctor and physical therapy. Her body was recuperating. But when everything was done, she sat on the couch, either staring at the drawings of the brunette or drawing more of her or just staring into blank space.

It was painful to see her friend like this. So one day, Kat decided to take her out. Kristin didn't want to go out. But when she told her that she had orders from her superior to find the brunette, the blonde understood and followed along. Inside the taxi, she told the blonde to stay inside since she wasn't allowed to let anyone know who the brunette was with. She was already violating a lot of rules for bringing the blonde there. When she saw the excitement in the blonde when they arrived at the hotel, she let her know that there could be a chance that Keira might not be inside. When she saw the brunette inside the hotel staring out the window, she thought that things would be okay after all. _She's still here. Kristin will get to see her. _But it surprised her when the brunette didn't want to know anything about the blonde. Never in her mind thought that the brunette wouldn't want to see the blonde agent. _Why? Why wouldn't she want to see Kristin? She said she loved her numerous times. _She could tell that the brunette still does._ But why? _

"Kristin, let's go out for a walk." Kat said as she stood up.

Kristin didn't respond.

Kat grabbed her hand and tried to pull her up.

"I can't." Kristin said in a low voice.

"You can't sit here all day. You can't be like this. It's not healthy. You're going to…"

Kristin interrupted. "Kat, I have to go to the doctor for checkup."

"oh….okay….then…let me go with you."

* * *

The rain finally stopped. Lucy wanted to go alone to the doctor's but Scud insisted that she take the dark haired woman to go with her just in case. After coming out of the doctor's office, Lucy and the woman waited for the mri results as they sat patiently reading a magazine.

Extremely bored, the woman placed the magazine down and crossed her legs.

"So…did you take care of everything…that night?" The woman asked out of curiosity and when she saw the look on the criminal mastermind's face, she quickly added. "I'm not being nosy. I'm…just trying to make a conversation."

Lucy looked back in the magazine. She let out a smile when she saw an advertisement of the megastar promoting a brand of perfume. Not wanting to be rude to the woman, she responded. "Yes."

"Oh good…that's good." The woman nodded.

"You…did you tell Anthony yet?"

"nope" She shook her head. "I'll tell him after this is over."

Lucy nodded in understanding. "So you've decided then?"

"yes I have…I'm not going to regret it."

"Good, then good luck to you." Lucy extended her hand.

"Thank you for listening." The woman shook her offered hand to thank her for listening to her problem.

Lucy remained silent and went back to looking at the picture of the megastar. She didn't want to tell the woman that she also helped her that night. It was because of what they talked about that night, she decided to go back to the megastar.

After getting the results and the prescribed medicine, they decided to head back to the apartment to get some rest. As they passed by a famous bridge, Lucy suddenly stopped the taxi and quickly got out. Frowning in confusion, the woman followed. When she reached the bridge, Lucy stopped and gasped at the sight. She hadn't been here for years. The last time she was here was with Amy. On this wet cloudy day with gray sky, there were only a few tourists admiring the famous bridge _Pont de l'Archevêché_. This was where she and Amy, like other lovers, wrote their names on a padlock and locked it onto the bridge and threw away the key down in the seine river below as a symbol of their undying love. Lucy thought it was kind of cheesy, but Amy wanted to do it.

"Wow…it didn't have that many locks before." Lucy said to herself.

The woman stood in silent awe.

As Lucy walked slowly across the bridge, she tried to remember where Amy locked it.

"Where is it?" She still remembered what it looked like but she couldn't remember where it was. It was somewhere in the middle. Her eyes slowly scanned each and every one.

"What are you looking for?" The woman had no idea what this is. She reached out and looked at the locks, one after another, and realized what they were. "You've got to be kidding me." She said to herself. This is another reason why they called Paris, the city of love.

When she saw the criminal mastermind was seriously searching, she asked the brunette if she needed help. There were a lot of them, hundreds, maybe thousands of them. It would take her at least an hour.

"No." Lucy said since she wanted to find the lock herself.

The woman stood on the other side of the bridge and watched the former leader of a criminal empire searched for the padlock with her and the D.E.B.S agent name's on it. After a long moment, Lucy bent down and reached out to hold a silver padlock in between dozens of other lover's padlocks. "I found it." She smiled and whispered to herself as she rubbed her thumb over their engraved names. "Amy, I found it."

"Keira" The woman spoke from behind, several feet away from her on the opposite side of the bridge.

When the brunette didn't respond again, the woman called out louder. "Keira!"

Lucy turned around, a little annoyed with the interruption. She followed the woman's line of sight and was surprised to see another person standing several feet away from her. With her mouth agape, she remained unmoved in her current position.

Kristin let out a small smile as she gazed at the brunette. Her heart suddenly beat faster and her hands started to tremble. Her whole body felt like the first time she kissed the brunette. But this time was different because she wasn't sure if the brunette wanted to see her.

Lucy slowly stood up. With her hand behind her back, she held onto the padlock of love.

Kat walked to the other side of the bridge to give them some privacy. The dark haired woman did the same.

Kristin swallowed hard and took each step slowly towards the brunette. One foot of space between them, their eyes locked into each other's for a moment. She had a lot of questions but couldn't find the courage to ask the brunette since she was the one who ended the relationship. She was the one who didn't give her a chance to explain. When she finally found the courage to ask, Lucy beat her to it.

"How are you?" Lucy asked, with a small smile. She didn't know how the blonde found her but at this moment, she really didn't care. All she wanted to know was how she was doing. _As long as she's okay, that's all it matters. _

The question surprised her. The tone in which the brunette spoke surprised her. It was like she's asking how she's doing as a regular friend. _She's…different._

"Fine…" Kristin said in a trembling voice as she tried to hold in her tears.

"You…look…good." Lucy smiled as she scanned her from top to bottom. _She looks good. _"How's the wound? Is it getting better?"

A sharp pain shot through her chest as she listened to the brunette's questions. She could tell the brunette was concerned about her health, but it sounded like she has no intention of wanting to be with her again. At the corner of her eye, a tear slid down her face.

Kristin nodded and asked nervously. "How… are you?"

When she saw the brunette coming out of the same medical building she was in, she was shocked and quickly followed the brunette in a taxi. _Please God, let me see her. Let me talk to her. _Inside the taxi, she prayed to the Lord.

Lucy's smile quickly disappeared when she saw tears, one drop after another, flowing down the blonde's face.

"Does it still hurt?" Lucy reached up and as she was about to wipe the tears off her face, she stopped and slowly pulled back her hand. It's different now. She shouldn't be touching her the way she did before. She was surprised when Kristin suddenly stepped closer and wrapped her arms around her. Lucy immediately felt the pain in her right shoulder and held her breath since she didn't want to let the blonde know she was hurt. She patted her back lightly to comfort the blonde who was quietly sniffing her tears back in.

"Kristin, what's wrong?" She said in a comforting tone. She glanced at Kat who was looking at them from several feet away. She mouthed 'what happen?', hoping that Kat could give her some kind of hand signal that could tell her what's wrong with the blonde. All Kat did was shook her head and looked down on the floor. _What does that mean?_

Lucy could feel the blonde was shaking her head on her shoulder. "I…miss you." She said as she hugged the brunette tighter.

_She miss me? _That was unexpected. When she broke up with her, that message was loud and clear. She wondered if the head of the division 16 lied to her. _Did she really broke up with me or was it her boss trying to break us apart? _

"I'm….sorry."

Lucy realized that it was the blonde's decision. _Did she change her mind?_ Her injured bandaged hand let go of the padlock and as she was about to wrap her arms around the blonde's waist, she stopped and let her hands fall back on the side. _What would happen if I said I still love her? What would happen if she still wants to be with me? _ She couldn't allow this to happen. They can't be together. _After I kill that son of a bitch, I have to leave. She can't bring the blonde with her. It would be too dangerous. It would ruin her life. Does she know how I got out? _She took a glance at Kat and wondered if Kat told her. _No. She doesn't. I can't let her think that we could be back together. I can't._

"I'm sorry." Lucy spoke softly over the tall woman's shoulder. "I should have told you."

The taller blonde pulled back and looked directly into her eyes. "Is it because I look like her?" She really wanted to know from her own words. Her superior told her what the brunette said. She said it wasn't like that. Kat told her how the brunette felt when she broke up with her.

Lucy stared at the blonde as she thought about the question. What if she said yes, would she believe it? What if she said no, the blonde would want to be with her again and she can't allow that to happen.

"Keira, please tell me the truth."

"No…of course not. I loved you because you're kind, you're funny, you're beautiful, caring, sensitive…** I**…**loved you**…because of who you are."

Looking into those gentle eyes, Kristin saw sincerity. There was no reason to lie to her. She always knew the brunette loved her. But the truth about her previous lover caught her by surprise and raised doubts in her mind. She let out a deep sigh of relief, thinking that everything was back to the way it was before until the brunette spoke again.

"But that doesn't matter anymore, does it?"

Her smile quickly disappeared as fast as it came. Her heart shattered into pieces. _She said loved._ Tears flowed down her cheeks. "Keira….I."

"Kristin…listen to me…I understand and I don't blame you."

She reached out to hold her hands.

"When you asked me why I fell for you, I didn't know how to answer you because you...do look a lot like Amy and there are things about you that are a lot like her. I…will always love Amy and she will always be a part of me." She said as she placed her hand over her heart.

Kristin remained silent, unsure of what the brunette was leading to.

"When you decided to break up with me, you know what could happen and I understand that. You and I know….we can't be together…because there's always going to be doubts in your mind."

She came to understand what the brunette was trying to say. She did have doubts. But after she broke up with her, she felt completely broken. It was like there was no purpose in life. So she decided to listen to her heart instead of her mind.

Kristin shook her head. "no…Keira, I don't….not anymore… I believe you…I believe that you love me for who I am…and not because…"

Realizing what the blonde was about to say, Lucy quickly interrupted her. "It's not only you. It's me…too." Her eyes fall onto the blonde's teary hazel eyes. _God. It hurts too much to see her cry._ She quickly turned around and looked down below at the Seine river as she held tight on to the railing, hating herself for what she was about to say. But it has to be done.

She was again unsure of what the brunette meant. "I don't understand…"

"I…had a dream. I dreamed of us...living together. We were happy. I dreamed of us...making love…" Lucy turned to look at the blonde who let out a shy smile, but Lucy wasn't smiling. "…but I called you…Amy…"

Kristin's heart skipped a beat as the thought of that situation appeared in her mind. Her mouth spontaneously dropped.

Lucy moved one step backwards.

"…and things happened after that…things I can't control…I don't want that to happen to you….I can't live with myself if that happens to you. Do you understand?"

The brunette calling her previous lover's name by mistake. She realized that this could happen because they look so much alike. But she's unwilling to let her go. She still wants to be with her. "Keira, it's only a dream."

"I know. But it haunts me. The ending …haunts me." Lucy moved one step back. "I can't…and I won't let that happen."

There was a moment of silence. Kristin noticed that the brunette was slowly walking away from her.

"Take care of yourself."

As Lucy was about to turn around and leave, she stopped when the blonde spoke.

"Keira, is there somebody else?" She didn't want to let her go yet. She needed to say something to stop the brunette from walking away. She knew that the brunette didn't have anybody else. It was only a short amount of time that they separated. There was only Alexis and she knew Keira didn't love her.

Lucy closed her eyes. _Shit!_ She knew the blonde was too smart to fall for that. _Who said blondes are dumb? hah! Who?_

Lucy turned around and pretended not to have heard what she just said. "What?"

"A dream? You're breaking up with me because of a dream? You're _Lucy Diamond._" She whispered and brushed her tears away, realizing that the brunette might be hiding something else from her. _She was the leader of a criminal organization. _ _She's seen it all._ _A dream? I don't believe it. _It didn't make sense to her.

That's why she loved her because she's damn smart. _Maybe I should have just said yes when she asked me if I love her because she looks like Amy. It's too late now._

"What would you do if I did call her name?"

Kristin pondered for a short moment.

"First, I can tell you that situation wouldn't happen because I don't believe in sex before marriage. Second, if we do get married someday, by that time, I don't think you could make that mistake." Kristin said confidently, but inside, she felt a little embarrassed. She just told her that she's a virgin and that marriage is a possibility in the future.

_Oh. _That surprised her. Lucy had no idea the blonde, like Amy, believed that premarital sex was unacceptable.

"But things could happen. You never know."

"and if that does happen…" She cleared her throat and shook her head out of dirty thoughts. "…I probably would be upset with you for a few days but I would eventually forgive you."

"You would?"

"Yes, I would." _God. Why do I feel so alive when I'm with her?_

"Then...would you wait for me if I was sentenced to 15 years in prison?"

"No."

The response surprised her. "You wouldn't?"

"Because I know that you would find a way to get out of it, just like how you managed to inform your friends….just like how you managed to be here now…" Kristin cleared her throat and looked down at the ground. "…and I'm sorry about that."

"about what?"

"you…and Alexis." Kristin said in an embarrassed tone. Previously, she was upset and a little jealous when she and Alexis could know what each other was thinking without saying a word. But when she found out that the brunette had another plan and it wasn't the same plan that Alexis had in mind, she blamed herself for that silly thought.

Lucy nodded in understanding. _This is not going so well_. She had to find a way to break up with her. _Can I just walk away? Then she would try to follow me._

"Kristin, this won't work…you know that…you're with them…and I'm a …."

Without hesitation, Kristin responded. "I'll quit. I told you before…I would follow you…wherever you want to go…remember?"

"But it's going to be a tough life. We could be on the run constantly. I have a lot of enemies."

Kristin walked one step forward and wrapped her arms around her.

"I want to be with you. Can't you understand that?" She noticed the brunette was trying to push her away from some reason and it wasn't because she doesn't love her.

_This is not working. _Lucy pulled down the blonde's hands. "I can't."

"Why?"

"because…I want to see you alive and well. I…don't want you to end up the same way as Amy. It's my fault. If Amy didn't come with me, she would still be alive today. It was my fault." Lucy stepped back as tears brimmed her eyes.

"It hurts too much. You don't understand what it's like to lose someone you love. Never see her again. I can't live through that again. I can't. I won't let that happen again."

Lucy was startled when Kristin jumped forward and hugged her tightly, causing the brunette to wince in pain.

"I understand. I do. When you're not with me, I couldn't do anything. All I could think about is you. I can't live without you."

_And I can't live if something happens to you. _Lucy thought to herself._  
_

Lucy wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist. _Kristin. I love you, but I can't. You'll hate me but you'll continue to live on. As long as you're okay, that's all it matters. This is the only way._

When she felt the brunette's arms around her, she let out a smile, thinking that she was successful in convincing the brunette to allow her to stay with her.

Lucy closed her eyes and let out deep breath. "Kristin, I was with someone else."

Kristin heard but needed confirmation. She pulled away and asked softly. "What?"

Lucy looked straight into her eyes. "After you broke up with me, I was...with somebody else."

_Oh God. no…no…_Her heart pounded in her chest.

"You're…lying…don't say that." She could forgive the brunette if she called her previous lover's name by mistake. But she wasn't sure if she could forgive the brunette for cheating on her even though it happened after the relationship ended. It felt like she cheated on her.

Lucy shook her head.

"Is…it…Alexis?" She asked in a tremble voice.

_Alexis? _Lucy had planned on telling her about Alyson without giving her the details. But since she brought up Alexis, she thought this would be a better idea. _ It would make more sense. She would believe that it was Alexis and not someone else. _More importantly, nobody would know about the megastar. _Sorry Alexis. I need your help again._

"Yes." Immediately after Lucy responded, she saw the blonde raised her hand. Lucy closed her eyes and allowed the blonde to slap hard on her face.

Kat gasped out loudly when she saw what the blonde did. The dark haired woman immediately walked towards them and stopped when Lucy held her hand up, signaling her to stay put.

Kristin gasped and looked at her trembling hand. She was shocked at her own actions and was surprised that the brunette didn't stop her.

_Damn that hurts. _Lucy noticed that that blonde's hand was trembling and saw regret in her teary eyes.

"How…could you? You said you don't love her." Kristin said as tears streamed down her face.

"I'm…sorry." Lucy said as she walked slowly backwards. _There was no other way. _

"Take care of yourself. Kristin." Knowing that her plan had worked, she turned around and walked away. She knew that this time, the blonde wouldn't stop her. The blonde will eventually forgive her but by that time, she wouldn't be here.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sitting in the taxi, Lucy winced in pain as she placed her hand gently over her face. The dark woman was curious to know about what just happened. One moment they were hugging, the next moment, the blonde hit her.

"Is it red? Is there a handprint?" Lucy asked the dark haired woman.

"Yea…It's red. You'll need ice pack on that. You could have blocked it."

"I could have." She said as she moved her jaws. "ouch….But don't underestimate her. She's as good as I am if she wasn't injured." Lucy said with a smile, remembering how the blonde caught the thief that stole her wallet.

When the dark woman saw her smile, she realized that she had deliberately allowed the blonde to hit her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sobbing quietly, Kristin looked down on the Seine River. A few people who saw what happened earlier were staring at her, but she didn't care.

"What happened?" Kat said as she handed her a tissue. Back in the medical building, she saw the excitement in the blonde when they saw the brunette. From the way they were hugging each other a moment ago, she thought that they would be able to work things out until the blonde slapped her. That caught her by surprise. Kristin took the tissue and wiped her continuous flow of tears.

"Kristin? Are you okay? I'm worried about you."

After a short moment, Kristin turned around to hug the shorter young woman. Kat patted her back as the blonde cried on her shoulder. Feeling uncomfortable with people staring at them, Kat pulled away and led the blonde to another area. Sitting on the bench, Kat waited for the blonde to calm down and control her tears.

"What's wrong with me?" Kristin said, unable to stop her tears from forming.

"Nothing's wrong with you."

"Then why did she cheat on me?"

"What!" Kat said loudly and stood up. She knew there was something wrong with the brunette when she didn't want to know anything about the blonde. But never in her mind thought that was the reason.

"With whom? When?"

Kristin sniffed in her tears. "After we broke up."

_After you guys broke up?_ She's with the megastar. _No!…that can't be. She's not gay. She has a lot of ex-boyfriends._

Kat was really anxious to know whom the criminal was sleeping with. "Kristin, did she say who she was with?" She said as she sat back down.

"A..lexis."

Kat closed her eyes for a second and let out a deep breath, relieved to know that it wasn't the megastar. For a minute there, she really thought that it was the megastar. _Alexis? _Now that makes more sense. That doesn't surprise her since she let everyone know that she loved the brunette. _But cheating?_

Kat cleared her throat. "Kristin, not that I'm on her side, but it wouldn't be called cheating if you guys already broke up." She jerked back when she saw the blonde narrowing her eyes at her.

"Kat! we only broke up a few days ago." She said angrily as she stood up. "How could she do that? She told me she doesn't like her…then she turns around and sleeps with her." She wiped the tears from her red swollen eyes with the back of her hand.

Kat slowly stood up. "Did she say she love Alexis?"

Kristin shook her head as tears continued to flow down her cheeks.

"Did she say she wants to be with you?"

"That's just it. She loves me but she doesn't want to be with me."

"Why?"

"She's afraid I would end up the same way as Amy. She doesn't want to see me get hurt." Kristin let out a laugh at what she just said. She looked up at the sky. "You don't want to see me get hurt. You're hurting me now! You're the one who's hurting me!" She shouted at the sky as if yelling at the brunette.

Kat waited to let her finish crying out in anger before speaking.

"What happened to Amy?" All she knows is that Amy was a D.E.B.S agent who disgraced the agency by eloping with the criminal mastermind. After she left, there was no other information about her.

"She said it was her fault. She said she would still be alive if she didn't go with her."

"Did she say how?"

Kristin shook her head.

"Then she's not with Alexis either."

The blonde slowly turned to look at Kat. "Kristin, if she's afraid to see you get hurt, then she's not going to be with anyone, not even Alexis. She was extremely devastated after you broke up with her. She was crying. Alexis probably came at the right moment and…."

"Oh God. You're saying that this is my fault. I did this? I pushed her to Alexis?" Kristin sat down and held her head as she thought about what Kat just said. _It's my fault._

"No, of course not…you know Alexis…she can be pretty…persuasive…."

When she saw the blonde narrowing her eyes at her again, Kat knew she said the wrong thing. She basically told her the one she loves has no self control and would sleep with anyone who was willing.

"I'm just guessing."

"She's not like that…and Alexis is not like that." _Oh God. What am I saying? I don't even know what they're like._

"Maybe they got drunk. Maybe they made a mistake. Maybe…"

"Kat! I need some time alone." She stood up and started to walk away.

"Kristin!" Kat called out.

"What?!" She said loudly, extremely furious and hurt.

"She didn't have to tell you about it…because technically, she didn't cheat on you."

Kristin stomped her foot hard on the ground and walked away. She knew Kat wouldn't understand how she feels at this moment because she's never been in love. _It hurts. It hurts like hell. It hurts to know the one you love slept with another woman. We may not be together when it happened. But it still hurts._

Standing near the Seine river, she looked up at the sky. There was nobody else nearby.

"Why did you tell me, Keira?!" She shouted at the sky.

"You shouldn't have told me!" Her hand covered her heart when she suddenly felt a stabbing pain in her chest.

"You shouldn't have told me." She said in a low voice to herself.

She looked down into blank space, letting tears dripped down from her face onto the ground.

"Why did you tell me?"

* * *

Lucy entered the apartment and saw Scud and Anthony's man, sitting on the couch, watching tv.

"Where did you go?" Scud asked.

"Doctor."

"I know that, Lucy….it took that long."

"yes." Lucy covered the side of her face as she walked to her bedroom.

Scud immediately stood up when he noticed her strange behavior.

"What happened?" He asked the dark haired woman who shrugged her shoulders in response. She wasn't sure if she should tell him since it's the brunette's personal business.

* * *

Sitting in front of the mirror in her bedroom, she turned her head slightly to the right to look at her left side of the face where the blonde had slapped her.

"Shoot. That's going to leave a bruise." She could see a red swelling handprint on her tanned skin.

She turned to the direction of the door when she heard 2 knocks.

"I got you some ice packs." The dark haired woman said.

Lying on the bed with her face leaning on one side, Lucy held an ice pack on her bruised face while the dark woman placed another ice pack on her swollen shoulder blade over her shirt.

"Are you sure you did the right thing?" The dark haired woman asked out of concern.

"Yea." Lucy responded in a dull tone. "She's going to be okay."

"What about you?"

"As long as she's okay" She responded again.

* * *

7PM

Everyone except for Lucy has finished eating dinner that Anthony bought over. Lucy chose to rest for awhile before joining them. Sitting on the dining table with six seats, Scud and Anthony stared at the brunette who was slowly chewing on the steak. This was the first time Scud had seen the brunette ever since she came back from the doctor's. What he and Anthony wanted to know is what the hell happened to her face. When they saw that Lucy was almost finished with the meal, Scud couldn't resist any longer.

"Lucy, what the hell happened?"

"What?" Lucy said as she took a drink of water.

Anthony looked at Scud. Both knew she wasn't going to tell them.

"Lucy, do I need to ask her or are you going to tell us?" Anthony pointed to the dark haired woman.

Knowing that the dark haired woman would probably tell her boss everything, Lucy had no choice to tell them.

"I'm fine. It's nothing….It's…personal." Lucy glanced at them and looked down at her plate, hoping that they would stop asking.

Anthony and Scud both creased their brows and looked at each other. When Scud nodded, Anthony turned around and as he was about to call the dark haired woman over, Lucy gave in. Besides, Anthony had other men following the blonde. He would be able to find out even if the dark haired woman wouldn't tell him.

"okay…okay…I…ran into…Kristin."

"Oh…so she did that?" Scud asked.

"Why?" Anthony asked. "I thought you two broke up."

"Actually, she broke up with her." Scud explained and Anthony nodded.

Both waited patiently for the brunette to continue.

"She…changed her mind."

Scud scratched his head and looked at Anthony who was also extremely confused.

"So that's good…isn't it?" Anthony said.

Lucy slumped against the chair and explained why she doesn't want the blonde to stay with her.

After the explanation, both nodded their heads and understood why she would feel that way.

"But why would she hit you? You're just concerned about her safety." Scud said.

"yea...why?" Anthony was also very curious to know.

"because she said she can't live without me…so I needed her to break up with me…I needed her to hate me…"

"Lucy, you didn't?" Scud said. They just talked about that before she went to the doctor, so he had an idea what she did to upset the blonde.

"did what? What did she do? Did I miss something?"

Scud stayed silent since he was unsure if the brunette told the blonde about Alyson.

"She thinks I cheated on her."

"oh" Anthony realized why the blonde slapped her. "that would do it." He said as he tapped his fingers on the table.

"….but I'm surprised that she believed you after what you girls been through….I mean…you risked your life to save her…you got caught because of her….why would she….." Anthony stopped tapping his fingers, wondering if the brunette wasn't telling him everything.

"Did you really cheat on her?"

"Of course not!" Lucy immediately stood up and defended herself. She said it so loud, Anthony's followers in the living room all focused their attention on her. She slowly sat down when she realized that she had overreacted.

"So how did you make her believe that you did?"

"because that's how people are, whether it's a man or woman…" Scud spoke to help the brunette out. "if you tell them that you didn't cheat on them, they won't believe you….but if you tell them that you cheated …they won't think twice about it…

Lucy remained silent and hoped Anthony would stop asking.

Anthony glanced at Scud, then at the brunette. "No…that's what regular people would do…not her. She's an agent. She's trained to see if someone is lying to her or not. It has to make sense. She would want proof….she's not going to…."

"…it's because I told her it was Alexis…" Lucy didn't want to tell him but she knew he wouldn't stop asking. "…and because she saw us making out before…"

"Oh." Scud and Anthony said in unison. Scud nodded to let her know that it was a good idea, better than telling her about the megastar.

* * *

**Chapter 29: Chapter 29**

* * *

**Chapter 29**

After looking at his watch, Anthony told his guys to get ready.

"Lucy, are you ready?" Anthony called out.

After putting on a darker makeup to cover the handprint on her swollen face, she came out of the bedroom, dressed in her comfortable black pants, three-fourth length pima v-neck shirt, and jacket. Her hair tied in a ponytail. She went into the kitchen and turned on the stove. She looked around to make sure nobody was watching before taking out the megastar's note. She read it so many times; She had it committed to memory. She placed the note onto the flame and watched it burn, making sure every word on the note was completely burnt into ashes.

"Ready."

Everyone focused their attention on the woman dressed in black known as the notorious, ruthless Lucy Diamond. All could see the look on her face was completely different from the one they saw earlier. And it wasn't because of her face without the handprint. Scud and Anthony had seen that look before. That look that will make you think twice before approaching her. That look tells you that she's not afraid of anything. She had that look when she took revenge for her father. And tonight, she will take revenge for her lover.

They had no idea where the destination was until he received a call from Jean Claude two hours earlier. Not knowing what kind of outcome this would have, he brought twenty of his followers with him. Hopefully, this would come out as last time where no bullets were needed.

Sitting in the car with Anthony next to her, Lucy sat still, looking out the window. It was dark. It was pouring rain. Flashes of lightning lit up the sky. As memories of Amy flowed into her mind, she tightly clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. She looked down at her bare hands with torn skin and scratches. It hurts but this pain was nothing compared to what she felt when she heard about Amy's demise. _That bastard has to die._

After one and a half hour drive, they finally arrived. All waited in the car for Anthony's men to get there before driving to the destination nearby. After receiving a call, Anthony told the driver to drive towards the gate where four armed men, dressed in black raincoats, stood. One man waved to them, signaling them to drive through. Standing in front of the entrance stood two men.

"There's about ten of them." Anthony said.

He wasn't talking to Lucy or his followers inside the car. He was informing Scud who was sitting in another van outside the gate, listening, waiting, and preparing to attack if needed.

All were surprised when they were allowed into the building without being patted down.

Ten of Anthony's followers stood outside. Ten followed their leader inside the building. Inside the building was a huge lobby area that looked like the lobby area of a cinema. They were then led to a darker hallway. Two men stood in front of two doors and opened the doors when they saw them coming. Standing at the entrance, they saw hundreds maybe over a thousand seats surrounding the center of attention, a boxing ring. Lucy and Anthony looked at each other, wondering what Jean Claude had in mind. They didn't have to tell Scud what was in front of them since she was wearing a special camera designed by Scud on her jacket. She turned to the right slowly and turned to the left slowly so that Scud could see how many people were inside.

"It's Lionel." Anthony said.

Both wondered why he was here. Not only him. There was another leader with his followers sitting on another side of the boxing ring.

"Who's that?" Lucy asked.

"No one you need to know about."

Anthony now understood why they were allowed to bring guns in, because nobody would be stupid enough to start shooting. It would be suicide. The one who starts shooting will be going against the three criminal organizations.

As they walked slowly down to the first row, the leaders stood up and walked towards them to meet them.

"Are we late?" Anthony said.

"No. You're actually fifteen minutes early." Jean Claude said as he shook his hand.

He turned to look at Lucy and extended his hand. "Welcome, nice to meet you gain. Miss Lucy Diamond."

"Jean Claude." Lucy said as she shook his hand. She smiled, trying not to show pain on her face when Jean Claude gripped tightly on her injured hand.

"Did you…hurt yourself?" When Jean Claude flipped her injured hand to take a look, Lucy slowly pulled away.

"Just a few scratches" Lucy responded.

After Jean Claude introduce the other leader to them, he introduced Lionel.

"Introduction is not necessary. We've met before." Lionel shook Anthony's hand.

"Lionel, I'm surprised to see you here." Anthony said.

"I am surprised to be asked to be here as well." Lionel said as he puffed out a halo of smoke.

_Asked?_ Anthony thought to himself.

"Oh Jesus Christ, Lionel…" Lucy coughed as she waved her hand to get the smoke out of her face.

Lionel couldn't help but laugh at her actions.

"Miss Diamond." Lionel shook her hand.

"Yes, Lionel…you probably want to put that out if you want her to win." Jean Claude said.

"Win?" Lucy and Anthony said in unison. Both frowned in confusion.

As Jean Claude was about to explain, his companion, a sexy blonde in a skimpy short tight dress, interrupted them. All eyes including Lucy's focused on her, not on her face, but on her large chest, displaying a lot of cleavage.

"When is it going to start?" The blonde bimbo with a curvaceous figure asked as she tugged on his forearm.

"She just got here…give her a moment…" Jean Claude spoke in a sweet voice to his blonde bimbo.

"Good luck." Lionel said as he excused himself and walked back to the seat. The other leader did the same.

_What the hell is going on here? _Anthony and Lucy both looked at each other.

When the blonde bimbo spoke, Lucy turned and saw the blonde scanning her from top to bottom.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Jantel." She spoke in a seductive voice as she extended her hand.

From the way she spoke, Lucy sensed that there was something strange about the blonde. Lucy hesitated and as she was about to shake her hand, Anthony grabbed the blonde's hand and introduced himself. "I'm Anthony." He smiled.

After Jean Claude asked his blonde bimbo to go back, she extended her hand to the brunette.

When Lucy politely shook her hand, the blonde bimbo surprised everyone when she stepped closer to her and whispered "Good Luck" into her ear and kissed her on the cheek. Women kissing each other on the cheek is no big deal in France but that wasn't just a simple light kiss. Lucy jerked back immediately and saw the girl smiling and winking at her before walking back to her seat. _What the hell? _She could feel her tongue on her cheek._  
_

All three creased their eyebrows in confusion as they watched the blonde sashayed back to her seat.

"Is she your girl?" Lucy asked. It's obvious to everyone that she is but what she just did caused her to wonder.

"For today." Jean Claude shook his head, not pleased with the girl's action. "You're welcome to have her if you want."

Lucy realized that Jean Claude must have found out more about her, what she used to be, but not the real Lucy Diamond. The information that he found were rumors created by Scud to make her look tougher. He made her out to be someone who's ruthless, someone who had killed many times, someone who could have any girl she wants, like a chick magnet…well…there may be some bit of truth to that part.

"Thank you. I'm good." Lucy said as she wiped the wet kiss away from her face and hoped that it doesn't wipe off the makeup.

"So let's get back to business, shall we?" Jean Claude said.

"Yes, please." Anthony said.

After spending a moment of telling them what he had in mind, Jean Claude could tell that they weren't pleased with his suggestion.

"Pardon my French….but you're out of your fucking mind!" Anthony said loudly.

"Where the hell is he?" Lucy said angrily as she looked around.

"Anthony, you know this is the only way…."

"This is not the only way, Jean Claude." Anthony narrowed his eyes at him.

"You know that multi billion dollar project…Do you...want to be….part of that project? That's a lot of money."

Anthony stayed silent to let the information sink into his brain.

"We can make that money…disappear." He said as he raised his eyebrows and up and down and extended his fingers out like a magician doing a disappearing trick.

"You're bluffing."

"Am I?"

Jean Claude slowly stepped back a few steps as he stared at Anthony and Lucy. Surprised with the information, he pondered for a moment.

"cmon…cmon…take it…" Scud said nervously as he chewed on his nails inside a van. "Shoot…it doesn't look good." On the video monitor, he saw Jean Claude letting out a cunning smile as he walked towards the brunette. Anthony's men inside the van were also focusing their attention on the video monitor.

"You know, Anthony, it's going to take more than that."

"Damn it!" Scud shouted inside the van.

Anthony and Lucy stared at each other, both thinking of what to do.

"Anthony we don't have him." Scud said on the other line. What they were planning to do was kidnap Jean Claude's son Thomas and used him as a bargaining chip. Before they came, Lucy had called Thomas to meet her in a restaurant in Paris but they found that Thomas has not yet left his office building.

Anthony took a look at his watch and tried to stall for time.

"Well?" Jean Claude is beginning to run out of patience.

"Let's go, Lucy. He's out of his fucking mind." Anthony decided and took one step up and stopped when he noticed Lucy wasn't moving. "Lucy…" He called out.

"It's a fair fight, Anthony. Girl against girl. This is the only way and you know it. You don't want your guys hurt and I don't want my guys hurt. You don't …"

"How do I know if you are really going to give him up?" Lucy interrupted.

"That's why I called them here." He pointed to Lionel and the other criminal leader.

"I'll be right back." Anthony said and quickly walked towards Lionel.

Lucy stood in her current position as she watched Anthony talking to Lionel and then to the other criminal leader. After he came back, he told Lucy that Lionel and the other criminal leader were here to make sure Jean Claude keeps his end of the bargain.

"Where is he?" Lucy asked, knowing that Benjamin Couric must be in the building watching them.

"Does this mean you agree to the fight?" Jean Claude asked.

"Wait…Lucy…no." Anthony said as he shook his head. He could see in the brunette's eyes that she doesn't want to wait any longer. The deal she made with the Head of Division 16 has a time limit. If she doesn't get Benjamin back alive within 3 weeks, she would have to go back and get locked up. If she doesn't go back, they will start searching for her and exposed the megastar's involvement with her to the world. She would have to leave the country which means she would never be able to get her revenge.

"Lucy, we'll get him another time." He said in a commanding tone and grabbed her forearm.

Then one of Jean Claude's goons walked towards them and whispered something into his ear. Jean Claude nodded and the goon walked away. He looked at his watch and realized that it was time.

"I wasn't planning to do this but since it doesn't seem like you're going to go through with this and I already have them here." He pointed to Lionel and the criminal leader. "…and I already have them here…" He snapped his fingers and the light turned on in the VIP rooms on the upper deck.

Anthony and Lucy immediately turned around and saw the VIP rooms filled with people.

"I'll make this easier for you." Jean Claude extended his hand and his goon placed a video device on his hand.

Both gasped loudly, shocked at what they saw. "You son of a bitch!" Anthony stepped forward and as he was about to pull out his gun, Lucy called out angrily but quietly. "STOP."

What she saw in the video was someone pointing a gun at Kristin's head.

"You call this a fair fight." Anthony said angrily.

"Of course it is. The decision is up to you." He reached up and rubbed his nose. "Quiet down or they both die."

Her face contorted in anger. Her jaw and fists clenched so tight, blood oozed out of her injured hand. Her heart pounded in her chest. At this moment, what she wanted to do is kill Jean Claude but she knows she can't.

_Both? _Lucy continued to watch the video and saw that Kat was held in the same room with handcuffs behind her back.

"I swear to God, if you hurt her…."

"Miss Diamond, nobody gets hurt if you just play along. I win, they go home safely and you…can't go after him ever again or else they…" He pointed to Lionel and the criminal leader. "…will join forces with me to go after you."

Lucy realized that there was no way out. She has to fight and she has to lose or else Kristin dies.

"Did he suggest this?" Lucy said.

"I told you before, he's a genius. Now do you believe me?" Jean Claude smiled.

"Lucy, we're going to find out where she is." Scud said in the microphone.

"I…lose. You…let…her go." Lucy said as she continued watching the video.

"Yes. But make it last…give them a good show….make it look real."

Jean Claude took the video device away. "You're on in five minutes." He walked back to sit with his blonde bimbo.

Anthony quickly stood in front of the brunette. He could see that she was worried about the blonde's safety. Instead of apologizing for not being able to protect the blonde agent, he smacked her face lightly a few times.

"Listen to me, Lucy. What you have to do now is not get yourself killed. She's going to be fine. We'll get that bastard later. Do you understand?"

He could see that the brunette was staring into blank space even though she was looking at him.

"Lucy!" He shook her shoulders to bring her out of her thoughts.

"Remember who you are. You are Lucy Diamond….not Keira. Lucy Diamond. Do you hear me? She needs you to save her. She needs you to stay alive. We need you to stay alive. Do you understand?"

Lucy frowned at him, not understanding why he kept telling her to stay alive. She's not afraid of the fight. She's afraid of the blonde's safety. She's afraid that Jean Claude won't keep his word.

"What the hell are you talking about?" She said in a low volume.

When Anthony stepped aside, Lucy realized what he was afraid of. There in the corner of the boxing ring is a tall black woman, with muscles on her arms, legs, abdomen, all over her body, dressed in a dark blue boxing shorts and sports bra. She has the body of a bodybuilder.

"That's not a woman." Lucy said with a squeal and swallowed hard.

Then a woman came to pat her down, making sure she has no weapons on her. After taking her shoes, socks, and jacket off, she closed her eyes and let out a few deep breaths.

"Anthony, she's going to be okay, right?" Lucy needed assurance from him.

"Yes."

"okay, as long as she's okay."

When Anthony heard what she just said, he grabbed her shoulders again. "No, Lucy. You need to be okay. She's not going to be okay if something happens to you. So you need to stay alive." He repeated.

"Right" Lucy nodded and took in another deep breath to calm her rapidly beating heart. "It doesn't look like he cares about the money. Isn't it obvious who's going to win?"

"They might be betting on the time. That's why he told you to make it a good show."

Lucy nodded, now realizing why Jean Claude said the fraudster is a genius. He gets the money, Benjamin gets to stay alive and nobody else gets hurt except her.

* * *

Meanwhile, one of Jean Claude's man sat on the couch inside a room as he stared at the video monitor.

"It's about to begin." The man said.

There was no response.

Inside a small office room, Kristin sat on the floor with her hands handcuffed behind her back and legs duct taped. Sitting across from her against the wall was Kat who was also handcuffed and duct taped in the same way.

"Sorry, Kat. I shouldn't have gone to see her."

"Kristin, this is not your fault. You didn't know that this was going to be happen. It's my fault. I should have known that we were being followed."

"I let my guard down….because of her…I let my guard down." She said, still thinking of the brunette.

* * *

Previously

_For a long moment, she stood in that spot near the seine river, shouting and yelling, at the brunette for cheating on her. Feeling hurt, she sat on the ground, deep in thought, near the river as the sky darkens. She was unaware that someone was behind her. Kat was watching her friend crying from a distance. She too was unaware that someone was behind her. That was how they were kidnapped._

* * *

As Kat was about to say something, a man came in and closed the door behind him. Both stared at the grotesque young man as he walked towards Kat.

"Who are you?" Kat asked.

He bent down to look at the shorter woman and let out a smile. Then he stood up and walked towards the blonde. Kneeling on one knee towards the blonde, he spoke in French. "tu es jolie"

Both girls understood what he just said, but remained silent.

"You are very beautiful." The man said with a french accent. When he reached out to try to touch her face, Kristin moved away.

Realizing what the man was trying to do, Kat called for help as loud as she could. She knew nobody would come, but that's all she could do.

"Be quiet!" He quickly stood up and cut a piece of duct tape and covered her mouth with it.

He then walked back towards the blonde. His lustful eyes scanned her body from top to bottom as he licked his lips. _You touch me. You're dead._ Kristin thought to herself. She wasn't afraid. She was trained for these type of situations. Her plan was to slam her head into his face as hard as she could to knock him out. Since her legs were bound above the ankle, she could still use them to kick him if necessary. As he was about to touch her face, a black woman slammed the door open.

All eyes focused at the black woman. "What the hell are you doing!"

The man quickly stood up and stepped away from the blonde. Then another man appeared and stood near the door, casually leaning against.

"Are you crazy? Do you want to live?" The woman shouted angrily.

"I was just having a little fun."

"Fun?" The woman took out a swiss army knife from her pocket and pointed to his private part.

"Do you want this?"

The young man immediately stepped back and covered his private part. "Yes." He said in a trembling voice, afraid that the woman would actually injured his private part.

"Didn't you tell him not to touch them?" She said loudly to the man standing near the door.

"I did."

"When we tell you not to touch them, you don't touch? DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

The young man nodded his head vigorously.

"Didn't you tell him what happened to the those guys?"

"not yet."

Looking at each other, Kristin and Kat wondered what they were talking about.

The black woman let out a deep breath and pointed a knife at him.

"You're new here, so you listen up. Last time someone tried to touch her girl, he has trouble peeing. Is that what you want?" She spoke in a calmer tone.

The young man shook his head.

"and another guy got a broken hand and leg and one kidney left because he tampered with her drink. Is that what you want?"

The young man covered his mouth and shook his head.

"…and this girl here..." She pointed to Kristin. "**You do not** touch her. **You do not** look at her. If you try that again, I'm going to cut this off!" She said as she pointed the knife at his private part. "Do you understand?!"

He nodded vigorously again.

"Now get out!" The woman shouted as she pointed to the door and the young man quickly left the room.

"You want to get us all killed?" The woman asked the man standing near the door.

She looked down at Kat and Kristin and rolled her eyes when she realized what her gang members did or didn't do. "Why don't they have blindfolds?"

"They already saw us when we kidnapped them."

She wanted to curse at him but decided to save her breath. It was too late. They saw her face.

"I'm working with bunch of freaking morons." She mumbled to herself in a low voice that only Kristin could hear.

She bent down and looked at the blonde. "Listen, I don't have anything to do with this. Please tell her that I stopped him from touching you."

"Don't worry. She may not live through this." said the man standing near the door.

The woman mumbled again to herself. "Stupid morons."

Ignoring the man, the woman asked nicely. "Do you want some water?"

All turned to look at Kat when they heard her mumbling.

"Oww!" Kat cried out loudly when the woman pulled the duct tape off her mouth "Can I get a drink of water?" Kat asked.

While the woman walked towards the water dispenser, she said to the man.

"Don't forget she has friends….and I know she's going to live through this."

The man shrugged her shoulders and went back outside to watch the fight.

She was surprised when the blonde asked her a question.

"What were you talking about? Who broke the guy's arm and leg? Who are you referring to?"

Holding a cup of water, the woman froze and stared at the blonde. She then turned to Kat and noticed the same confused look on her face.

"You're kidding, right? You don't know who I'm talking about?"

Both shook their heads.

"You don't know that she beat the crap out of that guy because he tampered with her drink?"

Both shook their heads again.

"the girl you were with…on the bridge."

The woman realized that they weren't pretending when Kat gasped out loud. A look of confusion still showed on the blonde's face.

"What did that guy do to her?" Kat asked. It didn't make sense to her that the brunette would break someone's arm and leg just for tampering with her drink. And one kidney left?

"Weren't you listening? He put something in her drink."

"What?" Kat asked.

"I don't know. That's what I heard. I heard she snapped his hand and leg like a twig." Her whole body shivered at the thought. "…it was a warning…she warned everyone not to lay a hand on...you." She looked at the stunned blonde.

There was a moment of silence. Kat could tell the blonde was shocked. She herself was also shocked.

"Kristin…she…"

When Kat was about to say nice things about the brunette, Kristin interrupted her.

"You kidnapped us because of her. You're using me to threaten her?"

When the woman did not respond, she knew she was right. Kat again gasped out loud.

"What do you want her to do?"

The woman remained silent because she had no idea why either.

As the thought of the brunette might be in danger crossed her mind, her heart beat out of control.

_Oh God. _"Are…you…going to kill her?" Kristin said in a trembling voice.

When the woman did not respond again, another thought crossed her mind.

"Is she…."

When she was about to ask if the brunette was already dead, the man from outside called out.

"Hey, you're missing this! You've got to see this. Oh my god!….that's incredible!" He shouted.

The woman quickly walked towards the door and before she closed the door, she let the blonde know that the brunette is still alive.

Kristin tilted her head up, trying to hold her tears in. "Kat, they're using me to threaten her."

"she's still alive."

"We have to get out of here. We have to get out of here." Kristin said repeatedly as she tried to move her legs to loosen the duct tape. She winced in pain as she tried to pull her hand out of the handcuffs. With tears rolling down her face, her heart was pounding so hard, she couldn't hear Kat calling her. She couldn't think. All she wanted to do is get out of there to save the brunette, wherever she is.

"Kristin, stop it!"

When she finally got the blonde's attention, she moved her mouth to talk to her without emitting a sound since she wasn't sure if there were listening devices inside the room.

"She's going to be okay. Now breathe slowly, calm down, close your eyes."

What Kat said previously without saying a word, Kristin understood. She did as told and closed her eyes.

* * *

Boxing ring

Before the fight started, the announcer told the brunette and the black woman that biting and hair pulling is not allowed. Other than that, there are no rules. Standing at the side of the boxing ring, Anthony and the dark haired woman called out loudly at the brunette who just got hit on the jaw.

"Get up! Lucy! She's coming! Get up!" Anthony yelled as he pounded his fist on the ring floor.

"Oh Jesus…that hurts." Breathing heavily, with her face flat on the floor, she tried to lift herself up.

"She's behind you. Lucy, get up!"

Lucy immediately rolled to another side of the ring, avoiding her opponent from stomping her back.

"Son of a bitch." Lucy spit out the blood from her mouth as she slowly got up.

She saw Jean Claude laughing. His arm hung around the blonde bimbo who was covering her mouth in shock.

She stepped back as the black muscular woman moved forward.

"Keep moving, Lucy, keep moving!" Anthony shouted.

She could see the people in the VIP room were screaming in excitement but she wasn't sure who they were rooting for.

Then they heard the sound of the bell.

"Thank god." Lucy quickly walked back to her corner and sat on the chair to rest.

"Did you get him yet?" Lucy asked as she panted heavily. All they had to do was get Thomas, then they could stop this fight. While the dark haired woman massaged her shoulders, Lucy took a drink and spit it out. Blood smeared the floor.

"No."

"You're doing good. She can't move fast with all those muscles. Sweep her legs and use your knuckles and jabbed her in the back ribs. Okay? You're doing good. You're doing good." The dark haired woman encouraged.

"Okay. But you know I have to let her win, right?" Lucy smiled as she tried to inhale air into her lungs.

Both knew what the dark haired woman said wasn't that easy to do. The size of her opponent's thighs looks thicker than her waist. Lucy knew if she's not able to avoid one of her kicks, she would be done.

"Give me my phone." Lucy said. She can't wait any longer.

Anthony immediately handed her the phone.

"C'mon...pick up...pick up...hi Thomas." The dark haired woman and Anthony stayed silent.

When Thomas picked up, Lucy spoke in a way as if she was a little drunk. What she told him was that she was at the bar and drank too much and needed a ride.

"What did he say?"

"he said he's at a meeting and will be right there as soon as the meeting ended."

"What the hell! A meeting at this time." Anthony said.

"Sounds like he's screwing somebody. Damn it!" The plan that they thought of was a good plan but Jean Claude was several steps ahead of them.

When the bell rang again, Lucy got up and took in a few deep breaths. She took 2 steps forward, closed her eyes and waited for the black woman to step closer.

"What is she doing?" The dark haired woman asked.

"I…have…no…idea." Anthony said.

There was total silence and all eyes focused on the brunette.

This is exactly what she needed. Total silence. She could hear footsteps of the opponent coming closer and closer. The sound of the black woman's breathing got louder and louder. With her eyes still closed, Lucy ducked when she heard her opponent yelled and immediately jabbed her knuckles into the side of her body, causing the black woman to scream out in pain. She then grabbed her left leg and pull it, causing the black woman to fall on her back. With her heel, Lucy stomped on her stomach multiple times. She's not allowed to win this fight, so she jumped up, giving time for the woman to roll away, before landing on the floor. If she did not roll away, her knee would have landed on the woman's chest. The black woman got up quickly, her hand on her stomach, cursing in French.

"Oh shit. Now she's mad."

Lucy spit out the blood from her mouth as she slowly stepped around the ring. "Oh shit! Here she comes." When she saw the woman charging at her, there is only one thing to do. Wait for it and side step her. Lucy side stepped and avoided the kick. As expected, Lucy ducked when the woman flung her arm sideways. She then threw a right hook up the woman's chin, causing her to move a few steps back. She threw a front kick to her face and the woman landed hard on the floor.

"Oh shoot." Lucy turned to look at Jean Claude and noticed that he wasn't happy about it, but her blonde bimbo was smiling and clapping her hands.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the office

"Whoa!" The woman shouted as she stood up. "You see that! I told you she's going to live through this."

"Jesus…how did she do that?" The man asked.

Inside the room, Kat turned to the direction of the door when she heard the loud noise from the woman in the other room.

"What's going on out there?" Kat asked. She turned to look at the blonde who still had her eyes closed.

"Kristin, are you okay?"

"Kat, this is why she doesn't want to be with me. She's afraid I would get hurt." She looked up at the ceiling and remembered what the brunette said on the bridge. "She's afraid I would end up like…Amy." She said as she sniffed in her tears.

"So you think that's how Amy died…because of her?"

"I...don't...know." She shook her head, looking down on the floor. "She said it was her fault."

"Kristin, do you think…she lied...about…Alexis?"

Kristin immediately looked up at Kat, realizing that she could be right. "Oh god…" She shut her eyes tight and blamed herself for hitting the brunette. "Stupid…stupid…stupid…" She said as she banged her back of the head against the wall.

"I'm just guessing. If she was telling the truth, will you forgive her?" Kat said softly. "…because technically, she didn't cheat on you."

When she saw the blonde's eyes narrowing at her, she kept her mouth shut. _Well she didn't. I'm just saying. _She thought to herself. After spending a few days with the brunette in the cell and seeing how the brunette risked her life to save the little girl, she didn't think the criminal mastermind was as bad as they say. In fact, she came to like her, not like like her, not the same way as how the blonde likes her.

Kat suddenly jumped when she heard the blonde yelling out loud.

"I need to go to the bathroom!" Kristin said loudly, not wanting to listen to Kat who would never understand what it's like to know about your lover sleeping with someone else.

"oh me too."

When the woman came in, she quickly walked towards Kristin.

"c'mon…c'mon…get up…let's go…let's go."

Kristin thought it was strange, wondering why she was in such a hurry.

Since her legs were bound by duct tape, she had to hop outside of the room.

As she hopped towards the bathroom, she looked around, trying to figure out where she was.

"You better hurry, it's going to start soon." The man sitting on the couch said.

As the woman was about to close the door to the small bathroom, Kristin thought it was extremely strange when the woman didn't take her handcuffs off.

"Um…can't you…I can't go with these on."

"No tricks. I still have your friend in there and we have lots of people outside." She pulled out a gun and warned her.

Kristin resisted the urge to roll her eyes and just nodded. After taking her handcuffs off, she placed the key on the sink. "Come out with the handcuffs on when you're done." The woman quickly shut the door and ran back to watching the fight.

Kristin frowned, confusion all over her face.

There were no windows in the small bathroom. All it had was a toilet and a sink. While she was washing her hands, something caught her attention. She lifted her hand and stared at the bracelet, given to her by the brunette. _Damn it. How could I forget about this? _She slid the small lever, aimed it at a tile underneath the sink. When she pressed the two buttons together, the laser light came out and cut a hole into the tile. Her eyes opened wide, surprised that it actually works. _If it cuts through that, then it's going to cut through the duct tape…and maybe the handcuffs too._

Kristin handcuffed herself, with her hands in the front and knocked on the door.

Once the door opened, the woman checked the handcuffs to make sure it's locked and asked her to quickly hop back into the small room. She didn't even make it to the room yet and the woman already went back to watching the video as if she doesn't care if she tried to escape. _Maybe it's because escape is impossible?_

"What are you watching?" Kristin asked out of curiosity. She wasn't expecting them to respond but was surprised that they did.

"Your girl." The woman said.

"What?" She heard but wasn't sure what she meant. When both didn't respond, she hopped over near the woman. This was getting more strange by the minute. They weren't even paying attention to her.

"Oh my god!" Kristin gasped out loud, covering her mouth when she saw the brunette lying on the floor, with a mouthful of blood, wincing in pain. She then yelped when she saw the muscular woman stepping on the brunette's injured hand, causing her to scream out loud.

"Damn it, what did I just missed? She was doing well before." The woman asked.

"It's rigged." The man responded.

"What?"

When the man pointed to the blonde, the woman realized why.

"Get her back inside." The man said.

"No….wait. I want to watch. Please…I'm not going to do anything." Kristin begged.

"Listen, you don't want to watch this." The woman took out her gun and pointed at the blonde.

When she heard the brunette screaming in pain again, her whole body trembled. "Why are you doing this?" She cried out as she hopped back into the small room. "Why are you doing this?"

Inside the small room, she told Kat what she found out.

"This doesn't make any sense." Kat said.

"Oh god…she's going to die…" She said as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Kristin, calm down and think!…she's not going to die….we're not going to die and she's not going to die!"

Kat tried to convince her and gave the blonde a moment to calm down.

Both knew that help will be coming soon. It's just a matter of time before her superior realizes that Kat wasn't picking up her calls or checking in. They'll use the tracker in Kristin's body to track them down.

"They're using you to threaten her to lose the fight. Does that make any sense?"

Kristin shook her head as she held her head. In her mind, all she could think about was what she just saw in the video. The excruciating pain, the screaming, the brunette's face full of blood. _God, please save her. Please save her._

"Why are they making her fight? What are they fighting for? For money?" Kat said to herself.

* * *

Meanwhile in the boxing ring

"AAAAHHHH!" Lucy cried out when the muscular woman punched her in the mouth.

"Lucy! Lucy!" Anthony yelled out from the side of the ring. "We've got him!"

"Thank you, Lord." Lying on the floor, she got up as quickly as she could. She shook her head to clear the dizziness. Breathing heavily, she wiped her mouth and spit out a mouthful of blood.

At the corner of her eyes, she saw Anthony talking to Jean Claude. When she saw Anthony giving her a thumbs up, she snapped her head back at her opponent.

"Let's end this." Lucy stepped back into the corner to give herself room and charged at her opponent, jumped up and threw a side kick hitting her in the chest. Screaming like a crazing woman, she used all her strength and threw another front kick, hitting her in the face. The black woman remained standing. Lucy jumped up, spun, and kicked her in the face again, causing the woman to fall back against the boxing ring ropes. She didn't stop there.

"aaaAAAHH!" She jumped up and threw a last sidekick to her stomach, causing the black woman to fall between the ropes and out of the boxing ring.

"Thank god." She said when she saw the woman lying unconscious on the floor.

Breathing heavily to catch her breath, Lucy stood still as she looked up at the VIP rooms. People inside banged on the windows. She couldn't hear them but she saw that they were screaming. She turned to look at Lionel, the criminal leader, and their followers. All were standing up, clapping their hands. The blonde bimbo was blowing kisses at her. Jean Claude was staring angrily at her. She looked to the left, then to the right, then up. Who she was looking for was that bastard who killed her lover. Then suddenly everything started to spin. Exhaustion took over. She collapsed on the floor.

* * *

After a long moment, she heard her name being called. "Luuucyyyy….Luuuucyyyy…."

Her eyebrows creased. She slowly lifted her eyelids and squinted at the bright light. Her eyelids felt heavy and drooped down again.

"Lucy…wake up…honey"

She managed to open her tired eyes and blinked a few times to get adjusted to the light. A blurry image appeared in front of her. Slowly, it became clearer and clearer.

"Hi Lucy."

"Amy" Lucy said softly and smiled at her lover.

She closed her eyes for a second and reopened them. Feeling extremely tired, she couldn't move her hands or legs.

"I…miss…you…Amy." She whispered.

"I miss you too. Honey." Amy leaned in to kiss her gently on the cheek. "You need to wake up now."

"huh?…I'm…already…awake." Lucy smiled as she closed her tired eyelids for a few seconds before opening them.

"You need to get up, honey."

"I'm…tired." With her weak eyelids half opened, she looked at her lover. "Amy….I'm…sorry."

"For what?"

Each breath came fainter than the one before it. "I…cheated…on...you."

"No...you didn't."

"I…did." She confessed as her eyes fluttered closed. "I'm…sorry." Feeling exhausted, she no longer had the energy to explain.

"I forgive you. Lucy."

She opened her eyes. "You…do?" The image of Amy starts to blur.

"I forgive you. Now get up, Lucy."

"I…love…you…Amy." She closed her eyes.

"Lucy, get up."

"I'm…too…tired."

"Lucy, if you don't get up, I'm not going to forgive you. You hear me! NOW GET UP!"

* * *

Her eyes opened wide. Hovering over her face was not the person she wants to see.

"What the hell, Anthony." Lucy said in low voice. She shut her eyes tight and reopened them.

"aahhh…" She groaned and felt pain all over her body as she pushed herself up. After a short moment of looking around, she realized where she was. She got off the boxing ring with Anthony's help. Her head was still a little dizzy. She shook her head to try to clear the throbbing headache. It didn't work.

Squinting her eyes, she looked up and saw that the VIP rooms were all empty. She looked to the right and saw Lionel walking towards her.

"Well done, Miss Diamond….well done…" Lionel congratulated her. The other criminal leader shook her hand. From the way Lionel was smiling, she figured that he must have bet a lot of money on her.

Everyone, the leaders and the followers were all looking at her. She struggled to keep her eyes opened. Feeling pain on her head, she reached up and touched her forehead. The palm of her injured hand was smeared with blood.

"How long was I out?" She felt the pain in her mouth when she spoke.

"That doesn't matter, Lucy, we've got him." Anthony said.

With a frown, Lucy followed his line of sight. Her heart beat out of control when she saw the person sitting unconscious on one of the seats in the first row. She slowly walked closer and closer. It was Benjamin Couric. She wasn't sure if it was him since she had never seen him before in person. She turned to look Anthony and Anthony nodded his head. She turned to look at Lionel who also nodded. She slowly extended her hand out to Anthony who handed her a gun. She switched the safety off and pointed the gun at the person who killed her lover. As she was about pull the trigger, she stopped when she heard a familiar voice.

"Keira, NO!"

Lucy looked up and turned to her left where the voice came from.

Kristin and Kat were sitting in one of the middle rows where they were guarded by a man and a woman.

"Kristin? What are you doing here?" She said to herself as she shook her head to clear her dizziness. She was so focused on getting revenge, she had forgotten about the blonde. _Why did he bring them here?_ _Oh my God_! _He doesn't know.  
_

"You've won, Miss Diamond." Jean Claude said.

She quickly whispered to Anthony and reminded him that the blonde might still have a tracker in her body. While worrying about Lucy, he didn't notice that Jean Claude had brought the agents here. He needed to think of something fast. If he blurted out what he knows, they will kill the agents. Anthony quickly took out his phone and pretended that he got a call.

"Jean Claude, what have you gotten us into!" He tried to put the blame on the criminal leader. "I received word that the police are coming. Everybody out now!" Anthony shouted.

What they were worried about was getting caught with illegal guns. What Jean Claude should be worrying about was kidnapping. Some of their followers might be wanted by the police. Jean Claude, Lionel, the criminal leader and his followers all quickly ran up the stairs.

"Lucy! C'mon…let's go."

"No. He has to die." She pointed the gun at Benjamin Couric.

"Keira! NO!" Kristin shouted as loud as she could. After cutting the handcuffs off with the laser, she ran down the stairs with Kat following behind.

"Lucy…we have to go…you can't kill him here." Anthony said. Everyone left the boxing ring area except for Anthony, the dark haired woman, Kristin and Kat.

"Anthony, go!" Lucy said loudly.

"NO! Lucy!….Listen to me, we'll get him another time…there will be another time."

Lucy shook her head. "I can't…I can't wait anymore. There won't be another chance. He's going to spend his life in jail and he's going to live….I can't let that happen. He has to die." She pointed the gun at his head. Her hand trembled from the pain.

"Keira, No!"

The agents stood several feet away from the brunette.

"You were never going to bring him back alive, were you? You wanted to kill him yourself." Kat asked, realizing that it was all a lie.

The blonde turned to look at her coworker and finally understood why they let the brunette out.

"Keira, don't do this. You'll get her in trouble."

"SHUT UP! KAT!" Lucy snapped her head at Kat. Her voice was so loud, even Anthony flinched.

Kat covered her mouth and jerked back when she saw Lucy glaring at her with fierce eyes. She realized she almost let everyone know about the megastar.

"Keira, please….don't do this." Kristin said in a gentle voice, standing 5 feet away from the brunette.

"you don't understand." She said, gritting her teeth. Her eyes locked onto the body lying on the seat as tears rolled down her bruised cheeks. "He…killed a lot of people."

"I know that….and…"

"NO, YOU DON'T!" Lucy interrupted and turned to look at the blonde. "He…killed…Amy."

Kat again gasped out audibly, covering her mouth. Everything became clear to her.

Kristin let out a low gasp. Seeing the anger, hurt, and tears in the brunette's eyes, she couldn't control tears from flowing down her own face.

"She was supposed to come back. But this bastard…" She sniffed in her tears. "…this bastard…killed everyone on the plane. He killed Ethan…his father. He...deserved to die." She said through clenched teeth as blood dripped from her trembling injured hand.

"Get up." She said as she kicked Benjamin's legs. There was no movement.

"Get up! You son of a bitch!" She yelled and kicked him in the stomach. Before she kills him, she wanted him to know what he did.

Then suddenly, all the doors slammed opened. Armed men with bullet proof vests entered the doors and hid behind the top last row of seats.

"Don't shoot!" Kat and Kristin looked up and yelled in unison and raised their hands. Anthony and the dark haired woman raised their hands.

"Put your guns down!" One of the armed man said.

"Lucy, put your gun down." Anthony said.

The brunette didn't respond and stayed unmoved in her current position, pointing her gun at Benjamin.

Then Helen, the head of division 16 came in and scanned the situation.

"Do…not…open…fire! "

As she stepped down, two armed men led the way, pointing their guns at the criminals.

When she finally reached the first row, she could see the brunette, her bruised face and lip smeared with blood, her hair all messed up, her hands full of blood.

"For god's sake, Miss Diamond. You look like you've been through hell."

She expected the brunette to respond with a sarcastic remark. But at this moment, the brunette didn't respond nor turned to look at her.

"So I see you've got him. Good."

"Permission to speak, Ma'am!" Kat said as she straightened her posture.

"Agent! You realized you just exposed yourself."

"Yes, ma'am. I think they already know." Kat said.

"Permission granted." Kat then pulled her superior to another area and told her what she just learned about the brunette.

"What!" She quickly walked towards the brunette. "Take those 2 out of here." Helene ordered her armed men.

"Lucy, don't do this. He's not worth it. You understand me. Don't do this!" Anthony said as he was led up the stairs. "You owe me! Don't do this!" He didn't plan on using the bet in this situation that he won a few weeks ago. But this seems to be the perfect time to use it.

The dark woman followed from behind. "Don't do this. You're going to regret it if you do. There's no going back."

When Lucy heard what the dark haired woman said, she frowned at her as she was led up the stairs. She didn't expect her to say anything. She expected her to understand. Not having any regrets, that's what they had been talking about. Ever since she found out how Amy died, she had been waiting for this day. She thought long and hard about this. There was no doubt in her mind that she would kill him. What she couldn't decide was whether to go back to the Head of Division 16 after she killed the bastard. The moment is here. She can't just let him go.

"Kristin, leave us." Helene said in a commanding tone.

"No."

"This is an order. Agent."

"I can persuade her." Ignoring her superior, Kristin took one step closer to the brunette who took one step away. "Keira, please don't do this."

Seeing that the blonde agent wasn't listening, Helene whispered into Kat's ear. Kat nodded and ran up the stairs.

"Keira, we can still be together. I forgive you." Her heart ached seeing the blood dripping from her lover's hand.

The last three words caught Lucy's attention. She remembered her short dream from before. Amy had forgiven her and now the blonde agent said the same thing.

Lucy slowly turned to look at the blonde. "You…forgive…me?"

The blonde let out a smile when she realized that it was working. The brunette is listening to her. The brunette wants her forgiveness.

"Yes, I forgive you. We can be together. I want to be with you." She said sincerely.

After telling her men to search the area and keep her informed, Helene turned off the tiny microphone attached to her shirt so that nobody could hear what she was about to say.

"Miss Diamond, put the gun down and you're free to go." Helene reminded her of the deal.

The blonde agent immediately turned to look at her superior who nodded her head. Hearing the information from Kat and now from her superior, she understood how the brunette managed to get out and what the deal was.

"Keira, you're free. Put the gun down." A big grin appeared on her face. She reached out and when she tried to hold her left hand, the brunette stepped away, avoiding her contact.

"I…can't." Lucy said, still pointing the gun at Benjamin. "I can't let him live." She kicked him in the leg again. "Wake up!"

Confused at the brunette's actions, it took a short moment for Helene to realize the reason why the brunette didn't shoot yet. She extended her hand and gave a hand signal to her men up on the top who were pointing their guns at the brunette to tell them not to come down since she didn't want them to hear what she was about to say. She didn't want to let the blonde agent know either but she felt that the blonde being here could help persuade the brunette.

"Keira!" Kristin called out loudly to get her attention. "If you kill him, Alexis won't forgive you." Knowing that they slept together, she hoped that by saying Alexis' name would convince the brunette to give up because, after all, he is her grandfather.

Lucy turned to look at the blonde and wondered if she should tell her that it wasn't Alexis.

"Michel, Ashley, they won't forgive you." She noticed that the brunette was listening and thinking about it. "Grandma won't forgive you."

"Yes...she would. I saved her whole family. She'd understand." Lucy said as she blinked her eyes. Everything around her was starting to blur. She reached up to wipe the sweat off her forehead, her eyes, nose, and her mouth with the back of her hand. She looked down at the back of her hand and realized it wasn't sweat. Big drops of dark red blood were dripping from her nose onto the back of her hand.

"Keira! You're bleeding!"

Lucy quickly stepped away from the blonde who stepped closer. She knew if she allowed the blonde to hug her, this whole ordeal would come to an end because in her current state, she is too weak to get away from the blonde's grasp and she wouldn't hurt the blonde.

"Wake up! You son of a bitch!" Lucy slapped Benjamin's face, hoping to wake him up. With bruises and pains all over, her body won't be able to hang on much longer. Before her weak body gives in, she would have to kill him.

Lucy looked around. The only bottle of water she saw was the one on the boxing ring.

"Kristin, give me that bottle of water." She pointed towards the bottle.

At first, Kristin thought that the brunette needed a drink. Then she realized why the brunette wanted it.

"No, Keira." She said apologetically.

"I need him to wake up. I need him to know what he did!" She yelled and pointed the gun to his heart.

When Helene noticed the blood dripping from the brunette's nose, her hands trembling, her eyes unfocused, she knew that it was just a matter of time before she collapses. Her plan was to keep talking to the brunette, take her mind off the target. She pulled the blonde to stand next to her, away from the brunette.

"Miss Diamond. Do you remember our deal?" She said in a low voice. She was aware that the blonde agent was listening, so she needed to be careful with her words.

"What are you doing?" Lucy said in a nervous tone as she took a glance at Kristin. During this whole ordeal, her heart was already beating rapidly. When she heard what the older woman said, she felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest. She knew that if she killed Benjamin Couric, everyone including the blonde agent would know about the megastar and her involvement. But at this moment, she doesn't want the blonde to find out.

"We have him now. You...and your **friend** are free." She stressed the word 'friend' to let her know that she was talking about the megastar, not Scud.

"If you kill him, things will happen. Your **friend** will be on the news. Everyone will know about your friend and **his** involvement with you. We need him alive so he can tell us who else was involved, so we can punish all of them." She noticed that the blonde's gun was slowly slipping down away from Benjamin's heart.

"You...saved his son, Michel, his granddaughters, Ashley and…" She snapped her fingers. "…what's that other girl's name…"

"Alexis" Kristin said in a low voice as she looked down on the floor.

Lucy noticed the sadness in the blonde's face when she mentioned Alexis. Even though she said she forgave her, she knew the blonde would always remember that she was with Alexis. _Scud was right. I should've never told her._

"yes, Alexis…she is willing to sacrifice everything for you." The older woman didn't forget her name. She was trying to stall for time.

"Not only them, you saved Nadia and that stubborn brother of hers, Alec."

Lucy opened her eyes wider when she realized the older woman knew about them.

"Yes, Miss Diamond. I know about them. I know you saved them."

"How…are…they?"

Helene noticed the brunette's face is turning pale.

"They're fine. They're under our protection. And let me tell you something that you don't know. Their brother Ethan…is still alive."

Both Kristin and Lucy let out a gasp.

"That's right. He was badly hurt... in a coma. He just woke up a couple of days ago." She reached up and turned her tiny microphone on. "Okay." She spoke into the microphone.

"I have someone who wants to talk you." She took out her phone and waited for the call to come through. She put the speaker on. "She's here."

Lucy frowned in confusion as she looked at the phone.

"Keira?"

"Nadia?" Lucy said, surprised at how much information the older woman was able to find out in these past few days.

"Keira, let him go.

The brunette stayed silent, realizing that they must have told her what she was about to do.

"Can you hear me? Keira, let him go. He's not worth it. Your friend wouldn't want you to do this. I don't want you to do this."

"I can't. Nadia." Lucy said in the same gentle tone that she always does when talking to her.

She was surprised when another voice spoke.

"Let him go, Keira. It's over now."

"Alec, how could you say that? He killed your father." She was shocked when even Alec tried to convince her to let him go. "You wanted revenge. I wanted revenge. I promised you I will get revenge for you. All I have to do is pull this trigger…he wouldn't be able to hurt you or anyone else…"

"Keira!" Alec shouted, afraid that she was going to shoot. "remember what you ask me before, you asked me if he was worth losing everything for. I can tell you now. He is not! He is not worth it! **You**...are more important than him!" He said loudly.

"Keira, I don't want revenge. I just want you to be safe. Please...listen to me. Keira, I…love you. Please…don't do this."

"Nadia…I…can't.." Tears streaming down her face. Seeing that didn't work, Helene shut the phone off.

"Miss Diamond. They are willing to let him live. So why can't you?"

The brunette stayed silent and glared at the older woman. She couldn't understand why Alec was willing to let their father's killer go, after everything he's been through. What she is certain of is that if Nadia was in front of her now, begging her to let the bastard go, she would not be able to deny her request because Nadia has that innocent look, the angelic face. Nadia doesn't want to hurt anyone. That's why every time Nadia touches her when she gets angry, her anger subsides instantaneously.

"Before I met you, I thought you were exactly what they say…ruthless, diabolical, merciless, world dominator, killer, but I found that you are completely the opposite. You were willing to risk your life to save those who have no connection to you…that little girl…I must say I am extremely…impressed. You could have died, Miss Diamond…and you wouldn't be here today. So why are you...willing...to risk your life to save the people you don't even know and yet you are not willing to save those who loves you, who you love. If you do this, do you think **she** is going to continue on living a normal life?" She turned her head towards the blonde.

Lucy gazed at the blonde with a face full of tears.

The blonde shook her head. "Please don't do this. I can't live without you."

Lucy wiped her eyes as tears blurred her vision.

"Are you willing...to sacrifice your **friend **for this piece of scum who deserves to die a million times? "

The older woman spoke slowly.

"Your friends want you...to be safe. Amy…wants…you…to be safe. You've…succeeded. Miss Diamond. Everyone…will know what he did. You got revenge...for her."

Her words reminded her of Alyson. What Alyson wanted was her to be safe. Nadia wanted her to be safe. She gazed at Kristin. There was a moment of silence. Helene smiled when she saw the brunette slowly dropping her hand with the gun to the side.

Suddenly, she reached up to her ear and pressed on her ear piece.

She quickly turned the microphone back on. "What? Say again." Helene said into her microphone.

Then loud gunshots were heard. Everyone looked around to see where it came from. The side door near the boxing ring, about 30 feet away from the brunette suddenly opened. Lucy, Kristin, and Helene were the only ones who could see a man behind the entrance of the door since he has not yet entered the boxing arena. When Lucy saw the man holding up his gun, she held hers up. Both opened fire at the same time. She has no idea who he is, why he's shooting, or who he's shooting at. All she wants to do is protect the blonde standing near her.

"Keira!"

* * *

**Chapter 30: Chapter 30**

* * *

**Chapter 30**

They had no idea who the man was or why the man was shooting. Kristin saw the brunette moved in front of her. Shots were fired. No sound came from the brunette. She stepped back a few steps before falling down on the floor.

"Keira!" Kristin quickly lay on top of the injured brunette to protect her.

The shooter was dead, shot in the head. As soon as the first shooter fell down, Helene started shooting another man behind him who was shooting blindly. After multiple shots were fired, the second shooter was finally under control, dropping to the floor, lifeless.

"Get help down here now!" Helene spoke into the microphone. She needed them alive. Them. Benjamin Couric has also been shot.

"Keira…look at me…" With trembling hands, Kristin lightly slapped her face to wake her up.

"Hurry…hurry!" Helene called his armed men to come down with the first aid kit.

Kat inhaled loudly, covering her mouth when she saw blood everywhere, all over the brunette.

"Kristin, get out of the way!" Helene ordered.

The blonde was in shock. She couldn't get herself to move away from her lover.

If the brunette wasn't injured before, there might be a chance for her to survive. With so much blood loss, all of them knew that it would take a miracle.

"He's dead."

* * *

Inside the ambulance, Kristin held on to the dying brunette's bloody hand.

"Keira, wake up…please…wake up." With tears streaming down her face, the blonde said in a trembling voice into her ear.

The brunette did not respond. They could tell she was still breathing from the fog in the mask she was wearing.

"Keira, if you don't wake up, I'm not going to forgive you!" She shouted into her ear. She gasped when she saw the brunette slowly opened her eyes. It surprised her that it worked.

"We're almost there. You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay." She told the brunette but she wasn't so sure herself. She scanned the brunette's body. Blood everywhere. _God. Please save her. Please God. _

When the ambulance suddenly jumped over the bumpy roads, the brunette cried out. Excruciating pain coursed through her body as the ambulance drove over one pothole after another. The blonde immediately held on to her blood soaked body to make it less painful. It was no use, she was hurt everywhere.

When she saw the brunette's left hand slowly reaching up to take off her oxygen mask, she took hold of her hand to stop her.

"Don't talk….we're almost there." She said softly.

But the brunette didn't listen. Her lips moved under the mask. Her tired eyelids were slowly drooping.

A gentle voice was heard behind her. "Kristin, let her." Having seen many of these situations before, Helene had a feeling that the brunette won't make it. She was afraid that the blonde agent wouldn't get to hear her lover's last words.

After taking the oxygen mask off, she leaned in closer to her ear. Her voice was very faint. From the movement of her lips, the blonde understood. "I love you too." Sniffing in her tears, she gently pressed her lips against the brunette's swollen bruised cheek. Her face and lips were smeared with blood. She leaned her ear again to hear the brunette's next words. Then she pulled back, shaking her head and sobbed into the palm of her hand.

"Promise…me." Lucy said in a low voice, but was audible.

The brunette had spoken her last wish. "Pro…mise…meeee."

When she saw the crying blonde finally nodded her head, Lucy let out a smile and closed her tired eyes.

"Keira, no, wake up!" Kristin yelled. "We're almost there. Keira!….don't sleep, don't sleep, Keira!" she let out a deep breath when the brunette slowly opened her eyes again. Her smile then quickly disappeared when she heard the brunette's next word.

"A…myyyy…"

The brunette was hallucinating, a sign indicating that the dying process has begun. Kristin shook her head in disbelief.

"Keira, no….it's Kristin." She said as she held the brunette's hand against her wet face. "It's Kristin."

Helene stood up and placed the oxygen mask over the brunette's face. There was nothing she could do except held the brunette's hand and prayed for a miracle.

* * *

One year later….

It was a beautiful day with clear, blue sunlit sky with soft clouds. Hearing sounds of birds, she looked up and was in awe of the amazing sight above, a swarm of birds flying in a v-configuration.

"Look, papa.."

Hearing a familiar voice, she turned around, letting out a gentle smile and bent down with open arms when she saw the little girl running towards her.

"Kristin!"

The force of the hug caused her to jerk back a little.

"Ashley" Kristin said as she hugged her back, tightly. It felt good to be able to see the little girl whom she hadn't seen for about a year, whom she thought of as her own little sister.

"Kristin" Michel knew it was inappropriate, but he couldn't resist the urge to hug the blonde whom he fell in love with.

"Hi…Michel." Kristin hugged him back gently.

"papa…" Behind her father, Alexis rolled her eyes and spoke in a tone to let him know that it was inappropriate.

Smiling, Michel pulled back.

"Hi…Kristin." Alexis said as she gave the blonde a hug.

"Hi…Alexis." Kristin said softly as she hugged her back tightly. It's been a year now and she still can't forget what the brunette told her. She knew that Alexis loved the brunette as much as she did and was as devastated as she was when she heard what happened to Keira. There was never hatred or jealousy because Keira always told her that she didn't like Alexis in that way. Like what Kat said to her numerous times, it wouldn't be called cheating if they've already broken up when it happened. With Keira gone for a year, may she rest in peace, she came to accept that the brunette didn't cheat on her. But there was just something in her heart, in her mind, that just couldn't let go. Having been an agent for so long, she is trained to be logical. Everything has to make sense. But this, Keira and Alexis, didn't make sense to her. What she wanted to know was how it happened. Was it a mistake? Was it like what Kat had said? Were they drunk when it happened? She really wants to know.

Alexis stepped towards the headstone and placed pink roses in front of it.

"I miss you." She whispered to herself and tried to hold in her tears.

Knowing how much her daughter loved the brunette, Michel hung his arm around her to comfort her. "Thank you…for saving us. Keira." He said.

"Sis, you promised you weren't going to cry." Ashley said with a frown. Before they came, they had a talk. Ashley explained to her that Keira, like her Grandma, was watching over them and she made her sister promise that she wasn't going to cry.

Alexis quickly brushed her tears away, stood up and turned around. "I'm not crying. I'm just…." She stopped when she saw someone else walking towards them.

They stepped aside to allowed them to pay their respects to their deceased savior.

Ashley rolled her eyes again when she heard the young woman sobbing quietly in front of the headstone.

She surprised everyone when she stepped towards the young woman and ignored her father when he asked her to come back.

Standing next to the tanned woman who was crying, she asked in a gentle voice.

"Are you a friend of Keira's?"

Nadia turned and smiled to the young innocent child whom she once kidnapped.

"Yes." Nadia responded in a gentle voice.

"Then don't cry. She doesn't want to see you cry."

"Okay" Nadia smiled and stroke gently on her golden hair. "I'm sorry." She apologized for having once kidnapped her. She was always worried that the incident might have traumatized her in some way until she learned from Keira that the little girl had no idea what happened. That was why she decorated the house, where the little girl and the blonde were kept, like a regular home with toys and video games so that she wouldn't know that she was being kidnapped.

The three siblings nodded and Alexis and Michel nodded back. They had seen each other before one year ago in the hospital where all cried uncontrollably, watching the injured brunette, lying dead, on the hospital bed. Only Ethan who was recuperating from a coma at that time had never met the brunette.

"Sorry, we're late." Nadia said to the blonde.

After the brunette passed away, if it wasn't for Kat and Nadia, Kristin would have a difficult time coping with the loss. Kat comforted her by saying that she was fortunate enough to have found someone to love and have that person love her back. There are people who have never experienced love; people like her. Kat always said not to remember how she lost the brunette but remember the happy moments with her.

With Nadia, it was easy for Kristin to become friends with her. They comforted each other, laughed and cried at each others' story they shared about the brunette, how they met, what the brunette did for them, and why they loved the criminal mastermind. On that day of the shooting, Kristin learned that Nadia loved the brunette and Nadia later learned of her relationship with the brunette. On their free time, Nadia would teach her cooking and Kristin would teach her self defense skills. They were so comfortable with each other, her stubborn brother, Alec thought that they were dating. Both laughed at that.

Alexis remembered that she made a promise to the brunette to become friends with Nadia but it would be a promise that she couldn't keep because she no longer lives in Paris.

After the three siblings left, they decided to leave as well.

"Michel? Is everything alright?" Kristin asked when she saw him looking around the cemetery as they were about to leave.

"Yes" Michel said. When he saw Nadia, he remembered something that the brunette had told him once. Who he was looking for was another woman who had fallen in love with the brunette. Alyson. All of the girls were there except for her. Kristin, Alexis, Nadia. _Maybe she doesn't know._

* * *

Inside the restaurant that Michel used to own, they talked about how each were doing while eating lunch.

"So you've been taking Tae Kwon Do lessons?" Kristin asked

Ashley nodded and was surprised when she found out that the blonde knew what she was talking about when she named the forms and recited the numbers in Korean.

"You've learned that before?" Ashley asked.

Kristin nodded.

Ashley's jaws dropped when she heard the blonde also had a black belt. She didn't know how many levels there are but all her instructors have black belts and she was amazed at what they could do.

"Ashley, you never told me you were interested in that?"

"You never told me that you have a black belt."

Kristin smiled and glanced at Alexis and Michel who were smiling at her. She was undercover. She couldn't let anyone know that she was trained in martial arts. It would have raised suspicions.

"Keira got me interested." Ashley said as she dipped her French Fries into the ketchup.

"Keira?" Kristin frowned, wondering when the brunette had a chance to talk to the little girl.

"She showed me how to punch….and I promised her I won't ask her why she and sis were kissing."

"Ashley!" Alexis called out in disbelief. _Oh my god. _Even though the brunette is no longer here, she didn't want the blonde to know about that. That was over a year ago. She was surprised that her sis still remembered that moment.

"What?" Ashley frowned at her sister. "I'm not going to ask you because I promised her…a promise is a promise." She tilted her up and gobbled up another French fry.

When Alexis saw the blonde agent looking at her, she wondered if she should explain. At this point, is there a need to explain?

Hearing what the little girl just said, Kristin wondered if that's when it happened. Is that when they got together? _She saw them kissing_. Her eyebrows creased as she stared at Alexis.

Noticing how awkward the situation became, Michel quickly changed the subject and cleared his throat.

"So Kristin, are you still in school?"

Kristin didn't respond because she was deep in thought, thinking if she should ask Alexis about it.

"Kristin?" Michel said again to break her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Are you still in school?" Michel asked again.

"Yes…I'm taking classes when I can."

"Oh good." Michel realized that her interest in Art and going to school weren't just part of the undercover. She really did wanted to go.

Kristin noticed that Alexis had her head down, eating her lunch, as if she was embarrassed. Alexis. Embarrassed?

Michel saw the blonde focusing her attention at his daughter again. He didn't expect this to happen. The brunette is dead. He didn't expect the blonde to react this way. Everyone knows that she is the only one Keira loves.

"How many more classes do you need to take before graduation?"

As she was about to respond, the manager of the restaurant Anton came by to chat with his old boss. This was Michel's intention to eat lunch here so that they could spend some time together before going back to England. It has been one year since the news about his father were broadcasted all over the country. As predicted by the former criminal mastermind, if they have not left the country before the story broke, they would have been hounded by reporters, journalists, and paparazzis. It would have made their life miserable. Even though they are no longer the center of attention, Michel does not plan on staying in France longer than he has to.

Anton greeted everyone. While Anton was talking to Michel, Alexis excused herself to the restroom. Knowing that she was going to leave after this, Kristin followed Alexis to the restroom. She knew she would regret it if she did not take this opportunity to find out the truth. Inside the bathroom, she waited for Alexis to come out of the stall. When Alexis came out, she was surprised that the blonde was standing near the door, waiting for her.

"Kristin, is there something wrong?" She could tell from before that something was bothering the blonde.

She walked to the sink to wash her hands.

"I want to ask you something."

Alexis turned around. "okay." She knew what the blonde was going to ask. There was no need to hide it from her.

Kristin looked down on the floor, thinking of the right words. Should she just asked how it happened? When it happened?

Seeing that the blonde was having a difficult time asking the question, Alexis decided to tell her what she wanted to know.

"I didn't know you two were together then." Alexis said.

"What?" Kristin said softly in confusion. _What does she mean by that? She knew we were together. Did it happened before that time? _

"Kristin, if I knew, I wouldn't have done it." She stepped closer to the blonde. "She's not here anymore…and you know the only one she loves is you."

"Alexis, I just want to know. How? When did it happen?"

_How?_Alexis stayed silent for a moment, wondering why she would still want to know when she kissed the brunette.

"Alexis, please…tell me the truth."

"I couldn't control myself." Alexis shrugged her shoulder and smiled. Every time she sees the brunette, she just wants to hug her and kiss her.

"…and it was the time before she rescued you…"

Then everything became clear. _She said after we broke up…she meant after we broke up in Paris in the coffee shop...before she was captured. Alexis didn't know we've dated. Kat was right. She didn't cheat on me. She just said that so I wouldn't want to be with her… to protect me." _She thought to herself and slapped her own forehead.

"are you okay?"

"then why did you let her go?"

_Why did I let her go?_ The question caught her by surprise. I tried. "…because...she didn't love me….she loves you…"

Kristin covered her face, upset with herself when she realized that she was the one who caused them to break apart. Everything made sense now. The way they touched each other, the way they kissed each other in the cell. They've done that before. That's why they were so comfortable with each other. If she had known that they were together at that time, she wouldn't have stepped back into the relationship. She would have tried to stay away from her so she and Alexis could be together. Then a realization hit her.

"Damn it! Keira! How could you do that to her?" She slammed her fist at the door, blaming Keira for sleeping with the girl and then leaving her.

It wasn't only the brunette's fault. _It's my fault._ She turned around and held Alexis' hands. "I am so, so sorry, Alexis. If I knew you two were together, I wouldn't have went back to her."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's my fault. If I didn't go back to her, you...her...she would…."

"Kristin!" Gripping her shoulders, Alexis called out loudly to stop her from talking. "What…are…you talking about? What do you mean we were together? Keira…and…I…were never together."

Her brows creased in confusion. "Never?"

Alexis shook her head.

It was getting extremely confusing. She wanted to make sure that they were talking about the same thing because everything made sense until Alexis denied that they were together. "You…didn't…sleep with her?"

"NO!" Alexis said loudly. "Where did you get that idea?"

"You said…it happened before she rescued me"

Alexis tilted her head back and made a sound, realizing where the confusion came from.

"Kristin, before she went to rescue you, **I…**kissed her." She stressed the word I to let the blonde know that Keira didn't want to. "That's when Ashley saw us kissing." She said as she looked straight into her eyes.

"you were talking about the kiss…nothing else?"

Alexis shook her head and saw the blonde was blushing from embarrassment.

"Is that what's bothering you? You thought she slept with me."

The blonde nodded and smiled with some embarrassment.

"But why would you think that?"

The blonde let a deep breath before telling her what happened that day on the bridge without all the details.

"So Keira told you that we were together after you two broke up?" She remembered that they did broke up twice.

Kristin nodded.

"Why do you think she said that?"

Now that everything was clear, she knew why the brunette said that. "So I would get upset with her. So I wouldn't want to be with her. She was trying to push me away. " Realizing the brunette's purpose, she couldn't control her tears from flowing down her cheeks. "She was trying to protect me." She brushed her tears away.

Alexis nodded in understanding and stepped forward to hug the crying blonde.

"…and I hit her…" She sobbed quietly on Alexis' shoulder, regretting what she did, remembering how her hand trembled, how the brunette's face was swollen with her handprint.

There was nothing Alexis could say. Keira had a plan and it worked. _She's safe now. Keira. Rest in peace. _She patted lightly on the blonde's back to comfort her.

* * *

Standing outside of the airport, Kristin gave Ashley one last hug.

"Be good, okay?"

"Don't cry, okay? Keira doesn't want to see you cry."

Kristin leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Okay" She whispered into her ear and hugged her tightly.

She stood up and gave Alexis a hug. "Take care, Alexis."

"Take care of yourself. Kristin."

With open arms, Michel waited for his turn. Alexis couldn't resist to roll her eyes again. It just feels really weird to her to see her father fallen head over heads with the young blonde.

"Thank you for saving my little girl. Thank you for saving us."

* * *

Ever since the brunette died, Kristin was ordered by the head of Division 16 to see a psychiatrist. She had her last session today. Since she needed time to recuperate, she was given a desk job.

Inside an office room, she sat across from her superior, waiting for her superior to finish looking at her psychiatric evaluation files.

Sitting in her executive chair, Helene closed the folder and placed it on the table. She walked over to the blonde and sat next to her, shifting her chair closer to hers.

Kristin was surprised when the older woman reached out to hold her hand.

"Kristin, how are you doing?" Helene said in a gentle voice.

Kristin thought that her psychiatrist might have written something bad about her and required her to attend more sessions. "What did she say?"

"I want to hear it from you."

"I'm fine." She quickly responded.

"Did you see her today?"

"Yes, today is my last session."

"No…I mean…did you visit **her**?" She stressed the word her to let her know she was referring to Lucy Diamond not the psychiatrist.

Kristin nodded. "They...were all there. Ashley, Alexis, Michel, Nadia, Ethan, and Alec."

Helene nodded in understanding. "What I want to know is are you going to be fine?"

"What you want to know is if I'm going to hurt myself." She paused and the older woman straightened her back. "No, ma'am. I'm not going to hurt myself….because I made a promise to her. She gave up her life to protect me." She said with a serious tone to assure her superior.

There was a moment of silence. The older woman remain unmoved. Her eyes fixated at the blonde. It has been a year since the brunette died. If she were to hurt herself, she would have done it a long time ago.

"Ma'am. I want to resign."

"Excuse me?" Surprised by the blonde's sudden decision, the older woman stood up.

"I want to quit. I don't want to do this anymore."

"Why? Agent Smith." She said in an authoritative tone.

When Helene saw her hesitation, she knew that the blonde was undecided. She didn't even have a resignation letter ready.

"Why did you join this organization? Agent Smith." She asked again and waited for the blonde's response.

"Because I want to help people, ma'am."

"That's right. That's the reason why we joined this organization…to help those who cannot help themselves." She continued to give the same lecture to the blonde that she once told the brunette. "You joined this organization so you can make this world a better place. You have the skills that many people don't have. Agent Smith. Because of you, a lot of people have been saved. Because of you, this world is a better place. Because of you…."

"Because of me…she died!" Kristin shouted as she stood up. As tears slowly dropped from her eyes, she reached up to wipe her tears away. What people don't know, not even the psychiatrist, was that occasionally she cries herself to sleep, holding the framed detailed drawing of the brunette, close to her chest.

There was a short moment of silence. The older woman walked closer to the blonde.

"Kristin…you know that's not true. Why are you blaming yourself?" She said in a gentle voice.

The blonde agent looked down on the floor and sniffed in her tears.

"She made that choice…to protect you…so you…can continue on…to save others." She knew it was a bad reason but that's all she could think of to prevent the blonde from resigning.

"You have that gift…you were born to do this…people need you." She placed her hand on her shoulder. "I need you." It's the truth. She needed her for many reasons. One. The blonde is already trained, experienced, and is one of the best in her team. Two. If the blonde resigns, the department won't be able to hire anyone to replace her because of budget cuts. Three. She promised the brunette to take care of her. How is she going to do that if she leaves?

"What you need now is a vacation….think it over…go relax…have some fun." Helene thought of something and quickly walked over behind her desk and took out an envelope from the top drawer. She looked at the envelope for a moment. She had planned to give this to her daughter for her birthday, but she thought that the blonde would need it more.

"Here, take this. Take Kat with you."

Kristin frowned in confusion. She was surprised when she realized it was a trip for two to...

"Just go relax, take a week off…"

She stopped when she heard her phone ring. It rang two times and stopped.

"Take your mind off work….…but think about what I said."

She stopped again when she heard the phone rang two times again.

" I can't take this…." She said, knowing that the money and the tickets were from her superior not from the government.

"Yes you can…think of it as employee appreciation for all the hard work you've done over these years." She gently pushed the blonde towards the door.

"But…this is a lot of money."

"Don't worry about it. Take tomorrow off and go get ready…Kat too…clear your mind and have fun…okay? " When she heard the phone ring again, she shut the door after telling the blonde that she had a lot of work to do.

Helene quickly picked up the phone. and told the caller to wait. She called her secretary outside of the office and told her that Kat and Kristin will be taking a week off.

"Is Kristin gone yet?" She asked her secretary.

"She just left." The secretary responded.

"Okay, I'm busy. Don't let anyone in."

After ending the call with her secretary, she answered the call to the other phone.

"Yes."

"What the hell? What took you so long?"

"Excuse me?" She said, not pleased with the caller's attitude. But she knew she couldn't change her or do anything about it. That was the way they've communicated with each other for a year.

"Miss Diamond, do you realize what today is?"

"Of course I do, that's why I called." Lucy said.

"So you didn't call to tell me the good news?" Helene held her head and propped her elbow on the desk, extremely frustrated with the situation.

"No. I want to know how she's doing."

"She's fine. I just spoke to her." Helene wondered if she should tell the brunette about the blonde wanting to quit. "I must say. That's very smart of you. Miss Diamond."

"You just realized that?" Lucy said sarcastically.

Helen rolled her eyes. "I mean…when you made her promise you."

There was a moment of silence as memories of that day flowed into their minds.

* * *

A year ago in the hospital

Lying on the bed in the intensive care room, the body of the brunette was all wrapped up in white bandages, her hands, her body, her face. She was unrecognizable with her swollen bruised nose, face, and lips. Nobody was allowed to go inside the room for fear of contamination which would lead to infection. It has been 3 days and the brunette has yet to wake up from the surgery. When she finally woke up, she had the doctor called the Head of Division 16.

It was a set up. The man lying on the seat wasn't Benjamin Couric. Those 2 shooters were there to make sure that the man lying unconscious on the seat would not make it out alive. When those 2 shooters saw from the video monitor that Lucy wasn't going to kill the man, they charged in and pretended to be shooting at anyone in front of them. Their target was the fake Benjamin Couric. Once the imposter dies, no one would know that he wasn't the real fraudster. It was Benjamin's plan B and a damn good one. Lucy wondered if his plan was to kill her too.

* * *

"It's been a year now. Miss Diamond. Still nothing." Helene faked the brunette's death. Everyone in her squad had been deceived except for her superior. It took a lot of convincing but her superior finally agreed. If anyone could find that bastard, it would be Lucy Diamond with her resources. And this time, she trusted the brunette to bring him back alive.

After she woke up from her coma, Lucy thought about whether to tell the Head of Division 16. If she didn't, she would still be free and nobody would know about the megastar because technically, Benjamin was alive when Helen got there. Then she would be able to kill the real Benjamin Couric without anyone knowing about it. But she believed that Benjamin wanted her dead. If he knew that she survived, then he'd go after her and the blonde again. So there's only one thing she could do was to fake her death and secretly searched for Benjamin. She needed to let Anthony know otherwise hell would break lose and he would get revenge for her. From what she heard from Anthony, Jean Claude denied that the shooters were his men. Even if they were, he could always say that they were shooting the cops and she got shot by accident. They didn't know what happened. Anthony couldn't tell him that he knows the guy was an imposter otherwise Jean Claude would inform the fraudster and he would think of a new plan. And that was definitely not what Lucy wanted.

_I'm sorry. Kristin. This is the only way._ Lucy thought to herself.

"Patience. Helene. I want to get him as much as you do. Remember that." Lucy could hear the older woman sighing out loud. "I…just want to know…how she's doing."

"I told you. She's fine. She said she's not going to hurt herself….and…" Helene paused, still pondering if she should tell the brunette about the blonde's decision to quit.

"…and what?"

"…and if you don't have anything to report, I'm going to hang up now. I have a lot of work to do."

Lucy wasn't pleased with the older woman's attitude and wanted to know more about the blonde but she understood that the older woman was under a lot of stress.

"Okay" Lucy hung up.

* * *

"Everything alright?" Scud asked when he saw the brunette deep in thought, standing still, holding her cell phone.

His voice broke her thoughts and she nodded her head slightly and headed back to the living room.

Last time, their biggest mistake was letting the mafia leaders know that they wanted Benjamin Couric. This time would be different. This time, only a few people know about it; Anthony, the dark haired woman who wanted to be called by her initials ZJ, a few of Anthony's most loyal followers, and Uncle Nick. For an entire year, Lucy did nothing because not only did she needed time to recuperate and to think of her next move, but she also wanted the bastards to think that their plan worked. Besides, Jean Claude would not be stupid enough to contact the fraudster for a few months. Lucy had not seen Anthony since that day because she was afraid that Jean Claude would send someone to follow him, so she only contacted him by phone. The plan was to let things settle down, keep watch from a far distance and wait. Patience. She told the Head of Division 16. If Helene found out that that's all she did for a whole year, Lucy wondered how she would react. It's not going to be a pretty sight. That's for sure.

Lucy flopped on the couch next to Scud in their 2 bedroom apartment in a city near London.

Scud knew what was bothering her because every time she called the Head of Division 16, that's the mood she would be in.

"What do you want to eat? I'll cook tonight." Scud said as he flipped through the channels.

"mm..chicken teriyaki with rice…" Lucy flopped her feet on the coffee table.

Lucy was staring at the tv, but she wasn't really watching it, still thinking about the blonde. Last time she talked with the Head, her jaw dropped when she found out that Kristin became friends with Nadia. She was hoping that Alexis and Nadia would get together but she knew it wouldn't have worked out since they lived in different countries and her grandfather did kill her father. What she wanted was to have Alexis talk to Nadia. If she did that, she'd learned that Nadia is a kind and understanding person and wouldn't hold any grudge on her.

Hearing about Nadia and Kristin, she did feel better knowing that the blonde had someone as nice as Nadia to talk to, to comfort each other. But she wondered if Nadia told Kristin about what happened on the island when they slept together on the same bed. She hoped not. She would have a lot of explaining to do. Knowing how much the lie about Alexis and her sleeping together had affected the blonde, Lucy planned on keeping her mouth shut about the megastar. Scud was right. It's just going to hurt her if she knew the truth even if it did happen after they broke up.

"Lucy, look!"

Lucy was jolted out of her reverie. Her mouth opened and she inhaled sharply when she saw an advertisement of the blonde, not the blonde in Paris, the megastar on tv.

"She's coming here to London, tomorrow." Scud said with excitement.

"Tomorrow? Concert?"

"Do you think we can still get tickets?" Scud said and quickly went to his bedroom to check it online.

On her spare time, Lucy had been keeping track of what the megastar was up to, making sure she's not in any kind of trouble. She did plan on visiting her, not in person, just dropping off a gift when this whole ordeal with the bastard is over. In deep thought again, Lucy wondered if the megastar knows about her death.

"Hey, Scud! Do you think Alyson knows about me?" She wondered if the Head of Division 16 told her. _Damn it! _She blamed herself for forgetting to tell Helene not to tell the megastar. By this time, the megastar should know that the deal that she signed is no longer in effect because Helene would have told her.

"maybe." Scud said as he walked back to the living room. "There are no more seats left. Shoot."

"Where is the concert?" Lucy asked.

"The O2 Arena. I can't believe it's all sold out. There about 20,000 seats there" Lucy could tell that he really wanted to see the megastar. "Well, good for her, I mean."

"Wait….I have tickets." Lucy said as she creased her eyebrows, trying to think of where she placed the tickets.

"You do!" Scud as she straightened his back and leaned forward.

"Where did you put my bag?"

"What bag?"

She remembered the diamond necklace, the envelope with the tickets in the bag that she had a year ago. "Wait…I know." Lucy quickly walked to her bedroom and searched inside the closet where she hid her valuables.

After taking all her things out of the closet that were in the way, she shouted.

"I found it! " She quickly walked back to the bedroom. "But I'm not sure if it's for tomorrow." With everything that happened over the year, she totally forgot about them. Lucy quickly opened the envelope.

"Hey, isn't that the envelope that you…won…from Nathan?"

When Lucy ignored his question, he knew he was right. Now everything made sense. That's why she didn't want to give them away. That's why Nathan wanted the blonde to pick the winning ticket#. When he saw Lucy's jaw dropped, staring at the tickets in stunned silence, he leaned closer to her and saw…

"These are VIP tickets! Lucy. It's tomorrow!" Jumping up and down in excitement, Scud can't remember the last time he went to a concert.

"Wait…how close are the seats to the stage? I don't want to scare her."

"Lucy, there's going to be 20,000 people there and it's going to be dark! You silly!"

She wasn't thinking clearly. Lucy let out a small smile and relaxed on the couch. What she was concerned with was scaring the blonde while she was singing. She doesn't mind seeing her again but she has no intention of doing that at this time…well, probably never when she and Kristin gets back together.

* * *

Next day

The show starts at 7PM. Scud wanted to go there early since VIP ticket holders have access to pre-shows, free food, gifts, separate VIP entrance and much more. Since there will be a lot of cameras and videos, Lucy let her bangs down, her hair down and wore glasses as a disguise, sort of like Clark Kent. Dressed in casual black top with long sleeves, blue jeans and a crossbody bag, Lucy looked around the area in the pre-show room. There were pizza, chicken, soda, and different sorts of food laid out on the tables. Most were young girls and some were dressed in funny costumes holding signs with neon lights. While Scud chatted with fans of the megastar, Lucy walked around, admiring displays of the clothing inside protected glass cases that the megastar had worn in her previous concerts and reading the biography of the famous blonde. Over the course of the year, she never once searched online to read about her background because to her, the megastar is just plain Alyson. Besides, the information online might not be true.

After looking at every display, Lucy took a look at her watch and wondered when they can go in.

When a woman entered the room, there was silence and everyone focused their attention to her. Lucy let out a deep breath when she realized it wasn't Alyson. She was afraid the blonde wouldn't be able to continue with the show if she sees her now. It was time to go inside the arena and everyone lined up. As they followed the other VIP holders, they looked up and around. They knew where everything was because yesterday, Scud had printed a map of the arena. It's what they're good at. It's a habit. They need to know where everything is. They need to know the best route to escape in case something happens.

"Wow…it's pretty big." Lucy said. She had been to concerts before but not this particular one.

As the people were led to the area to take their seats, Lucy noticed how close they were to the stage. They're in the front row at the standing section next to the catwalk.

"Scud, we don't have any seats." Lucy said in unsatisfied tone. _Thousands of dollars for the ticket and no seats, what the hell?_

"Lucy. Do you know how many people would want your place? People are going to be dancing, screaming…."

"Scud, we're too close. There's going to be lights shining on us. People are going to take videos and post them on websites. They're going to…."

She didn't need to say anymore because Scud realized she was right. The chances of that happening is slim but it could happen.

"Right. Let's wait for the rest of the people to come in, then I'll ask them if they want to trade seats."

Lucy thought that was a good idea. Since it's going to take some time for the show to start, she decided to go to the bathroom first and walk around. As she opened the door to the bathroom, she noticed an older woman who also wanted to go inside, so she let her in first.

"Thank you." The older woman said.

Lucy nodded and smiled.

Inside the bathroom, there weren't that many people. Most of them were outside standing in line to go inside the arena. After coming out of the stall, she stood in front of the mirror, brushed her bangs down and straightened her glasses. She smiled when she heard the fans getting excited for the show.

"I hope I get to meet her." One girl said.

_Looks like you're doing great! _Lucy thought to herself. She opened her bag and pop a gum in her mouth. What she brought along in her bag was a gift for the blonde that she had Scud invented. But she still hasn't figure out how to give it to her. She didn't want to send it to her since the megastar probably gets gifts everyday and she must have her people open it first to make sure it's not dangerous. _Hmm..Maybe I'll track her down later and give it to her then._

All the girls quickly ran out of the bathroom to get to their seats. Lucy followed from behind. Once outside, it was much quieter than before. The line to go inside was shorter than before. While she was walking around, a man in his 50's, with a cell phone pressed against his ear, accidentally bumped into her. The man apologized and continued his conversation.

"Where is she? I can't find her." The man said nervously as if he was missing his little girl.

She stopped and focused her attention on the man who was talking to two staffs. Since she had nothing to do, she decided to be a little nosy and walked closer to them, wondering who they were looking for. With thousands of people, it would definitely be difficult to find if he lost his little girl.

"It's about to start. Where is she?" The man said in a panic tone of voice as he dialed the number again.

"She's not picking up. Pick up. Pick up."

Then a thought suddenly hit her. _They're not talking about Alyson, are they? Did something happen? _Her heart suddenly beat faster.

"She has diabetes."

Lucy immediately let out a deep breath when she realized they weren't talking about the megastar.

"What is she wearing?" One of the staff said. "I'll have others look for her."

The man pondered for a moment. "beige shirt, long sleeve, black pants."

_That's going to be hard to find inside the dark arena. _When Lucy was about to head back inside the arena, she remembered someone with that description. She quickly ran towards the bathroom and slammed the door open. Ignoring the two pairs of eyes staring at her, she quickly bent down slightly to look underneath the stalls. She couldn't remember which stall the woman went into. She stopped when she saw a pair of legs with black pants.

"Hello, are you okay in there?" Lucy knocked on the door. There was no one else inside the bathroom except for her and the woman in the stall. No response.

"Hello?" Lucy knocked again.

Since there's no response, there is only one thing to do and she did this before. She went into the next stall and stepped on the toilet seat. Holding onto the divider, she peeked over and immediately gasped out loud when she saw the woman sitting on the toilet, her body leaning against the steel flush handle against the wall.

"Oh shit!" She quickly jumped down and crawled underneath the divider. She called out a few times and slapped lightly on her face, but there was no response. _Diabetes. _Lucy quickly opened the woman's bag to see if there is any kind of medicine. She found nothing, no insulin or glucagons injection. _She must have just fainted. _Lucy wrapped her arms around her and lifted her up and dragged her outside of the stall.

"Hey, can you hear me?" Lucy said to the woman lying on the floor while splashing cold water on her face.

Lucy tried again and slapped lightly on her face a few more times. If it doesn't work, she would have to leave her and call for help. After a short moment, the woman opened her eyes slowly.

"Take it easy. You're okay." Lucy said in a gentle voice.

Blinking a few times, she managed to focus her eyes on the brunette.

"Do you need some sweets?" Lucy said, thinking that the woman must be low in blood sugar.

The older woman nodded and pointed to her bag. Lucy opened the bag and found a few small packs of sugar. After putting sugar in her mouth, her phone vibrated. Lucy picked up the call and held it against the woman's ear.

"I'm okay. I'm in the bathroom next to the arena."

After a short moment, they heard knocks on the door.

"Must be my husband." The woman said. Lucy smiled and opened the door for her husband, telling him and the two male staffs that it was safe to go in. One of the staff stood outside to prevent anyone from going inside temporarily.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Her husband said in a worried tone.

"I…just fainted." She said softly, still sitting on the floor. "Where…did…she go?"

Her husband turned around and didn't see the brunette.

"The show started already. She must have gone back inside."

"There she is." The woman said and smiled at the brunette walking towards her.

"Here."

Both realized that the brunette left to get a bottle of apple juice for her. The woman politely thanked her and after a moment, Lucy could tell that she was feeling much better.

"What's your name?" The woman asked.

"Skye" Lucy said.

"Thank you, Skye." Both the woman and husband thanked her for help. "I'm okay. Go see the show. It already started."

"Take care of yourself." Lucy nodded and walked casually back into the arena. All noticed that she wasn't really interested in the show because of how slow she was walking.

Standing at the door, Scud waited for her since she didn't have the tickets to go back inside.

"What did I miss?"

"Where did you go?" Scud was getting a little worried that the brunette might have changed her mind in coming here.

"Did you get new seats?" Lucy said, ignoring his question.

Leave it to Scud, he always comes through. The seats were perfect, in the front row but not directly in front of the stage. No lights would be shining on them. The huge arena was dark and filled with people holding up glowing sticks and brightly lit signs. She looked up and wondered how those people could see from up there. Fans were screaming her name and singing along. _Holy crap!_ The volume is loud. Those who were standing in the front row in the VIP section leaned against the catwalk and extended their hands out, hoping that the megastar would touch them. One song after another, the megastar changed into different outfits. Lucy was happy that the outfits didn't show a lot of skin, just her long legs and toned arms. Lucy smiled at Scud who was standing up, dancing along to the beat. She did that too. After the song ended, the lights dimmed on the stage. The spot light shone on the megastar as she walked down the catwalk towards the end. Wearing a ¾ length white blouse with black shorts, bangs down on the front, hair tied in a ponytail, she sat on a stool and hung the strap of the acoustic guitar over her shoulder. It was like the audience knew what was going to happen, everyone became quieter. All screaming stopped. Those with seats who were screaming and dancing before sat down. From where she was sitting, Lucy could clearly see the blonde's face. The look, the emotion on her face was completely different from before. The megastar let out a small smile and scanned the audience before speaking softly in the microphone. Lucy could tell there was something...wrong.

"I wrote this song about a year ago." She spoke in a soft tone. Some people cheered but most remained silent. "This song…is about meeting someone…and you know that it will never work out, but you go for it anyway…"

Realizing which song she was going to sing, Scud turned to look at the brunette who kept her eyes on the megastar. The megastar repeated the same words she said when she rode on the boat on the Seine River. But the tone of it was...different.

"and…no matter how it ends, you wouldn't have any regrets…."

Most of the audience stayed silent. There were a few shouts, whistles and screams from the top balcony.

"Missing you." She spoke in a soft tone and started to play the guitar.

For this particular song, the audience didn't sing along. They just sat still, paying their full attention to the lyrics and her hypnotic voice. Scud looked around and was surprised that the people, standing in the VIP section, who were dancing and screaming before, also stood still giving her song full attention.

After a moment, the megastar sung the last line which Scud and Lucy never heard before. "…I…miss…youuuuu…."

Then like the audience in the boat, all remained silent for a moment before standing up and clapping their hands. Scud turned to his right and creased his eyebrows when he saw the girl sitting next to him, crying and sniffing in her tears. It wasn't just her. There were a few others, standing near the stage, covering their mouths as if they were feeling bad for the blonde.

After staring into blank space for a short moment, the megastar lifted her head up and smiled at her fans. On the huge video display, everyone could see drops of tear sliding down her face. Some might say it's sweat. But Lucy knew for sure that they were tears of sadness. At that moment she realized that the blonde must have thought that she was dead.

"Do you know who that song is about?" Scud asked the girl next to him.

"her ex boyfriend…he died…car accident." The young girl said as she carefully wiped her tears from her eyes, to avoid ruining her makeup.

"Oh…" Scud nodded in understanding and told the brunette what he found out. That's why you should never believe everything you read, especially in the entertainment business. The magazines said she is currently dating. Lucy wasn't sure if that was true. If she is, then good for her. But from what she just saw, Lucy knows for sure that the megastar is still single. _Alyson._

After 2 more songs, the concert ended and they followed the crowd towards the exit.

"How are we going to give this to her?" Lucy said.

Scud wasn't paying attention to her. He was chatting to the girl ahead of him who he was sitting next to him before. Lucy could see how much the people enjoyed it when she heard that they were still talking about the megastar's heartfelt song. One girl was saying it was about one of her exes and another girl said it was about another ex.

Outside of the arena, people stood chatting amongst themselves. Some went to the restaurants. Some headed to the bathroom. Some stood in line to buy gifts to remember this day. It was noisy and crowded. When Lucy was about to ask Scud the same question again, one of the arena staff approached her and asked if her name is Skye.

Lucy remembered the staff member who helped the woman earlier. "Yes" Lucy said. When he asked her if she ever met the megastar before, she immediately said no, unsure why he would be asking the question.

Then what surprised her was his next question.

"Do you want to meet her?"

Lucy dropped her jaw and looked at Scud. She creased her eyebrows, wondering if she should.

_Should I just give him the gift and ask him to give it to her? Can I trust him? _What she wanted to do is just drop off the gift and leave. That way the megastar would know that she is still alive. There were just way too many people here and it wouldn't be safe if they got caught kissing each other because who knows what the megastar would do if she saw her. The megastar's actions are too unpredictable. First she confessed her love, then kissed her, then wanted to make love to her, then stripped naked and gave herself as a birthday gift, and finally did it in the shower which she rejected her multiple times. Lucy felt a hot wave coursed through her body just thinking about it.

When Lucy said no, he was shocked because no one ever says no to that question. She decided to give her the gift some other time. Since they had nothing to do and they hadn't been here before, they decided to just walk around the arena. Then after a moment, someone tapped on her shoulder. It was the husband of the woman who fainted in the bathroom. He introduced himself and shook Scud's hand.

"Did you enjoy the show?"

Both nodded. He then thanked her again for helping his wife.

"Have you eaten yet? My wife and I would love it if you could join us."

Lucy frowned in confusion. It's almost 10PM. Everyone should have eaten dinner by now. When Lucy was about to make an excuse, the husband won't take a no for an answer, grabbed Scud's arm and pulled him to walk to an area. Lucy had no choice but to follow. Besides, she was a little hungry since she didn't eat much before the concert. As she passed by one restaurant, then another, then another, Lucy wanted to ask the man where he was going since they just passed the last restaurant. Away from the crowd, they stopped in front of a door guarded by 2 staff members who recognized him and allowed them to go inside. Lucy realized that the man must work in this arena. Down the hallway, he stopped in front of a door. Inside was a fairly large room with 3 couches, tv, a large rectangular table furniture just like a hotel room except there was no bed. It wasn't like before in the pre-show room where it had a buffet style of food. What was on the table looked more like a family meal, real dinner food ordered from the restaurants inside the arena.

"Welcome." The woman who previously fainted in the bathroom said. "I was afraid you wouldn't come."

Lucy and Scud stayed silent. Her husband cleared his throat and immediately offered them a seat on the table. At the corner of her eyes, Lucy could see a young man staring at her. She turned and smiled at the young man.

"This is my son, Adam."

Lucy politely introduced herself and introduced Scud as her cousin because there is no way they would believe that they're brother and sister.

After thanking the brunette for saving his mother, Adam pulled out the seat for her and sat next to her.

"How did you like the show?" Adam asked.

Before Lucy could answer, Scud beat her to it. "It was awesome!" What Lucy wanted to know was what position the husband had in the arena that he was able to have a private room to eat in. _He must be a senior manager here. _While they were eating, Scud kept talking about the concert. Lucy could tell that Adam was hitting on her based on the questions he asked her such as if she has a boyfriend and where she lives.

"It sounds like you really like her." The husband said to Scud who couldn't stop talking about the megastar. Scud nodded vigorously.

"So if you like her so much, why didn't you want to meet her?"

Both Lucy and Scud froze and looked at each other before focusing their attention back to the husband. They realized that it was him who sent the staff to ask them. _Quick, think, why? _

"umm…well, we do want to meet her, it's just that…" Scud tried to think of something as he was talking but couldn't think of a reason.

When the door suddenly opened, all turned to that direction. With mouth agape, Scud and Lucy both slowly stood up when they saw the back of the woman closing the door. Even without looking at her face, they knew who just walked in.

"Well, here's your chance to meet her." The husband responded.

"I'm so…tired..." The megastar said as she turned around.

"We have guests today." The woman said.

Alyson was shocked when she saw the brunette. _She looks like_…. She needed to make sure she wasn't hallucinating so she walked closer to the brunette one slow step at a time. All her attention was focused on the brunette. When she finally got close enough to see clearly, one foot away from the brunette, she gasped loudly in shock and surprise.

Lucy winked at her, hoping the megastar wouldn't call out her name.

"Honey, this is….Oh my God!" The woman cried out when she saw the megastar fainted.

Lucy expected that so she was able to catch her and slowly let her down on the floor. Everyone panicked except for Lucy and Scud. Calmly, Lucy asked Adam to get a cold wet towel.

"I'll get help." The man said.

"It's okay. She's going to be fine." Lucy tried to convince him.

The woman knelt next to the megastar and called her name.

"Alyson, wake up…honey…."

Lucy was surprised when the woman called the megastar by her real name. She looked up at Scud and knew that he was also thinking of the same thing.

"Are you…her mother?" Lucy asked.

The woman took the wet cold towel from his son and placed gently on the blonde's face.

"Yes."

It all came back. That familiar voice. That tone of voice. She looked up at Scud. Both wondered if they should just leave. There's going to be a lot of explaining to do.

When the megastar moved her head from side to side,slowly coming out of it, Lucy intentionally hovered over the blonde so that she would be the first one the megastar sees. Scud started talking about how he fainted once, hoping to distract their attention from the blonde just in case the blonde calls her Keira.

"It's okay. Everything is okay." Lucy said in a calm gentle voice as she lifted her eyeglasses up a little, winked and smiled at her, hoping she get the hint.

While Scud kept talking, Lucy did the same, asking the megastar if she's okay.

All noticed that the megastar was staring at the brunette in an odd way as she slowly sat up.

"Honey, this is Skye…what's your last name again?"

Flashing her diamond smile at the blonde, Lucy extended her hand out and introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Skye…Walker-Smith."

The megastar remained silent as she kept her gaze at the brunette. She heard nothing coming out of the brunette's mouth. She was stunned, shocked in disbelief at how someone could look so much like the brunette. If she heard the name and noticed Scud, then she would have realized who the brunette really is.

Lucy stood up and helped the blonde sit in Adam's chair. Adam wasn't too happy about it but had no choice and moved his plate across from the brunette.

"are you sure you're feeling alright?" Her father asked when he saw his daughter wasn't looking at anyone except the brunette.

Without looking at the blonde, Lucy reached under the table with her left hand and held onto the blonde's hand, gently squeezing it, hoping to bring her out of shock.

"Hey, Alyson, it's not polite to stare." Adam said.

Feeling the warm touch from the brunette, the megastar blinked, coming out of her shock. "Sorry…I…I…just…you…."

Lucy turned to look at the blonde and creased her brows, wondering if the blonde still thinks she's someone else.

"you're…beautiful…" She said softly. That wasn't what she wanted to say. She has a lot of questions but she knows she can't ask them at this moment.

Not expecting the megastar to say that, all of them laughed out loud.

Lucy smiled and thanked her. "So are you."

While they continued eating their meal, the megastar found out why the brunette was invited.

"Mom, you really have to be careful." Alyson said after learning what happened to her mother.

"I know, it won't happen again."

Alyson couldn't resist and reached down to intertwine her fingers with the brunette's and squeeze them gently to thank her. What she wanted to do right now is get the brunette in a private room. But how? While she was thinking of a plan, Lucy and Scud were listening and laughing when her parents talked about the megastar when she was little. That's what alot of people would want to hear about, the megastar's life. Looking at her mother, Lucy remembered the time that she spoke with her mother. Now she could put a face to the one who told her not to have sexual intercourse with her daughter before marriage. Smiling, she moved her eyes towards her father and remembered the time told her daughter that he thinks she is a genius, for predicting the outcome of the stock market. Lucy turned and smiled at the megastar, happy to have met her family and happy to know that she has a family who loves her.

Then all stopped talking and focused their attention to Adam who asked if the brunette could give him a tour of London since she lives her. All realized his attention.

All remained silent except for his sister who immediately responded.

"Adam, she's probably very busy." _God._

Scud quickly responded with a lie saying that they have to fly out of the country tomorrow.

Her brother didn't stop there.

"Can I get your email address or phone#? If you get a chance to come to California, I can be your tour guide."

Her brows creased. Alyson realized her brother was interested in the brunette.

Scud came to the aid again and told them they were originally from America and had been to California many times.

There was another reason that her mother wanted the brunette to dine with them and that was to introduce the gorgeous brunette to her son. Seeing the awkward situation, the mother spoke.

"You know what we can do is let you know about her next concert and we can give you VIP tickets."

Lucy didn't know how to get out of that one. But Scud does, well kind of.

"VIP tickets! Awesome!" Scud pretended to be interested and quickly pulled out his phone # and gave it to the woman. He plans to take change his number afterwards.

"What's your phone#, Skye?" The mother asked after jotting down Scud's number.

Lucy had no choice but to give it to her. _Looks like I'll have to change my number again._

Everyone knew what her intention was. The father spoke to change the subject and asked which song they liked best. Scud responded with one of the songs that had a catchy beat to it.

"What about you, Skye?" The mother asked. "Which one is your favorite?" Lucy was finished with her meal. She wiped her mouth and put the down the napkin before turning left to look straight into the megastar's eyes. All eyes focused on her.

"I…like…Missing You….it was…very…touching." She said softly. She wanted to apologize to the blonde, knowing that she must have cried a lot of times after learning about her death.

It didn't surprise her mother. "Girls…loved that one."

When she saw a tear flowing down from her daughter's face, her mother tried to comfort her. "Ohhhhh…honeyyyyy…..don't be like that…." She explained to them why her daughter was acting that way every time the song was mentioned. It was all over the magazines so she's not afraid of telling them. She's just didn't tell them which ex it was about.

"I'm okay. Mom." She wiped her tears away and smiled. "Everything is okay...now." She whispered the last word where only Lucy could hear. Lucy smiled back knowing that everything would be okay.

What Lucy wanted to do is hug the blonde at that moment but how can she get her alone? Then an idea came to her. She excused herself to the bathroom. Once inside the bathroom, she took off the toilet cover and broke the arm to prevent it from flushing.

Lucy came out of the bathroom and said that the toilet was broken. "Is there another bathroom nearby?" She said to the blonde, hoping she would understand what she was trying to do. She smiled when the blonde immediately responded. "I'll take you."

Scud smiled, impressed with the brunette's plan, and watched the girls leave the room.

Once inside another bathroom down the hall and as soon as Lucy locked the door, they collided in a hug, holding each other tighter than ever.

Hearing the blonde sobbing quietly over her shoulder, Lucy glided her hands up and down her spine. "I'm sorry."

"Why? Why did she say that you're…" She couldn't get herself to say that word and hugged her tighter.

Looking at the blonde with a face full of tears, she cupped her face and wiped the tears away. "Alyson, whatever you hear about me, don't believe them. That's the only way I could be free."

She understood and nodded vigorously.

"Then why didn't you contact me? You should at least let me know that you're okay. I wouldn't tell anyone." She said as she sniffed in her tears. "You know you can trust me."

Lucy immediately reached out to hold her hands.

"I know…and I'm sorry. But I can't tell anyone. It's…complicated.…and...I was injured."

Alyson immediately gasped and moved one step back to scan the brunette from top to bottom.

"I'm okay now." Lucy assured her by moving her arms and legs.

"It was all over the news even in the US. That old man, was he the one that they want you to catch?" Lucy was surprised how much the blonde knows. She remembered that she did told her that they wanted her to catch an old businessman. She must have figured it out when the announcement of her death and the scam came out about the same time.

After Lucy nodded, Alyson hugged her again, realizing that it wasn't just an old businessman she had to catch. She learned on the news that the man was involved with mafias, a very dangerous man cheating people out of billions of dollars for years. She realized that must be how the brunette got injured.

"It's over now. I'm glad you're okay."

_If she only knew. It's not over yet._

There's not much time. They can't stay in the bathroom too long, otherwise her mother would be looking for them.

"Alyson, I have to go now….." She spoke softly on her shoulder. "You're doing great. Keep it up."

The megastar realized that the brunette had been reading about her.

"Don't believe everything you read about me, especially the bad things." The blonde responded with a smile.

"Okay." Lucy inhaled and remembered that was the same perfume that the blonde wore a year ago. _God, she smells so good_.

"Can you promise me one thing?"

The blonde pulled back and lifted the glasses over the brunette's head. "Anything."

"Can you turn that song into a happy one?" Lucy reached up and rubbed gently on her cheek.

The blonde knew why because every time she sang that song, she couldn't control her tears from forming ever since she learned about her death.

"I'll write a new one about you, how's that?"

The brunette smiled and leaned forward to give the blonde one last peck on her lips.

Alyson wanted to continue with a longer kiss and was surprised the brunette pulled back so fast.

"I said don't believe everything you read about me." She said, thinking that the brunette might have thought that she was currently dating someone. It was all over the magazines and news.

Since Lucy intended to get back with the blonde agent, it wouldn't be appropriate to kiss the megastar in a way like they used to. So she just gave her a short goodbye kiss. That was what she had in mind until the megastar cupped her face and planted an open mouth kiss, kissing her deeply and passionately.

"you better…go outside before…your mom comes …looking for us." Their foreheads leaned against each other's.

Breathing heavily, the megastar smiled and nodded.

Standing near the door, the blonde pointed to the glasses on her head. "Don't forget…"

After that heated kiss, Lucy did forget. She quickly put her glasses back on. After the blonde left the bathroom, she took out a gadget that Scud invented and scanned the bathroom for bugs, mics, and hidden video cameras.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was time to go. After giving a hug to her parents, Lucy extended her hand toward Adam. She could tell Adam wasn't too happy but shook it anyway. And lastly, she stood in front of the blonde who extended her arms out. The megastar wasn't afraid to hug the brunette in front of her parents since she does that all the time with her female fans. She used to do that too with her male fans too but stopped after promising the brunette.

"Take care." Lucy whispered into her ear while hugging the blonde. She was shocked when she heard the blonde's next few words.

"I love you." The megastar hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek one last time before pulling back.

Lucy turned to look at her parents to see their reaction and she was surprised to see that they were all standing there looking at them, just smiling as if nothing unusual happened.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile

"Kristin, it's not her." Kat said.

It turned out that the envelope that Helene gave her also included two tickets to the megastar's concert. When the concert ended, Kristin thought she saw someone who looked like Keira in the crowd of about 20,000 people. They had been standing near the exit for more than half an hour. No matter what Kat said, Kristin ignored her.

"It's her, Kat. She has glasses on. But I know it's her."

As a fan of the megastar, Kat really enjoyed the show even though the seats weren't that close to the stage.

"I know you missed her. But if it's really her, why wouldn't she contact you? Why would she be wearing glasses?"

Looking around for the brunette in the large lobby area, Kristin clenched her fists nervously. There are still people in the arena since the restaurants don't close until 1AM. She heard what Kat said but she doesn't want to acknowledge her.

"Kristin, it's almost 11."

"Kat, go back to the hotel." She said as her head turned to the left, then right, looking for the brunette.

Kat knew the blonde wouldn't listen to her, so she tried another tactic. "Even if it is her, she might have left already. There is no way you can find her here." It's over a year now. She moved in with the blonde after the brunette's death. She thought that the blonde had overcome the loss by now. It shocked her when the blonde told her that she saw the brunette in this large crowd. They were there when the brunette was buried. Why would she still think that the brunette is still alive? Self denial. The thought of telling her boss about the blonde crossed her mind but she didn't want to do that because her boss would require the blonde to continue with the psychiatric sessions. There is only one way.

"Kristin, do you think she knows?"

"Who?"

"our boss…"

Kat could see the blonde was deep in thought thinking about what she just said.

"What are you doing?" Kat said when she saw the blonde pulling out her phone.

"I'm going to call her."

"Kristin, it's midnight there. She's not going to pick up."

Kristin ignored her and called her superior.

Kat slapped her head in disbelief. "She's going to yell at you."

After several tries, Kristin finally gave up.

"Let's go back tomorrow." She exited the arena in a hurry as if by doing that, the next day would come faster.

Realizing that her plan had backfired, Kat slapped her forehead again. They're here on a one week vacation. Today is only the first day and now the blonde wants to go back. Kat let out a big sigh.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Private room in the arena

After Lucy and Scud left, the megastar's parents could not stop talking about the brunette, mainly about how smart and beautiful she is.

"What's that?" Adam asked, sitting on the couch.

"It's a gift…from a fan." Alyson said as she took the cover off the box, anxious to see what the brunette gave her.

She stared in confusion at the round object. She has no idea what it is and has never seen anything like it. Inside the box was a card labeled 'instructions" on it and another card underneath it. It was a powerful multi bug detector designed by Scud. She chuckled when she realized why the brunette gave her this. It must have drove her nuts when she had to check for bugs and hidden cameras every time she goes back to the hotel room. The other card read:

_A year ago, you asked me what I wished for on my birthday. I can tell you now. I wished for you, health, love, and happiness. May your career continue to shine brightly like a diamond._

_Love always_

_LD_

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

Holding the card against her heart, she leaned back,looking at the ceiling.

"Are you okay, Alyson?" Her mom asked when she saw her tired daughter smiling.

"Everything's fine. Mom."

"Skye is really something, isn't she? When I saw her, I was completely stunned. I could actually see this aura around her." Her mom said, sitting next to her daughter.

_Me too. _Alyson thought to herself.

"Yea, she's really gorgeous. She just need to take those glasses off." Adam said.

Alyson frowned at her brother and couldn't control herself from speaking her thoughts.

"Adam, she's not interested in you."

"Alysonnnn….that's not nice….you never know…these things take time…she might not be at first, but maybe later once she gets to know your brother….you never know."

Hearing her mom's words, Alyson realized that was how it happened between her and the brunette.

"You're right, mom. I'm sorry." She kissed her mom on the cheek.

Her mom straightened her back and turned towards her son. "But don't do anything until you're married, you hear me!" She said in a commanding tone.

"yeaa…yeaaa…" Adam said and rolled his eyes.

"That goes for you too, especially you!" She pointed to the megastar.

"Okay, mom" Alyson said and resisted to roll her eyes. She wondered how her mom would react if she knew what she did.

"But there is something strange about her…" Her mom said as she looked up, tapping a finger on her lips.

Alyson immediately straightened her back, afraid that her mom found out about the brunette's true identity.

"What do you mean?"

"She didn't ask to take pictures with you."

"oh" Alyson said and relaxed her back against the couch. She knew why.

"Mom, can't you tell she's not a fan of hers? Her cousin probably dragged her here. Not everyone is interested in her music, you know." Adam stood up and sang like the megastar, moving his hands gracefully and his hips from side to side in a sexy way.

"Oww!" He yelped when the megastar threw a cushion in his face, causing her and his mom to laugh out loud.

Looking at her mother who couldn't stop talking about the brunette, Alyson thanked the Lord for allowing the brunette to meet her family. Even though she couldn't talk to her mother about their relationship, it still feels good to hear her family talking about the former criminal mastermind.

"Mom, did you really faint in the bathroom?" Alyson said.

"Of course I did. That's a silly question."

There was a moment when she thought that the brunette might have planned this whole thing so that she could meet her family. "That is a silly thought." She said to herself.

"She has a very unique name." Her mom said. "Skye...Walker-Smith?"

The megastar didn't hear it the first time the brunette introduced herself. "What's her last name again?"

"Walker-Smith."

_Skye Walker-Smith? _ A small smile slowly turned into a bigger one. Both stared in confusion at the megastar who suddenly burst out laughing uncontrollably.

* * *

Inside a five star hotel in London

Kristin woke up very early in the morning because she wasn't able to sleep. She was twisting and turning, thinking about what Kat said. _Is it really her? Is it just me because I missed her so much, my mind is starting to play tricks on me. _All she wanted to do is hop on the next plane back to Paris and ask her boss. But she had forgotten that she was going to meet with Ashley today.

Seeing how unstable the blonde was, Kat decided to go with her.

Inside the Couric's home, Kristin noticed it was much smaller than their previous one in Paris, but enough for 3 people to live in. She knew why Michel had to sell his business and leave Paris but she doesn't know about him having to pay back Lionel and Anthony. She promised Ashley that she would be spending time with her today playing board games like she used to. Since Alexis and Kat were also there, they joined in the fun. But Alexis felt that there was something wrong with the blonde because she kept looking at her watch.

"Is there something wrong?" Alexis said to Kristin.

"No. I just have a plane to catch at 1."

"Oh, you're leaving so soon? I thought you're here for a week." Alexis asked.

Kat stayed silent.

"Something's come up."

Alexis nodded in understanding and didn't continue asking, thinking that it might have something to do with her job.

"Ashley, this is the last game and I have to go, okay?"

Ashley pouted her lips and nodded in understanding.

"So how was the concert?" Alexis asked.

She's not really obsessed with the megastar, but every time someone talks about her, Kat just couldn't seem to keep her mouth shut.

"It was…incredible! There were so many people there." Kat couldn't stop herself from describing everything that happened in the concert. "She was crying after singing one of the songs."

Everyone turned and focused their attention on the little girl when Ashley asked which song.

"missing you." Kat responded.

"Oh…that's so sad." Ashley said.

Kat was quite surprised that Ashley knew what she was talking about. "Yea, they said it was about her ex boyfriend who passed away."

"you can't believe everything you read in those magazines." Kristin said. "It might be just for publicity. They might even be fake tears."

When it comes to people talking negative things about the megastar, Kat felt the need to defend her.

"Kristin, you don't know her. She's not like the others. She's genuine, she's nice, kind, she's a philanthropist, and she's willing to risk everything for a friend." _If you only knew what she did, you wouldn't say that._ "and don't tell me you don't like that song. All the girls were crying and you…"

She stopped when she saw the blonde narrowing her eyes at her. Kat saw tears from her eyes as well.

"What I meant was…it might not be about her ex boyfriend. It could be about someone else….and they could be real tears." She did in fact love the song. When she heard that song and what the megastar said, she could feel that the megastar was truly in love with that person, just like how she is with the brunette.

"She said she knew that they wouldn't end up together but she went for it anyways…and she has no regrets. She must really love him…and I believe those are real tears." Kat said.

Alexis never heard the song but from what Kat said, she could understand that feeling. The thought of the brunette crossed her mind. "You sound like you know her."

Kat immediately realized that she said too much when she noticed 6 pairs of eyes staring at her.

"No…that's what the web says." Kat immediately looked down on the board game and tried to change the subject. "So whose turn is it?"

Everyone focused their attention on the little girl when she started singing one of the megastar's hit songs. Kat joined in and sang along, snapping her fingers. After they finished the song, both Alexis and Kristin clapped their hands. Kristin wasn't surprised with Kat's behavior since she had seen this before when they were at the concert. She was however surprised at the concert to find Kat singing, cheering, and screaming like an obsessed fan.

"You're her fan too?" Kat gave Ashley a high-five.

"I love her. Can we go to her concert next time?" Ashley asked.

"Sure."

"yay!" Ashley stood up, jumping up and down in excitement as if she was going to see the megastar the next day.

"How is Nadia doing?" Alexis asked.

Kristin looked up, surprised with her question. She and Nadia met a few times at the hospital. Alexis apologized for her loss and Nadia told her that she understood that it wasn't any of their fault.

"She's doing fine. They're all doing fine."

Alexis nodded.

"Is there something wrong?" Kristin noticed that something was bothering the straightforward woman. When she saw Alexis moved her eyes toward Ashley, she knew it was not the right time to ask.

"No, I'm just wondering."

After the game ended, Kristin asked Kat to play with Ashley for awhile while she can have a chat with Alexis in another room. Kat didn't mind at all since Ashley wanted to hear more about the concert and she was more than willing to talk about it with someone who love the megastar as much as she does.

Standing still in the back porch with her arms crossed, Alexis looked up at the blue sunny sky. Standing next to her, Kristin waited for her to talk about what was bothering her.

"I made a promise to her. She asked me to be friends with Nadia." Alexis let out a big sigh.

_She?_ "Keira?" Kristin made a guess.

"She said…Nadia is shy and I'm confident and direct….and…she hoped that I could show her how to be more confident….and…."

"…and you feel like you let her down because you're here and she's over there…" Kristin made another guess.

Alexis nodded and let out a small smile, knowing how silly it was.

"Alexis, she would understand and Nadia is fine. I'll show her how to be more confident."

Alexis smiled and reached out to hold her hand. "Thank you."

Kristin stepped closer to the railing and grabbed on to it. She looked up, closed her eyes, took a deep breath of the summer air and exhaled loudly.

"I made a promise to her too. She made me promise her…to move on…to live a normal life." As tears uncontrollably drop one by one, she looked down. "But I can't. I have trouble sleeping. I can't sleep. A lot of times, I….cried myself to sleep."

Alexis hugged the blonde. "You're not the only one." She said as she patted her back.

"You too?"

Alexis nodded and placed her hands on her shoulders to comfort her. "It's going to be okay….It's going to take time…."

The blonde did feel a little better knowing that she's not the only one. She never told Nadia about her sleeping problems. _Maybe Nadia has that problem too. I'll need to ask her when I go back._

"I thought I was going crazy."

Alexis chuckled softly. Kristin wondered if she should tell her about seeing the brunette yesterday. Kat thought she's crazy. Would Alexis think she's crazy too?

"Alexis…" Her face turned serious. "I...think I saw her yesterday."

"Saw who?"

"Keira." She said in a serious tone. When she saw the look on Alexis' face, she knew what she's thinking. Kat had the same look when she told her.

"I'm not kidding. I really did see her. She had glasses on but she looks just like her…and she has…"

"Where?"

The blonde didn't expect her to say that. She expected the same response as Kat.

"You…believe me?"

"Where? Where did you see her?" Alexis said.

"At the concert…but there were a lot of people…" She stopped when she saw the stunned look on her face. "Alexis?"

Alexis stepped back and paced back and forth, looking down on the floor, pondering for a moment.

"Alexis!" Kristin called out and grabbed her arm to stop pacing.

"Did…you…see…her…too?" If Alexis saw her too, then that would confirm that she wasn't seeing things.

"No….but I know I'm being watched…it's like wherever I go, I can feel someone was watching me."

"When did you notice this?" Her heart began to beat rapidly as the thought of the brunette might still be alive crossed her mind. It wasn't just her. Alexis felt something too.

"a few weeks ago."

"Did you tell Michel?"

"No…I thought it was all in my mind…because…I didn't…get enough sleep."

Pressing her hair away from her forehead, Kristin started to pace around and thought about everything that happened when the brunette died, the hospital, the funeral, why would she be here, who could be watching Alexis. If it's Keira, then why? Why would she fake her death? She suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky. _Keira, if you are still alive, you better have a good explanation because you are so going to get it. _She was so concentrated in her thoughts, she didn't hear Alexis calling her.

"Kristin!" Alexis said as she shook her shoulder to bring her out of her thoughts. "What's wrong?"

"Alexis, tell Michel to hire bodyguards, just in case." Alexis noticed her tone of voice had completely changed. "I have to go now." There was still time before the flight time but the blonde was more anxious than before. She wanted to see her superior as soon as possible. If anyone could help the brunette fake her death, it would be her. _If I have to dig up her grave, then that's what I'm going to do._

"Kristin!" Alexis called out to stop her from leaving. "Do you think…she's still alive?"

Kristin paused for a moment before responding. "No." She lied.

She doesn't want to give her false hope and then find out later that it was all a mistake. It would be like losing the brunette all over again.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After getting off 1-1/2 hour plane ride back to Paris, the first thing Kristin did was got on a taxi to the government building. She didn't tell Kat what she found out about Alexis because she knows that Kat will say that it could be the paparazis or reporters since they're related to Benjamin Couric. When she arrived to the building, she charged into her office without an appointment and without approval only to find that her superior was out of the country for a few days for urgent business.

"Damn it! I should have called her secretary first. Kat, let's go back to London."

"What!" Kat said in disbelief, sitting in the taxi.

"She might still be there."

"Kristin, let's think rationally. London is a big place." She reached out to hold her hands.

"Let's just wait here, wait for her to come back and you can ask her then. Okay?" She said calmly.

Kat could see how hard it was for the blonde to do nothing when she saw her holding her head as if she had a huge headache.

"I know it's hard. But you need to be patient. You need to think logically." She whispered into her ear. "Remember, we cannot let our emotions cloud our judgment. Everything has to make sense."

The blonde understood and she knew that. But it's just so difficult when it happens to the people that you love.

Kat shifted closer to the distressed blonde and pressed her head gently against her shoulder.

"I'll help you. Okay?"

What the blonde needed was someone who believed her, someone on her side instead of saying no, it's not her. She was afraid if she keeps doing that, it would push her over the edge and would do something crazy, illegal and unimaginable.

* * *

For 2 days, Kat and Kristin stayed inside their apartment. As promised, Kat helped the blonde try to figure things out. But deep inside, she really doesn't believe that the brunette is still alive. Sitting on the couch, they stared at a whiteboard, on the coffee table, filled with writings, flowchart diagrams detailing what they saw at the hospital, funeral, when they last saw the brunette, and different scenarios of why the brunette would fake her own death. Kristin even told her about Alexis being followed and as expected, Kat said it could be paparazzis or reporters. They made a few flowcharts, what-if scenarios. There in the bottom of each flowchart diagram is a big question mark.

Why would Keira be watching Alexis from a distance?

Why would Keira fake her own death? The answer to this question that they could come up with is so that the brunette could be free. Then another question followed this answer. Why didn't the brunette contact her? They ended up putting a line through this answer because Kristin knew that there is no way that the brunette wouldn't contact her.

Why would Keira be in the concert? Kat knew the answer to this but she kept her mouth shut.

Does her superior know about this? At the bottom of this question is a big YES. There is no way Keira could fake her own death without the superior's help since she was badly injured.

* * *

With permission from her superior, Kristin walked towards her office. After everything that she's gone through with Kat, she became even more convinced that the brunette is still alive.

Helene is extremely surprised to see the blonde. She's very busy but she wanted to see her too since the secretary told her what happened while she was away.

"So did you have time to think it over?" Helene said.

Kristin didn't understand her question since the only thing in her mind is the brunette.

"I need you to tell me the truth."

Surprised with her response, Helene jerked her head back a little, realizing that she didn't come here to talk about her resignation.

"What is this about, Kristin?"

"Please don't lie to me!" She said with clenched teeth.

Frowning in confusion, Helene stood up and moved closer to the blonde.

"Sit" She pointed to the chair.

"Is Keira still alive?"

Having been in her job for more than 20 years, she is trained not to let the others know what she is thinking. But she was surprised with the question.

"Kristin, did something happened?" Helene said with a blank expression. She's not going to say 'no' because that would just tell the blonde that she's lying.

"I saw her in London."

She was shocked at the response again because even she doesn't even know where the brunette is.

"You saw Keira in London?" Helene sat on the chair, pulling the blonde down to sit in the chair next to her.

"Yes."

"That's not possible. Now tell me what happened."

At this moment, Kristin felt like she was talking to the psychiatrist. She quickly stood up again.

"Don't lie to me! She is alive and you know it. Why won't you tell me the truth?!" She said in an angry tone.

Realizing that the blonde is in her emotional state again, just like when she learned that the brunette had died, she stood up and tried to calm her down.

"Kristin, calm down, take a deep breath and tell me what happened. Why do you think she's still alive?"

"I saw her at the concert….and **don't** tell me I'm seeing things!." She said loudly. "I didn't see her in the coffin. I didn't get to see her after she died."

"Kristin, you fainted after she passed away and her friend took her to another funeral home." She said softly.

The blonde knew that. She passed out after the doctors announced that the brunette died in the intensive care unit. After she woke up, the brunette was gone. She learned that her friends had taken her but the superior doesn't know where. When it was time for the burial, they were informed where it would take place, but nobody got to see inside the coffin.

"But why didn't you let me see her one last time?" She cried uncontrollably, slowly kneeling down before her.

It hurts her to see the blonde like this. A year ago, she lied to her. And now it seems that nothing's changed._ What the hell is she doing at the concert?_

Helen stroked her hair to comfort her. "It's going to take time, Kristin. When my husband died, I felt the same way. It's going to take time." That's all she could say.

Then at this moment, the phone rang again. Two rings and it stopped. It's the brunette but at this moment, she couldn't just pick up the phone and kick the blonde out, knowing how unstable she is. She needs someone to look after her.

"Kristin, let me call Kat to pick you up. Go home and get some sleep. You look like you haven't slept for days."

Shaking her head with tears streaming down her face, she sobbed loudly. "I can't sleep. I haven't been able to sleep. Every night, I have to cry myself to sleep." She looked up with puppy dog eyes. This was her plan. She needed the superior to think that she's going to hurt herself. She knows that her superior would never tell her the truth unless something happens.

"Why can't you tell me the truth?" She begged.

Then her phone rang again twice. _It must be urgent._ Their code was to ring two times and she will call the brunette back. If it's not urgent, the brunette should wait for her to return her call.

She pretended to look at her watch. "Kristin, I have an important meeting to go to now. Go home, get some rest and I'll come by your apartment later and we can talk then. Okay?" She grabbed on to the blonde's arms and tried to lift her up but the blonde resisted. She had no choice.

"Agent Smith, get a hold of yourself!"

Kristin jerked back, startled by her superior's voice.

"Get up! Agent Smith. Don't forget who you are! You are a soldier! There are more important things to think about besides love! I have a very important meeting to attend. What you are doing now could affect thousands of lives! Is that what you want? Agent Smith!"

"No, ma'am." The blonde said softly as she slowly stood up, wiping her tears.

**"Is that what you want?! Agent Smith!" **

Kristin immediately straightened her posture. **"NO, MA'AM!"**

**"Now go home, get some rest and I'll come by later, understand?!"**

**"YES, MA'AM!"**

Kristin had no choice but to leave the office.

Same as last time, Helene called the secretary to make sure the blonde had left the area and that no one could come in to disturb her. After locking the door, she called Kat to look after the blonde just in case. She quickly called the brunette back and as expected, the brunette cursed at her.

"What the hell!" Lucy said loudly.

Helene rolled her eyes. She never could understand why so many woman could fall in love with her, especially the blonde. For so long, she never knew that the blonde agent was interested in woman.

"Do you want to catch him or not?" Lucy asked, frustrated at how long the older woman took to call her back.

"I'm guessing he's in London." Helene said.

Her response surprised her. "How the hell do you know that?"

"I'll tell you later. So where is he?" After she asked the question, she realized where he could be. It wouldn't be difficult to get Michel's address.

Lucy had been waiting for this day. From what she heard from Michel, she knew his father loved him and would eventually tried to make contact with him someday, after the media was no longer interested in his case. So she had people staking out and watching Michel and his family at a distance for 2 reasons. One, they would be able to protect them from anybody who would be looking for revenge. Two, to catch the cunning son of a bitch.

"Get your group over here, get them to the airports, train stations, ferry…and I'll take care of the rest."

"I know where he'll be. I'll take it from here." Helene said in a commanding tone.

"No! I don't want anybody to get hurt. I will take care of this." Lucy was afraid that her group would try to catch him while he's in Michel's house. Who knows what the bastard would do? Who knows what her group would do? What she plans to do is try to catch him before or after he visits them.

"Miss Diamond. You can't show your face, remember."

"I won't! I'll let my people do it." Lucy said in an angry tone.

"You already did. Miss Diamond."

"What?!"

"Were you at the concert in the O2 arena?" Helene asked.

Lucy paused for a moment and wondered how she knows.

"She saw you there."

"Who?...Kristin?" She knew if anyone would be able to recognize her with glasses on, it would be Kristin, Alexis and the megastar.

"I just had a talk with her and she believes that you're still alive."

"How…is…she?" Lucy asked in a worried tone.

Knowing how difficult it must be for the blonde agent to have nobody believing her, her heart ached.

Helene wanted to tell her what just happened, how distraught the blonde was, but decided not to.

"She's fine. Do you think it's time to tell her the truth?"

There was a long moment of silence.

Is the blonde still in danger? The reason she faked her death was because she believed that Benjamin wanted her dead and this is the only way to catch him when he least expected it.

Is the blonde still being followed? She was certain that after her death, Jean Claude had someone following her to see how she reacted to her death. If they tried to open the coffin now, there would be a body in there, just not hers. They could have her body cremated, but that would raise suspicions because the bastard did that before and everyone got fooled. He wouldn't be stupid enough to fall for that.

After he's captured, she plans to have Anthony confront Jean Claude. It was supposed to be a fair fight but he cheated in every way. Even in the Underground, there are rules. She felt confident that Lionel and the other criminal leader would back Anthony up. If Jean Claude plans to take revenge for the bastard, then hell is going to break lose and she believes that he wouldn't do that. That's why he came up with that plan, a plan he couldn't lose.

"Let's wait until he's captured." Lucy decided. She rather be safe than sorry.

Helene was hoping that wasn't the case. Now she has to keep on lying.

"So the plan is I get him, you block the exits." Lucy repeated.

"No, Miss Diamond. I'll get him." Helene didn't like her plan at all because she needed the bastard alive. Who knows what her group would do? They don't care if he's alive or dead.

"Listen to me, damn it!" Lucy was getting frustrated with this back and forth. "You don't know the area like I do. I've been here longer than you have. If he escapes again, the next time I captured him, I'm going to shoot to kill. You understand me?!"

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Lucy wanted to hang up the phone but she knows she can't. "I told you I'm going to bring him back…alive!"

She can't have them and her people there at the same time. She was afraid that the bastard would figure it out. She had been informed by her followers who had been living across from Michel's house for many months that there were suspicious activity, a car parked outside that they had never seen before and people following and watching Alexis, Ashley and Michel. This was how Lucy found that Benjamin Couric was up to something.

"It's not you I don't trust. It's your people."

"Damn it! You're going to mess this up!" Lucy angrily hung up.

"What happened?" Scud asked.

Pacing around in anger, she clenched her fists and tried to think of another plan.

"She won't listen to me. She wants her group to get him."

"But she doesn't know where he is, does she?"

"She knows why he's here. She figured it out."

"Shoot. We shouldn't have told her." Scud said. They had to tell her because they needed people to block the exits, the airport, the train, the ferry in case he gets away. Lucy only has Anthony's most trusted followers and there aren't that many of them because they need to keep this as secretive as possible.

Lucy shook her head. "She would have it figured it out, anyways." Lucy sat back down on the couch. "Kristin…she saw me…at the concert."

Scud gasped and dropped her jaws. "How? There are 20,000 people there."

"I don't know." She said, pressing her palms against her face, frustrated with the situation. "I can't lose him again, Scud." If he escapes, she's not sure she would be able to capture him again because people like him gets smarter. She wants to be with the blonde agent, but how could she be with her knowing that the bastard is running free. How could she let Amy's killer run loose? She couldn't live herself.

"We'll just have our people follow them." Scud said, sitting next to the brunette. Both knew that's all they could do. There was no other way.

* * *

Kristin's apartment

After getting home, Kristin told Kat what happened in the office. She was shocked at what the blonde did. What she expected the blonde to do was to talk calmly not yell at her boss or call her a liar.

Kat and Kristin sat on the couch while her superior sat on a chair with the coffee table between them.

"ma'am, do you want to talk privately?" Kat said and stood up.

"Sit down, agent."

Kat slowly sat down.

"So Kristin, you believe Keira is still alive?"

"yes, I do." Kristin said with confidence.

"Kat, do you believe she is still alive?"

With mouth agape, Kat was surprised with the question. She didn't expect the superior to ask her that and she couldn't say in front of the blonde that she never believed it. If she did, it would hurt her deeply.

"Yes, ma'am." Kat said softly, not in a tone as confident as the blonde.

Helene let out a big sigh.

"Kristin, all of us have to deal with a loss of our love ones. It hurts in the beginning. You don't think you would able to live without them, but it will get better, it takes time…to accept the truth."

Her eyes never left the blonde's. "And Keira is just one example. She lost Amy and she didn't think she could live without her, but she did and she met you. You…made her happy again…and someday, the same thing is going to happen to you…" She stopped when the blonde suddenly stood up.

"Where're you going?" Helene said when she saw the blonde putting on her coat.

"I'm going to dig up her grave." With all the bullshit that her superior just said, Kristin could sense that she was hiding something from her.

Kat gasped in disbelief. _She's gone insane._

"Agent Smith! Stop right there!" Helene ordered and the blonde stopped at the door, her back facing them.

"That's illegal, agent! And If you do that, what you will find is a dead body and she won't be able to rest in peace. Is that what you want, Kristin?!"

Kristin turned around and spoke through clenched teeth. "What I want is the **truth!** Why can't you just tell me?" Tears spontaneously brimmed her eyes.

"You know the truth. Why can't you accept that?" Helene said in a gentle voice.

"I don't believe you! I know what I saw!" Kristin walked towards the dining room, grabbed the whiteboard and placed it on the coffee table. "Look, this…all of this…this tells me that she is still alive…and you know why." She said as she pointed to the whiteboard.

Helene was surprised at what she saw. Details of each event from the brunette's death to now were drawn on it. Questions, answers, assumptions and things that didn't make sense were written down. Deep inside, she knew if anyone could figure it out, it would be the blonde agent. She slowly reached down, took the eraser and erased everything.

"What are you doing?" Kristin said.

"Sit down, agent." Helene felt that she could no longer keep the secret. What she is afraid of is that the blonde would actually try to dig up the grave. If anyone is following her and sees her doing that, then that would just tell them that the brunette is still alive.

"Sit down, Kristin." Helene said in a gentle voice again when she saw the blonde wasn't moving.

Kristin did as told.

"Raise your right hand. Both of you."

Kristin and Kat looked at each other in confusion but did as told.

"Repeat after me." Helene made them swear not to tell anyone what she is about to say. Kat realized what she got herself into….another 10 years in prison if word gets out.

Both gasped, covering their mouths when they learned the brunette is still alive and the reason why she faked her death. Tears of joy flowed down their cheeks.

"Now…Kristin, she did this to protect you…she had no choice….do you understand that?" She was surprised when the blonde shook her head.

"No…she should have told me, you should have told me…"

"Did you know you were being followed? If you knew about her, do you think you could stay away from her for so long? He's a dangerous man. He fooled all of us."

Having been a babysitter for Ashley, Kristin met the man before, but there were no words exchanged between them. She could tell that he didn't like Alexis or Ashley but she didn't know why. He had everyone fooled. _Grandma probably didn't know either._

There was a moment of silence. Helene could see that it was sinking into the blonde.

"Can I…." Kristin was quickly cut off by her superior.

"NO!" Helene reached out to hold her hand. "It's almost over. Just wait. You'll see her soon." She said in a gentle tone.

Helene then stood up and spoke in an authoritative tone.

"Starting now, you two, are not allowed to go anywhere. We've spent way too much time to get this son of a bitch and we will get him this time. Not a word to anyone. Understand?!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Both said as they stood up.

When Helen was about to leave, Kristin apologized for her behavior that day.

"I'm…sorry. I hope you understand why we had to do this."

"Yes, ma'am." Kristin said in a gentle voice.

After closing the door, Kat ran towards her and spoke with excitement.

"Oh my god! Kristin, she's alive." Kat stepped closer to hug the blonde.

When she pulled away, it surprised her that the blonde didn't look happy. "What's the matter?"

"Ugh! She is going to get it when I see her." Kristin said as she punched her fist into her left palm as if she wants to hit someone, probably the brunette.

Kat's face contorted in confusion at the blonde's behavior. She scratched her head as she watched the blonde stomped back into her bedroom and jumped when she heard the slamming of the door.

* * *

**Chapter 31: Chapter 31**

* * *

chapter 31

3 days later London

Helene didn't need to be told how to do her job. She had been doing this for about 20 years.

She gathered her team, disguised as civilians, to stand by at the airport, train stations, ferry ports, and Michel's workplace. Most of them were around the Couric's residence. They informed the FBI of London about their plan but did not request for additional help. Like the brunette said, sometimes too many people might not be a good idea.

Inside a rented apartment in London, maps of England and nearby areas were placed on the table. Two men with headphones, sat in front of monitors. They were armed and dressed casually. Helene and two men stood near the table, looking at the maps. She stepped aside to take a call from the brunette.

"Yes."

"You have too many people! Get them out of there! You're going to fuck this up!"

Lucy had to swear to get her point across. Sometimes people just don't listen when you talk nicely to them. She was informed by her people who lived across from the Courics that they noticed new people walking around the neighborhood. If they noticed, then the cunning bastard would have also noticed.

Helene didn't like the tone of her voice but the brunette had a point.

"How many people do we have around the Courics house?" Helene said to the next in command, while covering the phone.

"There's 5 of them!" Lucy shouted.

Helene could hear the loud voice even with the phone 1 foot away from her.

"Five." Her assistant said. Helene rolled her eyes, realizing that her team had been discovered.

"Get 3 of them out of there." Helene said to her assistant.

"Get all of them out of there!" Lucy shouted again. "Jesus Christ! Don't everyone leave at the same time!" Lucy shook her head in disbelief when she saw the older women's agents leaving the scene at the same time. They had cameras installed on top of the buildings across from the Courics's house, so they were able to see everything on the street in Scud's monitor in their apartment.

Scud slapped his head in disbelief. "They must be new."

Lucy wanted to yell at the woman but it was no use. If Benjamin Couric's men were watching right now, they would know something was up.

"I can't look, Scud. One year of planning…down the drain." Lucy sat back down in an office chair, looking at the ceiling. If she had known that her team would be so stupid, she never would have called her.

It's Saturday in the afternoon so there were more people walking around than on weekdays.

"Lucy, he might not be there. I mean…if you were him, would you show up here? If you want to meet Kristin without anyone knowing, would you go to her apartment?"

Lucy slowly turned to look at Scud. Her brows creased, her eyes fixed, her head remained unmoved, her mind thinking of what Scud said. _If I want to see Kristin without anyone knowing, would I look for her in her apartment? No. She might have friends there._

Scud saw Lucy shaking her head.

"Would you go to her office?"

Lucy shook her head slowly.

"Then where would you go?"

Lucy pondered for a moment. "I would go to places where she likes to go."

Scud nodded in response. "Where does Michel like to go? Where does Alexis or Ashley like to go?"

Both thought about the question.

"Should we listen in on their conversation?"

Since they had 2 people living across from the Courics, it wouldn't be difficult to listen to what they're saying inside the house. Scud had the knowledge and the 2 people had the equipment in case they needed to spy on their conversation. But knowing Benjamin, he would never call Michel.

"no" Lucy said. Their intention was to capture the bastard and to protect them not spy on them and definitely not eavesdropping.

Scud nodded in understanding.

"Look, they're going out."

"Where do they usually go on Saturdays?" Lucy asked. For the past year, they had been writing down the places that they went to.

Scud typed on the keyboard with his quick typing skills. "the market…tae kwon do, park, shopping, wimbledon, movies…bookstore…"

"Wait…wimbledon?"

Scud double clicked on the spreadsheet to widen the column. "Wimbledon…"

"Alexis' mother." Both said in unison.

"Of course, the bastard must be waiting there."

"Let's go." Lucy said as she stood up.

"Wait, what? Lucy, you can't go. We can't let him know you're alive. Remember?"

Lucy knew that. But she really wanted to catch the bastard herself.

Scud held her hand and pulled her down to sit back on the chair. "No matter what, we cannot let him know about you."

Scud pressed a number on his phone. "they're going to wimbledon…don't follow so close…" He said to one of his guys who was following the Courics. With the tracker in Michel's car, he could see where they were heading. And without a doubt, they're heading to visit Alexis' mother.

"Are they being followed?" Lucy said into the phone.

"Yes."

"Slow them down but don't make it too obvious." Now that she knows how incompetent and inexperienced the agents are, Lucy didn't want them to know where the Courics are going. They would just get in the way and ruin her plan.

After a moment and as expected, her phone rang.

"Aren't you going to pick up?" Scud said. It rang 6 six times already.

"Ignore it. We'll let her know when it's time." Lucy smirked, knowing that the older woman must be frustrated at this moment.

After an hour, they learned that the Courics went to meet Michel's ex wife at a place nearby her house inside a restaurant. Knowing that nothing was going to happen inside, Lucy told her men not to go inside.

Sitting in a square table with 4 seats, Alexis sat between her father and mother. For the past year, Alexis visited her mother occasionally and they came to forgive, understand, and learn about each other. Her mother could not find the heart to forgive the man who was once her father-in-law. Even though Alexis felt comfortable talking to her mother now, she did not tell her about her love life. It's not because she's afraid that her mother wouldn't understand or accept her. It's just that the topic never came up...until now.

"So Alexis, are you dating anyone?"

Alexis turned to her father and wondered if he told her that she's not interested in guys. From the look of his father's face, it didn't look like he said anything to her.

"Can you tell me about your past boyfriends or current boyfriend?" She asked as she placed her warm hand over Alexis' hand. "I want to know what type of guys you're interested in. If you're not dating anyone, I know some handsome young men who would want to get to know you." She reached up and rubbed her cheek gently. "You are really beautiful, you know that?"

Alexis smiled and reached up to hold her hand. "…so are you…"

"…and you…are just sooooo adorable…" She stroked Ashley's blonde hair lightly with her right hand.

"I know." Ashley responded immediately and put a French fry in her mouth. Her fast response caused her mother to laugh out loud.

"Michel, she is sooooo…cute." She couldn't resist pinching her cheek gently and placed a kiss on her golden hair.

"Mom, she's not always that way. Sometimes she drives me nuts." Alexis said.

Ashley sticks out her tongue at her sister's comment. "…sometimes you're weird…"

"I am not." Alexis said.

"Yes you are."

"I am not."

Her mother found it extremely funny how Alexis is arguing with her little sister, going back and forth, back and forth. When Michel was about to stop the girls, all were shocked at what Ashley blurted out.

"You kissed Keira. Isn't that weird?"

_Oh my god. Why does she keep saying that at the wrong time? _Alexis covered her mouth and could see her mother staring at her with a look of confusion. _Maybe I could tell her Keira is a guy._

"Who…is…Keira?" Her mother asked as she glanced at each one of them, hoping someone would answer the question.

Michel felt that he should say something and cleared his throat. "Keira…is a…good friend of mine."

"Oh…Keira is your friend." Alexis' mother nodded in understanding. "Michel, you're not introducing her to someone your age, are you?"

"no…no…" Michel cleared his throat again and slowly said the brunette's name slowly. "Keeeeira…is…just a little older than her…"

Raising his eyebrows, Michel looked at Alexis and smiled. He never told Alexis that the reason he invited the brunette to the party was for them to get together.

"….but… it didn't work out…so…that's…that." Michel said as he gave all his fries to Ashley and hoped that she doesn't say anything more.

"Ohhhh…I see." Her mother said in a sympathetic tone as she rubbed Alexis' hand gently. "Did you love him?"

Hearing the last word, Alexis immediately coughed, hoping that Ashley didn't hear the last word.

"Are you okay?" Her mom said as she patted her back.

Seeing that Ashley was busily eating her French fries and ignoring their conversation, Alexis felt a little better. "Fine…"

"Well, he doesn't know what he's missing then. How could someone not like you? You're beautiful, smart, understanding….and you know what, there's this guy I know from work who just broke up with his girlfriend…he's a really nice guy and he's quite good looking too…so what do you say? Do you want me to introduce you to him?"

"Mom…thank you…but I don't think so." She couldn't think of a reason, so she just left it at that.

"Honey, are you still in love with him?"

Alexis immediately turned to her father for help, hoping he could change the subject before Ashley finishes those fries and starts to say something.

"Let's not talk about that. It's been really hard for her." Michel said when he saw the look on his daughter's face.

"Michel, I know how hard it is. You and I have been through that…and you know that the only way to overcome it is by meeting someone else and falling in love again. You did…and…I did."

_Oh Geez. _Alexis had no idea it would turned out this way. As her mother kept talking about the past, Alexis could tell she was getting more and more upset, not at Michel, but at his father. Alexis felt the need to stop this before it gets out of hand. Some guests nearby were already staring at them.

She grabbed her mother's hand. "Mom….Keira is dead." Alexis said, hoping this information would stop her from talking. And it did.

"Ohhhh…" Her mom said, embarrassed. She had previously thought that her daughter was dumped.

"I just need some time…to get over it." Alexis said. That should do it. This would prevent her mom from introducing guys to her. She could tell her the real reason but felt that this wasn't the right time or the right place.

"Of course, honey, I understand…you must really love him."

And there's that word again. Alexis glanced at her little sister who seem to be paying attention to her fries than anything else.

"I do." Alexis thought that this was the end of the conversation until Ashley spoke again.

"I like Keira."

Alexis gasped, realizing that Ashley had been listening to their conversation after all.

Her mom turned to the little girl. "You do?….what's Keira like?"

At this moment, Alexis wanted to kick her sister's legs under the table to stop her from talking.

"Oh my…look at the time." Michel said as he took a look at this watch. "We should really get going."

"Keira is beautiful, nice…smart…and she knows Tae Kwon Do."

Alexis dropped her jaws, hoping that her mother did not hear her.

"Sweetie, you mean **he** knows Tae Kwon Do."

"No…she knows Tae Kwon Do." Ashley said as she wiped her mouth and continued talking about Keira using the female pronoun.

Alexis let out a small smile when she saw her mom frowning in confusion.

"Keira…is…a…girl?"

Since the cat is out of the bag, Alexis is not afraid to admit it because that's how she is. She doesn't care what others think. "Yes, she is."

"Oh…." She knew that because Keira after all is a girl's name but she just didn't think her daughter would be interested in girls. The name could be a foreign name. Everything became clear.

She smiled at her daughter and placed her hand over hers. "Okay, honey. I understand."

After Alexis thanked her mom for understanding, all listened to Ashley talked about the brunette. She was surprised that her mom was asking a lot of questions as if she wanted to know more about the girl who captured her daughter's heart. She scratched her head in confusion, wondering how Ashley had so much to say about the brunette when they didn't even spend that much time together.

After lunch, Alexis' mother suggested that they go to the shopping mall in Wimbledon where she can spend time with her daughter and Ashley whose mother died when she was born. Not wanting to leave his daughters, Michel followed everywhere they went and waited for them outside of the store. Unbeknownst to him, he was being followed by one of Lucy's men. With today being a Saturday, there were lots of people walking around inside the fairly large mall with an upper and lower level.

"He wouldn't be stupid enough to show up there, do you think?" Lucy said.

Scud shrugged in response. Lucy picked up the phone and notified the Head of Division 16 where the Courics were. As expected, Helene screamed at her.

"Listen, I need your guys to stand at all the exits and if he shows up, do nothing, just follow him. There are a lot of people there. So you're going to be responsible if anyone gets hurt." Lucy warned. She knew that Benjamin would never show up alone. His men would have guns and they would do anything, like shooting civilians, to get their boss out.

Helene didn't like the former criminal mastermind telling her what to do but she agreed that it wasn't a good idea to try to catch him there.

"I don't need you to tell me what to do. Miss…" She trailed off, not wanting her group to hear who she's talking to because nobody except her superior knows who the informant is.

"Is that all?" Helene said in nicer tone. They have the same goal but they just don't see eye to eye probably because they both like to take the leadership role.

"Keep in touch." Lucy hung up.

Sitting down on a bench, Lucy's man pretended to be waiting impatiently for someone as he looked at his watch and glanced around to see if anyone else looks suspicious.

Since Lucy didn't have that many guys following them, their plan was to knock the bastard out with a tranquilizer needle if her men can get close enough without being noticed.

"He's heading to the restroom." Lucy's man said on the phone. "Should I follow him?"

Lucy and Scud looked at each other and both nodded at the same time without saying anything.

"CJ is here, let her take over."

CJ, another one of Anthony's most trusted followers, walked down the hall that leads to the restrooms.

There were vending machines outside of the restrooms, so she pretended to be looking for something to buy while watching for anyone that looked like the bastard going inside the restroom. After a short moment, Michel came out.

"Nothing here." CJ said on her phone.

After shopping for an hour, CJ saw them exiting the mall except for Michel.

"He's still here." CJ informed the brunette.

"How does he look?" Lucy asked the woman on the other line.

"What do you mean?" CJ said.

"Does he look happy, normal, sad or something was bothering him?"

"Sorry, I didn't notice." CJ said as she watched Michel walking far away from her.

Lucy called the man who was following Michel and asked him the same thing. But he couldn't tell either from so far away.

"You think they slipped him a message?" Scud said.

"He's going upstairs." CJ said.

"He wouldn't be that stupid to show up here. Would he?" Lucy said.

There were cameras everywhere and escape might be difficult especially in his age.

After a moment, they found that Michel had bought something from a store and went back downstairs.

"He's just shopping." CJ said when she saw Michel standing in front of a store, looking at something inside.

What captured Michel's attention was a large painting hung inside the store. It reminded him of his mother's painting. When he stepped closer to the window to look at the name of the painter, the reflection in the glass window caught his attention. He quickly turned around and gasped in shock.

"He's here. Do you copy?" CJ said.

"Copy that." Scud said and saw the stunned look on Lucy's face.

"What the hell is wrong with that bastard? How could he show up there?" It surprised both of them that the fraudster would show up in the mall.

"Hi Michel." Benjamin said in a low voice.

Speechless, Michel scanned him from top to bottom and rubbed his eyes to make sure he's not seeing things.

"It's me. Michel." Benjamin said again.

"How? What?…" His mind spontaneously thought about the things that he was told by the head of Division 16 how his father got shot by an unknown shooter.

"How are you, Michel?"

Realizing that his father had once again fooled everyone, his anger began to boil up inside of him.

"What are you doing here?" He spoke in a low volume as he clenched his fists and teeth.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile

"How many?" Scud wanted to know how many men did Benjamin bring with him.

"There's none." CJ responded.

"Look closer. They might be disguised." Lucy said.

Then after a moment, CJ confirmed that she could tell that there could be at least 3 men. Since there were so many people there, it was hard to tell.

"They're armed. There are a lot of people here."

Lucy quickly called Helene and told her not to take action.

"Don't go inside. They're armed. There's a lot of people inside. You copy?"

"Understood." Helene responded.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Benjamin reached out and tried to touch his son's shoulder, Michel moved one step back.

"I…want to see you."

"Why? I told you to leave us alone." Michel looked around to see if anyone was following them.

"I will. I just…want to see you…one last time….son."

From the look on his face, Michel could tell there was something wrong.

"What's wrong? You don't look…good."

A small smile appeared on the old man's face, knowing that his son still cares for him.

"I'm…fine."

Michel again looked around to see if anyone notices his father.

"Don't worry, they're not going to do anything." Benjamin said.

When Michel heard what he just said, he wondered how long he was being followed. He came to London so his family could start a new life and now it seems nothing has changed.

"Why…are you…doing this to me?" His face contorted in anger. "Do you even realize what you've done, what you're doing to me and my family? Do you realize we almost die because of you?"

"I'm…sorry. Michel. I am." He sincerely apologized.

"Please, go…just go." Michel stepped back a step. "Don't come back. Papa. I beg you. Please…leave us alone."

When he was about to move away from his father, he stopped and turned to the direction of a familiar voice.

"Are you ready to go?" Alexis said.

Her brows creased when she saw the redness on his father's face.

"Alexis is here." CJ informed the former criminals.

When Alexis saw the older man next to her father, she gasped out loud.

"Alexis." Benjamin said in a gentle voice, surprised to see her here.

Shaking her head in disbelief, tears uncontrollably flowed down when she thought about how Keira died because of him.

"I'm sorry. Alexis." Michel had always wanted his father to apologize to his daughter and he was surprised that his father finally did.

No matter how many terrible things he did, Alexis never once wanted to see her grandfather in trouble. Even after learning that he was the reason behind her parents' divorce, she didn't feel hatred towards him. But ever since the brunette died because of him, she understood why her father hated him so much. Seeing him alive and well and knowing that she would never be able to see the brunette again, she felt the surge of anger boiling inside of her. Breathing angrily, she stepped towards her once beloved grandfather.

"You're sorry…sorry for what?!" Her voice was loud enough to attract attention from people passing by.

"Alexis….ssshh…" Michel spoke in a low volume as he held onto her forearm. He's afraid that whoever is following him would start shooting since he doesn't know whether they're cops or criminals who wants revenge.

"Are you sorry for the way you've treated me all these years….I don't need your apology for that because I never once hated you for that." Tears brimmed her eyes.

"Are you sorry for getting me shot? I don't need your apology for that either."

Her hands trembled as she clenched her fists tight.

"She's dead now…she's dead…because of you…and I…**will never…**forgive you...never!"

She let her tears flowed down her face to show him how much pain he caused.

There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other.

"You better go." Michel said to his father as he tried to drag his daughter away from him.

Seeing the sadness in her granddaughter's red teary eyes, he whispered one last time. "I'm sorry. Alexis."

As he watched his son and granddaughter walking away, he turned to one of his men and nodded.

Suddenly the fire alarm inside the mall went off. People stood still for two seconds and everyone started walking rapidly towards their nearest exit.

"Fire alarm. Fire alarm. Do you copy?" CJ said.

"Copy that."

"That slimebag, the fire alarm trick." Lucy quickly called Helene and informed her. She really didn't need to since her team was waiting outside all the exits.

xxxxxxxx

"We'll take it from here." Helene hung up. She didn't need the brunette to tell her what was happening since she had sent a few of her team to go inside the mall. After all, she is the one in charge. She's not going to stand by and take orders from the former criminal mastermind.

"Follow them. Tell everyone to stay alert and no shooting in the mall!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy didn't trust Helene's team either so she had previously called all of her team to drive to this location when the bastard showed up. They didn't have that much time so hopefully CJ and the other guy were able to follow them.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alexis sat quietly in the passenger side of the car, sniffing in her tears. Previously, Michel was startled by her reaction towards her grandfather. He had never seen Alexis act that way towards anyone, not even her grandfather who never liked her. She had never once spoken badly about him even after knowing the truth about her mother. But he understood why she exploded in anger. He did the same thing when Kristin got hurt.

"Alexis, are you okay?" Michel said in gentle voice.

Alexis nodded.

"I'm sorry, Alexis."

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong." She said as she dried her tears with a tissue.

"I shouldn't have invited Keira to Ashley's party, I shouldn't have introduce you to her, then maybe you wouldn't have met her and you wouldn't be…"

"You were trying to set us up?"

"I'm sorry."

Alexis smiled, realizing that it wasn't just a coincidence how she met the brunette at the party. Her father was trying to play matchmaker.

After learning that she had met the brunette before the party, he realized that the outcome would have been the same because Alexis wouldn't have given up so easily even if the brunette didn't call her back.

"What was her reaction when she found your phone# on the napkin?" Michel was curious to know.

"Shocked."

"She was shocked when I told her my intention. She asked how I knew she was gay. She said 'Do I look gay to you?'" Michel spoke in the same tone as the brunette, causing Alexis to laugh.

Both laughed as they talked about the funny moments they had with the brunette.

"Thank you." Alexis said, feeling better than before.

"For what?" Michel said as he stopped the car in front of his ex-wife's house.

"For introducing me to her."

Michel smiled and gave some more tissues to her. "Alexis, we can't tell anyone about him. Okay?"

She didn't need her father to say that because she had no intention of doing that even though she hated him.

Alexis nodded in agreement and let out a big sigh, feeling extremely sorry for the deceased brunette.

_Sorry, Keira. I hope you understand._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After half an hour following the fraudster, they learned that he wasn't heading for the London city airport or the Heathrow airport.

"Damn it! He's leading us on a wild goose chase." It's not surprising because that's what they would have done. The airport is just too damn obvious.

What's surprising is that she got a call from Helene who spoke in nice voice asking her if she knew where the fraudster's car was because her team lost tracked of him.

"You're kidding me, right!" Lucy said.

Helene rolled her eyes. "Would I call you if I'm kidding?"

"Jesus Christ!" She told Scud what happened and he too rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. After giving her the information, she told her she better ask for help from England officials and have more people at the airports.

"This doesn't look good. Scud."

"I know."

"Maybe we should have just grabbed him at the mall." Lucy said as she slumped against the chair.

"Then he would start shooting civilians…and more innocent people will die." Scud said.

She knows that but it kills her to let that bastard escape just like that.

After 2 hours, her people told them that they lost him. There was nothing she could do, so instead of getting angry and throwing things, she walked back to her bedroom and flopped on the bed, face down.

Leaning against the side of the door, Scud tried to comfort her.

"At least we know he's in England. As long as they blocked those exits, he's not going anywhere."

It's been a year. She felt like she just missed the best opportunity to catch that bastard.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Next day

As expected, Lucy didn't sleep well. With tired eyes and messed up hair, she walked into the living room dragging her feet and flopped down on the couch next to Scud who didn't seem to be affected at all by what happened yesterday.

"Breakfast is in the microwave" Scud said as he pressed on the remote.

Hearing no response, Scud turned to look at the tired brunette with droopy eyelids.

"Lucy, stop thinking about it. Let them handle it now. We can't do anything."

"Where are they?" Lucy said with at blank expression. Knowing that Benjamin would not visit the Courics house, there was no point for her group to be watching them.

"I told them to drive around the area." Scud said.

Feeling down, Lucy lifted her tired body up and walked into the kitchen to get her breakfast and coffee.

After eating breakfast and energizing her body with a cup of coffee, she did feel a little better. Since they can't do anything, Lucy decided to drive around the area where they last saw them after telling Anthony the bad news. Like Scud, Anthony tried to comfort her. It was a long 2 hour drive and they knew it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. But it was better than sitting around doing nothing.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Paris

Having been stuck in the apartment with Kat for a week without any news, Kristin can't stand it anymore.

"Lock the door." Helene said.

Kat and Kristin sat on the chairs and waited for her superior to speak. From the look on her superior's face, they could tell it's not good news. After telling them what happened in the mall, Kristin realized that Michel and Alexis knew about this and understood why they didn't call to tell her.

"Where is she?" Kristin asked.

Tapping her fingers on the table, Helene pondered about the question. She did found out where the brunette lives but wasn't sure if she should tell her.

"I don't know."

"You're lying!" Kristin said loudly as she stood up, causing Kat to jump up.

"Kristin, I didn't tell her about you."

"Then call her. I want to talk to her." She said in a begging tone.

Continuing with her with finger tapping, she glanced at Kat, then at Kristin. She wasn't sure if she should because she knows that the brunette is very frustrated right now just like her and she doesn't want to be bothered with this stuff right now, just like her.

She let out a deep breath, unsure if she should. Looking at the blonde's puppy dog eyes, she gave in and as she was about to call the brunette, her phone rang…two times, then stopped. Kristin was confused why her superior didn't pick up the call, then realized that this was third time it happened.

"Is that her?" Kristin said.

Without responding, Helene smiled at the blonde for figuring out their secret code. She picked up the phone and called the brunette.

"Yes."

"I want to know where your people are and how many of them." Lucy said. She's not as angry as before since anger won't solve anything at this moment.

"Why?"

"because I want to make sure you're not missing anything and …I don't need to put my people there…"

Helene hesitated for a moment before responding nicely. She was running out of ideas and she really wanted to get the bastard. "Sure. I'll let you know when I get the details."

"…thank you."

Helene was surprised when the brunette responded so nicely.

"Wait…" She said to stop the brunette from hanging up.

"Yes."

"Now before you start yelling, there is a reason why I did this." Helene explained and stood up to walk away from the blonde who wanted to take her phone from her. "She was going to dig up your grave."

Hearing that, Lucy realized that the blonde knew she's alive.

"She wants to talk to you." Helene extended her hand out towards the blonde to tell her to wait.

Lucy wanted to talk to her but she's afraid that the blonde might want to move in with her. Knowing that this is not the right time, she couldn't decide what to do.

"Hello, are you still there? Did you hear what I said?" Helene frowned in confusion.

"I…can you…tell her…." Before she could finish her sentence, she pulled her phone away when she heard a loud voice on the other end of the line.

"**HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!**" Kristin shouted after grabbing the phone away from her superior.

Kat and Helene were shocked at the blonde's words. Helene expected her to understand why the brunette had to do this.

Lucy was also stunned. She was expecting her to say something completely different. She wanted to explain, but the blonde kept yelling, so she just let the blonde continue to get her anger out.

**"NOW TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE!**" Kristin said, huffing angrily.

When she heard no response, she felt something was wrong. Her tone changed into a gentle one.

"Keira, tell me where you are."

"Kristin, listen to me, I have to get him. I can't just let him go."

Her heart ached when she heard the voice from the brunette. It had been so long, she almost forgot what her voice sounded like.

"I know. Tell me where you are and we can do this together." Kristin said softly.

A tear dropped at the corner of her eyes as she thought about the blonde's face. "I miss you."

"I miss you too. Now tell me where you are." All she wanted to know is the location, but she had a feeling that the brunette didn't want to tell her.

"It's too dangerous. He's still alive. I have to get him first. I can't…."

"Keira! What if you can't find him?"

"I will."

"When? Keira! When? a month, a year, 10 years…Keira, please…we can do this together. I know you're trying to protect me but you can't do this again…. You can't do this to me…again."

"Kristin, this isn't your fight. You know why I have to do this. If anything happens to you…."

"You keep saying that you want to protect me! Do you know what I've been through?! I had to see a psychiatrist! I couldn't sleep! I have to cry myself to sleep every night because you died...protecting me. I thought I was going crazy. I was going to dig up your grave, Keira!"

Kat stood still, her hand covering her mouth, as she listened to the blonde's outburst. She never knew that the blonde had to cry herself to sleep.

Realizing what the blonde's been through, Lucy shut her eyes tight as she felt a sharp pain in her heart.

"I'm sorry. That was the only way…to protect you."

"I know that. I understand that. But you don't need to…please…Keira…just let me help you. We can be together. We can do this together."

It was a good idea. Lucy wanted to but how could she concentrate on getting Amy's killer while being with the blonde at the same time. That's not the life she wants. That's not the life the blonde wants. She could imagine herself getting angry every time she gets close to catching him, then failed. Sure, for awhile, the blonde wouldn't mind. But what if she couldn't catch that bastard even after a year. Would Kristin still want to be with her, a life without a goal except to catch the fraudster. That's not life. She couldn't put her through that.

"I'm sorry, Kristin."

Then the unexpected happen. Helene, Kat, and Lucy were all shocked at the blonde's next words.

**"Keira! It's over. You hear me. It's over! This time is for real. IT'S OVEEEER**!" Kristin hung up.

Helene and Kat jerked back when they saw the angry blonde with her red face as if about to explode. They quickly stepped aside to allow the furious blonde walked through them towards the door. Both jumped when they heard the loud slamming of the door.

"Again?" Helene shook her head. "Kat, go look after her."

"Yes, ma'am."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

London

"Shit!" Lucy said. That was not what she expected to happen.

"What happened?" Scud asked, chewing on tortilla chip.

"She just broke up with me." Lucy said in disbelief.

"Again?"

Lucy let out a big sigh and sat next to Scud. "Am I wrong? I just want to protect her. I can't chase after that bastard and be with her at the same time." She continued to talk about what just happened while hearing the crunching sound from Scud's mouth.

"She's right. You know."

"Scud, I…." If anyone could understand what she was trying to do, it would be him. She was surprised that he took the blonde's side.

"Lucy, you're letting him ruin your life. Are you going to spend your entire life, trying to catch him? She's not going to wait for you." He turned back to watching his show. "I know I wouldn't."

"Well, I can't just let him free." She said in an upset tone as she crossed her arms.

"We're not letting him free. They're doing something. We're doing something. After 3 years, you finally found someone you wanted be with and now…you're going to let her get away…because of him. Didn't she say she wants to do this with you? So why not let her?"

"Because it's not fair to her. This is my fight. She shouldn't have to spend the rest of her life doing this, just because I have to…and it would be too dangerous."

She turned to look at Scud, wondering why he didn't say anything.

"Do you agree with me?"

"Nope" Scud quickly responded. "But it doesn't matter, right? She broke up with you."

"Scud." She wanted to know why he doesn't agree with her.

"What?" He said as he took a chip from the bag.

"Why don't you agree with me?"

He stood up and stretched his arms and legs. "Very simple…you keep thinking what's best for her." He let out a big yawn. "She's not a child. Lucy. She can think for herself. She knows what she wants."

As he walked towards the refrigerator to grab a soda, he could see the brunette holding her forehead like she's regretting what she did. He smiled after taking a sip of the carbonated drink.

"Don't worry. She'll be back." He said to himself. It wasn't the first time the blonde broke up with her. He had a feeling that she will be back because after all, she hasn't seen the brunette for a year. Whether she'll be back to get back together with the brunette or give the brunette another slap on the face for faking her death_…...she'll be back…_

* * *

**Chapter 32: Chapter 32**

* * *

**Chapter 32**

**Paris**

Kristin headed back to the apartment, angry with Keira. The first thing she did was went back into her bedroom, took off the bracelet that the brunette gave her and shoved it back into the drawer as if she didn't want anything to do with her anymore. She lay on the bed and closed her eyes. Her anger slowly subsides. Thinking back, it not only surprised her superior and Kat with her last statement. She surprised herself too. She was getting nowhere with her. She felt a tinge of hatred towards the brunette for faking her death. She got angry. She wasn't thinking. It got to her, so she blurted out like any girlfriend would say when they have an argument. But did she really mean it? Absolutely not. Deep down, she understood what the brunette was thinking. She hoped Keira would come to her senses. This is the third time she broke up with her and every time, she was the one who wanted to reconcile. This time would be different. This time, she'd wait for the brunette to go back to her. This time, nothing will change her mind.

"ugghhh…." She groaned in anger as she took the blanket and covered her head.

After 3 weeks, she still hasn't heard anything from the brunette.

"I'm not going to ask her for the address. I'm not going to ask her for the address." Kristin said to herself as she headed to her superior's office. Within the past three weeks, she kept telling herself not to think about the brunette but was having a hard time doing so. Even when she was working in her desk job and in the middle of the art class, the thought of Keira appeared her mind. So to keep to her mind off the brunette, she decided to go back to work, real work, not the desk job.

"Come in." Helene said when she heard the knock on the door.

Kristin entered the room and saluted to her superior.

Helene stood up and saw how different she looked.

"You look good. Kristin."

"I feel good, ma'am." Kristin said as she straightened her posture.

"Good. Glad to hear it."

"I want to quit, ma'am."

"Excuse me!" Helene said, not expecting the surprise. Kat had informed her that she was doing fine so she didn't expect her to resign again.

"I don't want to do the desk job anymore. I am ready to go back out there."

Helene immediately felt relieved that it wasn't what she thought.

"Good. We have something that just came up and we…"

"Ma'am, I want to look for him." When she entered the office, all she wanted to do was go back to work. But then she thought of something even better. Why not go to England and look for the bastard? Since the brunette won't let her, her superior might. Then she could steal a glance at her. She had no intention of letting the brunette know where she is. All she wanted to do is see how she is, how she looks. And if she could help catch the fraudster faster, then they could be together. But she doesn't plan on crawling back to the brunette. Nope siree. Keira will be doing the crawling and the begging. She smiled at the thought.

Helene let out a big sigh. "Kristin, I know what you're thinking but …"

"ma'am, please…I can help…I want to help…I…"

"Agent…good idea…"

Her response surprised the blonde.

"Go visit Michel, find out what he knows…"

"What?" That was not what Kristin was expecting. She wanted to stand by at the airport or train station, not try to get information from the people whom she lied to once, who are now her friends.

"He knows his father is alive. He might know where he is. Go talk to them, see if you can find out anything."

"But..ma'am…I can't do that. They're not going to tell me and they're my friends…I can't…"

"This is an order! Agent!"

Kristin straightened her posture. _Shoot. What did I get myself into? _

"Kristin, I know it's hard but sometimes we have to do things we don't want to…sometimes we have to make sacrifices, our friends, our love ones. It's been over a year…the longer he's out there, more people are going to get hurt. Do you understand?" Helene has no choice but to do this since they have no clue where the fraudster is.

Kristin understood that she was referring to the brunette. "yes..ma'am…I understand but I can't…and they're not going to tell me even if they know where he is…" She said softly.

Helene let out a big sigh, knowing that the blonde would still disobey her order. What can she do? Fire her? She can't do that. She needs her.

When the phone rang, Helene knew what the blonde was thinking.

"it's not her."

Helene could tell she was disappointed when she put her head down. She knew the blonde didn't want to break up with the brunette. Helene picked up the phone and hung up after a short moment. "Kristin, starting today, report to this department." She handed her a piece of paper.

"ma'am?"

"We have a lot of people on that case. We need you here."

"but, ma'am…"

"Kristin, please…" Already extremely frustrated with not making any progress on the fraudster's case, Helene spoke in a tired tone. "Go to that department and help solve their case. They need you there."

When the older woman rubbed her temples, the blonde agent noticed her frustration and agreed.

"Yes, ma'am." Kristin said without enthusiam. Disappointed that her plan didn't work, she walked out of the office with her head down. In another government building nearby, while taking the elevator up to the 5th floor, she thought about the brunette again. Deep in thought, she didn't realize that she reached her floor until all the people got off the elevator and someone from outside asked her if she's getting off. Once off the elevator, she slapped herself awake. "Stop thinking about her. Stop it." She took a few quick breaths before asking people how to get to the department where she was ordered to go.

In front of an office, Kristin knocked twice on the door.

"Come in."

Kristin opened the door and saw a slim woman in her 40's with brownish blonde hair.

"Kristin Smith, reporting for duty, ma'am." Kristin straightened her posture.

"Kristin Smith?" The woman quickly picked up the phone.

Kristin creased her eyebrows when she heard the woman talking to the other person on the line asking why it would be her and not someone else. It sounded like she was talking to her superior Helene. After the older woman hung up, she pressed her hands on the table and let out a big sigh in frustration. Kristin immediately straightened her posture and looked straight ahead when the older woman looked up at her. The older woman walked closer and walked around her, scanning her from top to bottom. She then stood in front of the blonde agent.

"Do you know who I am?" The older woman said.

"Yes, ma'am. You are the head of Division 10." Kristin said loudly.

"at ease, Kristin…"

Kristin relaxed her shoulders.

"You can address me as Ms. Lane or ma'am."

"yes, ma'am."

The older woman took a folder on her desk. "Find an empty desk outside, read it, and come back here at 2. Any questions?"

"no, ma'am"

Outside of the office, Kristin found herself an empty desk. It wasn't hard to find one. There were a lot of them. Budget cuts. She opened the folder and flipped through the documents. There were a lot of pages but she was excited to get back to work, especially on this case involving a kidnapped child. It's better than the desk job doing administrative work. After two hours, it was lunch time. Since she can't just leave the confidential folder on the desk, she took it with her and went downstairs to the cafeteria. Along the way, she saw a few people looking and smiling at her, especially the guys. She wasn't sure if the people recognized her as the woman who fell in love with the criminal mastermind or was it just because she's new there. She wasn't even sure how many people knew about that case or was it just her team. But it didn't matter to her since she had no plans of staying in this job forever. She's waiting for the brunette to crawl back to her.

"Shoot…" She chastised herself for thinking of the brunette again as she sat on a window seat, eating her lunch, in the cafeteria in the first floor of the building. As she took a bite of her chicken sandwich, she looked up at the gray sky. "It's going to rain again." She sighed loudly as the memory of that rainy day of how she was looking for the brunette in the hospital parking lot flowed back into her mind. That day was when she broke up with Keira. That day, she fainted after hearing about Keira's flight accident. There were moments when she thought about how it would turn out if she had followed her to Venice that day. _Would she have told me who she really is? Would I still want to be with her after she told me? If I followed her that day, then a lot of things wouldn't have happened. But would I feel like this, fallen so deeply in love with her if all of those things didn't happen?_ She jumped when her superior, Ms. Lane, called her name and sat across from her.

"ma'am" She straightened her posture.

"…relax…Kristin."

"yes, ma'am." _Shoot. I really don't feel like talking to anyone right now. _Kristin continued to eat her sandwich and stared out the window as if the older woman isn't there.

At the corner of her eyes, she could see the older woman looking at her, so she turned to look at her superior.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Kristin wondered why she asked. _Does she know about me and Keira? _

"Good. Good." The older woman nodded and took a bite of her sandwich.

Feeling a little awkward, Kristin stayed silent and focused on finishing her lunch.

"Do you like it here?"

Kristin slowly looked up. "Do you mean this building? Or department?"

"I mean…this job."

"It's good. I like it." Since she is not too close to the woman, she didn't want to tell her the truth.

"That's good. I heard a lot of good things about you."

She wondered what her boss Helene said about her.

"Keep up the good work and someday, you'll be in my position."

Kristin let out a small smile and put her head down, continued eating her sandwich.

"Kristin, you don't want to be in my position?"

Chewing her sandwich, Kristin pondered for a moment, unsure if she should tell her the truth.

"I don't think I can be in your position."

"Of course you can. You might not think so right now. But you'll learn, you'll get enough experience…and someday, I'm sure you'll be able to do a better job than I can…."

"yes, ma'am." Not wanting to talk about this anymore, Kristin took the last bite of her sandwich and excused herself.

As soon as she stood up, the older woman spoke.

"is everything alright?"

"yes, ma'am." Kristin said in a dull tone and left.

But the older woman could tell she wasn't telling the truth.

Back upstairs in her cubicle, the blonde agent continued reading the files on the case. Then a knock on the cubicle door caught her attention. A good looking man in his 30's, who sat in the next cubicle, introduced himself. He tried to get a conversation going but Kristin stopped him by saying she has a lot of work to do which she does. She realized that he must not have heard about her since she could tell that he was interested in her. After reading through the files multiple times, she stood up and stretched her arms and legs. She walked over to the large office windows, pulled the shades to one side, and saw that it was pouring outside.

"Shoot. I don't have an umbrella."

"I can give you a ride home if you like." The good looking man said as he came up from behind to stand next to her.

_I really don't need these kind of problems right now. _Not really in the mood to make new friends here in this department, she felt the need to tell a lie.

"That's okay. I'll call my boyfriend to see if he can pick me up." She thought that would do it but it didn't.

"If he can't, let me know. I'll be happy to give you a ride home."

Not wanting to be rude, Kristin let out a small smile. She looked down on the street and saw people with umbrellas walking rapidly, people without umbrellas running to take cover, cars splashing water across the sidewalk, trees blowing in the wind. Then she looked up when a flash of lightning appeared. When the man started talking again, Kristin took a look at her watch and realized it's almost time to see her superior and excused herself. If it wasn't time yet, she'll have to think of an excuse to stay away from him since she really doesn't feel like talking to him.

"You're 15 minutes early." The older woman said.

"Yes, ma'am." She didn't feel like explaining so just left it at that.

"So what do you do you think?" The older woman said while sitting in her chair.

"I think you have to interview the gardener again."

The older woman was a little surprised that her response was different from all others who have looked at this case. This case of the missing child happened over a year ago and nobody ever thought it could be the gardener. "Why?"

Kristin opened the folder and flipped to a page and showed it to the older woman.

"It says here that he was working on the garden, watering flowers that day."

"and?" The older woman said in confusion.

"…the day prior to that was pouring rain, he shouldn't have to do that the day after."

"just because the internet said it was raining, it doesn't mean…."

"ma'am…I remembered that day, it was just like outside right now."

The older woman stood up and walked out of the office to take a look outside. After a short moment, she came back, closed the door, and stood in front of the blonde agent who remained unmoved, standing still in her original position.

"Did something happened that day? Is that why you remember it so well?"

Kristin again was unsure why she wanted to know about her personal business. This was irrelevant to the case.

"yes, ma'am." She said softly and was surprised with the older woman's next question.

"What happened?" The older woman spoke in a gentle voice.

"it's…personal, ma'am…" Kristin said with a blank face. There was a moment of silence. "Do you want me to follow up on this case?"

"That's not necessary. I'll have someone follow up." She said in a gentle voice.

Kristin was expecting to be dismissed but since the older woman just stood still, staring at her, she felt a little uncomfortable. "Is there anything else, ma'am?"

The older woman stepped closer to her and asked in a gentle voice. "Tell me the truth, are you happy working here?"

No matter how hard she tried to get herself back into the job, to stop thinking about the brunette, she realized that she couldn't. Rather than lying to the older woman, she stayed silent.

"What would you rather be doing?"

_I want to be with her, but she won't let me._

Not getting a response, the older woman asked again. "Kristin?"

"I…" Kristin paused and closed her eyes for a few seconds. "If there's nothing else, then I'll see you tomorrow. Ma'am."

Kristin waited for the older woman to respond.

"I won't be here tomorrow. Report back to your superior, come back after that." The older woman said softly.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sitting in the dining table in her apartment with Kat, Kristin asked how the case with Benjamin Couric was doing. Since Kat now knows that the fraudster is alive, she is allowed to participate in that case.

"Nothing yet. It's like he vanished into thin air." Kat said.

What Kristin really wanted to know was how the brunette is doing. "Do you know if she called?"

"Who?" Kat said as she took a bite of her chicken.

Kristin rolled her eyes and said loudly. "Who else?!"

Kat looked up. "Oh…I don't know. That's confidential….nobody knows about her except the boss…you know that." She whispered.

Kristin nodded in disappointment and began slicing her chicken.

"I thought you said you're breaking up with her. You said this time is for real. So why…?" Kat asked.

She knew Kat wouldn't have understand. "I was angry. I didn't mean it."

"Oh." Her brows creased together in confusion, then shook her head. "Does Keira know that you didn't mean it?" She saw the blonde immediately staring at her. "…because you know what happened last time…after you broke up with her…she was with…you know who…"

"She lied." Kristin said as she put a piece of chicken in her mouth.

After telling Kat how she knew, the next question from the shorter woman made her nervous.

"You did say this time is for real and it has been almost a month…and she is living in the same city as you know who, and you know how you know who acts when she sees you know who, so…."

"Kat!"

"What?"

Kristin stood up, holding a knife in her hand and a fork in the other. _Alexis wouldn't do that. They wouldn't do that_. She thought to herself as she glared at her friend. She thought back to what Alexis said in the bathroom. Alexis said if she had known that they were together, she wouldn't have kissed Keira. _What have I done? What if Alexis found out we broke up? What if Keira bumped into her and Alexis wanted to comfort her and…Oh no. Oh God. _Just thinking about the possibility made her stomach tied in knots.

"She…she…" She held the knife tighter. "..ugghhh!…" She sat back down in frustration and vigorously cut her chicken, trying not to think about what Kat just said. There is nothing she could do now. _What if they already did it? What if they're doing it now? What if…. _She threw down the utensils, took the phone and called her superior to ask for the brunette's phone. But of course Helene wouldn't give it to her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Next day

Kristin did as told and went back to her superior's department but since Helene was busy, she didn't get to see her until the afternoon.

"How did it go yesterday?" Helene asked, reading a file in her hand.

"Fine, ma'am."

Helene put the down the file and could tell the blonde didn't sleep well last night from her puffy eyes.

"I have good news."

"Did you catch him?" Kristin said in excitement, thinking that they have caught the fraudster.

"No…not him….I just learned that they found the boy. Kristin, you solved their case yesterday."

Kristin gasped at the news. "How is he?"

"He's alive and well. Thanks to you. Good job. Kristin. Now since you're doing so well in that department…"

Knowing what was coming, Kristin immediately interrupted her.

"Ma'am, I want to go to London. I want to help catch him."

Helene stood up. "we've talked about that already. We need you here."

"Then I quit. I already bought a ticket to London. Ma'am…." Last night after hearing what Kat said, she couldn't sleep, just thinking about the possibility that the brunette and Alexis could be together. Even if they aren't together now, she needs to tell Keira that she didn't mean what she said. So she decided last night if her superior won't allow her to go to London to work on the case, then she would quit and go to London to search for Keira herself. She was hoping that her superior would just tell her the brunette's location.

Helene let out a big sigh, wondering what happened yesterday that made the blonde change her mind. When she was about to try to convince the blonde from quitting, the phone rang.

"Yes" It was her superior calling. "What?….Yes….. yes…I understand." She quickly hung up the phone and grabbed her jacket and bag.

"Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

Kristin was confused when she saw her superior speeding down the street and pressing the horn multiple times.

"Where are we going?"

"Hospital."

When she heard the word hospital, her heart spontaneously beat faster. The thought of the brunette getting injured again crossed her mind. Why is she here? Isn't she in London? This would be the only reason why her superior would want her to be there.

"Is it Keira?" Kristin asked.

Helene creased her brows, realizing that the blonde is hopeless…hopelessly in love.

"No"

Kristin immediately let out a deep breath and relaxed her body.

"Then who got hurt?"

"it's…" Helene decided not to tell her, just yet. "…you'll see…"

After arriving to the hospital, they saw Helene's boss, two guards, doctors, nurses standing outside of the surgery room. Seeing her boss shaking his head, Helene knew the patient isn't going to make it.

"Go inside, hurry." Mr. Fontaine spoke to both of them.

Kristin gasped when she saw who was lying on the surgery table, covered with blue blanket, blood everywhere. She stood still, covering her mouth as tears flowed down. The atmosphere, the surroundings, the heart rate monitor, the blood brought back memories of the injured brunette. There wasn't much time. Helene grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the patient.

"She's here, Lisa." Helene took the oxygen mask off her face. She doesn't know Lisa that well but they have met several times during meetings. Lisa used to work for Interpol and later joined their organization.

When Kristin saw the weak woman extending her hand out towards her, she quickly held on to her hand.

"What happened?" Kristin asked in a trembling voice.

"I'm…sorryyy…" Lisa said in a barely audible voice.

Both could tell that she had a difficult time getting the words out…just like the brunette when she was injured.

Both looked at each other, confused more than ever.

"For what? Ma'am."

"you..Your...name…issss…Ammmy."

Both Helene and Kristin heard but they needed to confirm.

"Did you say her name is Amy?" Helene asked.

When Lisa closed her eyes, Helene and Kristin called out at the same time, afraid that those were her last words. When they saw her opening her eyes again, both started asking questions at the same time. There was no time. They wanted to know what she was talking about. Helene extended her hand to signal the blonde to stop asking.

"Lisa, what's the last name."

"Braadd…shaw…"

"She thinks I'm Amy."

"Lisa, she's Kristin Smith, not Amy Bradshaw." Helene creased her brows in confusion, wondering how Lisa knew about Amy.

Shaking her head slightly, Lisa spoke as clearly as she could. "No….you're…Ammmyyy."

"Lisa, she's not Amy. She's Kristin. She just looks like her."

Both could tell she has having trouble breathing when they heard the wheezing noise.

"car…aaccidennt…" She inhaled deeply. "….m..nesiaaaaa…"

Then a long flat piercing sound penetrated their ears. Lisa had spoken her last word.

"Lisa…Lisa…wait….don't go yet….Lisa!" Helene shouted.

The nurses and doctors all came in and tried to revive her. Noises everywhere. The stunned blonde was pushed aside. Helene pulled the blonde away from the surgery table to allow the doctors do their work. It was no use.

Holding the blonde's arm, Helene pulled the blonde outside. When her boss asked what happened, Helene wasn't sure if she should say anything. Amy Bradshaw, after all, is a wanted criminal.

"Nothing sir. She just wants to say goodbye."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back in Kristin's apt

Sitting on the dining table, Kristin stared down into blank space, thinking about what she just heard. Is there any way she'd mistaken me for Amy? Was she hallucinating, just like Keira? Questions crowded her mind.

"I need a drink. Do you have anything here?" Helene helped herself to the refrigerator and grabbed two wine coolers.

She looked around to find the whiteboard because what she's about to do, the whiteboard will come in handy.

After taking a drink, she said to the blonde.

"Are you ready?"

The blonde hadn't been paying attention. She slowly looked up and realized what her boss wanted to do.

After half an hour, flowcharts, questions marks, facts, facts without proof, things she learned about Amy from the brunette were written down on the chalkboard.

"Did you ever get any crazy dreams?" Helene asked.

"What kind of crazy dreams?"

"Dreams of you doing things, but you've never did them before."

With her elbows propped on the table, the blonde held her forehead as she thought about the dreams she had, but nothing came to mind that seem crazy, except for the wet dream she had. But she didn't want her boss to know about that.

"Where did you two first meet?"

"We met …." Kristin bit her lip, wondering if she should tell her boss about the kidnapping. _Would Nadia get in trouble?_ "We met at Michel's house."

"She thought you were Amy then."

"Yes." Kristin tried to think of a reason why Lisa would lie to her. But she couldn't come up with one.

"First, we have to check out your parents, see if they are indeed your parents." Helene said as she paced back and forth.

"Of course they're my parents. They died in a car accident. I remember them. I remember my childhood. I remember…."

There was a moment of silence.

"I remember…that day…in the hospital….I…" She shut her eyes tight, trying desperately to think of that day.

"Why are you in the hospital?"

Her hands covered her face and eyes. Her elbows rested on the table. She shook her head. "I…can't…remember…"

Seeing the frustration in the blonde, Helene comforted her.

"relax…we'll figure this out. What we need to do right now is find out when the car accident happened."

"Keira said…Amy…died on the plane with Nadia's father. She said…she was supposed to come back."

"good…that narrows it down. So something could have happened that day and she didn't get on the plane."

_That's possible. _ Helene wrote it down on the whiteboard and after a moment of pondering, tapping the marker on the whiteboard, she spoke.

"I'm going back to the office to check on your parents. You stay here and searched for the car accident. Now if you want to tell Kat, it's up to you. But make her swear first and tell her it'll be another 10 years of prison if she tells anyone about this." Helene smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

Kristin stood up when she saw her boss getting ready to leave.

"Ma'am…If…I am…Amy….If she knew who I am, why didn't she arrest me?"

There was a moment of silence.

"The only reason I could think of is that you're not a criminal. You just fell in love with one and we needed you."

Kristin then gasped, covering her mouth, realizing why the older woman wanted to know about her, why she apologized on her deathbed. "She asked me if I was happy with my job. She wanted to know about my personal life."

Helene nodded in understanding.

"what we need to do now is find proof. Don't bother to check the names on the flight. It's not going to be her name and I'm sure **she** already checked it." Helene said as she put on her jacket.

"What if….I am…Amy?"

Helene let out a smile, knowing why she asked.

"Kristin, weren't you planning to go back to her anyways?"

"that's not…what I meant." What the blonde wanted to know is if she will be arrested.

"I know what you mean. But do you understand what I'm saying?" Helene said and left the apartment.

Kristin understood and sat back down, trying to think about all the things that happened from the time she met the brunette. She dreamed about the brunette, but those were just dreams. What she needed is proof. _She didn't tell me anything about her. _She can't call the brunette and ask her what Amy was like. She took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly. There is no other way. She logged into the computer and started searching for all the news for that day. After an hour of searching, what she found was news about the plane explosion, nothing on the car accident. Her eyes began to feel tired and her stomach started to growl. She slumped back against the chair and closed her tired eyes. _Why am I doing this? Does it really matter if I am Amy? Keira loves me just the same. After she catches the bastard, then we can…_She stopped when she realized what she just said. _Oh God. Why did I yell at her? _She realized that the brunette must have felt the same kind of pain after she heard about Amy's death. She has made the decision. She has to find out the truth.

After another hour, she got a call from her superior saying that there weren't that much information on her parents since they lived and died in US.

"If they're not my parents, then how is it possible that I would know how they died, when they died and where they're buried?" Kristin said on the phone.

"Kristin, you're not thinking. You need to relax. Think of this happening to someone else, not you."

Helene said calmly. "If this is happening to someone else, what do you think could…."

"brainwash" It wasn't a question. She learned this in her classes along with other subjects like hypnosis, art of seduction, martial arts, computer hacking, and much more.

_Oh God. _She realized that it could be a possibility. If in fact she was brainwashed, she couldn't even remember who did that to her.

The blonde immediately asked if her psychiatrist could reverse it.

"You know it's not that easy. Remember what Lisa said. She said Amy had amnesia. What we need right now is proof."

"But I can't find anything on the car accident." She was frustrated more than before now that she realized that it was possible that she had been brainwashed.

Helene sensed her frustration and tried to comfort her. "If you haven't heard it about it today, how would you feel? It doesn't change anything. Whether you're Kristin or Amy, you still want to be with her. Kristin, you can create new memories with her."

Kristin understood that but she needed to know the truth so she could convince the brunette not to waste her entire life trying to catch that bastard. _We would have a different kind of life._

"But ma'am, what about Amy's parents? Where are they?"

"I knew we missed something. Let me check on it."

Helene immediately hung up.

* * *

**London**

For 3 weeks, they still haven't found any trace of Benjamin Couric. Both sat in front of the computer, watching the video footage of the mall where the fraudster showed up. The thought of asking Michel about his father's whereabouts crossed their minds but they decided not to since he wouldn't tell them anyways if he knew. They understood why and they don't blame him. Besides, that bastard wouldn't be stupid enough to tell his son. They've been watching the video over and over again to see if they can find anything that could tell them where the bastard is hiding. From the video that was taken by CJ, they could tell how angry Alexis was when she yelled at her grandfather. But they couldn't hear what Benjamin and Michel were saying. There were too many noises, too many people talking. The video was taken from the back of the fraudster from far away. Scud tried to zoom in the video trying to decipher what Michel was saying from his lip movement. But the low resolution video was too grainy.

Since Scud had been cooking for the past 3 days, he needed a break from his own cooking. They sat on the dinner table, eating their dinner ordered from the restaurant nearby. As Lucy chewed on a slice of medium well steak, she thought about the blonde.

"She hasn't contacted me for 3 weeks now. Scud." Lucy said in a dull tone as she stared into blank space on the dining table, realizing that she might have lost the blonde forever.

"I know." Scud said as if he doesn't care and continue cutting his steak into slices.

"She's really breaking up with me. Isn't she?"

"maybe"

She frowned and slowly turned to Scud. "What do you mean…maybe?"

He slowly chewed on his steak. "mmm…this is good." Ignoring the brunette, he continued to pick up another piece of steak with his fork.

"Scud, what do you mean…maybe?" She said, holding a knife in her right hand and a fork with her left.

"maybe…she's waiting for you to call her…" He chewed on the delicious steak and swallowed. "You know…you could call her…"

"..and say what? …say I'm sorry…tell her I want to be with her, but I can't…until I catch that bastard…I've already said that." Frustrated with her situation, she scooped up a big spoonful of mash potato and put it into her mouth.

"I know. You could at least talk to her…see how she's doing…what she's doing… if she's still upset…." Scud paused and took another bite. "…it's sort of like a long distance relationship….if you want to make it work, you have to call…"

Scud continued eating his perfectly grilled steak, enjoying every bite. At the corner of his eyes, he could see the brunette staring at him as if thinking about what he just said. After finishing his meal, he took a drink of water. "aaaahhh….that was good…." He hiccupped. "oo…excuse me…" He cleaned up his plate and as he walked back to the kitchen, he has one last piece of advice for the brunette.

"It's been a year and she still loves you. Do you really think she meant what she said? You should know. You're a girl. That's what girls say when they get angry."

Lucy didn't like that comment, but he has a point. _She did sound pretty angry._

"It's been 3 weeks now, Lucy. I think it's time for you to call her." Scud relaxed on the couch and turned on the television to watch his favorite show. He wants to catch the fraudster, but he's not going to let him ruin his life.

"Lucy, Janet will be coming next week."

"What?!" The news totally surprised her. "You told her where we are."

"Why not? I'm free now. I'm not a wanted criminal. I'm dead, just like you. Remember."

This was the deal that Lucy made with the Head of Division 16. This was the only way for them to be free.

"Did I tell you the DEBS no longer exists?"

"No, you didn't." Lucy said, surprised again.

"Well, it doesn't anymore….budget cuts…and we've waited 4 years now. Since they know that I'm dead, nobody is after me. We feel it's safe to be together now."

"But we haven't caught him yet!"

"That's okay. We could still do that and Janet will do what she wants to do."

"Scud, are you out of your mind?! What if he finds out about us? What if he comes after us? Janet could be in danger." She was appalled by his decision.

Scud stood up and spoke seriously in a calm tone.

"that's just it. What if this…what if that…but what if he can't find us? Are we going to live like this until we catch him? Life is short, Lucy. We shouldn't waste it just because of him. I'm not saying that we're going to let him free. All I'm saying is that we can continue what we're doing and have a life at the same time."

He saw that the brunette was still confused.

"Amy wouldn't want you to spend your entire life doing this. She would want to see you happy." Scud continued watching his show. At the corner of his eyes, he could see that that the brunette was in deep thought. He hoped that he could convince her.

After a moment, Lucy turned around and continued eating her steak slowly as she thought about what Scud said. It took her three years to finally found someone whom she wants to be with. _And now…even if she didn't mean what she said, how long will she wait for me? _

She stood up and walked towards the window. It's drizzling outside. _Amy, what should I do? I want to be with her. Is that okay? Can you give me a sign? _If she decides to be with Kristin, she knows that she couldn't dedicate all her time to finding the bastard. It just wouldn't be fair to the blonde agent. She opened the window and looked up at the gray sky and hoped for some kind of a sign; a flash of lightning or a loud thunder noise. If there is lightning or thunder, then she would continue doing what she had planned. But there was nothing, just light rain falling down.

It's 10:30PM. After watching his favorite shows, Scud decides to go to sleep.

"Go to sleep, Lucy." He told the brunette. What he wanted her to do is think about what he said. When Janet gets here, he planned on spending a lot of time with her. He doesn't want to see the brunette all alone. _Hmm… maybe she would change her mind if she saw us cuddling, kissing each other…not a bad idea...that'll work_. He smiled at the thought of Janet seeing the blonde agent for the first time and wondered if she will faint. He never told her about Kristin.

Lucy was a little tired but after taking a shower, she didn't feel like going to sleep. With the lights off in the living room, dining room and kitchen, she stood near the window in the 4th floor apartment complex overlooking the street. At this time of the night, there weren't that many cars passing by. There was nobody on the street. Rain was pouring down. She couldn't help wondering what Kristin is doing at this moment. Every time it rains like this, it reminded her of the first time she met the blonde agent; the first time they kissed…which was unexpected. She remembered the time how the blonde cheated in the Buzz Lightyear game. That always brought a smile to her face. She let out a big sigh, still unsure of what to do. Looking down, she saw a car stopped in front of her apartment building. From the street lighting, she could see it was a female getting off the back seat of the taxi. The woman didn't have an umbrella but she didn't care about the heavy rain falling on her head. Lucy saw her taking out a luggage from the trunk and waving at someone sitting inside the backseat of the taxi, telling that person to go but the taxi remained unmoved. When the female turned around and looked up, Lucy gasped out loud. Unsure if her mind was messing with her, she rubbed her eyes and blinked to focus on the woman standing on the sidewalk, soaking wet. Dressed in her short sleeve pajamas shorts and shirt, Lucy quickly ran down the stairs, leaving her apartment door open. Her heart pounded rapidly, not because from running down the four flight of stairs; it's because of the woman downstairs.

As the blonde was about to ring the doorbell, she jerked back, startled when the door suddenly opened. In her uncomfortable wet clothing and dripping wet hair, she let out a small smile at the brunette.

"Hi" She said in a gentle voice.

What Lucy wanted to know is what she's doing here. But that can wait. Lucy grabbed the blonde's hand and as she was about to pull her inside away from the rain, Kristin pulled back.

"Wait." Carrying a small backpack, she took a few steps down and waved goodbye to the person inside the taxi.

Lucy had no idea who that was but she didn't care. All she was concerned about was getting the blonde upstairs out of her wet clothing before she catch a cold. Without saying a word, Lucy took the luggage from her, grabbed the blonde's hand and pulled her up the stairs to her 4th floor apartment. Once inside the apartment, Lucy led the blonde to the bathroom inside her master bedroom. Without asking, she unzipped the blonde's soaking wet jacket and threw it in the laundry basket. She then quickly took one of the towels and put it over her head, gently rubbing it to dry it. She stopped when she saw tears running down the blonde's face. Both were breathing heavily at this moment from running up the stairs. Lucy immediately hugged the soaking wet blonde.

"I'm sorry." Lucy closed her eyes and let her tears flowed down. "Stay here. Stay with me." She has decided.

Hearing that, the blonde began to sob quietly, knowing that she made the right decision. Her arms wrapped tightly around the brunette as she released all her emotions of sadness she had tucked away.

When the blonde continued to cry, Lucy apologized again for faking her death.

"Kristin, please don't cry…I'm sorry…" Lucy pulled back and wiped her non-stop tears with her thumbs. The only time she had seen the blonde cry like this was when she got shot.

Sniffing in her tears, Kristin took a few deep breaths to control her emotions.

Lucy felt better when the blonde finally stopped crying.

"Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?" Lucy asked.

Smiling, the blonde shook her head. Lucy couldn't resist and hugged the blonde again.

"Let me know if you need anything." Lucy said in a gentle voice and left the bathroom to allow the blonde take a shower.

Feeling extremely happy, Lucy quickly changed into another pair of pajamas since her pajamas got wet after hugging the blonde. She got a new face towel, toothbrush, and a clean pajamas just in case the blonde needed it. _Should I tell Scud?_ _He must be asleep already. _When she could no longer hear the sound of the hair dryer, she quickly jumped back on to the bed, waiting anxiously for the blonde to come out. Then she thought of something and quickly jumped off the bed and sat on the chair instead. She didn't want the blonde to think that she was expecting her to be sleeping on the same bed. Lucy could tell the blonde was a little shy when she walked out of the bathroom slowly.

Looking around, Kristin saw that the bedroom was beautifully decorated with beige and brown colors, recessed lights, a large dresser with a large mirror, a desk, a chair and brown picture frames hanging on the walls. Even with the queen size bed with 2 end tables next to it, there were still plenty of room left to walk around. It was as nice as a five star hotel room.

"I got you these." Lucy showed her the tooth brush, cup, face towel, and towels before putting them inside the bathroom.

Once out of the bathroom, she saw Kristin sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for her. With her eyes locked on the blonde, Lucy slowly sat down next to her and held her warm hand, gently caressing it. Not having seen each other for over a year, they took a moment to look at each other from head to toe in silence.

_I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry._ Shoot. Kristin said in her mind as tears uncontrollably fall down again.

Lucy immediately took some tissues and dried her tears. "I'm sorry." She apologized again. "Forgive me?" She begged with puppy dog eyes. She knew she had been forgiven, otherwise the blonde wouldn't be here. But she felt that she still needed to ask for her forgiveness.

Kristin reached out and gently rubbed her face. Lucy was surprised when the blonde made the first move. Kristin leaned in and kissed her soft lips that she missed so much. She couldn't remember when was the last time she kissed the brunette. But she remembered that feeling. Her heart began to beat out of control when she felt the brunette's lips on her mouth, her cheek, her jaw, down on her neck. She lay down slowly on the bed as the brunette leaned forward. _Oh God. _She never did this before and wasn't sure if she should let it continue. She wondered if the brunette heard her thoughts when she suddenly stopped. With her chest heaving, she looked at the brunette, hovering over her face.

"I…I…" Lucy swallowed as she tried to calm her rapidly-beating heart. "…I'll sleep outside…" She could tell that the blonde was nervous when she felt her whole body trembling underneath her. So she decided to stop. Lucy took a moment to gaze into those mesmerizing hazel green eyes. What Lucy was thinking of doing was to give her another gentle kiss on the lips before heading out, but after she did that, she couldn't control herself and kissed her again, then again, then kissed her deeply and passionately. Breathing heavily, Lucy realized she really has to get out of there before something else happens. "Good night." Lucy said and as she headed for the door, she stopped when she heard the blonde calling her name.

"Lucy" Kristin called out.

Lucy turned around and wondered why the blonde would call her by her real name. She didn't mind but she was just a little surprised.

"Lucy, come here."

_There she goes again._

"I want to apologize." Kristin said as she reached for her hand.

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong." Lucy responded, sitting next to the blonde.

"For what I said before…about you…not understanding…how I felt…last year. If anyone should know how it feels to lose someone, it would be you…" She reached up and gently rubbed her cheek.

Lucy held onto her hand. "You don't have to apologize."

"I want to tell you something." Kristin said.

Lucy could tell that the blonde agent was nervous when she saw her biting her lip, which reminded her of Amy.

What Kristin wanted to say was what she learned from Lisa. But they weren't able to find any evidence to prove that she is in fact Amy. Would she believe me? What if I'm not? Since she already bought train tickets to London, Helene agreed that it would be a good idea to come here to learn more about Amy. Maybe it could help her get her memory back if she is Amy. That was Helene in the taxi she was waving to. Since Helen had to go to London as well, she and the blonde agent took a 2 and a half hour train ride from Paris to London on the Eurostar. During the train ride, she learned from Helene that Amy's parents passed away even before she met the criminal mastermind and she is the only child. So DNA testing was impossible. They realized that the brunette must have thought of this too.

"I…quit my job." Kristin decided that it would be best not to tell her yet.

"You did?" Lucy immediately hugged her for giving up everything to be with her. She pulled back and cupped the blonde's face. "I'll take care of you."

Kristin nodded with a smile.

Lucy needed to let her know that she has to go after that bastard and she won't be able to spend all of her time with her. She said that to her before, but needed to make sure the blonde agent knows that.

"Kristin, I have to get him…but I'll…."

"I know. We'll do it together."

Lucy let out a small smile and leaned in to give her a short kiss for being so understanding. "Thank you." She leaned in again and as she was about to give her another kiss on the lips, she saw the blonde had her eyes closed. If she allowed this to continue, she wouldn't be able to control herself. So she kissed her on the forehead instead. "Good night." As she took 3 steps towards the door, she stopped when the blonde called out again.

"Where are you going?" Kristin asked, surprised that the brunette wasn't planning to sleep on the same bed. It's not like they haven't done it before.

"I'm going to sleep on the couch." Lucy said, pointing her thumb towards the door.

Kristin patted on the other side of the bed. "Come here."

Lucy isn't going to ask her if she's sure. Like Scud said, Kristin isn't a child. She knows what she wants. Lucy ran towards the bed and hopped onto it in a flash.

After turning off the lamp on her side of the bed, Kristin shifted closer to the center and leaned her head against the brunette's right shoulder. The room wasn't completely dark. There were night lights plugged into the outlets.

Lucy intertwined her fingers with the blonde's. Just thinking of how Scud would react tomorrow when he finds out caused her to smile. Her smile then quickly disappeared when she heard the blonde's question.

"Have you seen Alexis?" When she had that conversation with Kat, about the possibility of the brunette sleeping with Alexis, it really made her nervous.

"Yes." Lucy said, unsure why the blonde suddenly asked about her.

"You have?" Kristin immediately lifted herself up, surprised with the response, wondering if Kat was right. What she wanted to know is if anything happened during the last few weeks after she broke up with her.

"not in person…just on the video"

When she heard the blonde letting out a deep breath, Lucy understood why she wanted to know. Knowing how she was deeply affected by the lie about her and Alexis, Lucy had no intention of telling her the truth about her and the megastar. Besides it happened after they broke up. Like Scud said, never tell your lover about your exes. It would only hurt them.

"Kristin…Alexis and I were never together…I just said that because…."

"I know. She told me."

"Oh" Lucy wondered how the conversation between her and Alexis came about. It must have really bothered her.

Kristin lay back down next to her.

Lucy was even more surprised with her next question.

"Can you tell me more about…Amy?"

Lucy immediately shifted on her side, wondering why the blonde would want to know more about her past lover.

"Kristin, I love you not because you look like her."

"I know. I just want to know more about her."

"Why?" It seem strange to her that every time she mentions Alexis, she could tell Kristin gets a little jealous. So she wasn't sure why she would want to know about Amy.

Kristin could feel that the brunette wasn't going to tell her anything about Amy, so she tried to another tactic. "Because I want to see how different we are, what made you fall in love with me and her. Maybe we could be twins separated at birth." After she said it, she realized that this could be a possibility. _Maybe Lisa mistaken me for someone else. She was badly injured. Maybe it affected her mind. Maybe she knew Amy and she once had a car accident and amnesia._

She immediately lifted herself to lean on her elbow. "Lucy, maybe we are twins separated at birth."

Lucy let out a laugh. "Scud and I, said the same thing. But I don't have anything of hers that could prove that."

"Really?"

"But Amy never told me she has a twin"

"My parents never told me I have a twin. Maybe they didn't want us to know that we're adopted."

"That could be possible. You are like her in a lot of ways."

The more she thought about it, the more she believed that Lisa made a mistake. "Like what?"

"mm…you both like to draw, she likes kids, she's kind, gentle, caring, understanding, beautiful, sexy..." As Lucy continued to talk about their similarities, she found herself leaning closer and closer to the blonde. With her body so close to the blonde's, she couldn't resist taking the next step in her mind. Sexual desire filled her thoughts.

Kristin swallowed when the brunette hovered her face over hers. It's dark. She couldn't see the brunette's eyes clearly. But she could hear her rapid breathing and the pounding of her heart…_or is it my own…_ She's not sure how the conversation led to this. But she knows what the brunette is thinking of. Oh God. She wanted to say something but it was too late when the brunette planted an open mouth kiss on her lips. She wanted to stop this before it goes any further, but for some reason her mouth spontaneously opened wide when the brunette slid her tongue inside.

Getting no rejection, Lucy shifted herself on top of the blonde. She pulled her mouth away and smothered her face with gentle kisses. With her heart pounding wildly against the blonde's, Lucy glided her hand down and slid under her shirt. Like Scud said, Kristin is not a child. The blonde agent knows what she wants. As her hand was about to capture her breast, she stopped when the blonde held onto her wrist. Both were breathing heavily against each other.

"I can't." Kristin said softly.

Lucy knows that. That's what she likes about her. The blonde agent is not afraid to speak her mind and she definitely has more self control than she does.

"Let me know when you're ready." Lucy said softly and placed a kiss on her cheek before rolling off.

Lying on their backs with eyes on the ceiling, both panted heavily to get air into their lungs and waited for their rapid beating heart rates to normalize. Lucy intertwined her fingers with the blonde's, held it over her heart, and placed it a kiss on it to let her know that there was nothing to be embarrassed about and that she's not disappointed. To break the awkward silence, Lucy leaned on her side and started talking about the differences between her and Amy.

"She's a vegetarian. She likes tofu scramble and nondairy smoothies."

"tofu scramble? What's that?" Kristin realized that there is no way that she could be Amy. She couldn't survive one week without eating steak, fish, or chicken.

Lucy couldn't resist letting out a small laugh. She also had no idea until she met Amy. "She's a lousy driver."

As she continued to think about the differences, her thoughts were interrupted.

"how old would she be if…"

"29."

"How old are you?"

"29….Are you…29?" Lucy asked out of curiosity.

"Yes."

They learned that Amy's birthdate and hers weren't the same. But it is still possible that they could be twins separated at birth.

Lucy could tell she wasn't happy when she found out that she's eight months older than her.

"If you and Amy are twins, then I think you are the older sister." Lucy regretted saying that when she saw the blonde immediately turned her head towards her.

"Why?" She asked.

"Just a feeling." Lucy shrugged her shoulders

Kristin turned to look up at the ceiling and let out a deep breath.

_Shoot. Maybe I shouldn't have said that._ Lucy propped on her elbow and tried to comfort the blonde. "I like older woman…and you don't …."

"do you want to sleep on the couch?"

Lucy slowly lay back down on the bed after her attempt to comfort the blonde failed. She made a mental note to remind herself to never talk about the blonde's age.

"I know it's too soon to ask. But do you like kids?" Kristin wanted to know if the brunette has any plans of starting a family. She wanted to know if she would put everything on hold until the fraudster has been captured. She can wait but her body can't.

"I do." Lucy immediately hovered over her face. "Let's start now." As she was about to kiss her, Kristin extended her hand out to stop her.

"umm…making a baby requires sperm and egg."

"But haven't you heard that having a healthy sex life boosts fertility?" Lucy raised her eyebrows up and down.

"Really?"

She was surprised that blonde actually believed her. _Wow. She must really worried about getting to that age. The big 30. _She read somewhere that the biological clock starts ticking like an earthquake at that age. For Lucy, she's not worried about it since having kids herself is not one of her top priorities.

"mhm…I read an article once…they said it's easier to conceive as long as you keep the eggs healthy and to do that, you have to build up sex drive, balance your hormones, and… there's the fertility massage."

"Fertility massage?"

Without asking for permission, Lucy glided her hand down to the blonde's abdomen.

Kristin fluttered her eyes closed as she felt a warm hand massaging her abdomen in circles. "Oh…that feels good…"

Not getting any rejection, Lucy continued with the process and as she slowly slid her hand down underneath the waistband, her hand was once again stopped by the blonde.

"what are you doing?" Kristin pulled her hand away from her lower abdomen.

"the fertility massage" With her eyebrows raised high, Lucy smiled wide.

"Do you really think I believe all that bs you just said?" Kristin said softly as she cupped her cheeks.

"mmm….yes.…"

Kristin realized that the brunette had a difficult time controlling herself.

"Maybe I should sleep outside…because you…"

"no…no…I'm fine…Let's go to sleep." Lucy placed a kiss on her forehead and lay back down on the bed.

What Lucy was trying to do is get the blonde to think about something else besides her age and she believed she succeeded. But what she didn't know is that the blonde plans to get an airbed the next day. She had no idea that the brunette would be acting this way. If the brunette keeps this up, she's afraid one of these days, she wouldn't be able to deny her request and that would go against what she believes in. No sex before marriage.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There were no fire alarms, no urgent phone calls, no knocks on the door, and no interruption of any kind. It was the sunlight penetrating through the window curtains that woke up the brunette. Lucy opened her left eye, then slowly opened the other and blinked a few times to get adjusted to the light. She didn't forget what happened last night. She looked around and realized that Kristin wasn't in bed. She wondered if she's like Amy. Amy is an early riser. She's usually up early in the morning, finishes her run, come back and Lucy would still be sleeping.

Standing in the entrance of the dining area, Lucy was surprised to find her plate of breakfast on the table, Kristin washing dishes at the sink and Scud looking at her in a funny way. She knew what he was thinking when she saw him raising his brows up and down. She mouthed 'nothing happened', but from the smile on his face, it didn't look like he believed her.

Lucy walked over to the blonde at the sink. "I can do that later." She gave her a kiss on the cheek which she could tell the blonde didn't like at all.

"not in front of…" Kristin whispered and tilted her head towards Scud.

"I don't mind. Do whatever you want." Scud said. "When Janet gets here, we're going to do the same thing."

"See, he doesn't mind…" Lucy said and saw the blonde rolling her eyes. "Okay…I understand." As she walked back to her seat, she realized that this is another difference between Kristin and Amy. It was just a kiss on the cheek, not a heavy make out session.

After eating some of the blonde's cooking, Lucy realized that the blonde agent can cook.

"this is delicious." Lucy said as she took a bite of the ham omelette.

"Nadia taught me how to make it…"

"now I know why this tastes so familiar…" Scud said.

Lucy cleared her throat and felt a little uncomfortable of how she and Nadia got so close. What she wanted to know is if the blonde knows that she and Nadia slept on the same bed once.

"How is Nadia?" Lucy asked.

"She's good." Kristin turned around. "can we tell her about you?"

Surprised with her question, Lucy glanced at Scud, then at the blonde. "Why?"

"…because I'm afraid she's like me…she doesn't show it…but she could be crying herself to sleep every night…and…Alexis…too…she told me she couldn't sleep either…"

Lucy was surprised how her death affected all of them even after a year. She placed fork down and walked towards the blonde and held both of her hands.

"I'm sorry." She apologized for faking her death. "We can't tell them. The more they know, the more danger they're in. They're both very strong people. They're going to be okay.…. And soon they're all going to forget about me….you'll see…"

Kristin knew that she couldn't tell them. But she couldn't just stand by, watching her two friends, who had fallen in love with her lover, go through the same kind of pain she went through.

Lucy took her hand and led her to sit next to her.

"Did you eat yet?" Lucy tried to change the subject and asked her if she knows how to cook anything else.

While Kristin told her all the dishes that Nadia taught her, she took each bite that the brunette fed to her. She suddenly stopped when she realized what was happening.

"You don't expect me to cook everyday, do you?" Kristin became concerned. She loved the brunette and all but cooking everyday is not something she wants to do. It's hard work. She wanted the brunette to know that and not just assumed that it's her job from now on.

"Of course not, I know how to cook. All I expect you to do is…" Lucy leaned in to whisper into her ear. What she just said earned her a slap on the arm.

"Lucy!"

Scud looked up, wondering what Lucy said to cause the blonde to react like that. The blonde's cheeks instantly turned red.

"I'm just kidding. Scud knows how to cook too. So we'll take turns. Okay?" She said as she fed her a spoonful of home fries. Lucy realized that she'd have to wait until after marriage to get the blonde to sleep with her.

"So what are you girls planning to do today?" Scud said.

Lucy frowned at Scud. What they have been doing is trying to find the bastard for over a year. So she didn't understand why he asked.

"I want to go shopping." Kristin said.

Lucy hoped that she wasn't expecting her to go with her. They've talked about this last night.

"Kristin, I…."

"I know. I'm going by myself. I just need to get a few things, then I'll come back to help you. Okay?"

Lucy shook her head. "You don't have to. Take as long as you want to." An idea suddenly occurred to her.

"I have a better idea. Why don't you go visit Ashley? You can tell her you're taking a temporary break from work and living here with your friends."

When Kristin was about to speak, Scud beat her to it.

"Lucy, today is her first day here. You should at least show her around. Show her where everything is. Get her a copy of the key."

_Scud's right again. She left everything to be with me. _Lucy turned to look at the blonde and realized what an idiot she is.

"Sorry. I'll go with you."

"Are you sure? Because I can go by myself."

When Lucy was about to respond, Scud just can't keep his mouth shut.

"Kristin, she can be an idiot sometimes. Forgive her. Okay?"

"thank you, Scud." Lucy let out a fake smile. She appreciated his help but didn't appreciate him calling her an idiot, especially in front of her lover.

"Sure thing, boss." Scud smiled, knowing that's not what she really meant. She wanted him to shut up.

Xxxxxxxxx

The first thing they did was get a copy of the apartment key. Before going shopping, Lucy decided to take her around town to visit some of the famous places in London, the Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, British Museum, etc. After getting everything the blonde needed and eating dinner, Lucy took a quick glance at the blonde in the passenger side and returned her eyes back to the road. She had a great time with the blonde and she could tell by her smile, the blonde agent did too. They went everywhere, holding hands. She was surprised that the blonde would do that with so many people around. _So kissing is off limits when people are around._ It was their second date and it felt like they've dated for a long time.

"Lucy, can we…." Kristin stopped what she was about to say when she remembered something.

"What?" Lucy said as she glanced at the blonde who was looking out into the passenger window. What captured her attention was the famous Ferris wheel of London, the London Eye, lit up in electric blue, lighting up the sky over the River Thames.

Kristin wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel but remembered the last time they went on one, the brunette had a panic attack. "Never mind."

After a 15 minute drive, Kristin was surprised where brunette brought her. She gasped as she looked up at the blue lighted Ferris Wheel. Even if she couldn't get on it, it was still breathtaking just to be so close to it. _ Maybe when Janet gets here, I can go with her._

"C'mon…" Lucy took her hand and led her to the priority boarding entrance.

"what are we doing here?" Holding the brunette's hand, Kristin looked around and saw crowds of people lining up in another area. The line she was standing in was short. She knows what the line is for. What she wanted to ask is if the brunette is going to be okay riding it. The closer they got to the capsule, Kristin realized that the brunette had this planned from the beginning. Inside the cupid capsule, there was a table with a bottle of champagne with two wine glasses and a box of chocolate and just the two of them. Unlike the regular ferris wheels found in carnivals, the capsule is enclosed and can hold up to 25 people.

"Are you going to be okay?" Kristin asked as she took the glass half filled with wine from the brunette.

"c'mon." Lucy ignored the blonde's question and led her to end of the dimly lit capsule to admire the spectacular view of London.

"To us." Lucy said as she clinked her glass against the blonde's. After taking a sip of the champagne, she leaned in for a short kiss. Lucy could tell that she succeeded in impressing her girl when the blonde grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her in closer for a deeper more passionate kiss.

Kristin pulled back and leaned her forehead against the brunette's. "You are just full of surprises."

"You like it?" Lucy said.

"I love it." Kristin said and leaned in to give her another short kiss.

After taking the glasses away, Lucy took 2 chocolates out of the box and handed one to the blonde. Standing behind the blonde, Lucy wrapped her arms around the her waist and rested her chin on her shoulder. Both stood, looking out at the magnificent London skyline, with thousands of lights glittering on the city of London. It was absolutely perfect. She glanced at the blonde and could tell how she was in awe of the beautiful sight in front of her. _Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky tonight. _Lucy thought to herself.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What she thought was going to happen back in the apartment was totally wrong. Not only is the blonde not going to sleep with her, she's not allowed to sleep on the same bed. When the blonde bought an air bed from the mall, she thought it was for Janet.

"Can we talk about this?" Lucy said in a begging tone while she watched the air bed inflate automatically inside her bedroom. She realized her plan from last night totally backfired.

"I can control myself. I'm not going to do anything."

Kristin knew she was going to say that. So she decided to put the blame on herself.

She put her arms around the brunette's shoulders. "I know you can. It's me. I'm afraid that if we keep sleeping together, one of these days, I'm going to do something…and I'm not going to forgive myself and my parents, may they rest in peace, aren't going to forgive me either…because that's not how they taught me…can you understand that?" This was a lie. Her parents never told her that. It's just something that she believes in.

Lucy let out a big sigh, knowing that whatever she's going to say is not going to convince the blonde.

"Well, I can't let you sleep there. You can take the bed."

"You are just so sweet." Kristin gave her a short kiss. "Are you sure?"

Lucy realized that the blonde had no intention of sleeping on the air bed. _Shoot. She got me again_.

"How about we just put some pillows between us? It's a big bed and there's still plenty of room. We're not going to be able to touch each other….and…" Lucy knew it wasn't working when she saw the blonde putting the sheets, pillow, and the blanket on the air bed.

"It's getting late. Let's go to sleep." Instead of giving her a short kiss on the cheek, Kristin felt the brunette deserved a longer, more passionate kiss for what she did tonight and what she will be doing for the days ahead, sleeping on the air bed. So she gave her a mind blowing-kiss that left the brunette stunned.

"Good night." Kristin whispered, hopped onto the comfortable queen size bed, and turned off the lights.

_Why did she do that? Now I'm totally turned on. _Her body flopped face down on the air bed.

xxxxxxxxxx

Lucy was expecting not to be able to get any sleep tonight. But it surprised her how comfortable the air bed was. If it wasn't for the loud noise, she would have kept on sleeping.

"Lucy! What are you doing?!"

Lucy immediately sat up and rubbed her eyes open. "What?" She blinked to get adjusted to the sunlight.

"Why are you up here?" Kristin said angrily. She too had just woken up and was shocked to find her arm hanging over the brunette's body.

Lucy looked around and realized why she was able to get a good night sleep. She either somehow forgot to go back to the airbed after going to the bathroom or she was sleepwalking.

"I…I…don't know…I was probably sleepwalking."

Lucy could tell the blonde was upset that her plan didn't work.

"we didn't do anything. Look. You have your clothes on. I have mine on."

"We're going to have move the airbed outside." Kristin jumped off the bed and went to the bathroom.

"What! But…but…" Lucy jumped off the bed and knocked on the door. "Honey…sweetie….it's cold out there…you wouldn't want me to get sick…do you?"

There was no response.

"Baby…I swear I'm not going to do that again. It's the first day. I'm not used to it yet."

"Shit." She said when she heard the noise of the shower. _She can't be that cruel. This is my apartment. She can't do that. _

Frustrated, Lucy flopped face down on the bed. _She can do that. I want her to be here._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy expected the blonde to be upset with her, but when she entered the dining area, she again found her breakfast all ready on the table. _Wow. I could get used to this kind of life._

She was even more surprised when the blonde kissed her on the cheek. "Good morning, honey."

_Something's wrong. _

"…are you upset? I promise it won't happen again." She said as she raised her right hand.

"I'm not upset. Now finish your breakfast and we can get right to work." Kristin said in a gentle voice.

"We? Kristin, I told you before. This is my fight. You don't have to do this."

Kristin reached out and held her hand. "…and I told you before that I want to do this with you. Don't forget what I used to do." She told her about the kidnapping case that she solved before she quit her job.

"Nobody knew that it could be the gardener. So I may be able to help you."

Lucy noticed the satisfaction, the excitement in the blonde when she talked about how she solved the case. She wondered if she misses her job and regrets quitting it. She looked directly into her eyes and spoke seriously.

" if you ever feel you don't want to do this, you can do whatever you want…I'm not going to get upset….you can go shopping, go back to school, you can even get a job if you want to…you…can do whatever you want."

"…you are just so sweet…"

Lucy closed her eyes when she saw the blonde was about to kiss her. But that kiss never came because Scud just came in. "Good morning, ladies." Lucy opened her eyes and saw the blonde, cheeks flushed red, eating her breakfast. _She's very different from Amy._

"You're extremely happy, today, Scud." Lucy noticed that he shaved his beard and kept the goatee. He was dressed in clean shirt and new khaki as if he was going on a date. He looked pretty darn good.

"Did you forget again? Lucy?"

"What?"

"Janet is going to be here today."

Lucy did forget. All she is concerned about is getting revenge for Amy and making her lover happy.

"What time?" Kristin asked. "Do you want me to get anything for her? Like a pillow, blanket….towels…"

"How about an air bed? Scud…because we have one…" Lucy interrupted and noticed the blonde narrowing her eyes at her.

"an air bed?…hmm…" Scud pondered for a moment, unsure if Janet would want to sleep in the same bed with him. Would it be too soon? All they did was chat online for years. "Let's see what she says."

Lucy smiled, knowing that she could probably convince little Janet to use the air bed. _That means I get to…._

"That's so nice of you…honey…but she won't need it, Janet can sleep with me."

Both heads immediately turned to the blonde.

"Wait…what?" Both Scud and Lucy said in unison. Neither of them liked the idea.

"Didn't you say Janet is Amy's friend? I want to know more about Amy…Janet can…"

"Wait…whoa…." Scud interrupted. "Did I miss something? Why would you want to know more about Amy?" He glanced at the blonde, then at his boss. It seems odd to him that her lover would want to know about her past lover.

"She thinks she's Amy's twin." Lucy said and took a bite of the scramble egg.

He glanced at the blonde and saw her nodding and smiling.

"What? Why would you think that?"

"…because we look so much alike…not only that, we both have the same age, we both like art,…" She continued to tell Scud their similarities.

After the blonde finished talking, Scud gave the brunette a confused look. "Lucy? do you believe that she's Amy's twin?" At this moment, he's not sure what to believe. When he first saw Kristin, he believed that she's Amy. But then when Lucy said she's not, he believed her. Who else would know more about Amy than the person living with her for seven months?

Smiling, Lucy stood up and walked towards the blonde. She reached out to hold onto the blonde's waist and spoke while looking at her.

"I know what you're thinking, Scud. She..is like Amy in a lot of ways…but she's very different from her."

She reached up and tucked the blonde's stray hair behind her ear.

"Amy…wouldn't make me sleep on an air bed even though she, like you…" Lucy leaned in to whisper into her ear. This is private so she doesn't want Scud to hear it. "…_believes in abstinence_…"

Upon hearing that, Kristin dropped her jaws, realizing that she and Amy never did it. Lucy smiled at her reaction. She just want to let her know that she could control herself.

"…and she doesn't care if I do this… in front of other people." When Lucy kissed her on the lips, the blonde quickly pulled her head back and glanced at Scud. Lucy then let go of the blonde's waist.

"You see Scud, she could be Amy's twin." Lucy said as she walked back to her seat. What she was trying to say is that there's no way she could be Amy.

There was complete silence. Scud turned his head to look at the blonde who is staring at the brunette, then at the brunette who continues eating her breakfast as if nothing happened, back and forth a few times before finally shaking his head, unsure of what to think about this new information. _Amy's twin?_

He sat down next to the brunette. "I guess that's possible." He dug his fork into the ham and put it into his mouth. Kristin sat across from the brunette to eat her breakfast. Lucy smiled at the blonde when she saw her looking at her. _Yup, she's probably thinking about letting me back on the bed._ After Scud told them that he'd be picking up Janet around 5:30, Lucy offered to cook dinner.

After breakfast, all three sat in front of Scud's computer. Lucy told the blonde what they found out, where they've lost the fraudster and showed her the video tape in the mall.

"This is as clear as I could make it." Scud clicked on the mouse to play the video. Kristin focused all her attention on the video.

When the part of Alexis began playing, Kristin covered her mouth. The video wasn't clear, but the sound was loud and clear.

_"She's dead now…she's dead…because of you….and I…will never…forgive…you!"_

She could see the pain and the tears flowing down Alexis' eyes. It shocked her because she has never seen Alexis so emotional. She wanted to tell Alexis the truth.

"Lucy…."

"We can't." Lucy knew what she was going to say.

Scud continued to explain what they found out in the video. "We don't know if this is going to help us. But what we're trying to do is figure out what Michel is saying and what his father is saying."

Scud clicked a few buttons. The volume is louder but there were too much background noise. There was no way to hear what they're saying.

"Here's what we deciphered so far." Lucy handed her a notebook.

"Let me start from scratch." Kristin responded and Lucy nodded in understanding. If they had the words incorrectly, the entire conversation won't make sense.

Kristin took the laptop that Scud gave her and sat on the couch, playing the video over and over, in slow motion. She had a headphone on to listen to the noise but found it distracting and useless. So she took it off and tried to figure it out by lip reading. All of them knew that there was a faster way to find out and that would be by asking Michel. But Kristin doesn't want to do that. She thanked Lucy for not suggesting her to do that. Lucy would have it done it herself if she didn't feel it was the wrong thing to do.

"Kristin, let's eat lunch first." Lucy called out to the blonde who had been sitting on the couch for hours, staring at the laptop.

When the blonde didn't respond, Lucy walked towards her.

"it's lunch time." Lucy said as she took the laptop away from her.

"Later…I'm not hungry." Kristin held onto to the laptop.

"You may not be hungry. But your eyes need to rest. Don't blame me if you have to start wearing glasses." _Okay that didn't work. _Lucy thought to herself when Kristin pulled back the laptop.

"You've been sitting on the couch for hours. Don't blame me if something happens to your body and you can't…."

The blonde immediately stood up, put the laptop down on the table and stretched her arms and legs before walking towards the dining table.

"She must really want to have kids." Lucy said to herself and let out a small laugh.

After eating lunch, Lucy noticed that the blonde agent changed her position. Instead of sitting on the couch, Kristin switched to sitting on a more comfortable chair and placed the laptop on the dining table.

* * *

At 5PM, Scud headed out to pick up Janet at the airport. Lucy already started cooking and Kristin continued watching the video. Lucy told her to take a rest, but the blonde wouldn't listen.

"Kristin, Kristin…" Lucy called out repeatedly. She had to close the laptop the get the blonde's attention.

"Can you help me set up the table?"

"Yea…sure."

As she was about to go to the kitchen, Lucy stopped her. "I know you want to help me. But it hurts me to see you like this. I'm not going to let you do this if you're going to be like this. I want you to…"

"I know…I'll treated it like a job. I'll start at 9, take breaks in between, then eat lunch and stop at 5. Okay?"

"A job?" That wasn't what Lucy had in mind. "Are you expecting to get paid?"

Kristin pondered for a moment as her eyes looked up. "That's not a bad idea. How much are you going to pay me?"

Ignoring her question, Lucy took the laptop away and headed towards the kitchen.

"Lucy, how much are you going to pay me?" Kristin said as she followed the brunette to the kitchen. She wasn't kidding.

Lucy gave the blonde 2 dishes and she herself took two dishes.

"I don't even have a job. Why would you think I have money to pay you?" Lucy said as she walked to the dining area and placed the dishes down on the table.

"You don't have any money?" Kristin said as she placed the other 2 dishes down.

"No. I don't." Lucy went back to the kitchen to grab 4 glasses and a bottle of wine. "Can you grab that?" She pointed to the basket of dinner rolls and butter.

"Then how can you afford this big place?" Kristin said as she walked behind the brunette towards the dining area.

"This…is Scud's…" Lucy placed the bottle of wine and glasses on the table.

"It's Scud's?"

"mhm…" Lucy took off the apron.

Kristin stepped closer to her and looked straight into her eyes. "I don't believe you. You know what I used to do. I can tell when you're lying."

Lucy intentionally opened her eyes wider to allow the blonde to look into them. "I'm...not...lying. I'm broke, penniless, zilch…your boss took away all my money…all of this is Scud's and the money belongs to him…I'm just borrowing it from him."

With brows creased, the blonde slowly pulled back and wondered if the brunette was telling the truth.

The brunette stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist.

"Now that you know that I'm broke, do you still want to be with me?"

It surprised the brunette when the blonde pulled away and took a few steps back. "You have nothing?"

Lucy shook her head and stepped forward. "I have a lot of debts."

"Debts?…Lucy…you should have told me…I can't…I can't stay here…" When Kristin was about to walk away, Lucy grabbed her hand and pulled her back into her arms.

She backed the blonde against the wall. "Stop playing around." She whispered. Her eyes fall on to the blonde's soft lips. She couldn't resist and pressed her lips against the blonde's, kissing her softly, gently, then deeply. Holding her hips, she pulled her mouth away and placed gentle kisses on her face, her jaw, her neck.

Feeling the wet warm kisses on her neck, the blonde managed to remember what she was going to ask.

"So how much are going to pay me?" With her eyes closed, her arms hung over the brunette's shoulder.

"How…much…do…you…want?" Lucy said between kisses.

"3000 Euros" This is about the same as what she used to make as an agent.

Her mouth ran up, gently nipping on her white skin before capturing the blonde's mouth in another heated kiss.

Panting heavily against the blonde's face, Lucy whispered.

"3000 Euros a night…I think that's fair." She took one step closer, pressing her lower body against the blonde's. " Does it include….." Lucy was about to talk dirty and pull the blonde's waist closer to hers, but then a voice from behind startled both of them.

"Are we interrupting something?" Scud said.

Lucy quickly turned around. Kristin straightened her posture. Both stood still as if they were kids just got caught making out. Both could see the shorter woman, Janet, had her hands over her eyes.

_I really need to get my ears checked. _Lucy thought to herself.

"It's okay. Janet." Scud said.

Janet slowly lowered her hands. In front of her stood Lucy.

"Lucy!" Janet couldn't contain her excitement and hugged the brunette.

Lucy wasn't sure why Janet was so happy to see her. They were never really that close.

"How are you? Are you okay?" When she heard what happened to her after Amy died, she felt sorry for the brunette. Scud told her that she was getting better but was never able to get back to her old self, the way she used to be when Amy was alive. _Wait. Of course she's okay. She was kissing someone else._

"Janet. Nice to see you again. I want to introduce you to…."

"Hi, I'm Kristin." The blonde agent offered her hand out.

All heard a loud gasp from the shorter woman. "You…you…." Her eyes rolled backward, her eyelids closed, and her body fell into the arms of her lover behind her.

"I'm guessing you didn't tell her." Lucy said.

"Nope. I want to see how she's going to react." Scud smiled.

After Janet regain consciousness, they gave her a brief story about the blonde agent. She couldn't stop staring at the blonde agent sitting to next to her on the dinner table.

"Pumpkin…try this. Lucy made it." Scud was trying to get her attention back to the food but it didn't work.

"Janet, it's been 4 years. You haven't changed one bit. What's your secret?" Lucy was trying to get her to stop staring at the blonde who was feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Oh…you think so…Thanks…made sure you get enough sleep, drink plenty of water, eat right, and I put on this facial cream every night….I can show it to you later…"

Lucy smiled, pretended to be listening and nodded her head.

"mmmmmm….Lucy...this is really good. You have to teach me how to make this." Kristin said, impressed with the brunette's cooking skills. If nobody is around, she would have given her a kiss to show her appreciation. As she was about to put a scallop in her mouth, she stopped when Janet held onto her wrist.

"You can't eat that." Janet said.

"ahh…Pumpkin….she's not Amy."

"Oh." Janet immediately let go of her wrist. "Are you sure? Lucy" She said, confused. "I mean…she looks exactly like her…except for the…beauty marks"

"…beauty marks?" Kristin wasn't aware that there was a facial difference between her and Amy.

"She has two tiny beauty marks…here…" Janet said as she pointed to her own face.

Kristin became even more convinced that Lisa Lane had mistaken her for Amy.

"We think she could be Amy's twin." Scud said.

Janet dropped her draws, looking at Scud. "What?!" This is getting more crazy by the minute.

"Janet, did Amy ever told you about her parents? Do you know if she's adopted?" Lucy said. If anyone would know, it would be her.

Janet shook her head. "She never really talked about her parents. I know they passed away before she joined the DEBS…" She pondered for a moment, gasped out loud, and stood up. "Maybe Max knows."

"Who's Max?" Kristin said and noticed the brunette had her head down, eating her dinner, ignoring her question.

"aahh…sweetie…do you know where Max is?" Scud said as he pulled her down to sit back on the chair.

"No. But we can try to find her." She turned to the blonde. "Max is Amy's best friend. Well, I'm her best friend too. But she and Max have this connection. They always disagree on things, but they love each other."

"Is Max…her ex-boyfriend?" Six pairs of eyes immediately focused on her and all couldn't resist laughing out loud.

Lucy explained to the confused blonde. "Max is the leader of the squad."

"Oh…" Kristin now realized that Max is a female.

"…and Janet…we can't ask Max…unless you want her to kill me…" Lucy said, reminding her of Max said before they eloped to Barcelona.

"But Lucy, Max said and I remember very clearly…" Janet pretended to be Max and spoke in her tone. "If you break her heart, I will hunt you down and kill you. You didn't break her heart…Lucy…"

"I don't think it makes a difference to her…she would still want to kill me…"

Janet thought that asking Max would be a good idea. When she was about to say something, Scud stopped her.

"Pumpkin…I don't think it's a good idea….besides if Amy didn't tell you, then I don't think she told Max either."

Janet thought about it for a minute and nodded in agreement. She glanced at the former criminal mastermind and noticed that she wasn't too happy for being reminded of Amy. She knows that the brunette still misses Amy, otherwise she wouldn't have spent her life trying to get revenge for her. She looked at the blonde agent and noticed that her hand was caressing the brunette's hand, comforting her. She found it strange how the blonde agent could be so understanding. _Maybe she is Amy's twin. If she is, then… she's in love with her sister's lover. Oh my God. Don't they find this weird?_

She cleared her throat and looked down at her plate when she saw the brunette looking straight at her as if she knows what she's thinking.

After dinner, Lucy and Kristin cuddled together on the couch, watching a show. If the blonde wasn't here, she would have either gone to sleep or continued to look at the video footage or search online about the megastar to see what she's up to. Now that the blonde agent is here, she can't search online about the megastar. She even deleted all the history from the web browser on her computer and the laptop.

When Janet sat next to her, Kristin immediately pulled her hand away from the brunette's and shifted her body away from the brunette so that they're not sitting so close together. Lucy frowned at her action. She reached out and held the blonde's hand, grasping it firmly. Unable to pull her hand away, Kristin gave in and allowed the brunette to hold her hand. She turned to Janet who had been staring at them, in a strange way.

"So Janet, I was wondering if you want to sleep with me tonight."

"Sleep with you?" Janet wasn't thinking about dirty thoughts. What caught her attention was the brunette shaking her head behind the blonde.

"Sorry, let me rephrase that. I want to know more about Amy and since you're her friend, I thought maybe you can tell me more about her…"

"Oh…um…." Before she could respond, the blonde interrupted her.

Without looking back, Kristin said loudly. "Lucy, it doesn't matter if she sleeps with me, we are not sleeping on the same bed."

"But honey…I told you…I can control myself…I'm not going to do anything…I promise..." Lucy begged.

Ignoring the brunette, Kristin continued to talk to Janet. "If you don't feel comfortable, we have an air bed inside. You can sleep there."

Janet tried hard not to move her eyes to look at the brunette behind the blonde. It seems that the brunette is threatening her. She didn't plan on sleeping with Scud since they're not married. Scud told her before what was going to happen, so he already told her what to do. She stood up and let out a yawn.

"Actually, I'm going to sleep in Scud's room."

"You're sleeping with Scud?" Both Kristin and Lucy said in unison. Lucy was surprised that she would. She doesn't look like that type. As far as she knows, they only had one date.

"you know I'm not that kind of girl. I'm going to sleep in his bed. He's going to sleep here…on the air bed."

_Brilliant. _Lucy immediately stood up. "That's a great idea! Let me get the air bed."

It doesn't take a genius to know where this is leading to. "Lucy, you're sleeping on the floor."

Kristin said as she crossed her arms and legs and continued to watch tv.

"But…but…" _Shit! That's worse than the air bed. Think. _She looked at Janet to see if she could come up with an idea.

All Janet could think of at this moment is what happened to the former criminal mastermind. This is so unlike her. She always thought that Lucy was the tough one. Anything she says, the other must follow. But what she just witnessed is completely the opposite. She wondered if this is how it was when she and Amy were living together. The brunette looked tough when she's with other people, but when it comes to the one she loves, the brunette is softer than a marshmallow.

"You know what…I am very interested in your story. Lucy, why don't you take the airbed out. I'm going to sleep with Kristin tonight."

"Sorry." She mouthed to the brunette. She couldn't believe she just ordered the notorious former criminal to do something. That's all she could come up with and she wasn't lying. She really wanted to know what happened.

Lucy rolled her eyes and contorted her face in disappointment. _She won again._

"Great!" Kristin stood up in excitement. "Let me help you get the airbed out." She quickly headed back into the bedroom.

When Janet saw the brunette narrowing her eyes at her, she apologized again.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside Lucy's bedroom

With one lamp on, both sat on the bed with their backs against the pillows. Kristin told her story first in more detail, how she met the brunette, the things that happened last year.

As she was listening to her story, Janet realized how much the brunette loved her. But what she isn't sure of is whether the brunette loved her because she looked like Amy.

After that, Janet told Amy's story. Kristin was surprised how fast Amy and Lucy got together.

"So after they eloped to Barcelona, Scud said they were living happily and she stopped all her criminal activities."

"So Amy doesn't have any siblings."

"as far as I know...Oh…I forgot to tell you the most important thing about her." Janet said, wondering how she could ever forget that about Amy.

"She is known as the 'perfect score'."

"the What?"

"The perfect score…because she got everything right on the test. She's our academy's top student." Janet continued to tell her about the hidden test within the SAT, how they got chosen to join the DEBS, how Amy is always willing to help someone out.

Janet slumped back against the pillow as memories of the past flowed back into her mind.

"She's good in a lot of things. That's why she always gets chosen to go on these secret missions. If it wasn't for her, I would have been kicked out of the D.E.B.S a long time ago. She saved me many times." She remembered the time she got drunk up on a mission and almost got the chancellor of Bulgaria killed. Nobody knew about that except for Amy.

"What's so funny?" Kristin asked when she heard Janet chuckling.

"Amy is such a good liar. We've spent so many years with her, we had no idea that she's gay." She pondered for a moment. "Wait a minute…I don't even think she knows she's gay until she met Lucy, otherwise she wouldn't be dating…that guy…what's his name…I forget."

"Wait, she has a boyfriend?"

"mhm..but she broke up with him before she met Lucy…."

There was a moment of silence as the blonde agent tried to absorb all of the information.

"So she lied to everyone about being kidnapped. While she's having a good time with Lucy, you guys were searching for her. Wow. You guys must be really pissed."

"yea…Max was really pissed about that…she's a little psychotic." She gestured the crazy sign with her hand. "But she is a good friend. She hated Lucy for taking her away. She got pissed at me too for not telling her…everyone was pissed…Max, her ex boyfriend, you should see the look on their faces when we found them having s…" Janet realized she said to much and immediately covered her mouth.

"having what?" Kristin turned and noticed that Janet was acting a little strange.

"Nothing. You know what…I'm tired. Let's go to sleep and talk tomorrow." Janet quickly put her pillow back down and pulled the blanket over head.

"Janet, what were you about to say?"

"Nothing." Janet pulled the blanket over head.

"What were you about to say?" Kristin began shaking her shoulders. "Are you hiding something from me?"

"No." Janet said under the blanket. _Oh god. She's going to kill me…..she's going to kill me...Wait. Why would it matter? Amy's not here anymore. It's not like Lucy's cheating on her. They had been living together for 7 months. _

"Janet! Just tell me."

Janet pulled the blanket off her head. "You do know that Amy and Lucy lived together for 7 months. Don't you?"

"Yes."

"…and you do know what kind of relationship they have…"

"yes…Janet…they're lovers…I know that."

"…and so you do understand what couples do when they live together…"

"yes…couples …" She stopped when she realized what the shorter woman was trying to say. "You guys found them having sex!"

"umm….yes…" She said with a squeal.

Janet could tell the blonde was extremely upset when she saw her clenching her teeth and breathing out loud. She didn't think the blonde would react this way. _Lucy's going to kill me. _

"umm…Kristin…that's what couples do…"

"I know that. But she told me Amy believed in abstinence. She lied to me. Why did she lie to me? " She turned to the former DEBS agent. "Why would she lie to me about that?"

Janet shrugged her shoulders. She had no clue what's going on between these two.

"…and they did it after knowing each other for 7 days?…what kind of person is she?"

"Amy?" Janet immediately sat up and defended her friend. "Amy is not like that. I've never even seen her kiss her boyfriend. I've seen her boyfriend all over her, though."

"That's because she's not into guys." Kristin said.

"Well…no…no…no...Amy never admitted that she's gay. She said she fell in love with someone who just happens to be a woman."

When she learned about the differences between her and Amy, especially the facial difference, she was certain that she couldn't be Amy. But after what Janet just said, that certainty decreased because she too said the same thing to Kat.

"Now Dominique, she is a slut, she brings home a different boy almost every night."

Kristin contorted her face in disgust.

"So she told you Amy believed in abstinence? "

With her arms crossed, Kristin nodded her head, still trying to think of why the brunette would lie to her.

"mm…Do you want to know what I think?"

The blonde turned to look at Janet.

"I think…sometimes things don't come out the way you planned in life…Amy loved her so much, she gave up everything to be with her, including her freedom….After she eloped, we..I mean..they..don't call her the Perfect Score anymore. They called her the traitor who made a fool out of the entire DEBS organization….as far as why Lucy would lie to you…I don't think she did…she loves Amy…she wouldn't say anything that would damage her reputation…and I think believing in abstinence is something to be proud of…don't you agree?"

Janet could see the blonde was thinking about what she said.

"…and don't forget, we did interrupt them…maybe they wouldn't have gone through with it even if we didn't…I guess my point is if she says they didn't do it, then I believe her."

There was a moment of silence. The blonde couldn't come up with a reason why the brunette would lie either.

"Whether they did or not, you still love her, don't you?"

A small shy smile slowly appeared on the blonde's face.

"…and you still wouldn't have allowed her to sleep here…am I right?"

Both chuckled, eventually bursting into loud laughter.

Outside in the living room, lying on the airbed, Lucy pulled the blanket over her head. Her body curled up, shivering from the cold. "I'm glad somebody's having fun." Lucy said when she heard the faint laughter coming from inside her bedroom.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Next morning

Kristin woke up at 8, made breakfast for everyone, and planned to work from 9 to 5, just like what Lucy told her to do from the day before. She passed by the living room and saw the brunette was still sleeping. Scud, Kristin, and Janet sat on the dining table, eating their breakfast, talking and laughing as quietly as they could, not wanting to disturb the brunette. Janet talked about what she had been doing the past years. Kristin was surprised to learn that Janet, like Scud, is also a genius in computer science.

"So Janet, what are you planning to do?" Kristin asked.

With a confused look, Janet turned to Scud and back at the blonde. "I'm going to help Lucy."

Kristin was excited to hear that they have another helper.

"Are you sure? You don't have to." Scud said.

"I want to. Amy's my friend too…and if Max knows about this, she would want to join us…." Janet said.

"Aahh…Janet, we can't tell her…she's going to want to kill Lucy first." Scud reminded her.

"Right…" Janet shook her head. "Sorry…"

"Janet, Lucy said yesterday, we should treat this as a 9 to 5 job…but she won't be able to pay us."

It was supposed to be a joke but seeing 2 pairs of eyes looking at her, it doesn't look like they got it.

"I'm kidding. I'm not expecting her to pay me. Besides, she's broke." Kristin said as she bit on the buttered toast.

She stopped chewing when she noticed Scud and Janet kept their eyes fixed on her.

"What?" Kristin asked, confusion all over her face.

"Who told you she's broke?" Scud said.

"She did. She said this place is yours….oh…and thank you for letting me stay here…Scud." Kristin took a sip of her coffee.

Both Janet and Scud glanced at each other before turning their attention back to the blonde. Their brows creased in confusion, wondering why the brunette would lie to her. Scud stayed silent, unsure if he should say anything. As for Janet, she wasn't sure if this place belongs to Scud but she knows that the brunette isn't penniless. From the first time she heard about the criminal mastermind from Mr. P, she was told that the brunette inherited a fortune from her father, a fortune so large, generations wouldn't have to work. And with Scud's help, she is certain that her boyfriend would know where to keep the money safe.

"Kristin, do you know who Lucy is?" Janet wondered how much she knows about the criminal mastermind.

"What do you mean? She said she has a lot of debts. Scud, you will help us…won't you?"

Scud cleared his throat, unsure of what to say. He was glad the blonde was still willing to be with his boss. That's true love. Scud wanted to know how this conversation came about. When Kristin told him what happened yesterday, he understood that his boss never meant to lie to her. Both Janet and Scud laughed at the same time, leaving the blonde even more confused.

"she was kidding." Scud said.

"I don't know how much she has. But it's probably more than you and I could ever imagine." Janet turned to Scud to see if he would tell her just how much the brunette is worth.

"Are we talking hundred thousand euros?" Kristin said. When she saw the look on Janet's face, she knew she was wrong.

"A million euros?…"

Scud didn't respond and continued eating his breakfast.

"ten million euros?" Kristin asked. _Oh my God. Ten million Euros! _ Ten million Euros, to her, is already a lot of money.

"Kristin, I think you'll need to add another zero and increase the number." Janet said and turned to look at Scud who pretended not to have heard the question. "Am I right, Scud?"

Since he can't lie to his lover and he can't tell her the truth, he just looked up and smiled at Janet. _She's so smart._

With mouth agape, the blonde dropped her fork on the plate. Everyone turned to see if the noise woke up the brunette. It didn't.

"she was just playing around." Scud said when she saw the upset blonde standing up and walking towards the living room where the brunette was still sleeping.

Kristin crawled on the air bed and lay next to the brunette's back. "Lucy…you have some explaining to do." She whispered into her ear.

The brunette didn't move.

"honey…you know what we talked about yesterday…well, I think 3000 is just too little…I want ten thousand Euros…a month…and that doesn't include any of the dirty thoughts in your head." She said as she stroked the brunette's arm up and down."

There was no response and no movement.

"Lucy?…" Kristin moved the hair away from the brunette's side of the face.

"honey?" Feeling something was wrong, Kristin pulled the brunette's arm towards her. As the brunette lay down on her back, a low groan escaped her mouth.

"Lucy! what's wrong?" She called out when she saw the brunette's red face. Her bangs damped with sweat. Drops of sweat glistened on her forehead, her face and neck. Both Scud and Janet quickly left their seats.

"you have a fever!" Kristin said as she placed her hand on her forehead.

"Let me get the thermometer." Scud said.

"I'll get a cold towel." Janet said.

Groaning with her eyes closed, Lucy pulled the blanket up over her shoulders. Her body curled up and shivered. Her teeth chattered violently. Cold chills coursed through her body.

"Oh…I'm so sorry…honey…" Kristin placed her body over the brunette's to keep her warm.

"104 degrees" Scud said after swiping the thermometer over the brunette's forehead.

"Should we call the doctor?" Kristin asked.

When Scud was about to say no, both were surprised to hear a response from the brunette.

"no…no doctors…" Lucy spoke in a low volume as her body continued to shake violently.

"But…it's 104 degrees…" Kristin said.

"I'm…f.f..ine….it's…not …going…to…kill me"

"She doesn't like doctors." Scud mouthed to the blonde to let her know not to waste her time trying to convince the brunette.

After tucking the brunette back into her own bed, Kristin whispered into her ear.

"Sorry…baby…take a rest…I'll make you something to eat…okay?" She kissed her softly on the cheek.

Today is Janet's second day in London. Scud took her out to visit while Kristin stayed behind to look after the brunette. After sleeping for 8 hours, her cold chills stopped and her fever decreased. Feeling extremely weak, Lucy lifted herself up to go to the bathroom. She stood, looking at herself in the mirror, all the energy sucked out of her. Her hair, messy; her face, pale; her lips, dry; her eyelids half opened, too weak to open them wide. "You look like crap."

It was dinner time. Sitting on the bed with her back against the pillow, Lucy smiled when the blonde lifted a spoonful of chicken rice soup into her mouth. She's not feeling well, but she really enjoyed being fed like this. There were no dirty thoughts in her head. No urge to kiss her because the last thing she wanted to do is spread the germs. Even if the blonde wants to sleep on the same bed tonight, she's not going to let her.

"Thank you for being here." Lucy said in a genuine tone after taking the last bite of the soup. She didn't expect the blonde to do anything or say anything but was surprised when blonde leaned in to kiss her on the lips. Lucy immediately turned her face to the side. "Kristin, I'm sick."

Smiling, Kristin gave her a long kiss on her cheek. "I don't care."

Lucy turned her face back to the previous position. She wants to kiss her but she knows she shouldn't. "I look like crap."

Her eyes scanned the brunette's face. "I've seen worse." She was referring to the time the brunette almost died from the gunshot. Lucy closed her eyes and waited for the kiss from her lover. But all she got was air.

Lucy opened her eyes and saw Janet standing there. _Every damn time._ _First Amy, now Kristin. Is she doing this on purpose?_

Janet walked closer and sat on the edge of the bed. Wow, she has never seen the brunette like this. _She looks so…vulnerable._

"…you don't look…good."

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look like you need…." She was immediately cut off the by the blonde.

"Janet, what did you just say?" Kristin sat down on the chair.

"I said…are you sure? You look like…."

"No…before that…"

"before that…before that…oh…I said…Lucy…you don't look good."

Kristin pointed to the brunette. "…and you said…"

Lucy jerked back slightly, not sure what the blonde was up to. "I'm fine."

Both were confused when the blonde snapped her fingers. "I got it!" Kristin shouted in excitement and quickly left the room.

After a short moment, Kristin came back with the laptop. Scud followed from behind. She placed the laptop on the table next to the bed.

"Okay, ready." Kristin glanced and smiled at each one of them. None of them showed any response since they're not sure what they're ready for. Kristin pressed the play button and turned off the sound. When Michel started moving his lips, Kristin spoke the same words. When Benjamin moved his lips, Kristin did the same and spoke what she thought he said. She stopped talking at some places she couldn't figure out. Then she suddenly spoke louder to let everyone know that this was the most important part of the video footage.

_"What's wrong? You don't look…good."_

_"I'm…fine."_

Two pairs of eyes, Lucy's and Scud's, immediately stared at her.

"Play that again." Scud said.

Kristin clicked on the mouse and stayed silent. Both Lucy and Scud watched the video in silence. In their minds, they repeated the same words that Kristin just said.

"Well, I'll be darned. That's what Michel said." Scud said.

"How do you know what he said?" Lucy was referring to the fraudster. The video footage only showed his back. Kristin replayed the video again and stopped at a point. "Look here." She pointed to the reflection in the glass behind Michel.

Kristin could tell Lucy was impressed when she saw her jaws dropped. The only person who doesn't understand any of this is Janet who hasn't seen the video.

"So you think he's sick?" Scud said.

"I think he's very sick. Otherwise he wouldn't risk his life to go there. He wanted to see Michel one last time." Kristin reasoned and both former criminals nodded in agreement.

"Scud…" Lucy was about to tell him what to do.

"I'll get right on it. Should I let her know?" Scud said.

Kristin knew he was referring to her superior.

Lucy pondered for a moment and nodded. She has no choice. There are too many hospitals in England and she doesn't have enough people. The blonde agent could be right but there is also a chance that she could be wrong. But at least it's something. They had no idea where he could be ever since he got away last time.

Janet followed Scud who filled her in with what was going on. After they left the room, Lucy extended her hand out and Kristin held on to it and sat down on the edge of the bed next to her.

"Did I ever told you how smart you are?" Lucy said.

"no, but I wouldn't mind hearing it from to time" Both smiled at each other.

Lucy pulled her in for a hug. She hoped that they are right about this because she really wants to start a new life with the blonde agent.

"Honey...now that I've completed my first task, I think I'm worth more than 3000 Euros, don't you think?"

She was surprised when Lucy agreed.

"Of course, you're worth more than that. You are priceless."

"that's not what I meant. I want 20,000 Euros a month.…and don't tell me you don't have any money, because I know you do…" She previously said ten thousand, but then decided to increase it since Scud did say the brunette has over a hundred million.

Her eyes pierced into the blonde's. She realized Scud must have told her. She thought the blonde was kidding when she asked her for a salary.

"Why do you need that much money for?"

Now that she knows that the brunette is rich and that money mostly likely came from illegal sources, she feels that at least part of it should go back to the community. "I want to donate it to charity."

That's not the response Lucy was expecting. But it didn't surprise her.

"If all you want to do is donate to charity, then I can tell you that, every year, I donate thousands of dollars to charity. Just last year, I donated about half a million." _Actually Uncle Nick did that, but she doesn't have to know about that._

Kristin was shocked.

"If you don't believe me, ask Janet to ask Scud. He's not going to lie to her."

Kristin was speechless. She had no idea that the brunette would do that.

"Now if you want some spending money, how about...you let me…" She whispered into her ear.

Kristin smiled and shook her head slowly. "I'll ask Scud." She headed outside.

"But…that's not Scud's money…that's my money…" _shoot. That didn't work. _What she wants is to be allowed to sleep on the bed again.

After having something to eat and taking a shower, Lucy felt much better than before. She was expecting to be sleeping alone on the bed, but was surprised when the blonde slid into the other side, snuggling close to her.

"Kristin, I'm sick. You shouldn't…"

When Janet came in, Lucy understood. There is not enough room for two people to be sleeping on the airbed and it's not a good idea for anyone to be sleeping in the living room, especially Scud. She needs Scud more than ever at this time.

Lucy felt a little awkward when Janet walked towards the bed and showed her the facial cream that she uses every night.

"I'll get you one of these." Janet said.

"Okay, Janet. Thank you." Lucy said softly, a little embarrassed about her current position, with her lover leaning her head against her shoulder, holding her upper arm and Amy's best friend watching them. She wanted to see Kristin's face to see if she's blushing. She should be since she won't even allow her to kiss her on the cheek when Scud's around. It didn't make sense to her when the blonde didn't move away.

"Good night. Janet." Kristin said with eyes closed.

"Good night." Janet said as she walked back to the airbed.

"Good night, honey." Kristin said and gave the brunette a kiss on the cheek, a kiss so loud, there is no way Janet wouldn't have heard that.

Lucy turned off the lamp, wondering what the heck just happened and what the heck happened last night. Everything turned out the way she wanted except for the fact that Janet is sleeping in the same room. _Why is she even kissing me when Janet is around? Why am I the only one feeling awkward about this situation?_

* * *

4 months later

Sniffing in her tears, Kristin wiped her tears with a tissue as she sat on the couch in her superior's office, telling her superior about everything that happened after she moved in with the brunette in London.

Helene had been sitting in the office listening to her story for 1 hour. What she wanted to know was if she found out anything to prove that she's Amy. Instead of telling her what she needed to know, the blonde couldn't stop talking about the happy moments along with the intimate moments. Helene understood why because the blonde had no one else to talk to. Not even Kat. Kristin decided not to tell Kat about the possibility that she could be Amy.

"Kristin, you're oversharing."

"Sorry, ma'am."

"So I'm guessing something happened?" Helene asked. All she heard so far was how happy the blonde was living together with the brunette, yet tears were flowing down her face and those weren't tears of joy.

"She's…she's…different…she's changed…" She said as she sniffed in her tears.

Since there weren't enough rooms in the apartment, they moved into a 4 bedroom apartment. Lucy was unhappy about that but she respected the blonde's decision. After looking through all of the hospitals, they still weren't able to find Benjamin Couric. They searched private clinics, public ones, small offices. It was one disappointment after another. After several weeks living in the new apartment, Lucy's behavior began to change. On weekends, Scud and Janet went out, like what dating couples do. But Lucy chose to continue to look for the bastard. One time, Scud suggested to go out to watch a movie after dinner. Everyone thought it was a great idea except for Lucy who wanted to be alone.

"She doesn't even want to go anymore. She even forgot my birthday."

"Where is she now?" Helene asked.

"Australia."

"Alone?"

Kristin shook her head. "They all went. They think he's in Australia."

"Why didn't you go with them?"

"She won't let me. She said to stay here. She wanted me to continue with my art classes."

"Well, I think that's very nice of her. Isn't that what you always wanted to do?"

Kristin shook her head vigorously. "There's something wrong. We don't talk that much anymore. Her attitude..has changed. She even yelled at Scud for going out with Janet…She's acting like there's no time left…that's all she wanted to do everyday…is look for him…she doesn't even cook anymore…All she does is eat, then goes back to work. She said to treat this as 9 to 5 job…but that's not how it is anymore…this whole thing is ruining her life…why can't she see that?" Feeling frustrated, she covered her face.

"Did you tell her how you feel?"

Kristin nodded. "…we ended up with an argument every time I tried to talk to her…then she would leave the apartment and didn't come back until the next day…sometimes, 2 days later…"

"Where did she go?"

"She won't tell me." Kristin took another tissue to wipe her continuous flow of tears.

Helene stood up, paced back and forth as she pondered for a moment.

"There's no time….There's no time…" She repeated the words to herself. "He's sick…is he really sick? We don't know that…" She stopped pacing and sat next to the blonde. "Kristin, I think she wants to catch him before it's too late…if he is really sick, then…"

"If he is sick, then he's going to die anyways….then just let him die!" She regretted for figuring out what Michel said in the video footage. _None of this would happen if she didn't._

"you need to think like her. Amy died because of him. What she wants is revenge…she's not going to be satisfied if that piece of scum dies from illness."

Kristin stood up and cried out.

"But Amy's not going to come back…whether he dies or not…Amy's not going to come back….why can't she understand that?! If he dies…then….Oh God…"

She stopped when a realization hit her. Her body flopped back down in her seat. She turned to her superior. Tears streaming down her face.

"What if he's already dead…we don't know if he's still alive…she's going to continue looking for him…until…she…finds him…she's not going to find him…she may never find him…"

Helene realized that it could be a possibility that Benjamin could already be dead. He faked his own death before. He could have died in his private home and could have someone took care of his body. She hoped the blonde is wrong since they wasted a lot of time and resources to find him. Helene put her arm around the blonde in a motherly way.

"When she gets back, have a talk with her, tell her what you just said, make her…make them realize…that it could be possible." Helene suggested. "Tell her you love her…threaten her…"

"What?" Kristin said softly as she lifted her head up from her superior's shoulder.

"Tell her if she keeps doing this, then you'd leave her."

"But…I can't… …what if it doesn't work… I don't want to leave her…" She brushed her tears away from her right cheek.

Helene realized when it comes to love, the blonde agent seems to forget everything that she learned from the courses she's taken to become an agent, especially the course on the art of seduction.

"Kristin, without a doubt, I know that she loves you. When you tell her, I know she's not going to give up. But don't worry, after you leave her, for a few months, she'll come back, begging for your forgiveness. It'll take time but she will eventually realize that she can't live without you. I guarantee…that she's going to come back for you."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Oh sweetie…what happened to that confident girl I used to know?" Helene said as she hung her arm around the blonde and shook her shoulder lightly. "remember that time you told her it's over, for real."

"But I went back to her…she didn't come looking for me."

"…and what did she say that day when she saw you?"

Kristin pondered for a moment as she wiped her tears. "She told me to stay…she asked for my forgiveness…and she kissed me and…" Kristin stopped talking, realizing she was oversharing again.

"See…it would have all worked out…now let her do the chasing…okay?"

Kristin nodded and let out a small smile. The plan sounded like it would work, but she wasn't so sure if she could keep herself away from the brunette for so long. Last time what triggered her to find the brunette was the thought of Alexis and Lucy being together. But at least now she wouldn't be worrying about that because Lucy didn't want Alexis to know that she's still alive.

* * *

That night, Kristin stayed in the same apartment she shared with Kat. Kat knew she moved in with the brunette and wondered how her life has been.

"Good. Everything's fine." Kristin didn't want to tell her the truth. Since Kat had never been in love, she wouldn't understand and she wouldn't be able to help her.

"That's good. Let me know if you girls decide to get married."

"marry?" That word surprised the blonde. In the situation they're in right now, she didn't think that marriage would be in the near future. _I am 30 years old. _

"Sure, gay marriage is legal in London."

"It's too soon."

"too soon? It's not about how much time you've been together. There are couples who spent years dating and still end up in divorce. It's about how well you know one another. After everything that's happened, it's obvious that you two love each other. She is willing to give up her life to protect you…and I know you'd do the same for her. You may not have spent that much time together. But I don't think that should be the reason for not getting married."

There was a moment of silence. Kat cleared her throat when she saw the blonde staring straight at her.

"That's…just my opinion." Kat said, unsure of what the blonde is thinking.

Sometimes Kat surprises her and this is one of those times.

"I…think that I should finish with school first."

"Are you taking classes right now?"

"No. I was thinking of doing that after we…_capture_…." She trailed off when she realized what she just said. She is putting her life on hold and this is exactly what she doesn't want Lucy to do.

"You could still go to school after you get married."

"I know…but I don't know if she wants to…"

"Did you ask her?"

She looked up at Kat and contorted her face as if she just asked her the most stupid question.

"Kat, I'm not going to propose to her."

"Why? I thought you love her."

And then there are times when Kat just don't get it.

"I mean, I'm not going to be the one doing the proposing. "

"Oh." Kat said as she slumped against the couch, tapping her finger on her lips. If the blonde was in love with a man, then she would understand why. But in her case, does it really matter who's doing the proposing? "Why not?"

"Because…" Kristin said loudly as she stood up. She let out a big sigh at Kat for asking another stupid question.

Kat was expecting her to continue but didn't get a response. "Because why?"

"Because…because…"

"Because you think it's weird….because you always thought it should be the other person…but you had no idea that the other person would be a woman…but you still think she should be the one proposing." Kat said all in one breath.

And then there are times when she thought Kat doesn't understand, but she really does.

Exhaling out loud, Kristin flopped back on the couch. Her arms crossed.

"Yes." Proposing. It never occurred to her that she would the be one proposing. She couldn't even picture herself getting down on one knee and asking the brunette to marry her. She shook her head to clear the image in her mind. _It's just too weird_.

It doesn't take a genius to know that the brunette is the 'man' in the relationship. That's why the blonde expected the brunette to do the proposing, even if she's the one who wants to get married. Kat thought to herself.

"So…you're going to wait for her to propose?" Kat asked.

Kristin didn't respond but Kat knew the answer. Proposing to her is like becoming a vegetarian. She would do it only under certain circumstances.

Lying on her twin size bed, she twisted and turned and couldn't get herself to sleep. It wasn't because of the uncomfortable bed. What was keeping her awake was thinking about the two suggestions given to her; one by her superior who had fallen in love before, the other by her friend who never once dated. One told her to leave the brunette; the other told her to get married. Even though Kat had no idea what was happening, Kristin wondered what would happen if she proposes to the brunette. Would she say yes? Would she stop everything that she's doing and start a new life with her? Would she be touched by her proposal? If she took her superior's advice, she would be back living here with Kat and be back working for the organization. How long will she have to wait for the brunette to come back looking for her? Why is her superior so sure it would work? Even she is not 100 percent sure.

"Oh…my head…" Kristin grabbed her head as her head pounded painfully. Even without the headache, she knew it would be impossible to get a good night sleep.

* * *

**London**

All felt extremely exhausted after taking a 24 hour flight from Sidney Australia to London. It was a waste of time once again in Australia. They weren't able to find anything on Benjamin Couric. Lucy received a call from Anthony that Jean Claude was going to Australia for some reason. Since they weren't able to find anything in London, Lucy thought it would be a good idea to check it out. Lucy never liked that place because that's where her ex lives. Luckily, she didn't run into her. Since Janet always wanted to visit Australia, she tagged along and it would be like a vacation for both Scud and her except they were working most of the time. Besides, Scud wouldn't let her boss go alone.

All flopped down on the sofa to rest as soon as they entered their four bedroom apartment. Ever since they moved into this new apartment, Lucy and Kristin had been sleeping in separate bedrooms. Everyone noticed the brunette's behavior had changed. Lucy, herself, knows this. Lucy had her first, second, and third lover's quarrel in this apartment with Kristin. She knew this would happen from the beginning. That's why she didn't want the blonde to move in with her. But at the same time, she couldn't control herself from staying away. What she didn't expect to happen, that started all of this, was that the bastard would be sick. She didn't want her life ruined because of the bastard. But there's no time. She wants revenge. She can't just let him die from illness. _God. Don't take him away yet. It wouldn't be fair. He needs to suffer like the rest of us. He needs to pay for what he did. _

"Kristin is not here." Scud said after looking around the apartment.

"Where did she go?" Janet said as she stretched her knees and bent her back. She was aching everywhere from having sat in the airplane for 24 hours.

Both turned to the brunette and expected her to respond but saw that the brunette was deep in thought while sitting comfortably on the cushioned recliner.

"Lucy?" Scud said.

Lucy had her eyes closed and didn't respond.

"Lucy!" Scud called out, upset with her attitude. He wasn't mad at her boss for yelling at him one time because he wanted to go out with Janet instead of working on a Sunday. He was upset with the way she's treating the blonde, ignoring her most of the time. If she keeps this up, she's going to lose her.

"What?" Lucy said in a low volume.

"Do you know where Kristin is?!" Scud said loudly. He didn't like the way the brunette was behaving lately. In Australia, he had a talk with her. He thought she understood what he was trying to say. He told her to pay more attention to the blonde and get herself together.

Lucy shook her head as if she didn't care and closed her eyes.

"What the hell…Lucy…" Scud said.

Janet glanced at the brunette, then at her boyfriend. "oh no" She said when a thought appeared in her head. She quickly ran to the blonde's bedroom. It took a short moment for Scud to understand what his girlfriend was thinking of.

After a short moment, Janet came back shaking her head. Scud was unsure what she meant by that.

"Did she leave?" Scud said.

"I don't think so. Her clothes are still here."

Both turned to look at the brunette's reaction but there was none. Lucy was still lying on the recliner with her eyes closed.

Scud walked over to the brunette, looking down on her.

"Lucy, if you keep this up, she's going to leave. Is that what you want?" He said in a frustrated, but caring tone.

Lucy pushed the recliner back in with the back of her leg and sat up.

"I can't give her what she wants now. Scud. Not now…I told you before, this would happen." She responded in the same soft tone and walked towards the door to pick up her suitcase. A piece of paper taped to the door caught her attention and she pulled it down.

"She's in Paris." Lucy said and took the handle of her suitcase and headed for her bedroom.

"Lucy, she might not be here when you're ready. Are you willing to lose her…for him?" Scud warned her that she might end up with nothing in the end.

Lucy knew that would be a possibility. But she just can't let the bastard go. She just can't. She needed to keep looking for him. Even if he's dead, she needs to know where his body is, make sure he's really dead. Lucy remained silent and headed back to her room. _She said she would understand. _But Lucy wouldn't blame her if she decides to leave her. Her heart ached at the thought. Before she left for Australia, she told the blonde to continue with Art school. She never wanted the blonde to do this with her. It's painful and exhausting enough to have to do this every day and getting disappointed every time their search ends up with nothing. If Kristin had gone to school, she could make new friends and go out with them. Then she wouldn't be here to see her frustration, her disappointment. Maybe then their relationship would be better.

That was what she had in mind.

Each time when the blonde wanted her to go out, Lucy told her to go out with Janet instead. That's when the first argument started. When Kristin told her that it was ruining her life, anger boiled up inside of her. It sounded like Kristin wanted her to stop looking for the bastard. That's just not possible. Instead of responding, Lucy would leave the apartment and spend a night in a hotel, so that their argument wouldn't get to a point of no return. Then the next day, the blonde apologized to her. That's what happened in the first argument. The next time they argued, neither of them apologized and pretended that the argument never happened.

Janet walked over to the table where the brunette had placed the piece of paper.

"She's coming back tomorrow."

Scud let out a deep breath and sat down the chair.

"What are we going to do? Janet? She's going to lose her." He ran out of ideas trying to convince the brunette. He can't stop helping her because Lucy would still have continued with the search with or without him.

"It wasn't suppose to be this way. We were going to have a life and search for him at the same time. She's just assuming that he's sick. We don't know that for sure."

"I know…Scud…" Janet stroked his back, trying to comfort him.

"Janet, you're not going to leave me, are you?"

"Are you going to put your life on hold because of him?"

Scud shook his head.

"Then no…" Janet smiled and hugged the computer genius. "I'm worried about her. Is there anyone she will listen to?"

Scud pulled back and pondered for a moment.

"mm…Anthony?…no…she wouldn't listen to him…mm...maybe…Al…" He trailed off when he realized he almost spilled out the secret about the megastar.

"Al? Who's Al?"

"…just a friend…she wouldn't listen to him..mm…I got it!" Scud snapped his fingers. "Nadia. She might listen to her. Her father died because of him too and she didn't want revenge."

"…and she would listen to Nadia because…why?" Janet was unaware of who Nadia is.

"because Nadia loves her and she has that magic touch…Lucy might listen to her."

"so there's Nadia, Alexis, and Kristin…" Janet covered the side of her face, her mouth opened wide, surprised how many people had fallen for the criminal mastermind.

"mhmm…and there's…" Scud cleared his throat and coughed. He almost mentioned the megastar again.

"oh shoot…we can't tell Nadia…we can't let her know about Lucy."

While Scud was thinking, Janet was still thinking about the three ladies who fell in love with the brunette. She had seen Alexis in the video and found her to be extremely beautiful. She wondered what Nadia would look like.

"I got it! Uncle Nick. That's it. She'd listen to him. He's like her father." Scud immediately gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Janet, you are so smart."

"I know."

He smiled, knowing that everything might turn out fine after all.

* * *

Next day

Kristin went back to the apartment to London in the afternoon and found nobody in the apartment. She was expecting everyone to be working at this time. She knew that they didn't have good news because she would have gotten a phone call from the brunette if they found Benjamin. After putting her luggage and bag into the bedroom, she went into the kitchen and noticed the plates were out of place, so she knew they came back last night. Hearing a noise from the door, Kristin quickly walked back to the living room. Her eyes locked on to the brunette's.

"Kristin!" Janet called out, ran forward and hugged her tightly.

Kristin was expecting Lucy to do that not Janet. Scud walked over and hugged the blonde. Everyone gave her a hug except for the brunette. Both stood still for a moment. Finally Kristin gave in and walked towards her lover. Janet took Scud's hand and pulled him towards the kitchen to give the ladies some privacy.

"Hi" Kristin said softly.

They haven't seen other for about 3 weeks and it seems like nothing has changed. Everything was the way it was before. There was no smile on the brunette as if she wasn't happy to see her. But she didn't care. Over the months, she learned that the brunette looks tough on the exterior, but in reality she's as soft as slush on the inside. All it would take is for her to make the first move. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly. And she was right. The brunette melted with one heartfelt warm hug.

Lucy couldn't resist. She put everything that has happened in the last few months aside and wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist. It felt like an eternity since she last felt the warm soft body against hers.

"I miss you." Lucy said.

Hearing those three words, Kristin believed that everything would be okay after all. Did something happened in Australia? Did they find him? Is he dead? She pulled back, looked into those teary mesmerizing dark brownish eyes. She wanted to ask if they can start their new life now. But at this moment, all she wanted to do is kiss the brunette. She could tell Lucy wanted to do the same when she leaned forward. The moment their lips collided, their hands roamed over each others' bodies. Their kiss, no longer gentle, not the same as it used to be. It was wet, deep and hard. They missed each other. They want each other. Kristin couldn't remember the last time they kissed like this. It was that long ago. She pulled back, panting heavily against the brunette's face. Lucy wanted more. She leaned forward to kiss the blonde but missed when the blonde jerked back. She forgot where she was. They were making out in the living room and she was planning to do more than that with Scud and Janet in the kitchen. She quickly followed the blonde who pulled her down the hallway into her bedroom.

* * *

Meanwhile

Both heard or rather saw what was going on in the living room. So Janet deliberately turned the water on and made some noises by clanging the dishes together to remind the lovebirds where they are. Thank goodness at least one of them heard.

"I don't think I need to call Uncle Nick." Scud said.

"maybe we should get our own apartment." Janet said.

That's what Scud had in mind before he rented the four bedroom apartment. But Janet didn't want to. It was too soon for them to be living together. If she had known the criminal mastermind and the blonde would do something like this, she would have reconsidered.

* * *

As soon as the bedroom door closed, they collided into another feverish kiss. Lucy was pushed back against the door. While Lucy tried to take her jacket off, Kristin continued to kiss her everywhere on her face, her jaw, and neck.

"Oh God." Lucy moaned when she felt her earlobe, being nibbled on. She was surprised when the blonde lifted her top up and began unbuttoning her pants. _I'm so going to regret this._ What she was regretting was having to put a stop to what they're about to do.

"Wait…" She said while holding on to blonde's hands, stopping her from taking her pants off. "You don't want to do this. You can't do this." Having lived with her these past months, she knows that the blonde is adamant about not having sex before marriage. She didn't want her to regret it.

"I do. I want to." Kristin responded and captured her mouth in another hot wet kiss.

Lucy couldn't believe the blonde changed her mind. Her whole body was on fire when she felt hands caressing her breast. _Oh god. What's gotten into her? _For the past few months, the blonde never tried to touch her. It was always her trying to touch the blonde. She needed to make sure one more time if the blonde really wants to go through with this because after all clothing comes off, she won't be able to stop herself.

"are you sure?"

If she had said no, Lucy would be okay with that. If she had said yes, then she would be carry the blonde on to the bed and make love to her slowly and gently. The response was neither. She was shocked at the response. Her hands stopped. Her mouth stopped. Her heart stopped. She wasn't sure if she heard her correctly so she asked again softly.

"What?"

"Marry me." Kristin whispered into her ear and continued to kiss her neck...slowly. It took her a lot of courage to ask that. She gave it a serious thought last night and during the two and a half hour train ride from Paris to London. She pulled back and walked towards her bag on the floor. Her heart pounded nervously like never before. She unzipped the bag and took out a small box. After the train ride to London, she went into a jewelry store and picked out a ring, something small, something inexpensive, something she could afford with her life savings. She turned around and saw the stunned brunette, with her pants unbuttoned, her top un-straightened, her hair a little messy, staring at her. This is not how she pictured her proposal to be. _It's my fault_. She walked slowly to the brunette, holding the box in her hand. She willed her breathing to normalize, her heart to stop pounding. Two feet in front of the brunette, she stopped. She took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Lucy, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." She saw the brunette was still stunned. She was unsure if the brunette heard what she said. She wasn't planning to get down on one knee, but a proper proposal requires that. She inhaled another deep breath and gathered all her courage, closed her eyes, and as she lowered herself down, a pair of hands grabbed her arms.

"Don't" Lucy said.

Kristin looked up and slowly stood up. She wasn't sure what the brunette meant.

"Don't do this….not now." Lucy said in an emotionless tone. Deep inside, she was touched by the blonde's actions. She always thought that she would be the one proposing. She wanted to marry her, but not right now. This isn't the right time.

"Lucy…"

"I can't….not now…" Lucy buttoned her pants and put her jacket back on. She need to get out of there as fast as she can. She understood what the blonde was trying to do. Marriage. The blonde wanted her to stop looking for the bastard, to start their new life together. That's not possible. She can't let that happen.

"When…Lucy? When?!" Kristin said loudly.

Ignoring the question, Lucy opened the bedroom door and walked rapidly towards to the front door. Kristin followed from behind and continued to ask her the question. "When?! Lucy!"

Startled by the yelling, Scud and Janet stood near the couch, wondering what the heck happened.

"you know I can't marry you right now."

"Then when? Lucy. When you can catch him? When will that be? Have you ever thought that maybe he's already dead?"

"He's not dead. I know it. He's still out there." Lucy said, shaking her head.

"Can't you see what's happening?! Can't you see what he's doing to you? …doing to us? He's ruining your life…you're letting him ruin your life…" She said as tears streamed down her eyes.

"Stop it. We've been through this. I told you…I have to do this….you said you would understand."

"…and I do…"

"No you don't! If you do, you wouldn't ask me to marry you."

"you said treat this as 9 to 5 job…that's what you said…but…"

"He's dying, Kristin! I can't just let him die! He has to pay for what he did to Amy!" Lucy said angrily. As she was about to open the door, she stopped.

"Lucy! If you walk out that door, we're over!" Since the marriage proposal didn't work, she tried the suggestion from her superior.

Lucy stood still. Her eyes shut tight. Her hand grasped firmly onto the doorknob. Her other hand clenched in a fist. She wasn't surprised. She knew this would happen. She was, however, surprised by her marriage proposal.

_It's working. _Kristin stepped closer to the brunette. "I don't want to see you like this. It hurts me to see you like this." She said in a gentle voice.

Lucy opened her eyes. She doesn't want to yell anymore. She doesn't want the same thing happening over and over again. It's not fair for the blonde. She made a mistake. She should never allowed her to stay here.

"I'm…sorry." Lucy said softly.

Kristin's heart dropped to the floor. It didn't work. Will she crawl back to me after she captures him? When will that be? They have no idea where he could be. _She won't quit looking for him._

"Lucy…don't!" Scud called out as he ran towards her, holding the door to prevent the brunette from leaving.

"I have to go." Lucy said as she tried to open the door.

"Everybody…just calm down…we can make this work…just calm down…" No matter what he says, Lucy was still trying to leave.

"How? Scud…How? …you know I can't just let him free…I can't…"

"What if…Amy's not dead?" Kristin said in a whisper. She didn't want to tell them since she had no proof but felt that this is the only way to stop the brunette from ruining her life.

All eyes focused on the blonde, unsure if they heard her clearly.

"What did you say?" Janet said.

Kristin slowly lifted her head and glanced at each one of them before locking her red teary rimmed eyes at the brunette.

"There…is another reason why I came here. The day before I came…one of my superiors died. Before she died, she told me…that my name...is…Amy...Bradshaw."

Janet and Scud gasped out loud. Lucy remained silent. Kristin could tell the brunette doesn't believe her.

"Before she died, she said I had a car accident and amnesia. I don't remember anything. We couldn't find any proof. That's why I came here to learn more about Amy." She said in one breath.

Both Scud and Janet were asking questions at the same time. But all she heard was the brunette's question.

"Why are you doing this?" Lucy asked.

"Doing what?" Kristin said in confusion.

"You're lying." Lucy said.

"I'm not lying." Kristin said, shaking her head. She knew this would happen. That's why she didn't want to tell them until she found proof.

"You want me to stop looking for him. So you made up this story." Lucy said. Her face contorted in disgust, surprised that the blonde could come up with such a lie.

"No…I'm telling you the truth…I don't know if I am Amy. We don't know why she would say that….Help me...help me find out..…."

Kristin was surprised that Lucy ignored her and pushed Scud aside.

"Wait…." Kristin stepped forward and grabbed the brunette's forearm. "What if...I am Amy?"

"I believe her…she could be Amy." Scud said.

"I believe her." Janet said.

Lucy glanced at Scud, then at Janet, then at the blonde smeared with tears.

"She is nothing like Amy." Lucy said before slamming the door shut behind her.

* * *

Lucy had been standing at the Riverwalk in London overlooking the River Thames for 2 hours now. It was quiet. There was nobody nearby, only a couple of people far far away.

"I can't believe she would say that." She kept repeating the same words over and over. She picked up a tiny rock from the ground and threw it as far as she could into the river. She understood why the blonde would say that. She wanted her to stop wasting time, looking for the bastard. She wanted her to start a new life together.

"But how can you go through the rest of your life pretending that you're Amy when you're not?" She said to herself.

"vous savez que je vous aime!" She shouted.

"You don't have to pretend you're Amy." She said in a low voice.

Tears streamed down her face as she thought about Amy. She looked up at the sky and knelt down on both knees. "Amy. Where is he? Amy. Tell me where he is."

* * *

Janet hung her arm around the blonde who had been sobbing quietly since the brunette left. She wasn't crying because Lucy left her. She was crying because this whole thing is ruining the brunette's life and nobody could make her see that.

_"_It didn't work. Nothing worked. Now she thinks I'm a liar."

Kristin told them the entire story about Lisa Lane.

"But I can't find anything on the car accident." Kristin said, sniffing in her tears.

"So you don't remember anything about us, but you remember your parents?" Janet said.

Kristin nodded.

Scud scratched his head, unsure of how to go about finding proof.

"We think I could be…'brainwashed'" Kristin said.

Scud immediately jumped and snapped his fingers. "That would be the only explanation." He pointed to the girls. "I told Lucy this before….there is no way two people could look so much alike…"

"aaahh Scud, she doesn't have…" Janet pointed to her face. She was referring to the beauty marks that Amy has but Kristin doesn't.

"oh…ummm…those could be easily removed…" Scud said as he wrote it down on his notebook.

"Do you have any other birth marks, beauty marks that Janet or Lucy would know about?"

"I do. But I don't…think they would know about it." Kristin turned to Janet to see if she knows where her other birth marks would be.

Janet shook her head.

"I think Lucy would have asked me if she knew about it." She didn't want to say too much about her own private body. Both Janet and Scud understood where it could be.

"I'm going to check on Lisa Lane, the car accident, your parents." Scud stood up.

"Scud…." Kristin called out. "I think I should leave."

Janet immediately tried to convince her to stay.

"She's not going to come back if I stay here." Kristin reasoned.

"She will…she just need to calm down…she'll come back." Scud said.

* * *

This is the 3rd day that Lucy had been staying in the luxury hotel in Westminster. Inside the luxury room is a living room, a bedroom with a king size bed, and a large sofa facing panoramic windows overlooking the River Thames. This is the same hotel where Lucy had been staying all those nights after having an argument with the blonde. She called Scud this morning and learned that Kristin was still there and she had no plans of leaving.

"Shoot. This is not working. I'm wasting time." She had thought that the blonde meant what she said. _If she walks out the door, it's over._ But it doesn't look like she meant it after all. She can't go back because she doesn't want to argue anymore.

It was night time. Sitting in the bar area inside the restaurant in the hotel, she took a big gulp of the drink she ordered earlier. She felt like there was no way out. There was nothing she could do. She felt suffocated. She can't find the bastard and she can't go back home. Feeling extremely frustrated with the situation she's in, she ordered herself a drink, a drink with alcohol. That's what she had been doing every night that she's been here in this hotel, after having an argument with the blonde. And she hated herself for it. She hated herself for arguing with her lover. _It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to be like this. _She said to herself, feeling a tad dizzy from the drink.

"Give me another one of these." She said to the bartender. Her face was turning red. She downed two drinks already. But don't let her fool you. She's nowhere near drunk. She knows where she is. If anyone tries anything, she could still beat the crap out of them. After gulping the last drink, she called Scud again.

"get her out of there. We're wasting time." Lucy said in an upset tone.

"just come home. We can work this out."

Lucy hung up the phone, not wanting to hear anymore,

"Give me another one of these." She said to the bartender.

"She had enough." A voice came from behind.

"What the hell?" Lucy turned around and was shocked to see who it is. She swallowed nervously when she saw the angry look on the other person's face. She looked around to see if anyone else familiar was nearby before hopping off the seat. She remained silent and hoped the other person does the same. At this time of the night, there weren't that many people in the restaurant or the lobby area. She walked towards the elevator. The person followed from behind. Inside the elevator, Lucy pressed the close button. Both stood in separate corners as if they don't know each other. Lucy took a glance at the person and quickly moved her eyes away when she saw a pair of eyes narrowing at her. Once the elevator door opened, Lucy walked casually down the hallway towards her room. There was nobody else in the hallway. Everyone should be sleeping at this time of the night. Once inside the room, the person closed and locked the door. Lucy threw her wrist strap wallet on the table.

"Now before you…mmphh…" When she turned around and was about to explain, her mouth was captured in a deep hot kiss. That was not what she was expecting. She expected a slap on the face. As she moved back while trying to pull away from the kiss, the back of her knee hit the edge of the sofa, causing her to fall on the sofa, pulling the person with her, landing on top of her.

"How could you? How could you not tell me?" She cried out, sobbing quietly, while hitting the brunette on the shoulder and face lightly.

Lucy closed her eyes and remained still, allowing the angry person to hit her, yell at her, slap her, to do whatever. She deserves it. She owes it to her. That's the least she could do. After a long moment, the crying stopped. The yelling stopped. The hitting stopped. Anger subsided. Lucy wrapped her arms around the body lying on top of her, one palm stroking up and down her spine.

"I'm sorry. Alexis…..It's the only way I could be free. Nobody can know." Lucy said softly as she shut her eyes tight, feeling guilty for lying to her again.

Alexis lifted head up and hovered over the brunette. Her eyes scanned every inch of her face. _It's been over a year and she hasn't changed one bit. _The injury from a year ago didn't leave any mark on her face. She scanned the body underneath her before moving her eyes up. She brushed the bangs out of the brunette's eyes and rubbed her red cheeks gently. It's been so long since she last touched that beautiful tanned face. She couldn't control herself and gave her a short kiss on the lips, then another, and another before finally deepening the kiss.

Then after a moment, reality sets in.

"shoot. Is Kristin here?" Alexis quickly lifted herself up, blaming herself for not being able to control herself.

"no." Lucy said in a dull tone as she lifted herself up, walked over to the panoramic window, looked up at the night sky with shimmering stars. She smiled at the stars, reminding her of Amy as if she's watching her.

"Does Kristin know?"

"She found out by accident…don't blame her…I told her not to tell you."

Alexis sensed something was wrong, something seriously wrong. Not just by her attitude or tone.

_Why didn't she pull away when I kissed her_?

"Where is she?"

Instead of responding to her question, Lucy was curious to know how she find her.

"There's this crazy woman shouting in French near the river. I looked in all of the hotels nearby."

_Oh._ Lucy hoped to God that nobody else noticed.

"Keira, what's wrong?" Alexis said as she walked towards her.

"Nothing. Everything's fine." Lucy faked a small smile.

"you were drinking by yourself. You wanted to get drunk. You're not fine."

"It's late. You should go home. Michel's going to get worried." Lucy turned back around to look at the beautiful panoramic night view of the London city.

Alexis took her phone out and called her father. Lucy immediately turned around when she heard her last sentence to her father.

"Alexis, you can't stay here."

"Why? Is Kristin going to be here?"

"No…but…"

"I didn't think so." She walked closer to the brunette and wrapped her arms around her waist and hugged her firmly.

"I haven't seen you for over a year. Let me stay here. I'm not going to ask any questions. If you want to talk, I'll listen…Just let me stay with you." Alexis had her arms around her so tight, Lucy couldn't pry her arms off her.

"Alexis, there's only one bed."

"I don't mind."

Lucy rolled her eyes. She forgot who she's talking to. _Guess I'll have to sleep on the sofa tonight. _It wouldn't be too bad. The sofa faces the large panoramic window. She could look up at the night sky with sparkling stars and think of Amy. That would put her to sleep.

When Lucy was getting ready to go to sleep on the sofa, Alexis came out of the bathroom after taking a shower.

"Keira, what are you doing?"

Alexis stood in front of her, wearing a purple t shirt covering the top part of her very sexy black laced underwear. Since she had no clean clothes to change into, Lucy gave her one of her t shirts.

"Sleeping."

"there is a huge bed inside."

"It's okay. I want to sleep out here."

Alexis walked over and bent down next to her. "I'm not going to ask you any questions. I just want to talk to you. It's been over a year. I miss you. Can you at least listen to what I have to say?" Alexis spoke in a gentle voice.

Seeing her tears brimming her eyes, it reminded her of the video footage that she's seen over a hundred times. That anger, that hatred she felt towards her grandfather. When she decided to fake her death, her only concern was Kristin. She had no idea Alexis and Nadia would be affected by it. Alyson too. Kristin had to cry herself to sleep. Alexis too. That's what Kristin said. Then there's Nadia. Feeling extremely guilty for not thinking of them, Lucy lifted herself to sit up on the sofa. "I'm sorry." _She's right. I should at least listen to her story. _Because after today, they won't see other again.

Alexis let out a small smile and stood up. She took the brunette's hand and was about to lead her back into the bedroom.

"Alexis…let's just talk here." Lucy said, afraid that something else would happen inside the bedroom. She could control herself. But she wasn't sure if Alexis could.

"Kristin is my friend. I'm not going to…"

"Can we not talk about her?" Lucy said, frustrated with the situation she's in.

"Why? What happened?" Alexis said, surprised with the brunette's response.

"I think you should go…."

Alexis immediately apologized for asking questions. It took a lot of convincing, but Lucy finally gave in. Lucy took the extra pillows and put it between them. Alexis thought the brunette was being extremely ridiculous but decided not to push it. After turning off all the lights, Alexis told her story of what happened last year, how they moved to London, what her father is currently doing, how Ashley's doing, and her relationship with her mother. Lucy was really happy to learn about her relationship with her mother. But she knew all of this already since she had been spying on her for a year.

"Then Ashley said I'm weird because I kissed you…. then my mother wanted to introduce me to these guys she knows….and…"

Lucy laughed out loud as she listened to Alexis' story about how her mother found out she's gay.

"wow…I'm surprised Ashley still remembers that." Lucy said.

Alexis leaned on her side and looked at the brunette. "I want to tell her why I kissed you. But my father said she's still too young to know about these things."

"I agree." Lucy said in a whisper and closed her tired eyelids. She smiled spontaneously thinking of little adorable Ashley.

"Ashley's taking Tae Kwon Do lessons."

"good." Lucy whispered, barely audible. "...good..." Feeling sleepy, she pulled the blanket above her shoulders.

Her eyes then opened wide hearing the next confession.

"I couldn't sleep after you…I have to cry myself to sleep…I felt like I could have done something to prevent this from happening…then you wouldn't…" Tears escaped the corner of her eyes as the memory of the day of her death flowed back into her mind. "We couldn't do anything…Keira…you saved us…and…you almost died…and we couldn't do anything…." She shifted her body over the pillows that lay between them and reached out to touch the brunette's arm. "He's…." She stopped and sniffed in loudly. What she wanted to say is that her grandfather is still alive but she can't. "…I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…it's our fault." She sobbed into the pillow, hating herself for not able to tell her the truth. "Keira…I'm so sorry…"

Lucy sat up, turned the lights on and grabbed a bunch of tissues on the table. She took out the pillows that lay between them and shifted closer.

"Hey….it's not your fault." Lucy tried to comfort her as she wiped the tears away from her face.

"It's our fault. Keira. It's our fault. I'm so so sorry." She hugged the brunette firmly, begging for her forgiveness.

Lucy felt the same way as well. _I'm sorry. I can't just let him go. _"You don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault." She couldn't let her know that she knows about her grandfather's existence. "I understand. I do. This is not your fault, not Michel's fault, not Ashley's fault. Please don't feel this way. It hurts me to see you like this." Lucy closed her eyes for a second, remembering those were the same words that the blonde said to her. _I can't. Kristin. I can't let him go. _She stroked her back up and down to comfort her.

After giving her a moment to control her emotions, Lucy pulled back and cupped Alexis' cheeks. "After today, I want you to forget about me."

Alexis immediately shook her head.

"Alexis, listen to me. You need to forget about me, so you can start your own life. After tonight, whatever happens to me will be none of your business."

"why are you saying that?"

"because I don't want to see you like this…" _ Damn it. Why do I keep repeating the same words she said?_

"I want you to be happy again…like the first time I saw you…you were happy, lively, so energetic, so full of life….but I don't see that in you anymore…"

Alexis looked down, knowing that the brunette was right. After the brunette's death, she hasn't been the same.

"after today, if you see me anywhere, I want you to pretend that you don't know me, like you've never met me before….like I never existed….don't talk about me…don't think about me…can you do that?"

"I can't." Alexis shook her head, knowing how impossible it would be.

Lucy believed that this is the only way for Alexis to live a normal life and move on. "Can you try?"

Alexis shook her head again. "I can't.…because Ashley keeps talking about you…from time to time she brings up the kiss…"

"Oh" Lucy didn't realize how much of an impact she made on Ashley. She only taught the little girl a few moves, a punch, a kick, and the stance. While she was thinking of Ashley, she didn't notice Alexis was eyeing her body, her chest. Before she knew what happened, Alexis pushed her down and captured her mouth in a deep kiss. Her wrists were held down against the sheets. Feeling Alexis' chest rubbing against hers, her heart pounded rapidly.

She knows she shouldn't. But she couldn't control herself. After a very short moment, Alexis pulled back, straddling the one she loves, breathing rapidly.

_She stopped. _That's what Lucy thought until Alexis pulled her purple t-shirt over her head, showing her naked breast, and pressed her half naked body down against hers, kissing her feverishly.

_Oh God_. Lucy could feel the tip of her tongue on her face, her jaws, on her neck. _Alexis. I can't. _She can't and she doesn't want to. It's not that she's not attracted to her. Alexis is very beautiful in her own right. The first time she saw Alexis in her own designer dress in the party, she couldn't take her eyes off her. Now with her body lying on top of her, her naked chest rubbing against hers, her soft lips nipping her skin, it triggered her sexual desire; lust not love. But she would have to be pretty damn drunk to allow it to go any further.

Lucy called out her name twice but Alexis ignored her. _I'm sorry. _Lucy put her arms around her bare back. As she was about to roll Alexis over to stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life, she was surprised when Alexis finally stopped and rolled off of her.

"God damn it!" Alexis shouted, breathing heavily.

She rolled off the bed, taking her shirt with her.

"I'm going to sleep outside." She grabbed a pillow and headed towards the door.

"Keira, lock the door please." She said in a gentle voice before closing the bedroom door.

Lucy let out a deep breath and let out a smile at what she just heard. It was her good conscience that got to her. It was her loyalty to her friend, Kristin. She was yelling at herself. Lucy wondered if Alexis would stop if she knew what was going on between her and Kristin. Either way, it wouldn't have gone that far because she would have put a stop to it.

"...if only you and Nadia could get pass that…." Lucy said to herself, still thinking that she and Nadia would be a good match for each other.

* * *

Next morning

Having gone to sleep late last night, Lucy didn't wake up until ten. She opened her tired eyes and yawned loudly. She looked around and wondered where Alexis is. It took a short moment for her to remember what happened last night. Did she lock the door after Alexis left? Hell yes! She was tired and exhausted. She didn't want to take any chances of that happening again, especially in the middle of the night. Feeling a little tired, Lucy got off the bed and walked outside to the living room, dragging her feet.

"Did she leave?" She squinted her eyes against the sunlight shining through the panoramic window and looked around. Alexis isn't in the living room.

Then there were two knocks at the door.

"Who could that be?" Lucy said as she scratched her head.

"Keira, I ordered breakfast." Alexis said as she peeked out the bathroom door and closed the door.

"oh…" Lucy rubbed her tired eyes open.

With her mind still not fully awake, she didn't think to peek through the peephole first before opening the door, thinking that it had to be the room service.

When Lucy opened the door wide, she was completely surprised.

"What…What are you doing here?" Lucy asked.

"Lucy…please come home…" Kristin said as she stepped inside the room.

Then both turned to the direction of another voice.

"Keira, I have the tips." Alexis said as she emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her wet curvaceous body. It took only a few seconds. She was about to say hi to the blonde but a loud gasp escaped her mouth instead when she saw the blonde slapping the brunette across the face.

Without a word, Kristin angrily ran out of the room, down the hallway.

"What happened?"

With her hand covering her injured face, Lucy winced in pain. This time, the slap was harder than the last time.

Not hearing a response from the brunette, it took a short moment for Alexis to realize what made the blonde so upset. "Oh…no…"

When Alexis tried to run after the blonde, Lucy grabbed her hand, pulled her back inside and closed the door.

"what are you doing? you have to run after her. She thinks that I…that we…." Alexis said in a panic tone.

With her hand still covering her bruised face, Lucy gasped in pain. Alexis found it odd that the brunette didn't seem to care.

"Alexis…can you do me a favor?…don't tell her…"

"Why? she's going to hate you." What she wanted to do right now is call the blonde to explain everything.

Lucy let out a big sigh, not wanting to explain. But she knows that Alexis would keep asking.

"…please…don't ask any questions…you promised….You know I would never hurt her. This is for her own good."

"But…you're hurting her now…"

Lucy lowered hand. Alexis gasped, covering her mouth when she saw the red handprint on her face.

"Oh my god! Keira…" When Alexis tried to touch her face, Lucy jerked back.

"I'm fine…it's okay…it's not the first time."

"What?" Alexis said in a low volume, surprised that the sweet gentle blonde, her sister's babysitter, could be so violent.

"Forget I said that…I deserved it…."

"Oh…." It took a moment for Alexis to realize what the brunette meant. She remembered what Kristin told her before. Last time, it was because she thought that the brunette slept with her. And this time was for the same reason.

"She's going to be fine. She'll get over it. Please don't tell her…" She didn't plan this but she realized that this was the only way to get the blonde to leave her.

* * *

It took a lot of convincing. Alexis finally left after eating dinner with her. She planned on checking out the next day in case Alexis comes back looking for her. By tomorrow, she figured Kristin would have left the apartment. She could then continue to search for the bastard. There was no doubt in her mind that Kristin would leave her for cheating on her.

Lucy checked out of the hotel very early in the morning. She wanted to call Scud to see if Kristin left yet before going back to the apartment but decided not to. If the blonde wants to hit her, she plans on letting her. If the blonde wants to yell at her, she plans to remain silent. That would be the only way to prevent an argument from starting again.

Once she entered the apartment, she looked at the shoe stack and noticed Kristin's favorite pair of shoes weren't there. _ She must have left._ When she saw her other pairs of shoes, she realized she was wrong. Shoot. _She must have gone out. _Hearing some noise in the kitchen, she took in a deep breath to prepare for what was about to happen, a lecture from Scud and Janet. _Okay. Just don't say anything, don't talk back. _She told herself and walked into the kitchen. But to her surprise, both Scud and Janet wore a happy smile on their faces when they saw her.

"Hey, welcome back. Lucy." Scud said as he continued to eat his breakfast.

Janet was the same way. "Do you want some breakfast?"

_Shoot. She didn't tell them._

"Sure." Lucy sat down. Janet placed a plate of scrambled eggs with toast and a cup of coffee in front of the brunette and she herself sat down. Lucy took a bite of the scrambled eggs and glanced at Scud, then at Janet.

Now that the brunette is sitting so close to him, Scud could see the handprint on her face.

"What happened to your face?" Scud asked.

"Nothing." Lucy took a sip of coffee.

Scud glanced at Janet. Both sensed that something was wrong. They had previously thought that Lucy had reconciled with the blonde when they saw her. But the handprint on her face told them they were wrong.

"Where's Kristin?" Janet asked.

"I don't know." Lucy said in a tone as if she didn't care, which caused Scud to immediately stand up.

"What do you mean you don't know? Weren't you with her last night?" Lucy could tell he was upset.

"no." Lucy didn't want to explain any further and realized that the blonde didn't come back last night.

"She went to look for you yesterday. Didn't you see her?" Scud asked in a panic tone, feeling that something was wrong.

"yes. But she left after…she...hit...me." Lucy said in a low voice. She didn't want to tell them but knew they would eventually figured it out.

"Jesus Christ! Lucy…what did you do?!" Scud immediately took his phone to call the blonde.

Lucy wanted to say something back but managed to control herself. _Keep quiet. Don't talk back. Just let them yell at you._

After the call went to voice mail, Scud called again to leave a message. With his hand on his forehead, Scud paced back and forth nervously.

"Something's wrong….something's wrong…" He repeated.

"she probably went back to Paris."

"what the hell are you talking about! She didn't come back last night!" Scud shouted angrily.

"Are you sure? Were you guys here the whole day yesterday?" Lucy said calmly, thinking that the blonde might have just left without packing.

Scud stopped. Janet immediately ran to the blonde's bedroom to check it out.

Seeing how calm the brunette is, Scud asked in a calmer tone. "What did you do?"

"I told you. I can't give her what she wants…not now…"

"Lucy, she's not going to come back."

Lucy took a sip of the coffee, staring into blank space. "I…don't have a choice_._"_ There's no way out_.

"I understand. I do. You were the same way when your father….. You wanted revenge."

Lucy looked up at her friend who has stood by her side for decades. No one understands her better than Scud. After her father was murdered, her father's enemies wanted her dead. There was no time to relax. No time to have fun. That's all they did everyday after her father's death, plotting, planning, she had to kill them first, for survival.

"But this is different. Nobody is after you."

"We've talked about this already. Scud. He's dying."

"We don't know that for sure…."

As Scud was about to continue, Janet came running back in and threw the passport on the table.

"She didn't take her passport with her. Her luggage is still here. It doesn't look like she took anything with her."

"Oh shit…." Scud called the blonde again, pacing back and forth. "pick up…pick up…pick up…"

There was no answer.

"something's wrong…I can feel it in my bones…" Scud said as he rubbed his temples, trying to think of where the blonde could be.

When she saw Lucy walking away as if nothing unusual happened, Scud called out.

"where're you going?"

"…back to work…"

Scud ran in front of her and shouted in disbelief.

"What the hell is the matter with you?! Kristin could be in trouble!"

"She's just mad at me. Track her phone, call Kat, better yet, call her boss, track her, she has a tracker in her body."

His jaws dropped. Scud stared at the brunette as if she's crazy.

"You've gone completely insane. She quit her job. Don't you think they would have taken the tracker out of her?"

_He's right again. She's wasn't thinking._ She couldn't think of anything except getting revenge for Amy.

"Scud, she's mad at me. That's why she's not picking up the phone."

Scud shook his head. "there's something wrong…she's not like that…she would contact us…she's not…."

"Scud!" Lucy said angrily to stop him from talking. She decided to spill the truth. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to calm down and get back to work.

"She…she caught me with Alexis….that's why she's mad at me...she's fine…she's probably in a hotel somewhere…she'll come back to get her passport and…"

She expected Scud to calm down but instead he exploded in a way that not only shocked Janet, even she was surprised.

"You're FUCKING ALEXIS! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! You said you can't tell her! You're so desperate, now you're FUCKING ALEXIS TO FIND OUT WHERE HE IS! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND?!" Scud shouted, staring angrily at the brunette. He now understood why the blonde hit her so hard.

Janet's jaws dropped at his outburst. It shocked her. She had never heard Scud swear before. She looked at the brunette to see her reaction, but she couldn't tell if what Scud said was right. That's not important now. What she needed to do now is separate them, let them cool off, get one of them out of the house.

_Maybe I shouldn't have used the word 'caught'. Maybe I should tell him the truth. But then he'd tell Kristin…and we would back to the way it was before. _Lucy thought to herself.

"Scud, calm down…" Janet said as she pushed him towards the door.

After the door closed, Lucy let out a deep breath, putting her palms against her face, unsure if she is doing the right thing. It has a been long time since she saw Scud reacted like that. Last time he yelled at her was when she went back to Paris to save the Courics without telling him. But this time is different. She could tell that Scud wanted to hit her for hurting Kristin. "Shit!"

* * *

**Chapter 33: Chapter 33**

* * *

**Chapter 33**

Scud walked aimlessly with Janet following from behind. He wanted to yell. He wanted to hit something to get his anger out. So he walked to a nearby park and punched on the first tree he saw.

"Damn it! Damn it!….Damn it!….ow!…ow!" He cried out, shaking the pain off his hand.

Shaking her head, Janet watched her boyfriend release his anger. That's what Max does all the time when she gets angry. She didn't think her boyfriend would do such a stupid thing as hurting himself.

"Are you okay? …" Janet said in a sweet tone as she blew on his injured fist.

Both sat down on the foot of a tree to take a breather.

"I don't know know what to do. Janet. I don't know how to help her. She's changed into a different person. I don't know who she is anymore." He leaned his back against the tree and closed his eyes, thinking of what to do next.

"I don't think she would do that."

"She's changed. Janet. You saw how she's behaving lately. She's not the same Lucy we used to know. And you don't know Alexis. Alexis loves her…she would do anything for her…she's very…direct…." Scud remembered the time Alexis kissed the brunette in front of him and Anthony in public.

"Just because Alexis is willing doesn't mean Lucy will…." Janet trailed off when she saw his frustration. At this point, whether she did or not, it doesn't matter.

"Didn't you say you were going to call Uncle Nick?"

Scud let out a deep breath. "He's sick. I didn't tell him."

"Did you tell Lucy? If she knows he's sick, then maybe…"

"I don't want to bother him right now. I'll tell him when he gets better." He knows that if Uncle Nick heard about it, he would call her immediately. _Talking on the phone won't get through to her_. He has to be here in person to talk to her. So he decided to wait for him to get better first.

After a moment of silence as both pondered about what to do, Janet stood up and suggested that they should find Kristin first.

"Shoot." Scud said loudly, totally forgetting why he got upset with the brunette.

After going back to the apartment, Scud ignored the brunette and stormed to his bedroom. He didn't want to cause any kind of alarm, so the first thing he did was tried to locate the blonde's phone while Janet looked through the blonde's desk drawers to see if there are any clues of where she might be.

As they were about to head out the door to go to location of the phone, Lucy asked where they were going.

Scud didn't want to talk to her so Janet responded. "We're going to look for Kristin."

"Scud, we have work to do."

Hearing that, Scud couldn't control his anger inside anymore.

"God damn it! Lucy! Open your goddamn eyes! Kristin is missing for over a day. And you're not worried about her. Kristin is not here! Lucy! You better pray to God she's not hurt…because if she is, I know…you're not going to be able to live with yourself…." Scud said with clenched teeth and stormed angrily out the door.

Once they got to the location, they found it strange that the location wasn't inside a building or a house. They looked everywhere along the streets, sidewalks, and areas nearby. After over an hour of searching, they weren't able to find the phone. The phone could be dead or turned off and this could be the last known location. They decided to call Helene and learned that Lucy called her an hour ago. Since they can't contact the London police, Helene notified members of her team, who's working on the fraudster's case, to be on the lookout for the blonde. After two hours of searching, Scud and Janet went back to the apartment. As soon as they entered the door, Lucy ran towards them and asked if they found anything. Lucy noticed that Scud was still angry with her when he ignored and walked past her.

_Shit!_ She has no choice but to tell to him the truth.

"I didn't do it. She saw Alexis coming out of the bathroom with a bath towel, then she slapped me and left." She thought that would clear the air. But it didn't.

"Then why didn't you chase after her? Why didn't you explain to her?!" Scud shouted.

Frustrated, Lucy let out a deep breath and rubbed her temples. It took a short moment for Scud to understand why the brunette didn't chase after her.

"Damn you! Lucy!"

Seeing the frustration in the brunette, Janet put a stop to this.

"Everybody…just calm down…" She ran over to her boyfriend and whispered. "this is not the time. Look at her."

Lucy was pacing back and forth. Her fingers ran through her hair, scratching and pulling it, worrying about the blonde.

Scud let out a deep breath_. Janet is right. This is not the time_. He wanted the brunette to wake up and he succeeded. He walked over to Lucy and spoke in a calmer tone.

"We can't find the phone." Scud told her where the last tracked location was.

"Is that near the hotel?" Lucy asked in a worry tone.

Scud shook his head. He knew where the brunette was staying in by tracking her phone. He knew what room number she was in by hacking into the hotel's computer. _I should have never told her. _He blamed himself for telling the blonde. All realized that Kristin must have left the hotel and went to another location afterwards, probably walking around aimlessly, thinking about what to do.

"Did you call Michel?" Scud asked.

"I don't want him to know about me."

"Alexis already knows. What does it matter?"

Lucy shook her head. "She found me by accident. I told her not to tell anyone."

"Then call Alexis."

Lucy pondered for a moment and wondered if she should. _If I call her, then she'd think it's her fault. She'd start looking. She would ask Michel. She would be worried just like I am right now. _

Lucy took out her phone. She decided to call Helene instead and have her ask Michel.

"Just ask him if she's there."

"Miss Diamond…can you tell me what is going on? Why did she leave without a trace?"

Lucy didn't feel like explaining. What she just heard got her even more worried.

_…leave without a trace_…_Scud's right. Kristin wouldn't do that…she's very responsible….she would have contacted someone…_

"Can you please call him?" Lucy said in a worried tone.

Sensing how worried the brunette is, Helene hung up and did as she requested. After an hour, Helene called back.

Lucy quickly picked up the phone. "Yes" Lucy said anxiously.

"He saw her yesterday."

"…and?" Lucy said impatiently when she noticed the older woman's hesitation and heard her sighing out loud.

"He said he doesn't know where his father is."

"What?" Lucy was totally confused at how the topic changed to his father. She placed the speaker on when Scud kept asking her what the older woman said. All sat on the couch and listened to the phone on the coffee table in the living room.

"Kristin…she...went to Michel…to ask…" The older woman paused again and blew out a big sigh. Helene had once told the blonde to try to get the information from Michel about his father's whereabouts, but she was unwilling to do so because she considered him as a friend and she didn't want to lie to him again. When she heard from Michel what the blonde did, she couldn't believe it. **She did what**! That was her reaction. She needed the brunette to know what the blonde is willing to do for her.

"Michel said…she was crying, she…got down on her knees and…begged him to tell her where his father is."

All, especially Lucy, were shocked at what Kristin was willing to do for her, even after catching her with Alexis. Her heart immediately dropped straight down to the laminated floor. Lucy immediately walked away from the coffee table, hiding and wiping her tears that flooded her eyes.

Both Scud and Janet watched the brunette angrily throwing her fist into the wall, repeatedly. She is angry not because Michel couldn't tell them where his father is; she's angry with herself. _Why did you do that? Why did you do that?_ She knew why. Her lover was trying to save her from ruining her life and the only way to do that is to find the bastard and she was willing to do anything for her.

"You shouldn't have done that_." _Lucy said in a low voice to herself.

Begging. Back in the criminal days, she had a lot of people kneeling in front of her, begging to save them, begging for help, begging for mercy, begging for forgiveness. She had never once knelt in front of anyone to beg for anything. Leaning her eyes against her forearm, her forearm pressed against the wall, she sniffed in her tears quietly, hating herself, ashamed for putting her lover through that.

"There is something else." Helene spoke in a low volume.

Lucy couldn't get over the image of the blonde, begging, kneeling, and crying in front of Michel. Scud and Janet moved their ears closer to the phone.

"She…threatened…to…kill…"

Lucy immediately turned around when she heard the word 'kill'. _Who did Kristin threatened to kill? That's not like her. She wouldn't hurt Michel. She wouldn't hurt them. She wouldn't hurt anyone_…..._Herself_.

"herself…" Helene said.

"She did what!" Scud said loudly as he stood up. Janet again gasped out loud, covering her mouth.

_Oh God. What have I done? _Lucy's legs trembled. Her body fall back against the wall and slid slowly down to the floor. Knowing how much Michel loves the blonde, he would have told her the truth to stop her from hurting herself. And the truth is he doesn't know where his father is. There were reasons why Kristin didn't try to get the information from Michel in the first place. She didn't want to lie him. She didn't want him to betray his father. But Kristin's willing to put all of that aside, sacrificing her dignity, her life…she's willing to use her own life to stop this madness, to stop her from her ruining her life, to stop her from changing into a different person. There's no way out. Kristin felt the same way.

Scud turned to look at Lucy to see if she heard what Helene said. From her dazed look with tears falling down her face, he knew that she heard loud and clear.

"Does he know where she is?" Scud asked.

"He…" There was a long pause.

Feeling that something else is wrong, Lucy ran over towards the coffee table.

"He what?" She said anxiously.

"He asked me why Kristin is acting that way."

"Helene! Does he know where she is?!" Lucy could feel that she's hiding something from her.

All thought that Helene hung up on them when no sound came from the phone for a long moment.

"Helene!" Lucy shouted again.

All could hear the older woman sighing out loud.

"Miss Diamond…Lucy…everything I just said is the truth. Do you believe me?"

Lucy and Scud both looked at each other in confusion. Both glanced at Janet when she responded.

"I believe you!" Janet said as she raised her hand.

"Thank you…Janet. Lucy, do you know why she did this?"

"Where…is she?" Lucy said in a panic tone and swallowed. _Something must have happened to her. _

"Please…answer my questions."

Lucy wanted to shout again but managed to control herself, knowing the older woman wouldn't continue if she didn't respond.

"I believe you….she wants me to…stop looking for him…but…I…" Lucy shut her eyes for a few seconds. "…I…can't…" She couldn't lie about that. She could feel there was a reason why the older woman asked these questions.

"Lucy!" Scud shouted angrily. He thought that after everything that's happened, she would be able to let it go.

"I'm not going to try to convince you that you're going about it the wrong way. You need to convince yourself that…because God knows a lot of people have tried."

"Where is she?" Lucy said in a worried tone and wiped the tears blurring her vision.

Helene blew out a deep breath as she tapped her fingers on the desk debating on whether to tell the brunette.

"Listen to the people around you. Once you've convinced yourself that they're right, call me back."

All frowned in confusion at each other.

"Wait! Wait!" Lucy shouted when the older woman was about to hang up.

"I have one more piece of advice for you. Sometimes…things…work out when you least expected…and sometimes…shit happens in the worst possible way. Don't wait too long."

After Helene hung up the phone, Lucy picked up the phone and called again. But all she got was voice mail. Her heart pounded rapidly. She is worrying about the blonde, but for a different reason. Helene knows where Kristin is but why isn't she telling her?

"What is she talking about? What does she mean by that?" Lucy asked Scud in a panic tone. "Don't wait too long…what does she mean by that?" She turned to Janet, hoping someone could tell her.

Not getting a response from either of them, Lucy began to pace around, holding her bangs up with one hand, the phone with the other hand.

Lucy looked at the phone for a few seconds before pressing a few buttons.

"Who're you calling?" Scud asked.

"Michel…he should know." Lucy said as she put the phone against her ear.

"let me talk to him." Since they don't know whether Michel knows about her, it would make more sense for Scud to call him. After calling Michel who was extremely surprised by his call, Scud learned that he saw Kristin yesterday in the afternoon just like Helene said. But to their surprise, Michel had no idea where Kristin is, why everyone is looking for her, why she is acting that way. All Scud could say was he had no clue and would call him back if he found out anything.

"What the hell is going on!" Lucy shouted in frustration and began hitting the wall again. "What the hell is going on!"

Janet and Scud watched the distraught brunette releasing her anger. There was nothing they could do. After a moment, Lucy stopped and looked at her fist, trembling, smeared with blood on the knuckles. Janet couldn't take it anymore. As she was about to walk over to her to offer some comfort, Scud grabbed her forearm, preventing her to do so.

"Lucy…there's something wrong, something happened to Kristin. Can't you see why she's doing this?" Scud said in a begging tone as tears began to brim his eyes, thinking of the worst.

Lucy stared at her own trembling bloody knuckles as she leaned the side of her body against the wall. She understood. She understood completely what her lover was trying to do, what she was willing to do to make her see what was happening to her. But what she couldn't make herself do is stop getting revenge for Amy. As tears streamed down her face, her entire body began to tremble. She wanted to see the blonde agent but at the same time she couldn't convince herself to stop looking for the bastard. _I can't. I can't. _ Because that's who she is, who she has always been. That's what she's known for back in the old days. Her friends knew that. Her enemies knew that. If anyone hurts the one she loves, she will hunt them down and get revenge. _He killed Amy. How can I not do anything? _

Janet could no longer stand there and do nothing. As she was about to approach the pitiful brunette, Lucy walked rapidly towards the door, wiping her tears away.

"Lucy!"

Ignoring Scud, Lucy quickly walked outside and slammed the door shut behind her.

"let her. She'll be back." Janet said as she stopped him from following the brunette. Janet understood why. The brunette is confused. She is torn between the decisions she has to make. She understood that the brunette couldn't let go of the bastard and at the same time she didn't want to lie to the blonde.

Walking aimlessly around the block, Lucy tried to control her emotions. She didn't want Janet to see her weakness. She needed time alone, to think, to breathe. _They don't understand what it's like to lose the love of your life and not do anything about it._ _They don't understand. _There is no doubt in her mind that she would call Helene back. What she is thinking of is what to do with the blonde agent after that. _I can't lie to her. I can't stop hunting for the bastard._ Standing on the sidewalk of an uncrowded street in London, she leaned against a light pole and looked up at the sunny sky. She closed her eyelids and took in a deep breath as the sunlight hit her eyes. She was given an ultimatum. _Don't call unless I stop what I'm doing_. _Shit happens in the worst possible way. Don't take too long. What does she mean by that? What happened? _After a moment, she let out a deep breath and opened her eyes when she got distracted by the sound of broken glass nearby. She saw in the front of a store, a little girl, around Ashley's age, was crying because she just dropped a bag on the floor while holding an ice cream cone in another hand. From the sound she heard earlier, whatever is inside the bag should be broken. The little girl's mother bent down next to her daughter. Lucy focused her attention to the mother who didn't yell at the little girl but consoled her.

"This is what happens when you try to do too many things at once." The mother said in a gentle voice.

"Finish your ice cream first. Then play. Do one thing at a time."

As if hypnotized, Lucy kept her eyes at the mother who kept repeating the same words to her daughter. _Do one thing at a time. Do one thing at a time. _After watching the mother leave with her daughter, Lucy shook her head out of her thoughts. She quickly reached into her pockets for her phone and realized she didn't bring it with her. _Scud has it. _Lucy ran as quickly as she could back to the apartment. Panting heavily, as soon as she opened the door to her apartment, Janet ran towards her. Knowing Scud, he wouldn't like to hear what she is about to suggest to the brunette.

"Lucy, I know you're confused. But take care of the problem that's in front of you. Don't think about anything else." What she is asking her to do is lie to Helene, lie to the blonde agent if she has to. What's important right now is find out what happened to Kristin.

This is what Lucy has in mind. She was surprised that Janet felt the same way.

"where's my phone?"

Surprised that the brunette was listening to her, Janet quickly grabbed the phone from the coffee table and handed it to her.

Lucy quickly called the Head of Division 16 and told her what she wanted to hear. After listening to what Helene had to say, her entire body froze. Her heart beat stopped. The phone slid through her hand and dropped on the floor.

"What happened?" Janet said.

The brunette was too stunned to talk.

Janet quickly picked up the phone and asked Helene to repeat what she just said.

She too was shocked but managed to control her emotion. "we'll meet you there."

"SCUD!" Janet shouted as loud as she could. Scud was in his bedroom, trying to find the whereabouts of the blonde.

* * *

Lucy sat quietly in the back seat alone, staring out the window. She tried to control her tears from forming but couldn't. She swallowed hard, sniffing back her tears. She doesn't like to show her weakness in front of other people especially Janet. But this is her least concern right now. She thought about everything that happened in the last four months. What she was thinking about was the unhappy moments, the fights she had with the blonde and she hated herself for it, blaming herself for not listening, for not cherishing the moment that they have with each other. And now there may never be a chance. She was panicking inside. Her hands were shaking. Scud was driving as fast as he could. There is nothing she could do at this point.

As soon as Scud stopped the car in front of the hospital, Lucy quickly jumped off along with Janet. She ran to the reception area to ask for the directions to the department. On the third floor, about 20 feet away, Lucy stopped for a short moment around the corner when she saw Helene standing outside of the room talking to a hospital staff, possibly the doctor. She was surprised to see another man there. Michel. _Michel knew all along_. If Helene told her to go there, then Michel must have known about her. Someone, probably Helene, told him not to tell her. _Were they lying about Kristin_? She hoped so. She will forgive them but it doesn't look like it when she saw the look of worry upon his face. Panting heavily, her heart pounded even faster as she walked closer to them as if she got there too late.

Michel noticed and walked a few steps forward. A small smile appeared on his face. As Lucy walked closer to him, he couldn't resist and hugged the brunette tightly. "Thank God you're alright." Knowing the reason she came, he pulled back quickly and led her inside the room. Janet followed from behind. The tears on his face told her that they weren't lying about the blonde's condition. Lucy swallowed hard at the sight in front of her. Unlike the time she was in a coma, Kristin didn't look sick. _She looks like she's sleeping_. Michel pushed her gently towards the chair next to the bed, motioning her to sit down.

"what did the doctor say?" Lucy asked in a low trembling voice. Janet stood next to her.

"She's talking to him now."

Lucy turned to look at the older woman outside. What the older woman told her on the phone was that the blonde agent risked her life to save a little girl and neither of them were hit by the car. The blonde hit the back of her head on the pavement and was brought to the hospital, unconscious. Seeing Michel here, Lucy believed that he was the one who brought her to the hospital. When the blonde woke up in the hospital with a severe pain in her head, she was giving a CT scan. She was diagnosed with brain aneruysm, a localized ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain. That's when Lucy dropped her phone.

Brain aneurysm. She once witnessed one of her friends, back in the criminal days, complained about a severe headache while playing a game of poker. His head hurt so badly, he fell unconscious on the floor. Later they found that he had a ruptured aneurysm, blood leaked into the space around his brain. He died that same day on the surgery table and he had no idea what killed him.

Helene didn't tell her whether she had an unruptured or ruptured aneurysm. It didn't look like she had surgery yet.

After Helene finished talking with the doctor, she told the brunette to talk outside the room.

All four stood outside.

"The doctor said she has an unruptured aneurysm and it's about 6mm. The good news is it's detected early and it doesn't have to be treated right away. He'll have to do some tests after she wakes up."

With a blank expression, Lucy remained silent. Janet's sigh of relief was cut short after seeing Helene's expression.

"…and…"

"…and?…" Janet said nervously.

"She has a benign tumor."

All Lucy could think of is what Helene said….._shit happens in the worst possible way. _ She didn't want to listen anymore. Having an aneurysm is bad enough.

"The doctor believes she's been getting headaches because of the tumor. The tumor has to be removed."

Lucy placed her hand over her forehead, ashamed that she never noticed after having lived with the blonde for four months.

Hearing sounds from inside the room, all peeked inside and saw the blonde was waking up from her sedation.

Michel and Janet immediately went inside. Helene ordered the brunette to wait outside.

Inside the room, Kristin slowly sat up.

"What happened?" She asked Michel. She was surprised to see Helene and Janet who immediately gave her a hug.

Michel and Helene looked at each other in confusion. After Michel told her about what happened, they learned that Kristin couldn't remember anything after leaving Michel's house.

Seeing how many things she couldn't remember, Helene sat down and told her everything that happened including what the doctor found out.

"She's outside." Helene said softly.

All could see the blonde was deep in thought, staring into blank space. It was a lot to take in.

"Kristin, it's going to be okay. I'll get you the best doctor there is." Michel said to comfort her but it did nothing. Kristin remained unmoved.

"she promised she's going to change." Helene didn't want to say too much in front of Michel.

Helene creased her brows in confusion when the blonde didn't respond. She thought that this was what she wanted.

All turned their attention to two knocks on the door. It's Scud. After shaking hands with Michel, Scud gave the blonde a hug.

"Let me get her." Janet said.

"Janet." Kristin called out to stop her.

"Kristin, Alexis found her by accident. There's nothing going on between them."

"Is that what she told you?" Kristin said as she crossed her arms, staring at the foot of the bed. Everyone could see that she's still upset.

"I believe her." Janet said.

"She has been doing a lot of crazy things lately. But I believe her too." Scud said.

That did nothing since Scud is her friend and he, of course, would take her side.

Michel now understood what the blonde was so upset about.

"…and I believe in Alexis…" All focused their attention to Michel. "Alexis loves her and she will go above and beyond to get what she wants."

They weren't sure if Michel was trying to make the situation better or worse. All frowned at him.

"…but she wouldn't do that…because you're her friend…and you know Keira only loves you…if anything were to happen between them, it would have happened a long time ago…."

Kristin glanced at Janet who smiled and nodded vigorously. She then turned to Scud who also nodded. Finally, she turned to the older woman who nodded once in agreement.

All turned to the direction of the door when they heard someone coming in.

"Lunch time." A hospital staff came in holding a tray.

Outside of the door, Lucy stood patiently. When Michel walked out and took a closer look at the brunette's face with the handprint, Lucy jerked back.

"Wow, she must be really upset." Michel now understood what happened and let out a smile.

As Janet walked out of the room, she let her know that it's okay to go inside.

All four stood in front of the brunette and motioned her to go inside.

Lucy let out a deep breath and before going inside, she asked the older woman if the blonde really tried to kill herself to get Michel to tell the truth.

"I didn't think so." Lucy said when Helene shrugged her shoulders. It was all the older woman's doing. There was a moment when she did believe her but after having some time to think it over, it didn't make sense. But she believed the part about the begging, not sure if it was as dramatic as how she pictured in her head.

Both Scud and Janet narrowed their eyes at the older woman. There was no doubt in their minds that the older woman was telling the truth. They didn't appreciate being lied to.

"What?" Helene feigned innocence. "Sometimes you have to stress the truth a little to make people see what's in front of them." Helene said as she walked away down the hall.

Lucy slowly opened the door and peeked inside before stepping inside. The hospital staff was blocking her view so she couldn't see the expression on the blonde's face.

When the hospital staff walked away from the blonde, she could see the blonde is still upset. _Shoot._ She let out a deep breath. _Let her yell at you. Don't talk back. Just agree with everything she says. _After the staff left_, _Lucy slowly walked towards her and saw Kristin turning her eyes in the other direction.

"hi" Lucy said with a smile. Not getting a response, Lucy cleared her throat and moved closer to sit on the bed next to the blonde.

"I'm sorry." Lucy sincerely apologized. Since she wasn't sure if the blonde knew the truth about what happened in the hotel, she decided not to bring that up. Because every time she brings up Alexis, Kristin gets upset. "I'm sorry."

Kristin pulled her hand away when Lucy tried to touch her. Lucy then grabbed her lover's hand and placed it over her face, the side with the hand print.

"I deserve it. Hit harder." Lucy shut her eyes tight as she waited for another slap on the face. _Not too hard…it's still swollen. _She thought to herself. After a short moment when she didn't feel anything on her face, she opened her right eye. There she saw the blonde covering her mouth, surprised how hard she hit her.

"Hit this side." Lucy grabbed the blonde's hand and put it on the other side of her face and shut her eyes.

"Go ahead. I deserve it."

Then after a short moment, Lucy opened her eyes when she felt fingers rubbing her swollen side.

"Did you do it?"

"No"

"Then you didn't deserve it. I'm sorry."

Lucy reached up to hold her hand.

"It's all my fault." She said in an apologetic tone and leaned forward to hug her. "I'm sorry. Forgive me?" She whispered into her ear. She knew she had been forgiven when the blonde pulled her closer towards her. At that moment, it seems like everything is the way it used to be, everything is going to be okay. But it was far from it. Lucy wasn't thinking about revenge. She was thinking about the blonde's health. Lucy placed a long kiss on her face and after pulling back, she saw tears brimming the blonde's eyes. _She knows. _Lucy took a tissue and wiped the tears dropping down from her eyes.

"I have a tumor."

"It's okay. It's not cancerous. All they have to do is remove it."

"I have an aneurysm."

"It's okay. It's really small." She gestured with her thumb and finger. "All they have to do is coil it or clip it. It's a small surgery." Lucy tried to comfort her. Deep inside, she knows that there are risks involved. If left alone, it could get bigger and eventually rupture. If they decide to do surgery, it could have side effects and the coiled aneurysm could still rupture.

"How do you know all that?" Kristin was surprised how the brunette know so much. She herself heard of aneurysm but had no idea how it could be treated. All she knows is deadly.

Lucy looked straight into her eyes, so that the blonde wouldn't think she's lying. "I have a friend who had that and he had no problems afterwards. So don't worry about it. Okay? We'll get the best surgeon and everything is going to be fine."

Kristin silently glanced at the brunette's right eye, then the left. She could tell the brunette was lying because she said too much.

"I don't want surgery."

Lucy creased her brows. She realized that the blonde saw right through her. She tried to change the subject for now.

"Are you hungry?" Without waiting for the blonde's response, Lucy cut the pieces of chicken and dug the fork into one piece.

"I bet these don't taste as good as my cooking." Lucy smiled and put it in front of the blonde's mouth. After she said that, she immediately regretted.

"I want to go home." Kristin said.

Knowing that the blonde wouldn't listen and insist on leaving, Lucy remembered the woman's advice…_do one thing at a time_….

"Finish this first and we'll talk about it later. Okay?" After a moment of silence, she was surprised the blonde actually listened and opened her mouth.

Lucy was happy that the doctor came at the time Kristin finished her lunch.

After the doctor explained that he would need to do some more tests, Kristin immediately rejected the idea.

"I want to go home." Kristin said in a tone like she's a little kid.

"How long will it take?" Lucy asked, holding the blonde's hand.

"about an hour"

"You already have a cat scan. So we can go home after this test. Okay?" Lucy spoke in a gentle voice as if she's talking to Ashley.

When Kristin noticed the doctor was looking at their hands, she immediately pulled away and looked down. Her blush spread instantly from the bottom of her neck up to her cheeks, which it's quite noticeable on her white skin_._

_She's still not used to it yet._ Lucy smiled and turned to the doctor who also noticed the blonde's shyness. "Can she be discharged after the test?"

"Yes, but please if you want to get a second opinion, do it fast, don't wait too long." The doctor advised.

_Don't wait too long. __That's what Helene said. __At least she didn't lie about that__._

After the doctor left, Lucy was surprised that the blonde apologized for pulling her hand away.

"It's okay. I understand. Whatever you want….and I'll try not to do that in front of others…" Lucy said in a gentle voice.

This earned her a kiss on the lips.

"…except at home…in front of Scud or Janet…they live with us…is that okay?" Lucy asked, keeping the same tone. It seems that every time she asked in that sweet voice, the blonde always agrees. That's what Lucy thought until the blonde shook her head. _That didn't work. _

_"_Then we'll just have to get our own apartment." Lucy smiled as she raised her brows up and down. Her smile quickly disappeared when the blonde responded.

"I like living with them."

"But…." As Lucy was about to say that sooner or later, Scud and Janet will have to get their own apartment, she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Michel and a hospital staff came in with a wheelchair.

"I'll need to get her upstairs for some tests. You can come back in an hour." The female staff said.

As Lucy was about to tell the blonde that she would go with her, Scud peeked his head inside and told her that they would be meeting her down at the restaurant since they didn't have lunch yet.

"Lu…..Skye…why don't you go eat lunch first?" Kristin said, almost blurting out the brunette's real name.

"I'll go with you."

"I'm okay. Go eat first" Kristin said as she was assisted to the wheelchair.

"I'll go with her." Michel offered.

"Michel will go with me. Come back in an hour." Kristin assured her with a smile.

Lucy bent down next to the wheelchair and placed her hand on her forearm. "Are you sure?"

When Kristin pulled her hand away from her grasp, Lucy realized that she had forgotten what they just said. She cleared her throat and stood up.

* * *

Sitting in the restaurant inside the hospital, Scud and Janet noticed that Lucy wasn't in the mood to eat when they saw her staring at the sandwich in front of her. They were almost finish with their sandwich.

"she's going to be okay." Scud said.

Lucy slowly looked up at Scud. "Is she, Scud? Remember what happened to Ivan."

"What happened?" Janet had no idea who Ivan is.

"That's different. It was too late when it happened."

"She said she doesn't want surgery."

"Why?" Scud said, putting his sandwich down.

Lucy shook her head.

"Then we'll just have to convince her." Janet said as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"Lucy, eat. Do one thing at a time." She said in a commanding tone which surprised both of them, even herself. Before she met the former criminal, she, like all the others, was afraid of her. But after witnessing her vulnerabilities in the past four months, the former criminal leader doesn't seem so frightening to her. Except for that look. She swallowed when she saw the brunette narrowing her eyes at her.

Amy once told her the brunette didn't kill the government agents in Antarctica or the ATF guys in Peru. Everyone thought she did. She once asked Scud if Lucy actually killed anyone. When Scud didn't answer her, she knew the answer. If she didn't kill those guys, then who did she kill and why? Having lived with her for four months, she didn't think the brunette would kill anyone. There has to be a good reason. But then again, the former criminal mastermind was believed to be one behind the plot on sinking Australia in 1999.

Janet quickly changed her tone.

"I mean…you can't get sick now. She needs us to take care of her."

She smiled when the brunette agreed and started eating rapidly.

After she was done, she quickly headed to the area where Kristin was getting the exam. There in the waiting area, she saw Michel talking to a female hospital staff.

As she walked closer, the female looked familiar but couldn't remember where she had seen her before.

"Michel." Lucy called out.

As Michel was about to introduce her, Lucy quickly cut him off and introduce herself as Skye.

"My name is Skye." Lucy offered her hand out.

Lucy now remembers where she had seen her, in pictures. She's Alexis' mother.

She didn't recognize her with her hair up and in her hospital staff clothing.

"Skyyyyyyye…." Alexis' mother said as she scanned the brunette up and down.

Lucy felt a bit strange. It wasn't only the way how Alexis' mother looked at her, the way she said her name, it was also the handshake. She finally let go after Lucy pulled her hand away. Lucy got even more confused when Michel's ex-wife was paying more attention to her.

"Your face looks a little swollen….did you put something on that?"

"I did." Lucy lied and quickly changed the subject to ask about the blonde.

"She said this hospital has the best surgeon to do that kind of surgery." Michel said happily.

"the tumor too?" Lucy anxiously asked, unsure which surgery he was talking about.

"Yes." Alexis' mother continued to talk about the doctors, the cases she heard, the surgeons she recommended.

After learning how many people came out without any problems, Lucy felt more relaxed. _Now all I had to do is convince her._

She was so absorbed in the conversation, she didn't realize that Michel left to greet the blonde who came out of the double doors.

"Is she...his girlfriend?"

Lucy frowned in confusion when Alexis' mother suddenly changed the subject. She turned around and saw Michel bending down next to the blonde in the wheelchair.

"Doesn't he know that she's too young for him? She looks like Alexis' age. My god." She shook her head in disbelief.

Lucy wanted to say something but decided not. Sooner or later, she would find out anyways.

After introducing Kristin as Ashley's babysitter to his ex-wife, Michel told the blonde agent everything that he just learned.

Lucy didn't say anything and didn't try to touch her knowing how she doesn't like to do that in front of other people.

"That's right. This hospital has the best surgeons. Did the doctor say to do it as soon as possible?" Alexis' mother asked.

Lucy wanted to respond but Michel beat her to it. She noticed that the blonde wasn't convinced to do the surgery even after listening to them.

"You look tired, Kristin. Let's go home now." Michel asked.

As the hospital staff started to push the blonde back to her room, Alexis' mother couldn't resist and grabbed his shoulder to stop him from leaving.

"Michel, she is not staying in your house, is she?"

"No"

"Does Alexis know? What does she think of this?"

"know what?"

Lucy wanted to stay behind to ask her a few more questions but decided not to. She glanced at Michel and cleared her throat before saying goodbye to Alexis' mother. If Michel wanted to tell her about her relationship with the blonde, it's up to him.

"She's too young for you."

"I'm not that old….and yes Alexis knows…and she doesn't mind…" Michel rolled his eyes. It's none of her business, so he decided not to tell her the truth.

Alexis' mother rolled her eyes in disbelief. She knows she has no right to interfere with his business, but wanted to make sure Alexis is going to be okay with this.

As he walked away, he could still hear his ex-wife telling him that the blonde is too young for him.

* * *

Lucy expected a very quiet ride from the hospital ride back to the apartment. But it was the opposite. Thanks to Janet who noticed the awkward silence and lightened the mood by telling stories of how she used to steal and was convicted of shoplifting before joining the DEBS as they drove pass by a clothing store she once stole from. Kristin and Lucy were both surprised by it. Scud already knew this so he didn't say anything. After getting back to apartment, the first thing Kristin wanted to do is take a shower.

Lucy took the opportunity to tell Scud and Janet what she learned from Michel's ex-wife.

"but it doesn't look like she wants to do it…" Lucy said.

"Let me talk to her. Let me find out why." Janet said.

"Thank you. But I think I'll take it from here."

After a moment, all went back to doing their own things since they didn't want the blonde to know they were talking about her. Lucy went back to her own bedroom to do some research on tumors and aneurysms. Scud did the same and searched for the best surgeons on his computer. After an hour, Lucy thought that the blonde went back to sleep until she heard her calling outside the locked door. She logged off the computer immediately before opening the door.

"What are you doing?" Kristin asked as she peeked her head inside to glance around.

"Just cleaning up."

"Did you…just…started?" Kristin noticed how messy the room was. The bed wasn't made. Clothing were stacked on the chair. God knows how long they've been there. Some were scattered on the bed. The top of the dresser was cluttered with various things. She hasn't seen her bedroom for awhile and noticed how different it was from the first time they moved in. She wonders how long the sheets haven't been washed. Kristin let herself inside and pulled out the bed sheets.

"I'll do that." Lucy said as she grabbed the sheets from the blonde.

Kristin then walked over to the pillows, took the pillow covers out, took the duvet out, and threw everything towards the brunette. She then grabbed all the clothing from the chair and bed and piled them on top of the duvet and sheets the brunette was holding.

"get these washed." She said in a commanding tone as she pushed the brunette out the door.

With the door closed behind her, Kristin turned around and looked at the mess.

"Disgusting." Kristin shivered and took in one deep breath and exhaled loudly before starting to clean up. She didn't plan on cleaning the brunette's room, but since she started that and had the vacuum cleaner out, she might as well vacuum the living room too. Hearing the sound of the vacuum cleaner, all came out to see what was going on. Lucy stopped Scud from interfering when he was about to stop the blonde.

"Let her." Lucy said and told him and Janet to go back to what they were doing.

Since she started vacuuming, she did everybody's bedroom too.

After spending one and half hour cleaning the apartment, she sat on the couch to take a rest. She didn't realize she'd dozed off until she woke up suddenly when the brunette shook her lightly on the shoulder.

"It's dinner time." Lucy said softly.

Kristin rubbed her eyes open and regretted cleaning the entire apartment when she noticed the time. She had previously wanted to ask the brunette to go watch a movie when she knocked on her door.

After coming out of the bathroom, she noticed that all the lights were turned off as she walked down the hall and into the living room.

"Lucy, did all the light bulbs burn out?" Everywhere was dark except for the dim lighting in the dining room.

She could hear soft music. As she entered the dining room, her jaws dropped when she saw 2 candles lit, a vase with 2 red roses, lights dimmed, 2 glass wines and the brunette sitting on one of the chairs waiting for her.

Lucy walked towards her, held her hand, and led her to the seat across from her.

"Where's Scud and Janet?" With the romantic dinner setup, she knew they wouldn't be joining them.

"They went out."

Lucy smiled and poured wine into the wine glass. This is what she always wanted, a romantic dinner with the blonde agent. What usually happens after a romantic dinner is dancing, then sleep. But Lucy didn't expect the blonde to be sleeping with her. She just wants to talk to her about the surgery and would wait for the right moment to bring it up.

Lucy took the cover off the plate. Kristin isn't surprised to see what's in front of her. But it has been a long time since she tasted the brunette's cooking. It really looked like meal ordered from a fancy restaurant. Golden brown fillet of sole cooked to perfection with chopped parsley sprinkled on top and side of cooked carrots, beans and mashed potato with a slice of lemon on the side.

"Now if you don't like fish, I could give you mine."

Kristin directed her attention to her plate. Chicken Marsala with mushroom and chopped scallion with a side of corn and mash potato. She didn't realized it but Lucy noticed that she was biting her lower lip just like Amy.

"Which one would you like to eat or do you want to share?" Lucy said.

Kristin nodded vigorously and immediately cut half of her fish and gave it to the brunette. Lucy smiled when she saw the blonde immediately took a bite of the chicken. _She must be really hungry. _She didn't even wait for her or clink their glasses.

"this is so good!…mmmm"

"better than hospital food" Lucy immediately regretted for saying that when she saw the blonde's smile disappear. _ Shoot. This is definitely not the right time_.

"a hundred times better…you should work there…" Kristin responded, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere.

There was long moment of awkward silence. _Say something. Say something._ Lucy thought to herself.

_I got it._

"Michel's ex-wife thinks you're his girlfriend." She expected the blonde to get a laugh out of it but her response was completely not what she expected.

"What! Why would she think that?"

"She…saw…how worried Michel was."

"Then why didn't you tell her?"

"I…because I figured that she would know eventually…so…" Lucy trailed off when she noticed the blonde wasn't happy with her response. _Okay, this is not going well._ Lucy extended her hand out.

"I'll let her know if we meet again. Okay?" She said, expecting the blonde to hold her hand.

"I just don't want anybody to think he and I are…together." Kristin said as she reached out to hold the brunette's hand.

"Understood." Lucy smiled back when she saw the blonde's smile. She continued to tell her how she had a strange feeling about his ex-wife, a feeling she couldn't explain.

After finishing with dinner, Lucy stood up and walked over to the blonde who was surprised by her request.

"May I have this dance?"

Kristin took the offered hand and both danced slowly to the soft slow romantic music. It wasn't the first time they danced but it had been a very long time. After a moment, Lucy held the blonde tighter around her waist and let out a deep breath. She felt that this is the right moment to talk to her. _Don't wait too long._ These words kept repeating in her head.

"Kristin" Lucy said over the blonde's shoulder.

"hmm"

"Tell me what you're thinking."

There was a short moment of silence before Kristin responded.

"I'm…thinking…that you should cook everyday since you're so good at it." Kristin pretended not to know what she was asking. But she was surprised with the brunette's response.

"I can do that. Anything else?"

"Can you do the cleaning too?"

"No problem. Anything else?"

"I…want to go back to school to finish my degree."

"Good. You can register for next semester classes tomorrow." Lucy said as she placed a kiss on the side of her face and return to her previous position. That's what she always wanted the blonde to do. "Anything else?"

"I…want…to have kids."

Lucy couldn't help but chuckled at her response. She remembered that they've talked about that the first night she came to London. Lucy pulled back and looked directly at the blonde.

"When you're ready, I'll go with you… whenever you need me."

"Okay" Kristin said as she leaned her forehead against the brunette's.

"Two is the maximum." Lucy added. As long as she doesn't plan on having more than 2 kids, it would be okay.

"Four"

"2"

"Okay, 2 from me, 2 from you…" Kristin smiled.

That was not what Lucy had in mind. "I'll…think about it, okay?" Lucy really never thought about having kids herself. She would have to do some research to see how painful it would be. If it involves a lot of needles, then she would just pay a surrogate to do it or adopt.

Kristin leaned in to give her a short kiss. The talk about their future brought a smile to their face. But she knew where the conversation is leading to.

"Anything else?"

"I…want…to…" Since the brunette is agreeing with everything she said, she thought it would be a good opportunity to ask her to marry her again. "I…want…to…" _Damn it. Why is this so hard? _Because she was afraid of getting rejected again. Everything the brunette agreed to is either something simple or in the far future. But marriage is what she wanted to do now since she doesn't know how long she has until the aneurysm ruptures.

"I can do all of that but I just want you to promise me to…."

Knowing what the brunette is going to say, she cuts her off. "I want to go watch a movie."

"What?" Lucy asked in confusion.

"I want to go watch a movie." Kristin walked over to the table to pick up the dishes and dump them into the sink temporarily. "Then after the movie, I want to go to the London Eye again." Kristin headed to her bedroom without waiting for the brunette's response. "Lucy, hurry up!"

* * *

Lucy drove as fast as she could without getting a speeding ticket to the nearest cinema. All movies have already started showing. Lucy wanted to watch one movie but her lover wasn't in the mood to watch any films with violence. Since she has been agreeing to everything the blonde requested, this would be no different.

At this time of the night, there weren't that many people watching this movie in front of them. Most of the people there were with their kids, except for them. What's showing in front of them is an animated movie. She wondered if the blonde had this planned when she heard the song's chorus...let it go...let it go. Whether this was intentional or not, she didn't mind because all she was concerned with was the blonde's health. With the blonde leaning against her shoulder and holding her forearm and with the beautiful song sung by the main animated character, it's actually very romantic. Lucy couldn't resist giving a kiss on the blonde's head after making sure that nobody especially kids are sitting nearby. After the movie ended, Lucy drove to the London Eye. Once they got there, Kristin was extremely disappointed when she saw the long line. She had wanted to go on the Cupid Capsule again, just the two of them, but wasn't able to reserve one on time.

"there's not going to be enough time. Look at that long line."

That's what Lucy's afraid of. _Not enough time._

Without saying anything, Lucy took her hand and led her to the priority boarding where only 2 people were waiting in line. She made sure that there was enough time to get there. If not, she would suggest that they leave the cinema early. Kristin was surprised when they actually let them both in. She wanted to ask the brunette when she reserved it but something unexpected happened. Inside the cupid capsule was a bottle of champagne, box of chocolates, a rose just the like last time except it's not just the two of them. There was another woman, a hostess, who was there to serve the champagne and chocolate to them. Knowing how the blonde doesn't like to kiss in front of others, Lucy didn't like the idea of having another person inside the capsule with them. It just defeats the whole purpose of a romantic ride. She explained to the hostess that they wanted to be alone but the hostess told them she had to be there and she had no idea why they didn't have a hostess last time. Kristin could tell that the brunette was quite upset about the arrangement, which it's understandable. It just wouldn't be as romantic with someone else around. Lucy was then told it would not be possible to have only two people since the minimum per capsule is 3 people. _What bullshit! _There was nothing she could do about it because the capsule door closed.

Not wanting to ruin the mood, Lucy politely asked the hostess to go into the other corner of the capsule and not look at them.

"Pretend she's not here, okay?" Lucy said, but she knew it would be difficult for the blonde. For her, she didn't care.

Both didn't feel like drinking champagne. Lucy opened the box of chocolates and allowed the blonde to choose one. Both walked to the corner to admire the magnificent view. Like the first time they rode the capsule, Lucy wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist from behind and rested her chin on the blonde's shoulder. She was reminded of the last time they were there. Everything seem so perfect last time. She had no idea it could turn out like this. Her tumor was already there. Her aneurysm was already there…waiting…silently… getting bigger and bigger… waiting to burst…at any time.

"Kristin…" Lucy said in a gentle voice as she pulled her arms away from the blonde's waist. She could see the blonde taking a quick glance at the hostess before returning her eyes at the brunette. "I…want…a rematch." That wasn't what she wanted to say but somehow it came out.

"a rematch on what?" Kristin let out a smile.

"…on the Buzz Lightyear ride…"

Kristin let out a chuckle and cupped the sore loser's cheeks. "…Anytime…"

Lucy reached up and held both of her hands. "…time is what you don't have unless you do the surgery."

She knew she couldn't avoid the topic any longer. "I know that….but I'm scared." She looked down on the floor. "I want to finish my degree first. I want to have kids first. I want to…." Kristin looked up at the brunette, took in a deep breath, and gathered all her courage. "I…want…"

"listen to me, everything's going to be fine….you can do all of that after the surgery…"

Kristin shook her head. "There are a lot of things I haven't done yet. I want to do them first."

"please…you heard what the doctor said…you can't wait that long."

_Shoot. This is not going well. _When Lucy saw tears flowing down the blonde's face, she quickly hugged her.

"It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay." Lucy said as she gently stroked up and down her back. Then after a moment, she noticed that the capsule was almost at the top of the wheel. "How about we do this? We'll get a second opinion and see what they say….and in the meantime, you can do the things you want to do…something that doesn't take a long time…."

Lucy pulled back to see the blonde's reaction. "Okay?" When she saw the blonde letting out a small smile and nodding her head, she was surprised her plan worked. _Do one thing at a time. _

"So what do you want to do?"

"I…" Kristin shyly looked down, then glanced up, then down again. "I…want…to…" _Damn it. _ _Why can't I say this? _

"I just want to look at the view right now." Kristin said as she turned around to look at the beautiful night sky with shimmering stars. _It's not that simple. Kat._ She let out a deep breath to calm her pounding heart. _Even if she said yes, I feel like I'm pushing her._

"Kristin" Lucy said from behind.

When the blonde didn't respond, Lucy called out again a little louder. "Kristin, I love you."

Kristin turned around. Her brows creased for a second when she didn't see the brunette, then gasped out loud, covering her mouth with both hands when she looked down. There with one knee on the floor, the brunette was holding up a red rose.

"I thought about this day about a year ago. I have it all planned out in my head….a beautiful sandy beach…a big heart carved out in the sand…three words inside the heart. But there are no beaches in London. So…I thought this would be a nice place too, but it didn't come out exactly the way I wanted." Lucy smiled as she tilted her head towards the hostess on the other end of the capsule. "There are no words to describe the way you make me feel. All I know is that I want you to be part of my life. My life...is incomplete without you. Let's not think about anything else. Let's do this...one at a time."

Lucy pulled out a black box from her jacket pocket, turned the box towards the blonde, and opened it. It was dim inside the capsule, so Lucy wasn't sure if the blonde could see the diamond ring inside the box.

"Kristin Smith, will you marry me?"

After a moment, when the blonde didn't respond, Lucy wondered if she heard her. The blonde was still in shock. Her tears flowing down. Her hands still covering her mouth.

_Maybe she didn't hear me?_

"honey?…." Lucy tugged at her jacket. "Did you hear what I said?"

With her hands still covering her mouth, Kristin nodded once.

"Is that a yes?" Lucy wanted to make sure the blonde was responding to the most important question not the question she just asked.

With tears of joy streaming down, Kristin nodded her head vigorously.

"Yes…yes…yes…" Kristin repeated as she helped the brunette up. Ignoring the rose and the ring that the brunette was still holding, she pulled the brunette's head in for a passionate kiss. At this moment, she didn't care if the hostess was watching.

With her right hand holding the rose and her left hand holding the box, Lucy wrapped her arms around her and kissed her with equal fervor until they were both breathless. If the blonde didn't agree, Lucy planned on trying again until she does. She let out a small laugh at the blonde's next words after the kiss.

"Why is it…you made it look so easy?" Kristin said as she brushed her tears of joy away from her face. What she had in mind was asking the brunette to marry her in a cupid capsule. But she couldn't reserve one on time. So she planned to ask her in a regular capsule but then the line was so long, they wouldn't have been able to get on one before the closing time. She even brought the ring with her but she just couldn't seem to get the words out.

"I rehearsed it over a hundred times in my head...and the words came out differently each time." Lucy said as she put the sparkling diamond ring on her finger next to the pinky. If she only knew how her heart was pounding out of control.

Kristin dropped her jaws at the sight of the ring, one big diamond in the center and small diamonds covering the white gold band.

"It's beautiful. But is it okay if I don't wear it? I just don't feel comfortable wearing this." She whispered into her ear. "It's so big." Wearing that around is just asking for trouble.

"It's really not that big. You should see the ones that I…" Lucy stopped when she saw the blonde looking at her in a strange way. She was about to tell her about the diamonds she once stole which really wasn't appropriate at this moment.

"Whatever you want…." Lucy smiled and gave her a short kiss. "Look"

Kristin turned around and noticed that the capsule was at its highest point, the top of the wheel. She realized that the brunette had planned on proposing at just the right moment. That's what makes moments like this so special. It has to be planned out. Unlike her, she didn't do any planning and just blurted out at the wrong time at the wrong moment. She could still remember that moment where she asked the brunette to marry her. _God. That definitely is not something she would want to share with her friends if they ask about her proposal. _She looked directly into the brunette's eyes for a moment before planting another open mouth kiss on her lips to thank the brunette for making this a memorable moment. When she pulled back, her smile quickly disappeared when she noticed the cctv camera inside the capsule.

"umm…did you know we're being watched…and I don't mean the hostess." She wanted the proposal to be memorable but she didn't want their moment to be recorded and seen by strangers.

"Don't worry. I jammed the signal. All they can see up there is snow."

"How?" Kristin creased in confusion.

There was another reason why she asked the hostess to stand in the corner and not to turn around. She had placed a phone-like gadget on the table where the champagne was. Kristin then learned that the brunette had planned this way before she came to London.

"I've been here several times. Scud created that." Lucy could tell the blonde was once again impressed when she leaned in to kiss her cheek before hugging her, tighter than before.

During the ride home, Kristin had been staring at her diamond ring. Then a thought suddenly occurred to her. It was what the brunette said in the capsule about the diamond not being that big.

"ummm…you did buy this, right?"

"Of course I did." Lucy couldn't resist rolling her eyes and returned her eyes back on the road. _It's my fault. Shouldn't have told her about the other diamonds._

"Sorry…" Kristin then took her ring out of her pocket and compared it against the one she's wearing. "What am I going to do with this?"

After taking a quick glance at what the blonde's talking about, Lucy then realized the blonde also planned on proposing again in the capsule. _That's why she wanted to go to the London Eye_.

"oh…um…give it to me." It just makes sense for her to keep it. Then it would be like she never rejected her proposal.

Lucy stopped the car at the red light and allowed the blonde to put it on her finger.

Kristin understood and placed the small carat diamond ring she bought on the brunette's finger before giving her a short kiss. Leaning her head on the passenger seat, she kept her eyes locked on the brunette. She realized that the brunette had completely changed back into the person she used to know; considerate, understanding, gentle. In the past few months, she had been trying to make the brunette see what was going on and nothing worked. All it took to make the brunette come back to her was her illness. It makes her wonder what would happen if the surgery doesn't go well. _Would she go back to the way she was before? Would she let the bastard ruin her life? _She would need her to make a promise before the surgery. She would need to talk to Alexis before the surgery. If the surgery doesn't go well, what she wants is to have Alexis take care of her. Knowing how much Alexis loves her, she would agree to it. _But…Lucy…will she…_

"Lucy."

"hmmm"

"If we've never met, would you and Alexis…" Kristin couldn't complete her sentence when the brunette slammed on the brakes, causing her body to jolt forward slightly.

Lucy immediately turned towards the blonde. "Kristin, I told you…there is nothing going on between me and Alexis…nothing…"

"I know…that's not what I asked." Kristin pointed to the front to let the brunette that she should continue driving. "I want to know…if you never met me, would you have dated Alexis?"

"No." Lucy quickly responded.

"Why? Don't you find her attractive?"

_Is that a trick question? _Lucy stayed silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"it's just a question. I'm not going to get upset."

"why are we talking about her?"

"Can you answer the question, please?"

Lucy let out a deep breath, still unsure if she should tell her the truth.

"Lucy, we're engaged. Be honest with me."

"Yes, she is attractive and she did ask me out when we first met but I didn't go out with her…and that's before I met you. But you know how Alexis is, she probably wouldn't have given up…and I probably would have gone out with her…maybe for 1 or 2 dates…but that would be all….it wouldn't have worked out between us."

"Why? Is it because of his grandfather? You know she has nothing to do with this."

Lucy shook her head. "It's not that. I…just…don't…feel that way." Lucy said as she shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't explain it either. Alexis is beautiful, confident, direct, kind, smart. There's really nothing not to like about her. She just doesn't feel that way.

"Then what about Nadia?"

_Oh good. We're here. _Lucy stopped the car and turned off the engine and directed all her attention towards the blonde.

"Kristin, what's going on?"

"Nothing. I just want to know."

"She's not my type. " Lucy reached out to gently rub her cheek. "You…are my type."

That's not what the blonde wanted to hear. She was hoping that the brunette would feel something towards either one of them so she could ask Alexis or Nadia to take care of the brunette if anything happens to her.

"I just don't want you to be alone." Kristin said to herself as she watched the brunette who was walking outside towards her side of the car.

* * *

Inside the apartment, Scud and Janet were sitting close together, watching Scud's favorite show. They had no idea where they went. They were told to go out tonight so that the brunette could talk to the blonde agent alone. Seeing the candles and the wine on the dining table, they knew that the brunette must have cooked a romantic dinner for two.

When he saw the smile on both of their faces, he knew that the brunette succeeded in convincing the blonde.

"I'm going to take a shower first." Kristin said shyly to the brunette.

_That's odd_. Lucy thought that the blonde agent was going to tell them what happened.

Scud and Janet approached the brunette and wondered why the blonde was blushing.

"So did you convince her?" Janet asked anxiously.

"Yes."

"How did you do it?" Janet and Scud asked in unison.

"Simple. I proposed and she said yes. Well, actually she didn't say anything at first, then she said yes multiple times." She said while looking up trying to remember the exact detail of her proposal. When she looked back at the two people in front of her, she smiled when she saw two stunned faces, with their jaws dropped.

"You…you…"

"Yes, Scud. I did."

Scud couldn't contain his excitement and hugged the brunette. Janet immediately ran down the hallway to see the blonde but she was already taking a shower.

"I want to be the maid of honor." Janet said as she came running back.

"I…don't know…I'm just thinking of having a Las Vegas style type wedding, fast and simple."

"Why? Is that what she wants?" Scud asked. Knowing how Lucy hates to follow tradition, he's not surprised that the brunette wouldn't want a fancy wedding.

That question made her think twice. She never asked what kind of wedding she wants. _Would she want to have the wedding before the surgery?_

"Let me ask her what she wants." Lucy said.

Janet jumped up and down in excitement.

"umm…Janet…just so you know, even if we are having a fancy wedding, she might want Kat to be the maid of honor." Lucy said as she headed towards her bedroom. She turned back and saw Janet pouting her lips.

Before going to sleep, Janet couldn't control herself from wanting to know more about the proposal. As soon as the blonde opened the bedroom door, Janet led herself inside and congratulated her with a hug.

When Janet learned what happened in the Cupid Capsule, she too was touched by it.

"That's so romantic, so sweet, so perfect except for that hostess…must be really awkward for her…."

Both chuckled and burst out laughing.

_Yup. That's how a proposal should be…and that's the proposal I'm going to tell them if anyone asks. _Kristin thought to herself after seeing the reaction on the former DEBS agent's face.

"So are you going to have a fancy wedding or a simple one?"

"I…don't know…what did she say?"

"She said she'll ask you."

Kristin pondered about the question. What she wants is to get married first before the surgery. She thought she already did that when she accepted the brunette's proposal. Do I want to wear a wedding dress? Do I want a fancy wedding? Definitely not. Does she want a fancy wedding? It would take a lot of time to plan that out. Where should we get married? In a church? Is she a Catholic? Christian? The more she thought about it, the more questions she has, the more frustrated she got. She flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"I just want to get married. Why does this have to be so complicated?" Kristin let out a frustrated sigh.

"It doesn't have to be…" Janet trailed off when she noticed a very sparkling natural substance on her finger. Her mouth opened wide as she pulled the blonde's finger up closer to her eye. "Wow…is this real?" She immediately hit herself on the forehead after saying that, realizing who gave it to her. "Did she buy this?"

"Of course she bought it!" Kristin rolled her eyes.

"Right…sorry…" Janet continued to look at the shiny diamond. "Where did she get this?" Not just where, she actually wanted to know when. Just a few days ago, they had an argument. It seem odd how the brunette was able to plan it all out so quickly. After Kristin told her the proposal speech, Janet thought about her DEBS friend, Amy. She wondered if the brunette thought about proposing to Amy. _A big heart carved on a beautiful beach. _ Barcelona has beautiful golden sandy beaches. Was she planning on proposing to Amy on the beach? Is this ring originally bought for Amy? She hoped not…_because that's just wrong._

"What did you say?" Kristin asked.

Janet didn't realize she said it out loud. "Nothing…I said that's just wrong for her to buy such a tiny rock. With her money, she could have bought something even bigger."

"Janet…." Kristin rolled her eyes and smiled at the former DEBS. Janet was only kidding. "Now what were you saying before?"

It took a moment for her to remember what she wanted to say earlier.

"I said it doesn't have to be anything fancy. If that's not what you want, then tell her. You don't need a big rock like this…" Janet held up the blonde's finger. "to tell you how much she loves you. You don't need a piece of paper to tell you that you're married. You don't need a wedding band on your finger to let others know that you're married….and you certainly don't need a wedding just because a lot of married couples had one. All you need is a marriage proposal. She proposed and you accepted it…as far as I'm concern…you girls are married."

As Janet slowly lay on the bed, she noticed the blonde was looking at her, thinking about what she just said.

"For me, I would like to have a wedding, a white designer wedding dress, a small yet elegant wedding with the closest friends and family, a limo, a minister in a church, music, rice confetti, flowers of all colors, hotel banquet, dancing, booze, live band, photographers. But that's just me…I like to have a traditional wedding."

"Janet, I have a headache."

Janet immediately lifted herself up to look at the blonde. "Are you okay? Do you need to go the hospital?" She said in a panic tone.

"I have a headache just thinking about your wedding."

Janet chuckled and lay back down. "Yea…then there will be a lot of arguments because everyone will have their own opinions, especially my parents….they would probably want to invite their friends and relatives whom I've never met…and then it will end up with 400 people…and people will get drunk…ruin the wedding and the huge 5 tier cake….oh god! It's going to be a disaster."

Janet was rambling on and on until she heard the blonde calling her name out loud.

"Janet, thank you…you've been a really big help." Kristin got off the bed, let out a fake yawn and opened the door.

"oh…you're welcome…glad I can help…." Janet gave herself an internal pat on her back and before she stepped outside the bedroom, she had one more thing to say. "If you decide to have one, can I be your maid of honor?"

"Sure." Kristin responded immediately.

"Really!" Janet said in excitement.

Kristin nodded and said good night. The reason she responded so quickly is because she decided not to have one. _Thank you. Janet._ Just thinking about it gave her a headache. Standing in front of the mirror, she took the ring off and put it back into the box.

Meanwhile, Janet couldn't control herself and walked towards the end of the hall. She stood in front of the door and knocked twice. Getting no response, she knocked on the door again. Then when the door swung opened, she jerked back a little.

"Sorry, were you sleeping?"

"just doing some research. What's up?" Lucy said.

"mm…I just saw the diamond ring you got for her. I was just wondering where you got that."

Lucy creased her brows for a moment, wondering why the former DEBS agent wants to know.

"I didn't steal that, if that's what you're thinking."

"God no…that's not what I'm thinking…" Janet said as she waved her hand from side to side. "I was just wondering where you got that so I could get one."

Lucy paused for a moment. Then asked her to wait. After a short moment, she came back holding a small piece of paper and read the address and the name of the company to her.

"Can I see that?" Janet said.

Lucy again creased her brows and handed her the receipt. Janet opened her eyes and mouth wide when she saw how much it cost.

"don't tell her how much because she might want to donate it to charity." She wasn't kidding. Knowing the blonde, it wouldn't surprise her that she would do that.

Janet nodded in understanding and let out a satisfying smile as she handed the receipt back to her. What she learned was that the brunette bought it just several hours ago when the blonde was sleeping on the couch after cleaning the apartment. Lucy had told them that she was going out for food shopping. Besides food, she bought a ring and reserved a Cupid Capsule in the London Eye.

Lucy watched the former DEBS agent go back to her room. She didn't believe her but couldn't figure out why Janet would want to know. Lucy shrugged her shoulders and closed her bedroom door and went back to doing research on the best surgeons for brain tumor and aneurysm. After a few more minutes, she decided to take a shower first since the bathroom is between Janet and Kristin's bedroom and she didn't want to disturb them. She didn't plan on taking a long shower but somehow under the hot shower, her mind spontaneously kept thinking about her fiancée's health. She didn't realize how long she had been taking a shower until her skin starts turning red. Lucy turned the water off and shook her head to clear her thoughts. _Think positive. Think positive. She's going to be okay. One thing at a time._ She told herself while putting on her pajamas. All the way from the bathroom to her bedroom, she couldn't stop her mind from thinking about the tumor and aneurysm she learned from the web. Deep in thought, Lucy entered the bedroom and locked the door before walking towards the computer and sat down on the executive office chair. With her mind consumed with worry, she didn't even notice someone was in her bedroom until she heard a voice behind her. This is after all her bedroom in her apartment, so she didn't blame herself for not staying alert.

"are you coming to bed?"

Startled, Lucy jumped up and turned around.

"What…what are you doing here?" Lucy chastised herself for asking such a stupid question. _She's in your bed. What do you think she's doing here? _ Lucy let out a smile, shut down the computer, made sure the door is locked and turned off the ceiling light. She then ran towards the empty side of the bed, quickly slipping herself underneath the blanket. Unsure of what the blonde had in mind, she gave her a short kiss on her lips, said good night and lay back down on her side of the bed. Since they're engaged and not actually married, she kept her hands to herself.

Kristin shifted closer to her fiancee, leaned her head against her shoulder and intertwined her fingers with hers.

Unlike the room in her previous apartment, the room was a little smaller and it was the largest bedroom out of the 4 bedrooms. Since Lucy already has a queen side bed, she gets the largest bedroom. The other rooms have a full size bed. With city lights shining through the curtains in both windows and night lights plugged in, they could still see each other smiling wide.

"I was just talking to Janet." Kristin said in a sweet voice. "Do you want a big or small wedding?"

Lucy leaned on her side. "What do you want?"

"I…don't want one."

Feeling that something might be wrong, Lucy turned the lamp on next to the bed and returned to her previous position, wondering why she wouldn't want one. She could tell that the blonde was indecisive.

"Anything you want is fine with me. But I just want to know why you wouldn't want one." Lucy responded in the same gentle tone.

"I…think… a marriage is between two people. I don't need a wedding to tell my friends that I'm married. I don't need a marriage certificate."

Kristin shifted her body closer to give the brunette a short kiss on the lips.

"…or a diamond ring…or a wedding band." She said between kisses.

"As far as I'm concerned, we're already married. Mrs. Smith." She kissed her deeply as she rolled on top of the brunette.

Lucy had to clarify something before allowing this to continue. With the blonde on top of her, she realized that the blonde is wearing a long sleeve cotton pajamas…and only her underwear.

"it's Walker-Smith. Not just Smith." She wanted to make it clear that she's not taking her last name.

Kristin stopped kissing her neck and lifted her head to look at the brunette.

"That's not your real name. Walker-Smith? Doesn't Mrs. Smith sound better?"

"If I could use my real name, it would be Mrs. Reynolds, or Mrs. Reynolds-Smith, Mrs. Diamond, or Mrs. Diamond-Smith….not Smith-Diamond or Smith-Reynolds or…"

"are you going to keep talking or do you want to do something else?" Her brows creased in confusion.

"I really…really prefer Walker-Smith…"

Kristin just realized how important the last name is to the brunette. Since she came to London, the brunette has been trying to get her to sleep with her. Now that she's ready and willing, she found it odd that the brunette would rather talk about the last name that's not even her real name.

"Please…" Lucy said in a begging tone when she didn't hear a response from her lover.

With a small smile, Kristin leaned in to kiss her lips, then continued placing sensual kisses from her jawline to her neck. "Anything…you want…" She said in a sweet voice between kisses.

"Anything?" Lucy wanted to make sure that they're not just talking about the last name. Sexual arousal gradually built up inside of her as the blonde blew seductively into her ear, kissing her lobe. _Oh…God._

That's all the confirmation Lucy needed when the blonde lifted herself up to straddle her and began unbuttoning her pajamas in a seductive way, top button first, then another.

Lucy swallowed hard at the sight. Her heart pounded twice as fast. When Kristin was done with the last button, instead of taking it off, she reached down to unbutton the brunette's long sleeve pajamas. Lucy got the idea and quickly unbuttoned her own, took it off and threw it on the floor. She had no idea where it went and really didn't care at this moment. As she was about to take her own short sleeve shirt off, she stopped and swallowed again. Her eyes locked on her lover's breast peeking out as the blonde moves towards her. She didn't realize what the blonde was doing until the room suddenly darkened.

"But…honey…I…mmphhh…" Lucy was about to complain and whine like a little kid until her lover captured her mouth in a sizzling…hot…kiss. She realized 'anything' doesn't include lights. With the blonde still straddling her, Lucy kissed her way down from her neck while removing the blonde's pajama top. It's dark but she could still see what's in front of her with the help of the night lights. Her breathing quickened at the sight. She leaned in, opened her mouth, then heard a loud involuntary moan escaped her lover.

After a very long moment, their hearts were pounding wildly against each other. Kristin kissed her on the lips before rolling off the soft naked flesh underneath her. Both lay breathless on their backs, staring at the ceiling, letting their breathing and heart rate return to normal, letting their wet heated bodies rest after an hour of passionate lovemaking. What Lucy was thinking about…_wow! It was definitely worth the wait_. What Kristin was thinking about…_God…I hope Scud and Janet didn't hear us…didn't hear me. _It was her first time. She had no idea it would make her scream like that. She had no idea her body would react like that.

"About moving into our own apartment, I think that's a good idea."

Lucy smiled, knowing why the blonde changed her mind.

"What we can also do is find an apartment with 2 floors with a bedroom on the first floor, if you want."

"That…sounds like a better idea." Kristin shifted closer to give the brunette a kiss on her cheek to thank her for being so understanding.

It gets cold at night, so sleeping naked wouldn't be a good idea. Besides, Lucy never likes to sleep naked. She turned the lights on, then leaned on her side and smiled at her lover. She could tell the blonde is still a little shy from her rosy red cheeks and when she pulled the blanket over her shoulder.

"Can you get my clothes?" Kristin said softly. She didn't want to walk naked around the room to look for it.

Lucy placed a kiss on her lips and did as told.

After finding her own underwear and pants, Lucy put it on.

"I can't find your underwear." Lucy said as she looked around the room. When she didn't hear a response, she stopped and noticed the blonde, with her mouth agape, was staring at her.

With a plan in mind, Lucy walked towards the end of the bed half naked and lifted the blanket to one side of the bed, exposing the blonde. Lucy opened her eyes wide when she saw the blonde in all her glory. She didn't see much but saw enough to know that her body is not as white as her face. It's lightly tanned.

"Wow!_" _W_ith a body like that and with her height, she could be a model. _

"Lucy!" Kristin quickly took the blanket to cover herself.

"there it is." She found it strange the blonde is still so shy after what they just did. She lifted the blanket up a little to get the underwear and tossed the clothing to the blonde. After getting dressed herself, she quickly hopped back to the bed.

"Where're you going?" Lucy said when she saw her lover getting off the bed.

"I….um…I'm going to take another shower." Dressed in her pajamas, Kristin walked towards the door. Feeling a little wet and uncomfortable, she decided to take a quick shower.

"Oh…me too…"

Since there's only one shower in the apartment, she knew what her lover is thinking and there is no way she's letting the brunette take a shower with her, at least not so soon, no matter how much she loves her. She extended her hand to stop the brunette.

"no."

"But…I thought you want to do things you haven't done before…and we just…"

"that…is not on my list…it's on yours…"

"but…but…"

This is one side of the former criminal mastermind that she's never seen. _She's acting like a child_.

"maybe..some other time…okay?"

Kristin leaned into to kiss her cheek before whispering into her ear.

"you were incredible…"

Talking nicely in her sweet voice and ego stroking always works for her. It worked with Ashley and all the kids she dealt with in the past. It didn't surprise her that it worked on the brunette. After all, she used to be an agent.

* * *

Next day

It's ten o'clock. Scud and Janet already ate breakfast. Michel called this morning and made an appointment for them to see a brain surgeon who's a friend of his friend. Wanting to make sure they don't miss the appointment, Scud knocked on the door twice, then again when there was no response.

"Lucy…" He called out. "Lucy!…Michel called…and…" He trailed off and jerked back when he saw the one opening the door was Kristin, not the brunette.

"Good morning, Scud." Rubbing her eyes, Kristin let out a small shy smile and headed towards the bathroom.

"Good…morning." Scud said as he watched the blonde dragging her feet to the bathroom.

"Yes, Scud." Lucy stood at door, eyelids half opened.

"She…you…Did she?"

"It's none of your business." Lucy said and let out a yawn.

"Right…sorry…" He understood what happened and how it happened but he was still a little surprised at the blonde's actions since technically they're not married. After telling her about the appointment Michel scheduled for the blonde, he walked back to the kitchen to get breakfast ready for the ladies. When Janet entered the kitchen, he told her what happened.

"I know." Janet said in an unsurprising tone as she sat down on the table.

"You know?"

"mhm…oh that reminds me…I think we have to get our own apartment." Janet shook her head to clear her thoughts when she was reminded of the noises she heard last night.

Scud immediately sat next to her. "Are you serious?" He said happily.

Janet didn't want to talk about what she heard last night, at least not with him, so she just nodded.

After a moment, Kristin entered the kitchen and thanked Scud as he placed a plate of scrambled eggs, croissant, and ham in front of her. She knew that Scud didn't hear her last night since he was surprised to see her in the brunette's bedroom. She looked at Janet who was focused on reading the newspaper. It doesn't look like she heard either. She let out a smile and began eating her breakfast. That's what she thought until Scud left the kitchen.

"Okay, spill it." Janet said.

"What?" Kristin said as she took a sip of her warm coffee with cream.

"You know what. I heard you last night. So tell me…." She stopped when the blonde suddenly spit out the coffee on her face.

"ohmygod…I'm so sorry…Janet." Kristin quickly took some napkins and handed it to her.

Janet looked down and let out a deep breath. "Oh…thank goodness I'm not wearing a sweater. Those coffee stains are hard to get out."

After cleaning herself, Janet made sure the brunette wasn't nearby before asking the same question. Now that Scud is not here, she really wanted to know what happened.

"So?"

"What?" Kristin wasn't pretending. She has no idea what Janet wants to know. Anyone who heard them would know what they were doing last night.

"you were screaming last night."

Kristin cleared her throat. "Sorry." Kristin apologized for being too loud. Nobody wants to hear other people making love.

"It was that good?"

"umm…good…" Kristin nodded as she took a bite of the ham. "This is really good."

"that's not what I'm talking about."

"Janet, that's personal and private." Kristin took a bite of her croissant.

Pouting her lips, Janet stayed silent for a moment to think of a plan to get the blonde to talk.

"She's that bad, huh?…"

Kristin looked at the shorter woman and smiled.

"don't forget who you're talking to. I used to be a government agent, just like you."

Knowing that didn't work, Janet returned her attention back to the newspaper.

_Good? I don't think that's the word to describe it._ Memories of last night flowed back into her mind as she chewed on the croissant. She had no idea her body would react that way. She had no idea what it would feel like. The incredible sensation she felt when the brunette lay on top of her, soft flesh pressed against her own, caused her to moan loudly and involuntarily. _At that moment, her chest was rising and falling rapidly, her body was covered with goose bumps, her private area was throbbing and wet, her heart was pounding out of control as she waited for what was about to come. Heat spread through her body. __No doubts, no second thoughts. __Her breathing quickened. She held onto the brunette's shoulder blades. Their face, an inch apart. Her eyes locked on to the brunette's. Then a shriek involuntarily escaped her mouth, then another and another as the brunette slowly rocked against her. _

Just thinking about it make her cheeks flushed red.

"Good morning, Janet." Lucy said happily as she entered the kitchen.

Janet mumbled 'good morning' with her head down.

Lucy frowned at the former DEBS and wondered what's up with her. Janet is always bubbly in the morning. She creased her brows even more when she noticed the blonde's red cheeks. Kristin smiled shyly and shrugged her shoulder in response. After sitting down, Lucy told the blonde about the doctor's appointment.

"Where do you want to go after that?" Lucy asked.

"umm…"

"Are you girls planning to have a wedding?" Janet said in excitement as if she's the one getting married.

"no" Kristin said. From what they talked about last night, she became convinced that she doesn't need one or want one.

"are you sure about that?" Lucy said.

Kristin was a little surprised by her question. From last night, she thought the brunette didn't mind. "Do you want one?"

"It's up to you. I just want to make sure you're not going to regret it…because you know you would look beautiful in a wedding dress." Lucy said as she scanned her body. She could tell the blonde was thinking about it when she didn't respond.

"It doesn't have to be a wedding. We could just take pictures."

"Pictures?"

"mhm…when we get older, we could show them to our kids."

"Kids?" Janet said. Her brows furrowed in confusion. She never thought that the notorious Lucy Diamond would want kids.

Both ignored the former DEBS agent.

Lucy creased her brows slightly when she noticed the blonde biting her bottom lip as she thought about it.

"That…sounds good…I would like to have pictures."

"yea?" Lucy let out a smile.

"Then what are you going to wear, Lucy?"

Both turned and frowned at Janet, wondering why she asked and wondering what she meant by that. Just because they're both females doesn't mean they can't both wear gowns.

"Honey, I think you…would look even more beautiful in a wedding dress….strapless, simple, yet elegant…tight at the waist, then flares at the bottom but not too much… " Kristin said as she pictured the wedding dress in her head.

"mm…I actually preferred my signature outfit."

"what?" Both former government agents asked in unison.

"black"

"black dress?!" Both said in disbelief.

"No…black pant suit." What she had in mind is a black outfit similar to the one she wore to the party in Paris where she and Anthony went to over a year ago.

"but honey…you would look gorgeous in a dress…"

"I know….but I don't want to wear a wedding dress." One. Her in a wedding dress looks weird to her. Two. She didn't want to steal the spotlight of her bride. When people looks at wedding pictures, they usually look at the bride in the white wedding dress.

"why?"

_Uh oh._ Lucy could tell an argument is about to happen. It always does when planning weddings…and they're not even having a wedding.

"I just preferred a black pants suit." Lucy said in low gentle voice, hoping this doesn't lead to an argument. "Okay, honey?"

"How about you try on a dress, a white pant suit, and a black pant suit. Then we'll decide which one you look best in." Kristin expected her to say 'whatever you want' since the brunette has been saying that all day yesterday except the part about the last name.

Lucy has no intention of wearing a wedding dress and she didn't want to lie to her either, so she didn't respond and continued eating her breakfast.

"Lucy?" She knows that the brunette is ignoring her and didn't want to continue the conversation. She then leaned in to whisper into her ear.

Lucy immediately stopped what she's doing and directed her attention back to the blonde. She had to because her fiancee just told her that she's not going to get any if she doesn't agree.

"But honey...I…preferred a black pants suit." Lucy said in a whining tone.

"I just want you to try them all, that's all."

"But…"

Both turned when Janet cleared her throat loudly and stood up.

"Sorry….I didn't…mean to…start an argument. …sorry…" She apologized and left the lovebirds alone.

Kristin turned to look at the brunette and blinked a few times before shaking her head. She just realized what was happening; the reason she didn't want a wedding.

Kristin slumped back against the chair and let out a big sigh.

"Did we just have our first argument as a couple…about a wedding dress?" What she just said really sounded stupid to her. _There are more unfortunate people in this world and here I'm arguing over a wedding dress?_

"It's more of a disagreement."

Kristin immediately apologized for her behavior. "…you can wear whatever you want…okay?"

"Thank you." Since there's nobody around, Lucy gave her a short kiss on the lips. She then dug her fork into the scrambled eggs and fed her lover who was smiling wide.

"What's so funny?" Lucy asked out of curiosity when the blonde let out a little laugh.

Kristin took a piece of her croissant and fed it to the brunette.

"At least now…I know what I can threaten you with."

She leaned in to kiss the brunette who was no longer smiling. "_Sex"_ She returned to eating her breakfast.

Lucy stared at her lover for a short moment before continue eating as if what the blonde just said didn't bother her. "That's okay. I could always get it from someone else." She immediately regretted for saying that when she felt a dull pain on her forearm. "OW!"

"Lucy!" Kristin stood up and continued slapping the brunette's forearm.

"I'm kidding…I'm kidding…ow!"

Seeing that the blonde won't stop hitting her, Lucy immediately stood up and grabbed hold of her hands and pulled her in for a hug, wrapping her arms around her, preventing her from moving.

"There is no one else I want to be with but you." It was meant to be a joke but she realized that the blonde didn't see it that way. "I'm just kidding. You know I wouldn't do that." _Maybe she still thinks that Alexis and I …. _Her thoughts were then interrupted. She realized what she was thinking was completely wrong.

"I know. I know you wouldn't." Kristin said as she hugged the brunette tighter around her waist. "Lucy, promise me."

"I promise there's nobody else but you."

Kristin shook her head lightly over the brunette's shoulder.

"Promise me…if anything happens to me, I want you to continue on with your life…be with Alexis…or Nadia…they both love you…"

Lucy immediately pulled back to look at the blonde.

"what..are you talking about?"

"If anything happens to me, I want you to be with Alexis, give her a chance, learn to love her."

Kristin again wrapped her arms around her as tears brimmed her eyes.

"I don't want you to be alone. I want you to live happily. Can you promise me?"

Lucy tried to pull away but the blonde was unwilling to let her go.

She now realized why the blonde asked her about Alexis and Nadia last night. Her lover is afraid that she would go back to the way before, a life alone with only one goal, to hunt for the bastard.

"Lucy, promise me."

"nothing is going to happen to you. You're going to be fine. You're going to get your degree. You're going to have kids and they will have kids…and we're going to live a very long happy life together."

Kristin hugged her tighter.

"Can you just promise me?" It has taken 3 years for the brunette to be able to fall in love again after her previous lover died. She doubted that there would be another human being in this world that looks like her. She doubted the brunette would be able to find somebody she can love again. Even if she does, would that person love her the same way she, Alexis or Nadia loves her?

Lucy shook her head multiple times. "I can't, I won't."

Kristin loosened her hold and pulled back, realizing there was nothing she could do to make her fiancée promise her.

"We're going to be late. We have to go." Lucy said in soft voice.

* * *

Both remained silent during the ride to the hospital. Lucy had planned on taking her to a photography shop afterwards, but didn't think it would be a good idea with the mood they're in.

At the hospital, both sat in front of the desk while two surgeons examine the ct-scan. After a moment, one surgeon looked at the questionnaire that the blonde filled out.

"Kristin, how often have you been getting these headaches?" The surgeon asked.

"several times a week in the past few months…" She continued to tell them that it started over a year ago. She remembered that day very well. That was the day she ended up in the hospital, the day after she learned about the plane accident from Paris to Venice that Lucy was on.

"…is it a sharp pain?…dull pain?…any dizziness?"

"…sometimes it's a sharp, most of the time it's dull, aching pain, then it goes away after awhile…sometimes I get dizzy"

Lucy wanted to hold her hand, but knowing that the blonde doesn't like to do that in front of others, she resisted the urge.

"When is the last time you had it?"

When Kristin hesitated, Lucy turned to look at her lover.

"This…morning." Kristin said as she looked at her lover.

_Why didn't you tell me? Lucy thought to herself._

Lucy now realized why the blonde said all of those things. _She's afraid that the aneurysm could rupture at anytime._

All remained silent as the two surgeons continued their own discussions. Both Lucy and Kristin continued to look at each other in silence.

After a moment, the older surgeon turned the monitor sideways.

"This…is the tumor…." The surgeon circled the screen with his finger. "It's at the base of the skull." The surgeon pressed on the mouse and another picture shows up on the screen. "This is the aneurysm. It's very small. However, this has to be monitored. Now what we think it's happening…these headaches you're getting could be from the benign tumor that's slowly growing. The increase in pressure inside the skull can lead to headaches. So what we recommend is take out this benign tumor first. Because it's at the base of the skull, we're going to use EEA, Endoscopic Endonasal Approach. What that means is we don't need to make incisions on the skull, we can use a special equipment, go through the nose, and suck the tumor right out. It will take one to two months for recovery. Usually most people can go home after 2 days. But in your case, we will need you to stay longer."

"How long does the surgery take? What are the side effects?" Lucy asked.

"As you may know, with all surgical procedures, there are risks involved. We're dealing with the brain, so it carries extra risk. If everything goes well, it would take 2 to 3 hours. We have patients that recover after 4 weeks and a majority of patients didn't have any side effects. However, there are a few patients reported to have a change in the sense of smell using this method."

There was a moment of silence. Lucy turned to look at the blonde to see if she has any questions. What Lucy wanted to ask is when the surgery could be done, but decided not to, not yet until she talks to her fiancee.

"If you have any questions, give me a call." The surgeon said as he handed out his card and a few pages of information.

"Kristin, think it over, but don't wait too long. From the information you've given me, your headache will get worse. That tumor has to come out and the aneurysm has to be monitored for any changes."

Since the surgeons from both hospitals said the same thing, the surgery has to be done. It's just a matter of deciding which doctor to go with.

Holding hands, both walked to the car in silence. Instead of talking about the surgery, Lucy asked where the blonde wants to go instead. Since they're 'married', Kristin decided to go to the mall to buy new pillows and newlywed bedding accessories. Not wanting to carry the things they bought around the mall, they put it in the car's trunk before heading back to eat lunch in a bar &amp; grill restaurant inside the mall. After ordering a plate of shrimp scampi and fisherman's platter, both didn't feel like drinking wine or any kind of drinks.

"Two waters with lemon, please." Lucy said to the waitress.

After the waitress left, Lucy looked around the dimly lit restaurant. Most of the tables were filled. Several seats were occupied in the bar area. There she noticed two young men sitting in the bar area looking her way. She wasn't sure if they were looking at her. She pretended not to notice and glanced around.

"I'll be right back." Lucy excused herself to the bathroom.

After coming out of the bathroom, as Lucy walked towards her own seat, she saw a man talking to the blonde. Lucy walked faster, but the man walked back to his seat in the bar area once she got there.

"Who's that?" Lucy asked.

With a small smile, Kristin slid the card towards her.

Lucy opened her eyes and let out a laugh. "Modeling agency?" Lucy said.

"He asked us to give him a call if we're interested." Kristin said, with a big smile.

"We?"

Kristin nodded. Her elbows propped on the tables. Her chin rested on both palms. Her smile was wide as if she had no life-threatening illness.

"What did you say?" Lucy asked out of curiosity.

"I said I have to talk to you first."

Both couldn't resist letting out a chuckle. Lucy turned to look at the man who gave the blonde the card.

"You know… that's what I was thinking last night. You could…be a model." Lucy said as she raised her brows up and down.

Kristin's cheeks instantly flushed when she thought about last night. She had dreams of making love to the brunette but never thought that she would actually do it, the one being on the top. In her wet dreams, she was always the one on the bottom, letting the brunette to be in control.

_With one palm against the headboard, the other pressed against the sheets, her heated body lying at an angle on top of the brunette who moaned softly each time she pressed her lower body against her lover's throbbing core. Moans of pleasure escaped her own mouth when she felt warm hands on her sensitive areas. She couldn't see her lover's face clearly in the dark but she could tell she was enjoying it as much as she did when she heard her name being called. If the brunette had called her previous lover's name at that moment, she wasn't sure how she would react. But that was not on her mind. The only thing on her mind at that moment was making love to her lover, letting the intense sensation spread through her body._

Just thinking about it did something to her body. She crossed her legs in response and shook her head to clear the thoughts.

Lucy slid her hand across the table. As Kristin was about to hold her hand, both pulled back when the waitress came back with the drinks and a plate of fried calamari.

"The appetizer is a complement from the gentleman over there." She tilted her head towards the bar area. Lucy wasn't interested so she didn't bother to take a look. Kristin did and saw it was the man sitting next to the man who approached her a minute ago.

"…and he asked if you would like to have a drink with him." The bartender said to the brunette.

As Lucy was about to respond, Kristin beat her to it.

"Tell him she's happily married." Kristin responded immediately.

Lucy glanced at the blonde and let out a smile.

"Yes, we're both happily married." Lucy said and put the appetizer back onto the waitress's tray. "Thank you."

After the waitress left, memory of the first date flowed back into Lucy's mind.

"Do you remember our first date?" It was a similar situation except that a guy was interested in the blonde and he pretended to be shot by an arrow when the blonde rejected him.

Both laughed, remembering that moment. _Shoot_! Then it occurred to her that she had forgotten the blonde's birthday. Because she was so focused on looking for the bastard, she had forgotten everything that's meaningful to her.

"I'm sorry." Lucy apologized sincerely.

"For what?" Kristin said as took a sip of the water.

"For…" As Lucy was about to explain, the waitress came back with their order.

"Fisherman's platter, shrimp scampi. Is there anything else you need?" The waitress asked in a polite tone.

Lucy and Kristin both shook their heads and thanked her.

"I just want to let you know. There's another guy over there who wants to buy you a drink. I told him you're happily married." The waitress said to the brunette. Lucy thanked her again.

After the waitress left, Lucy turned her attention back to the blonde.

"I'm sorry I forgot your birthday." She expected the blonde to forgive her but instead the blonde talked about something else.

"I change my mind. I want a wedding band."

"Kristin, did you hear what I said?" Lucy wanted her forgiveness.

It took a moment for her to understand why the blonde would want a wedding band, to let others know, especially the guys, so they can stop bothering her.

"Hurry…eat…let's go get it after this." Kristin said as she took a bite of the shrimp.

"if you want to let them know that we're married, all you have to do is this." Lucy dug her fork into a fried scallop and extended it towards her mouth. "…open…wide…"

Kristin jerked her head back a little. Her eyes scanned the customers nearby. She noticed the couple sitting on the table next to them were looking at them. She had no idea why she hesitated. _It's not like we're kissing. Why do I even care what they think? Couples do that all the time._ Kristin leaned forward and opened her mouth wide.

"I forgive you." Kristin said as she chewed on the fried scallop. "…I still want to get a wedding band."

Lucy dipped a french fry into the ketchup and extended it towards her. "Anything you want." She would have still bought it even if the blonde didn't ask.

"I think that's enough." Kristin didn't want to overdo it. Nobody wants to see couples being too over affectionate with each other in public.

Lucy let out a big smile and put the fry back into her mouth. She's just having a little fun with the blonde. She actually doesn't like to display this type of behavior in public either.

* * *

It didn't take long for them to buy a pair of platinum wedding band since they all look about the same. All Kristin wanted is an inexpensive classic platinum ring and that's what they got. Dressed in casual clothing and jeans, Kristin clung her hand to her arm as both walked around the mall the first time as a married couple, a newlywed couple. After several hours of shopping, Lucy was glad to be back at the apartment.

"Scud!" Lucy yelled as soon as she entered the apartment.

Scud and Janet immediately came running into the living room. "Geez…Lucy, did you buy the whole store?" This is the first time he has seen Lucy buying so much stuff home. He understood why when the brunette rolled her eyes and tilted her head backwards. Behind her, Kristin held two big bags.

"There are some more in the car." Lucy said as she placed the bags down on the floor and helped the blonde with hers. Scud and Janet left the apartment to get the things. Lucy sat on the couch to rest for a little while and turned on the tv to listen to the news while Kristin flopped down next to her.

After Scud and Janet came back with the bags, Kristin walked towards them and looked through the bags.

"Scud, this is for you…and Janet…this is for you." Kristin handed both of them a set of bedsheets and comforter, causing them to wonder why. Scud didn't notice until Janet said something.

"You bought a wedding band?" Janet said as she held the blonde's hand up close to her face.

"Janet, trust me, a wedding band is necessary." Kristin said.

"You girls got married and didn't tell us!" Scud said loudly and turned to Lucy. He knows they're engaged but he felt a little left out, especially when he expected his boss, his friend to tell him about the special occasion.

Kristin was about to explain but Lucy beat her to it. "I told you yesterday."

Scud creased his brows in confusion, thinking that he might have forgotten. "When?"

"I proposed and she said yes. Don't you remember?" Lucy said as she took two bags.

"Lucy, that's an engagement, not marriage. The moment you get your marriage license, then you're married." Scud said as he scratched his head, wondering what the brunette is on.

"the moment she said yes, we're married. We don't need a piece of paper to tell us that we're married. Right, Mrs. Walker-Smith?" Lucy leaned forward to kiss her wife's cheek before walking towards the bedroom. Scud shook his head as he watched the brunette leave. It shouldn't surprise him. The former criminal mastermind never likes to follow tradition. He was however surprised that the blonde agreed. No wedding. No marriage certificate.

"Are you okay with this?"

"It's just a piece of paper. Right, Janet?" Kristin said as she took two bags and walked towards the bedroom, Lucy's bedroom.

Scud realized why she slept in the same room with the brunette last night.

Inside the bedroom, Lucy sat in front of the computer to do some research on the doctor they met with this morning.

"what are you doing?" Lucy asked.

"the sheets need to be washed." She said while trying to take the bed sheets out. After what happened last night, she was planning to have it washed but didn't have time.

Lucy is beginning to wonder if the blonde is a clean freak. She walked over towards the blonde.

"Kristin, you don't have OCD, do you? I mean, are you planning to wash the sheets every time we make love."

"No. I don't have OCD…and yes, the sheets need to be washed…which means…we're not going to make love as often as you would like to…okay honey?" She smiled seeing the disappointment on the brunette's face.

Lucy blew her bangs up, not liking what she just heard. Since there were more important things to worry about, she went back to doing research. Kristin was surprised that the brunette didn't offer to do the washing. She expected the brunette to say that. Even though the brunette promised that she would do all the cleaning and cooking, she's not going hold her up to that. Sharing household responsibilities is important for a successful marriage. She loves the brunette. But if the brunette is lazy and doesn't do anything around the house, she would reconsider marrying her. After the blonde took all the sheets and duvet out, she walked over to see what she's doing. Sensing a presence behind her, Lucy turned around and stood in front of the blonde. She told her lover what she found so far is that surgeons in both of the hospitals are both good but the surgeon from the hospital where Alexis' mother works has performed more surgeries and more complicated procedures.

"I'll call him tomorrow to make an appointment. Okay?" Knowing that the blonde would probably want her to decide, Lucy didn't ask which one she wants to do the surgery.

Kristin nodded and forced out a trembling smile. Every time they talked about the surgery, she couldn't help thinking that it could be the end and each day is getting closer and closer to that.

"When you get a headache, I want you to tell me. You need to tell me everything, okay?" Lucy said as she cupped her cheeks.

Kristin nodded in silence again.

"It's going to be okay. Don't be afraid." Lucy pulled her in for a hug.

Dropping the sheets on the floor, Kristin hugged her tighter. "I'm not…as long as you're with me."

That is the truth. She's not afraid of dying. She wanted to get her degree and she wanted to have kids, but all of that is not as important as being married to the brunette. What she is afraid of is leaving the brunette behind all alone. Kristin pulled back.

"It's almost time for dinner. I think you should start cooking."

"Can you ask Scud to do it? I want to do some more research."

"I like your cooking better. Besides, you've done enough. It's my turn." It surprised the brunette to hear the blonde say that.

Kristin picked up the sheets and gave her a kiss.

"Honey, anything but pasta tonight."

* * *

**Chapter 34: Chapter 34**

* * *

**Chapter 34**

Lucy didn't feel like cooking but since her new bride wanted her to cook, she did as told. Something simple. Something that doesn't take a long time. Chicken stir fry with slices of red bell peppers and snow peas over a plate of white rice. Janet complimented on the brunette's cooking. The day she moved in, what surprised her the most was that the former criminal mastermind can cook. She expected her and Scud to order takeouts or go out to eat everyday.

Since nobody wants to talk about the surgery, Kristin told them what happened at the bar &amp; grill restaurant.

"No way!" Janet said. Her reaction caused Lucy to narrow her eyes at her.

"Why do you find that so shocking, Janet?" Lucy said.

Janet immediately apologized.

"That's not what I meant. I just thought that they would ask Kristin...not you…" Janet immediately tried to explain when she saw the look on the brunette's face.

"I mean…you're attractive too, you have that charm and magnetism, but when you're with her, I just think that…men would choose her…rather…than…." Janet trailed off and looked down to stuff her mouth with rice when she realized she's making the situation worse.

"oh really" Lucy said in an upset tone.

Kristin noticed the brunette didn't like what the former DEBS agent said.

"Lucy, that's not what she meant." Kristin held the brunette's forearm, trying to remedy the situation.

"I know what she meant. She just said that when you and I are together, men should go for you not me." She turned to Janet and leaned forward, expecting her to answer.

"Why is that? **Janet.**" She said in a tone that caused Janet to jerk back.

Kristin rolled her eyes, wondering why the brunette would be upset with something as silly as this.

Janet turned to Scud for help but Scud just stared at her as if expecting her to respond to the question.

"…because…you look…more…intimidating?" Janet swallowed, hoping what she said didn't offend the brunette. She couldn't think of a lie so she spoke what was in her mind.

"you think so?" Lucy's tone completely changed.

Janet nodded, unsure of what the brunette is thinking.

"Hey, Scud…I still got it." Lucy smiled wide.

Scud smiled back at her boss. Kristin rolled her eyes again, realizing that the brunette wasn't upset at all.

"That's the look I'm going for. So why do you think they still asked me out instead of her?"

When the former notorious criminal mastermind was asking her for advice, Janet felt like that famous psychologist on tv. She was happy to share her thoughts.

"Oh…well…I think…it could be…that some guys…are bored with the nice girl types…they like the bad ones, the hard to get ones, the mystery types…and you are all of that…"

Janet could tell that Lucy liked what she said when the brunette smiled wide, nodding in agreement.

But when she saw the blonde narrowing her eyes at her, she immediately spoke.

"I'm just saying some guys, some…I'm not saying…you're easy…you're not…"

"you just said I'm the nice girl type, I'm like an open book, I'm the good girl…I'm the boring type…" Kristin frowned at her as she crossed her arms.

Janet turned to Lucy for help but didn't get any. Lucy put a spoonful of rice into her mouth as she waited for Janet to respond to the blonde's comment.

Then after a moment, all burst out laughing except for Janet who later realized they were just having some fun with her.

"You guys…." Janet rolled her eyes.

"Pumpkin…eat…." Scud said.

Lucy understood why Kristin wanted all of them to live together even after marriage. It was so much more fun with Janet around. Both continued laughing until Janet spoke.

"We're going to get another apartment." Janet said.

"What?" Lucy and Kristin said in unison.

"Scud?" Lucy said.

Smiling wide, Scud nodded, raising his brows up and down. That's what he always wanted.

"I'm sorry. Janet. We were just having some fun." Kristin apologized for her behavior.

"No…no…it's not because of that...now that you're married, I just think that we should have our own apartment….you know…then…you girls…can do whatever…."

The married couple looked at each other, realizing why she wants to move out.

Lucy cleared her throat. "Actually, we were thinking of getting an apartment with two floors with bedrooms on both floors."

"You're thinking of getting your own apartment too?" Janet said.

"umm….no…Kristin…and…I want…."

Seeing how long the brunette is taking to explain, Kristin cuts in.

"I still want to live you…you and Scud…nothing's changed…we can get another apartment with bedrooms on two floors."

Lucy saw the look on Scud's face and knew he didn't like the idea.

"Janet, you're not married yet. Are you sure you want to move?" Lucy tried to persuade her from moving out.

"Scud?" Since Janet already promised Scud, she let him decide.

Scud wants to, but knows that this isn't the right time. There are too many things to take care of, too many things to worry about. The blonde is getting her surgery soon, Lucy will need help. If there is one available in the same apartment complex, then it would work.

"It's up to you." Scud said and took his plate to the kitchen.

"Well…I do love your cooking, Lucy….but can you girls keep it down?"

"Don't worry, Janet. We won't do anything until we get another apartment. You won't hear a thing from us." Kristin said.

Lucy snapped her head at the blonde. "What?" _Did she just say what I think she said? No sex until we get another apartment. That could be months._

"Kristin, I used to be a government agent too. I know a lie when I hear one. Just keep it down. Okay?" Janet took her plate and walked to the kitchen.

"that is a lie, isn't it?" Lucy couldn't tell.

Kristin finished the scoop in her bowl and stood up.

"It's delicious. Honey." She kissed her cheek before walking towards the kitchen, holding two plates.

"That is a lie. Isn't it?" Lucy asked again. But the blonde didn't respond. _Shoot._

* * *

Inside the bedroom, Lucy slid herself into bed with the brand new sheets they bought that day and pulled the new comforter above her shoulders.

"Honey, it's late."

After dinner, Kristin continued to search online for more information. What she found is that there is another method to treat the benign tumor without incision of any kind, a nonsurgical procedure called Gamma Knife Radiosurgery. This method is used to treat tumors that are hard to reach with standard neurosurgery. _It stops tumor cells from reproducing. No surgery. Patient goes home the same day_. She wondered why the doctors didn't recommend this method. Kristin turned off the computer, slid herself into bed, turned off the lamp, and snuggled close to the brunette.

"Did you read about the Gamma Knife Radiosurgery?"

"yes."

"Why do you think they didn't mention it?"

After spending so much time on the computer, Lucy learned a lot about the different methods of treating brain tumors and their side effects. She even read the recovery stories that patients posted online and what to expect after surgery.

"I think it's because the tumor is benign. It would take about 2 years for it to shrink. We can ask the doctor tomorrow." She's not too sure herself. _Two years_. _What's going to happen to the aneurysm?_

"Okay" Kristin shifted closer and kissed her cheek before saying good night.

* * *

Next day. In the apartment.

After calling the doctors from both hospitals, they learned that the tumor is too big for Gamma Knife Radiosurgery and benign tumors are very unpredictable. A significant amount will shrink, but will do so very slowly, over many years. Because her headache is getting worse, the tumor has to be removed. Satisfied with the explanation, both decided to make the appointment for the recommended surgery Endoscopic Endonasal Approach with the surgeon from the hospital where Michel's ex-wife works.

Since the surgery will take place in two weeks, Kristin wanted to see everyone before that day. She told the brunette that she wanted to visit Ashley. But what she really wanted to do is talk to Alexis. Lucy wanted to follow along but Kristin convinced her not to go since Ashley doesn't know about her being alive.

Sitting on the couch in the living room, Alexis placed a cup of tea on the coffee table.

"Thank you." Kristin said politely.

"I'm sorry." Alexis learned from her father about what happened to the blonde that day she slapped the brunette. Even though the blonde knows the truth, Alexis still wants to apologize. After all, she did kiss her girlfriend and almost….

"Did you do it?"

"NO!…no!…I swear! We didn't!" Alexis stood up and raised her right hand.

Kristin trusted the brunette when she told her that she and Alexis didn't do it. She just wants to hear what Alexis has to say. Kristin stood up and held her hand.

"I believe you." She said calmly and motioned her to sit down.

Alexis shut her eyes tight for a few seconds before sitting down on the sofa. She felt like she betrayed her friend if she didn't tell her what happened. She covered her face in shame, unsure if she should say anything.

"We…didn't…but…I kissed her." Alexis slowly uncovered her eyes to see the blonde's reaction.

"I'm sorry. I was so shocked when I found her. I couldn't control myself. So I…kissed her."

Kristin let out a deep breath. That's not what she wants to hear. But knowing how much Alexis misses the brunette, how much she loves her, she's not surprised that Alexis would do that.

When Alexis kept apologizing, Kristin stopped her.

"it's okay. I accept your apology. That's not why I came."

Alexis remained silent.

"Did Michel tell you about my condition?"

"You're going to be fine. It's benign. All they have to do is remove it. It's very common. A lot of people have it…and…"

Kristin smiled when she heard the comforting words from Alexis. Those were the same words from the brunette. Suddenly she realized how much Alexis and her lover are alike…strong, confident, not afraid of anything. _Is that why she's not attracted to her?_

Kristin explained why she came. Alexis didn't like what the blonde said and walked in front of her.

"nothing is going to be happen to you. It's a small surgery."

"I know. Alexis. I also have a brain aneurysm. I don't know when it's going to rupture. I just want you to promise me to take care of her if anything happens to me."

"Stop saying that. Nothing is going to happen to you. You and Keira will have a long happy life together." She gave the blonde a hug. "It's going to be okay. You're going to be fine."

"Alexis. I'm just saying…If…I don't want her to be alone …can you just promise me?"

Alexis pulled back. She now understood why the blonde came without the brunette. It's her last request if anything happens to her.

"No"Promising her would be like there's a chance that she won't survive the surgery. "You take care of her yourself. She...she can be quite stubborn and a lot of times she doesn't listen to others and she thinks she's always right. I can't stand that. So…you...you take care of her yourself."

Kristin let out a small smile, knowing why Alexis said all the bad things about her. She never heard her say anything bad about the brunette until now.

"I know. She can be quite stubborn sometimes." She was reminded of the moment when they had a disagreement about the wedding outfit. Even though Alexis didn't promise her, deep inside, she knows that Alexis would take care of the brunette. She just wanted Alexis to know that she approved of them being together if something happens to her.

After spending time with Ashley and staying at Michel's house for dinner, Kristin went back to the apartment. She took the opportunity to tell them about the date of the surgery, without letting Ashley know. Inside the apartment, she smiled when she saw Janet and Scud sitting close together watching a movie. His arm hung around the former DEBS. Neither of them moved apart from each other when they saw the blonde at the door.

"Where's Lucy?" Kristin asked.

Scud pointed to the direction of the bedroom down the hall. Standing in front of the door, as Kristin was about to grab onto the knob, she heard a faint voice from inside.

"…no…you can't find him….okay….keep in touch…"

She couldn't hear all of it, but heard enough to know what the brunette is talking about. She's still looking for him. Her question has been answered. If anything happens to her, the brunette will go back to the way she was before, spending her life to look for him. She let out a deep breath. There's nothing she could do. She waited for a moment before turning the knob. It's locked. She's not surprised.

"Hey." Lucy said with a smile after opening the door.

"hi." Kristin walked by her, into the bedroom, without kissing her.

"How did it go?"

"Good." Kristin took her jacket off and hung it on the chair.

From the tone of her voice and one word response, Lucy had a feeling that the blonde heard her previous conversation with Anthony.

"Kristin…"

"I'm going to take a shower." Kristin grabbed her pajamas.

Lucy then grabbed her forearm preventing her from leaving the bedroom.

"I'm not going to be like that…. I'm letting Anthony handle it…okay?" She said in a gentle voice, letting her know that she's not going back to the way she used to be. At the same time, she hoped her lover could understand that she can't just sit and wait for Helene's team to look for him.

"What are you talking about, Lucy?" _At least she didn't try to lie to me._

Lucy jerked back. Her brows creased in confusion. _Is she pretending?_

"You're letting Anthony handle it?"

Lucy nodded.

"You promise you're not going to go back to the way you used to before?"

"I promise." Lucy said as she raised her hand.

"If something happens to me, you're not going to let him ruin your life."

"nothing is going to happen to you…."

"Lucy, you promise?"

"I…promise." Lucy said reluctantly.

"If you break your promise, I'm not going to forgive you." She said in a serious tone, hoping the brunette would remember her words.

Lucy nodded.

"Good." Kristin responded and walked towards the door.

Lucy expected a hug or kiss but got neither. "Is something else still bothering you?"

Kristin stopped and turned around. "Oh…yea…so…you said…you and Alexis…didn't…do anything."

"We didn't!" Lucy said as she walked towards her. "Why? What did she say?" She wondered if Alexis told her how she took off her top off. _No. She wouldn't. _

"nothing at all?" Kristin leaned forward and looked straight into her eyes.

_Shit. She knows._ "She…just…kissed me…"

"and you let her?"

"NO!…she caught me by surprise, I tried to pull back, but we landed on the sofa, and she started crying and hitting me, so I…just…let…her…" Lucy tried to explain the situation but realized how bad it came out.

"You let her…do what?" _Alexis didn't tell me that._ She was surprised that Lucy told her more.

"I…let her hit me." Lucy said in a low volume, hoping the blonde would stop asking. _Alexis, why did you tell her that?_ It was her good conscience that got to her. Lucy wondered how much she told the blonde.

"…and?…"

"nothing…nothing else happened."

"Lucy." Kristin said in an upset tone, not believing her.

"I…let her…kiss…me…" She said the last two words in a whisper. "…but I didn't kiss her back…it was only for a short time….I would have put a stop to it if she didn't stop. I swear!" Lucy raised her hand, hoping the blonde would believe her.

That was more information than she wanted to know. "Nothing happened, huh?"

"I'm sorry."

"Well, guess what's going to happen tonight? Nothing. I'm going to sleep in my own room." She said as she opened the door.

"But…baby…we just got married…it's bad luck to be sleeping in different beds…"

Kristin stopped and creased her brows. She never heard of that. "Really?"

Lucy nodded vigorously.

Without responding, Kristin closed the door behind her.

_Shoot._ _Alexis, why did you tell her that?_

Outside of the door, Kristin let out a small smile. She wasn't upset with what she and Alexis did because in the end they didn't do it. Alexis didn't have to tell her about the kiss but she did. Like Michel said, Alexis wouldn't have allowed herself to go thru with it because she's her friend. There were many opportunities for them to be together but they didn't. What she is happy about is to be able to get the brunette to promise her. She didn't plan on this happening, but somehow it worked out.

After taking a shower, Kristin put her clothes back into the bedroom, ignored the brunette who was looking at the computer, and headed to the living room to watch a movie with Scud and Janet. When she saw Janet hiding her face into Scud's chest, she found them absolutely adorable. They were watching a scary movie. _Why can't we do that?_

"Janet"

"Sssh…Wait…" Scud said.

Kristin turned to see what captured his attention. She then jumped when Janet suddenly shrieked.

"Jesus…Janet…" Kristin said as she covered her rapidly beating heart.

"Sorry." Janet said and buried her face again into Scud's chest.

"okay, what's up?" Scud said.

Kristin took a few breaths to calm her beating heart. As she was about to ask Janet if she ever heard of the superstition where it's bad luck for newlyweds to be sleeping in different beds, Lucy came out.

"Never mind." Kristin cleared her throat and directed her attention back to the tv.

Lucy sat next to her. Seeing that the blonde didn't move away from her, Lucy shifted closer and slowly hung her arm around her shoulders. Suddenly Kristin stood up and walked towards the kitchen. _Shoot_. Lucy thought to herself as she watched the blonde walked away.

"What's wrong?" Scud said. Janet lifted her head to see what she missed.

"Nothing." Lucy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. If she told them, they would take the blonde's side, without a doubt.

When Kristin came back with a pear, she sat on the other end of the sofa where Scud and Janet were sitting. She has no idea why she is doing this to the brunette. She's not angry with her…well…maybe just a little…

Janet looked at Scud and both shrugged their shoulders and returned their attention back to the movie.

Lucy blew her bangs up as she tried to think of what to do.

"Janet." Kristin asked, pretending that the brunette isn't there.

Janet and Scud focused their attention towards the blonde.

"Is it bad luck for newlyweds to be sleeping in different beds?" That got all of their attention.

"Never heard of it." Janet said.

Scud turned to Lucy and wondered what happened. "umm….yea…I think I…."

"I didn't ask you, Scud." Kristin said, knowing that he was trying to help the brunette.

Kristin glanced at the brunette. "I've never heard of it either…but someone…said…."

"However, I've heard that you should only take off your wedding ring when it's absolutely necessary. Where's your wedding ring?" Janet said, looking at the blonde's hand.

Kristin held up her hand and noticed that she wasn't wearing it.

"Where's my ring?!" She said in a panic tone and stood up. She then flipped the cushions and placed her hand inside the sides of the sofa.

Scud and Janet stood up when the blonde pushed them aside.

"Where is it?" Kristin said in a worried tone.

Memory loss. Lucy remembered reading that memory loss is a common brain tumor symptom.

"Lucy, don't just stand there. Help me look."

Janet quickly walked towards the kitchen to look for it. Scud looked around the floor.

Lucy stood still, looking at her wife, frantically searching for the ring. She expected her wife who was once an agent to be calm and collective. But it was completely the opposite. I_s it because of the ring? Or did she forget all her training already?_ Memory loss. Lucy walked towards her and gently grabbed her upper arms.

"…take a deep breath" She inhaled and exhaled repeatedly to show her. Kristin wasn't listening at first, but after a moment, she followed the brunette's instructions. "Now close your eyes." Kristin did as told.

"Now do you remember taking it off this morning when you woke up?"

Kristin shook her head.

"What about in the bathroom?"

Kristin shook her head.

Lucy continued with the questions from the moment she woke up to the moment she left the apartment.

"What happened when you got to Michel's house? Take one step at a time. You got off the car and then what…."

"Then I walked up the stairs and I rang the bell…and…Alexis opened…."

Kristin opened her eyes wide and quickly ran towards the bedroom. After a short moment, all heard her shouting "I found it!"

Lucy and Scud were looking at each other and knew what each other was thinking. She's not sure if the tumor is affecting her memory. She just hoped everything would be okay after the surgery.

"I found it!" She said happily as she walked rapidly towards the living room.

Before she entered Michel's house, she took off the wedding band. She felt that it wasn't the right time to tell anyone about her marriage. So she shoved it into her jean's pocket and forgot about it.

After a moment, both couples sat on each couch as they watched another movie. Leaning her back against the brunette's front, Kristin glanced at her wedding band from time to time. Lucy placed a kiss on the side of her head. Her arms wrapped around the blonde's waist. Everything seems to be back to normal as if she had forgiven her for helping her find the ring. _Or is it because she forgot that she was supposed to be upset with me?_ Lucy wondered. All laughed loudly while watching the movie. All thought that the movie was a comedy until they saw the two main characters taking their clothes off and kissing each other wildly. _Who the hell picked this movie? _

"I'm going to take a shower." Scud said and left the living room quickly.

"I'm going to bed." Janet cleared her throat and stood up. "Not too loud, girls." She said before leaving.

"Janet!" Kristin said as she rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, Janet. We'll keep it down." Lucy let out a chuckle.

"Honey, we're not doing anything tonight except sleep." She reminded her.

Lucy didn't respond and cleared her throat. _Shoot. Well, at least she remembers_. Lucy remained silent and continued to watch the movie. _How long do they have to show the sex scene?_ Lucy swallowed as her sexual desire built up inside of her. _Wow_. She praised the director for making the love scene incredibly hot and sweet not just some cheap cheesy porn. When she heard Scud coming out of the bathroom, she decided to take a shower. Lucy kissed the blonde's cheek before leaving. After taking a shower, she was surprised to see the lights still on in the living room.

"Kristin, are you still watching?"

"It's almost finished." Kristin said and blew her nose loudly in the tissue.

"Is everything okay?" Lucy said in a gentle voice as she bent down next to her.

Kristin nodded and wiped her tears. Her eyes focused on the movie.

"sad ending?" Lucy asked out of curiosity.

Kristin nodded again as she sniffed in her tears.

This is really not the time to be watching sad movies. "Maybe you shouldn't watch it…" Lucy said as she took the remote from the coffee table.

"It's almost finished." Kristin took the remote from the brunette's hand.

Feeling tired, Lucy kissed her on the head before going to the bedroom.

Exhausted from another day of searching on the web, Lucy decided to go to sleep early. Leaning on her side, she closed her tired eyes. Whether the blonde wants to sleep in the same room or not, it's up to her. _Whatever she wants_. Lucy mumbled to herself. After a long moment, as she was about to drift off to sleep, she was awaken by a voice next to her.

"are you asleep?" Kristin said softly.

"hmmm…" Lucy turned and lay flat on her back, barely able to keep her eyelids open.

"It's not…that I don't want to…I can't…" Kristin explained.

Lucy creased her brows. Her mind still half-asleep. It took a short moment for her words to sink in.

"I know. " Lucy said in a tired tone as her eyes fluttered open. What she found in the bathroom trashcan earlier and the mood the blonde's in, she put two and two together and understood completely. "Are you feeling okay? Do you need some ibuprofen?" Lucy said in a sweet voice.

Kristin nodded and placed a kiss on her cheek before turning off the lamp. Lying closer to the brunette, she let out a small smile and closed her eyes. While watching that sex scene in the movie, she probably would give in if it wasn't for the bad timing. She didn't have to tell her the truth. She could have let the brunette continue to think that she's not sleeping with her because she's still upset. What made her change her mind was the movie she just saw. A small misunderstanding led to a bigger one which forced the two main characters to separate. When the female lead discovered that she made a mistake, she wanted to find him to apologize, to reconcile, but it was too late. When she saw him talking happily with another girl, she was too stunned to move and got hit by a car in the middle of the street. In the end, he heard her last dying words and he went on living his life alone. Misunderstandings leading to conflicts and problems. Life is too short for that. Life is too short for arguments.

* * *

Next morning

Kristin was surprised to find that the brunette woke up earlier than she did. Usually she's the early riser. But she didn't sleep well last night, awoken in the middle of the night with stomach cramps.

Eating their breakfast made by the former criminal mastermind, Scud and Janet looked at each other, wondering if something happened last night. It seems that the brunette is in a good mood. Janet has never eaten breakfast made by her since she always wakes up late.

"Did you hear anything last night, Scud?" Janet said in a low volume.

"Last night? No." Scud said in confusion, wondering why she asked.

"Good morning." Kristin said as she took a seat next to Janet. Her mouth opened wide when she saw what was on the table. She expected the usual breakfast; ham, croissant, scrambled eggs, muffins. What's on the table were breakfast that not only requires a lot of time, but the know-how; ham and vegetable omelet with dices of tomatoes on the top, egg white vegetable omelet garnished with slices of strawberry on the side, golden brown French toast cooked to perfection. If she is feeling well, she would be ecstatic seeing what's in front of her. But this morning, she doesn't have the appetite for it. As she was about to ask who cook this, Lucy came in with a plate.

"Good morning." Lucy said.

"You made these?" Kristin said, surprised.

"mhm…what would you like to eat?"

Kristin hesitated. "I…want to eat…something else." She said in a sweet voice, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

"Okay, what?" Lucy said with a smile.

Seeing that the brunette wasn't upset, she pondered for a moment. "mmm"

"I know what you're thinking. Hold on." Lucy said as she went back into the kitchen.

Janet, being the nosy one, couldn't resist and raised her brows up and down.

Knowing what she meant, Kristin rolled her eyes. "No."

Scud glanced at the two in confusion, wondering what they were talking about. Lucy then came in and put a bowl of hot oatmeal with slices of strawberry on top in front of her.

"Is this what you're thinking of?" Lucy said.

Her small smile turned into a bigger one. Kristin nodded vigorously and kissed the brunette on the lips which surprised the heck out of all of them. All stopped moving and stared at the blonde.

"Are you…feeling okay?" Lucy said as she placed her palm on her forehead.

When Lucy kissed her on the cheek the first time in front of Scud, Kristin warned her not to do that again. She was surprised that she got a kiss on the lips.

"Fine." Kristin scooped up a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth. At that moment, she was so touched, all she wanted to do is give her a kiss for being so thoughtful. Besides, it's only Scud and Janet.

Lucy slowly sat down and glanced at Scud. Both wondered if the tumor has also affected her behavior.

After telling Lucy her plans for today, Lucy didn't feel comfortable letting the blonde go by herself to visit Kat and Helene, especially from what happened last night. _What if she suddenly forgot where she lives_? Lucy was able to convince the blonde to let her follow along.

After visiting Kat and Helene in a hotel room in London, Lucy learned that Helene's team wasn't able to find anything on Benjamin. She's not surprised. After hearing from Anthony last night, she felt something was definitely wrong. Jean Claude has not been in touch with that bastard. Everywhere Jean Claude went, Anthony had someone following him. But in the end, it wasn't the bastard that he was meeting with.

After the visit, Lucy decided to drive back to the apartment since Kristin wasn't feeling well.

"I think I need to join the gym." Now that she had quit her job, she hasn't been exercising as much as she used to. "It never used to bother me."

Lucy let out a smile, knowing exactly what she was referring to. It was a good idea since she too has been slacking in the past few months. "I'll join with you….then after we get back into shape, we can take that wedding photo?" She reminded her.

Kristin smiled as she scanned her lover up and down. What's in front of her is the same tanned toned beauty whom she met over a year ago. She doesn't need to join the gym. She's one of those people who can eat a lot and doesn't gain weight. _The only one who needs to get back into shape is me_. She closed her eyes and turned her head towards the passenger side window when she suddenly saw things spinning around. She inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. She slowly opened her eyes and shut it tight again. Her hands started to tremble as the car made a left turn.

"Honey…can you stop the car for a moment?" Kristin said with her eyes shut tight. The movement of the car was making her even more dizzy.

Lucy took a quick glance at the blonde and realized what was happening. She quickly pulled to the side. There was nothing she could do to help her except remain silent and hold her trembling hand. Her heart ached seeing her lover in pain. After a moment, the crease in her brows softened. Kristin slowly opened her eyes. Everything stopped spinning. She turned and saw the brunette's face, her eyes brimming with concern.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Lucy asked softly.

Kristin let out a small smile as she reached out to gently rub the brunette's cheek.

"I'm okay. I want to go home." She hasn't had one of these for awhile. Like what the doctor said, each time will get worse. This episode of dizziness lasted longer than the last one.

Lucy drove as fast as she could back to the apartment. After tucking the blonde into bed, Lucy placed her palm on her forehead to make sure she's not having a fever.

"I'm okay." Kristin said as she took her hand away from her forehead. "I just got dizzy."

"Let me call the doctor."

"Lucy…" Kristin shook her head to tell her that it's no use. "Can you get me a glass of water and ibuprofen?"

"I'll go make lunch right now. Then you can take that later, okay?" Taking pills on an empty stomach is never a good idea.

Lucy gave her a long kiss on the forehead before leaving the room. Closing the door behind her, Lucy took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly as she wiped the tears brimming her eyes. This is the second time she felt helpless. The first time was when she saw her in a coma. There was nothing she could do except stay beside her. _That turned okay. She's going to be fine. Just think positive._ Lucy slapped herself a few times.

"What you need to right now is make lunch." She said to herself.

After half an hour, Lucy was surprised when she heard the blonde's voice calling from the kitchen door.

"Is it ready?" Kristin said as she walked closer to the brunette to see what she's making for lunch.

Lucy turned and saw the blonde was feeling much better than before. She wiped her hands on the apron and placed her hand on her forehead again.

"Lucy, I'm okay. I'm just hungry and I have stomach cramps."

A few minutes later, Lucy brought 2 bowls from the kitchen and placed one in front of the blonde.

"Wow." Kristin said. What's in front of her is a bowl of thick noodle soup with vegetables on top; another dish she hasn't seen the brunette make. She didn't feel like eating greasy or cold food and it seems that the brunette knows exactly what she wants.

"slow down." Lucy said when she saw her lover burned her tongue while gobbling up the noodle soup.

"hot…hot…" Kristin stuck her tongue out while fanning it with her hand.

Lucy put her bowl aside and pulled the blonde's bowl towards her. Using a fork and a spoon, she scooped up some noodles, blew on it and placed it in front of the blonde's mouth.

"I can do that myself." Kristin said.

"Don't be shy. There's nobody here." Lucy smiled as she looked straight into her hazel green eyes. _This is all I can do._

Kristin did as told and opened her mouth wide as each spoon of noodles was fed to her. Being fed like this was supposed to be romantic, but that's not what she's feeling right now. It felt like this is what the brunette would be doing if the surgery didn't go well. What's worse than death is becoming paralyzed. She would have to talk to the brunette about this. But not right now. Knowing how much the brunette loves her, she would never promise her.

One week passed by, the date of the surgery is getting closer and closer. As promised, Lucy signed up for the nearest ymca club in London. They have been going for 7 days and already, Kristin could feel a difference in her body. In the past few days, they've tried all the classes from spinning to yoga to aerobics. This is the first time they've been in the swimming pool. Dressed in her one piece swimming suit, Kristin's jaws dropped when she saw her lover coming out of the changing room in her 2 piece swimsuit. With her hair tied in a ponytail, Lucy wore a black sports bra like top and a pair of shorts that look like cycling shorts but much much shorter.

"what are you wearing?" Kristin scanned her lover from top to bottom. Her eyes locked on her toned abs, sexy curves and belly button.

"What?" Lucy didn't understand what she meant. It's not like she's wearing a bikini.

"never mind." Kristin shook her head.

It's a weekday in the afternoon. They didn't expect that many people in the swimming pool.

Once they walked in, they immediately felt like the center of attention when they saw many pairs of eyes staring at them. Lucy looked around as she walked to the other side of the pool.

"Pervert in the blue shorts with the dark hair. Stay away from him."

"Agreed."

Acting like an agent, Kristin looked around. "Scumbag in the corner in the red shorts, blonde hair."

As they passed by an old man who had been watching since they came in, both pretended not to notice. When both said in unison 'dirty old man behind us', both chuckled.

Kristin jumped in first after stretching her arms and legs.

"It's cold." She said as she shivered. She can't remember the last time since she last swam.

"Honey, you better jump in here if you don't want that guy talking to you." Kristin whispered.

Stretching her arms, Lucy turned her body and pretended not to notice.

"He better turn around if he doesn't want to get rejected." Lucy did one more stretch and jumped in next to the brunette. Her teeth started chattering uncontrollably.

"Do you know how to swim?"

"a little…" Lucy gestured with her hand. Lucy didn't have to ask her since she probably had to pass a swimming test to be a government agent.

"here he comes. Meet you at the other end." Kristin said when he saw the man walking towards them. She took a deep breath and swam freestyle to the other side.

Lucy took a moment to watch the blonde and realized how good a swimmer she is. She then took a deep breath and swam underwater to the other side just in time, avoiding the man from talking to her.

Breathing heavily, Kristin waited for her lover to reach her. She noticed the man walking back this way. At the corner of her eyes, she noticed another man walking towards her. Knowing that she can't avoid them, she might as well listen to what he has to say.

"Excuse me. Hi."

Kristin turned around to look at the brownish hair young man.

Lucy reached the end of the pool just in time to listen to the man asking the blonde out. The other men reached the other end of the pool and bent down next to his friend.

"If you girls aren't busy later, would you like to join us at the restaurant across the street?"

Without looking at her wife, Kristin immediately responded.

"Thank you for asking. But I don't think my husband would like that."

When the guy looked at the brunette, Kristin responded in the same polite tone.

"She's married too. "

The men politely apologized and walked away.

Kristin turned to look at the brunette who smiled at her. "Whatever works." As long as they stay away.

Kristin suddenly got an idea.

"How about a race?"

"a race? Sure." It has been over a year since she last swam. It was with Nadia whom she lost the bet to. She was surprised that the blonde suggested the same thing. A bet.

"Loser does what the winner wants." Kristin said.

Lucy creased her brows, wondering what the blonde is thinking of. She must have wanted something to make that suggestion.

"you don't want to do this."

"Why? Are you afraid of losing?"

Lucy couldn't resist laughing out loud. "afraid? What I'm afraid of is that you won't keep your promise because what…I…want…is…" She whispered the rest into her ear.

Kristin immediately slapped her shoulder lightly. "Is that all you think about?"

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "You asked. That's the first thing that come to my mind….Look where we are….water…women in bikinis…hey, you can't blame me for having those thoughts."

What Lucy really wants is for her to cancel the bet. If she wants her to do something, all she has to do is ask. It's because the blonde didn't ask, she knows that it must be something that she is unwilling to do.

Knowing that the blonde would cancel the bet, Lucy lifted herself up to sit on the edge of the pool to take a rest. Her smile disappeared hearing the blonde's response.

"You're on." Kristin lifted herself up and sat next to her.

"What?"

"I've got nothing to lose. Do I?"

"But…you said…"

"Are you chickening out?"

Every time she hears that word, memory of what happened flowed back into her mind. Back in the criminal days, one of the leaders said that to her and she ended up losing a lot of money while playing a game of poker. He tricked her and it was a lesson that she'll never forget. That word reminds her of what a big fool she was. Since then, she never let that happen again. She won't take a bet unless she is sure she can win. She would let the other person think that it's because of that word, she would accept the bet without thinking, but the truth is that word is a reminder for her to not act foolishly.

"Ha! me…chickening out?…There's one thing you don't know about me…is that I…."

"are you in or not?"

"I'm giving you a chance to reconsider." She wouldn't do that for anyone else.

Kristin let herself down back into the pool. "No matter what happens, if there are others in your way, it still counts." She said as she moved into the other lane.

Lucy jumped back down into the pool. _She's really serious._ Lucy said when she saw the blonde asking a man next to her to be the judge for them. The man was happy to do so. He jumped out of the water.

"On your mark…get set…" Both took in a deep breath. "Go!"

With their feet, both pushed themselves off the wall. It was supposed to be between them. When Lucy heard people saying 'go…go…go' and clapping sounds, she realized other people were watching them.

_Focus. I can't let her win._ She took one last deep breath and extended her arm to its maximum length, swinging them to the side like a propeller. She's shorter than the blonde so she has a disadvantage.

_What the heck?_ Kristin was surprised when she heard whistling, clapping, and screaming. She didn't plan on this happening. They were the center of attention again. She flutter kicked as fast as she could as she took the last deep breath and kept her face under the water. It's almost to the end. Her hand then reached the end of the wall. She quickly pulled her head up to breathe.

"Hi." Lucy said with a smile.

Brushing the water off her face, she saw her lover sitting on the edge of the pool, waiting for her. She looked around and saw people clapping and cheering, then went on minding their own business.

"How?…how?" Breathing heavily, she looked up at the brunette. Previously when she saw the brunette swimming, it didn't look like she was any good at it. She had to stop to breathe. And she believed her when her lover told her that she only knows how to swim 'a little.' _A little my ass._

"You tricked me."

"No I didn't. You're the one who made the bet and I warned you a few times."

"You said you only know a little…"

"when compared to a professional swimmer, I am nothing."

Lucy could tell the blonde didn't like her response. She leaned forward and whispered.

"Honey, it doesn't matter, you have nothing to lose, right?...except...your clothing" Smiling wide, she raised her brows up and down.

Kristin swallowed hard. She only said that because she thought she was going to win for sure.

Just thinking about it made her blush. _I'm not ready for that yet_. She lifted herself out of the water and stood u_p._

"I'm going to the sauna." Kristin said as she walked towards the changing room.

Noticing her red cheeks, Lucy smiled as she stood up. She's not going to hold her to her promise. _Whenever you're ready._

Wrapped with a towel above the chest, both sat quietly next to each other. There was no one inside except for them. Her cheeks were no longer red. Droplets of sweat covered their face, their bodies. With the heat around her, Lucy closed her eyes and relaxed her back against the wall.

Her heart pounded rapidly as she looked at her lover. She's not sure if it's the heat in the sauna causing her heart rate to increase or the bet that she can't stop herself from thinking about. _She looks so damn good even with sweat all over her._

"Lucy"

"hm" Lucy responded with her eyes close. She reached up to wipe the sweat off her neck.

"mm…"

Lucy opened her eyes when she heard her lover's hesitation.

"I…" What Kristin wanted to say is that the bet is off. But she can't say that because that would mean Lucy could break the promises she made to her. She unknowingly bit her lower lip. "I know…" She stopped when she heard someone turning the doorknob.

"Hi girls."

"Hi Marion" Lucy and Kristin said in unison. The second time they've used the sauna, they've met Marion, a retired office assistant in her 60's who has nothing to do, spends most of her time in the ymca, and likes to talk about her two sons. Her husband passed away several years ago. Being lonely with nothing to do, she wished her sons would hurry up and get married and have kids so she could have some grandchildren to play with. Both Lucy and Kristin understood her situation and didn't mind listening to her. But they do wonder when Marion would pop the question. Because from what Marion has been telling them, they could tell that she wants to introduce her sons to both of them.

"Are you girls busy later?" Marion asked in a polite tone.

_And there's the question._ Lucy thought to herself and looked at the blonde who immediately responded in the same polite tone.

"We have plans."

"Oh…shoot…I was hoping you girls could join me for lunch today. I'm having lunch with my two sons."

Lucy raised her brows and remained silent. Whatever the blonde wants to tell her, it's up to her. _But don't tell her about us because she's not going to understand._

"You…want us…to meet your sons? Why?" Kristin decided to play dumb. Lucy laughed internally.

Marion is a little surprised with her question. Not wanting to be too direct, she explained that it would be a good opportunity for her sons to meet other people outside of work.

"They spent so much time working, they don't have time to meet people. They don't realize that they're not going to stay young forever….the older they get, it's going to get more difficult to find someone…"

Both remained silent as they listened to the older woman. It seems like she's not just talking about her sons, she's talking about them too.

"You girls too…don't wait…don't be picky…time goes by quickly…just like that…" She said as she snapped her fingers. "…so when you see the one you like, you go for it…because if you missed that opportunity, it's gone…it's…."

Both looked at each other, smiling as they listened to the older woman talk in a motherly way. Lucy doesn't have to be told. She let that opportunity passed by quite a few times. This time, she's not going to let her go. After the woman stopped talking, Lucy felt it's time to straighten out the misunderstanding.

"Now I understand." Lucy said as she walked towards Marion and sat next to her.

"You think we're still single."

A look of confusion appeared on the older woman's face. After telling the older woman that they're both married, Lucy explained that she wasn't wearing her wedding band because she felt uncomfortable in the sauna. Marion could clearly see the imprint the ring made on her finger.

"You're married too?" Marion asked the blonde who nodded. "Oh…shit"

Both girls laughed out loud at the older woman's response.

After saying goodbye to Marion, both left the sauna. The changing room is a large area. What Kristin can't understand is how some women just don't care to use the changing stalls, letting it all hang out. She quickly turned around and pretended not to notice the naked girl several feet from them.

When Lucy handed her the shampoo, soap and a bag, she saw the blonde tilting her head signaling her to look behind her. Lucy moved her head to the left and her eyes opened wide, her jaws dropped, her eyes didn't blink until her view was blocked by the blonde's hands. What she saw is a very sexy young blonde with a perfect body. Lucy cleared her throat and closed her locker.

Both stood still, allowing the naked blonde to pass by them first. Lucy wasn't having dirty thoughts. What she is thinking about is why the blonde is scanning her from top to bottom. _I'm not naked._ She looked down at herself, just to make sure. Holding a towel and a bag in front of herself covering her lower private area, the naked blonde slowly walked towards them as if wanting them, wanting the brunette to notice her. Lucy was a little surprised when the naked blonde winked and smiled at her as she walked past. She turned to look at the blonde, her lover, who creased her brows, looking straight at her to see her reaction.

"What?" She said as she shrugged her shoulders. Lucy's not sure what the blonde is thinking.

"Now I know why you don't like Alexis."

Lucy didn't like what she just heard. _Why is she talking about Alexis again?_

Ignoring the blonde, Lucy headed to the shower. Kristin followed behind.

"You like blondes." Kristin came to the conclusion when she saw those brownish dark eyes sparkled, looking at the naked blonde.

Lucy slid the shower curtain to the side and stepped inside one of the shower stall.

"Admitted. You prefer blondes."

"Honey, do you want to join me?" Lucy said as she grabbed her forearm. As expected, her lover immediately pulled her arm away and stepped into the shower stall next to her. Lucy smiled as she shook her head. Blondes. _How does she come up with that? If she only knew about her first ex, she wouldn't have said that. _

Never liked showering in a public place, Lucy took a quick shower and quickly got dressed. Standing in front of the large mirror, she tied her hair in a ponytail after blow drying it. There standing next to her is the blonde who winked to her earlier. Lucy pretended not to notice the girl staring and smiling at her and minded her own business as she straightened her bangs. It was quite difficult to ignore someone standing that close to you and smiling at you in a seductive way. _I better get out of here before she starts talking to me. _

Lucy walked to the locker room and sat on the bench to watch the news on the LCD tv hung on the wall as she waited for her lover.

_Shoot._ Lucy thought to herself when the blonde sat next to her.

"I saw you swimming earlier. You're very very good."

Lucy remained silent and smiled politely.

"I'm actually looking for a swimming instructor. Would you be interested?"

Not wanting to be rude, Lucy smiled as she shook her head and returned her attention back towards the tv.

_Is she going to give up yet? What's taking her so long?_

"Listen, I'm going to be at this place tonight." She stood in front of the brunette and handed her a card. "If you have some time, I would like to buy you a drink."

Lucy took a look at the card. She's not surprised to find that where the blonde is going to be tonight is a gay bar.

Lucy had to say something. "Thank you. But no thanks." Lucy said as politely as she could and handed the card back to her.

The blonde creased her brows in confusion. "I saw the way you look at me earlier. I can usually tell if someone…." She trailed off when she saw a blonde peeking in.

"honey, can you help me out?"

Lucy snapped her head at her lover, shocked when she heard her lover said that out loud. There were people in the changing rooms, in the other side of the locker room, shower stalls and there was one other person in the same room with them. What she just said caught that person's attention and is now staring at them. "I'll be right there."

"Oh…her, I couldn't tell. Why are the beautiful ones always taken?" The blonde said disappointed.

Lucy smiled and handed her back the card.

"Keep it. I hope everything works out for you." She said in a genuine tone.

Lucy jerked back a little when the blonde leaned forward to whisper into her ear.

"But if it doesn't, call me."

Lucy immediately jerked her head back when she felt a soft kiss on her cheek. The blonde smiled and left the room. The other woman in the room quickly turned around and pretended that she didn't see anything. Wiping the kiss off her face, Lucy then went to the bathroom area to look at herself in the mirror to see if there's any lipstick on her cheek. _Shoot._

"Did she get the hint?" Kristin walked towards her from behind.

"You didn't have to do that. I was going to show her my ring and that would've taken care of it."

Lucy said as she wet a paper towel under the faucet.

"What are you doing?"

"She kissed me." Lucy wiped her face.

"She didn't!" Kristin said in disbelief.

Lucy thought the blonde would get upset, but she didn't.

She chuckled, then burst out laughing when she saw the brunette scrubbing her face.

"If you keep doing that, your skin is going to come off."

After eating lunch and spending time walking around the mall, they decided to go back to the apartment to eat dinner since Kristin preferred to eat Lucy's cooking. Janet and Kristin sat anxiously waiting for dinner to be served. They had no idea what's for dinner tonight but was told not to enter the kitchen.

"Girls, are you ready?" Scud said as he opened the kitchen door. "Close your eyes."

Janet and Kristin did as told and covered their eyes. From the smell of it, they sensed that it's something that they've never tried before.

"Okay, open your eyes."

"Wow!"

What's in front of them is lobster thermidor, oven baked lobster meat mixed with egg yolk, onion and brandy stuffed in a lobster tail with melted parmesan cheese on top, fried rice and steamed vegetables on the side, and a slice of lemon.

Janet licked her lips. Kristin swallowed and inhaled the smell of the cooking. She couldn't resist and leaned towards the brunette sitting next to her and kissed hard on her cheek, causing Lucy to drop her fork. Her whole body froze. Scud stopped moving and stared at the blonde. Janet didn't care and dug her fork into the lobster tail and got to be the first one to try it.

"Oh...my...god. This is sooooo good!" Janet said as she stuffed her mouth with another spoonful of lobster mixture.

This is the second time she did that in front of them. _What is going on with her?_ Lucy thought to herself.

"This is absolutely delicious." Kristin said as she chewed on the lobster meat.

Lucy smiled and took a quick glance at Scud who also found the the blonde's behavior a little strange. Her smile disappeared hearing the blonde's next question.

"Why is yours different from ours?" Kristin said when she noticed that the lobster tail on the brunnete's plate didn't have cheese coating on it.

"I…can't…eat cheese." She looked at the blonde to see her reaction and her response frightened her.

"oh…why?" Kristin asked as she scooped up another spoonful of lobster meat into her mouth.

_You know why. You slept with me that night because of it_. Lucy wanted to ask her a lot of questions but decided not to. _It's going to be fine after the surgery. There's nothing to worry about._

Lucy told her that she couldn't eat dairy products and continued eating as if nothing strange happened. She changed the subject and told Janet and Scud what happened at the swimming pool. What she was trying to see is if the blonde remembers what happened today.

"See Janet, this is why the wedding ring is important." Kristin said and Janet agreed.

Just to remind the blonde, Lucy told them about the swimming race and the bet.

"Who won?" Janet asked out of curiosity.

"I did." Lucy said as she glanced at the blonde to see her reaction.

"What did you bet on?" It wasn't Janet who asked. It was Scud.

Lucy smiled when she saw the blonde looking at her. _She didn't forget_.

"We bet on…"

"Nothing, it was a silly bet…I ended up buying lunch. That's all. Right? Honey." Kristin interrupted her.

"right." Lucy took a drink of water. Even if the blonde didn't interrupt, she wasn't going to tell them the truth.

After dinner, Lucy searched online about memory loss caused by tumors. What she wanted to know is should she tell the blonde or pretend there's nothing wrong. She decided to tell the doctor tomorrow about her condition. She shut down the computer and went to the living room where all three were watching a movie. Sitting next to the blonde, she hung her arm around her shoulders. She just hoped it's not another sad movie. It wasn't. After the movie ended, Janet decided to go to bed.

"it's getting late…you should take a shower."

What Lucy just said got the blonde's full attention. Kristin noticed the brunette has not taken a shower. S_he's not thinking of taking a shower together. Is she_? Kristin swallowed. "I'll go take a shower first." She stood up and walked quickly to the bedroom.

Lucy smiled at her reaction. She took the opportunity to talk to Scud about the blonde's behavior lately. He too find it strange and felt that the she should let the doctor know about it.

After taking a shower, Lucy slowly opened the door to her bedroom, not wanting to disturb the blonde. She was surprised when she noticed the lights were still on. Kristin was sitting on the bed reading a magazine. Lucy locked the door and slid underneath the blanket.

"Anything interesting?"

"Strange…."

"hmm…what's strange?"

"Nothing…." Kristin closed the magazine and put it on the table next to her.

Lucy expected the blonde to turn off the lights. But when she didn't, she opened her eyes and saw her lover looking down at her.

"Thanks for dinner tonight. It was delicious." Kristin leaned to kiss her lips.

"You're welcome."

What the blonde is doing to her caught her by surprise. Lucy wasn't expecting this to happen tonight or ever, until they moved to another apartment. _I guessed she changed her mind._

"Honey, about the bet…" Kristin said between kisses.

"Whenever you're ready."

That's what she wanted to hear. Kristin smiled at her lover and pressed her soft lips against hers. With her face two inches from the brunette's, she scanned every inch of her face, taking in every detail, the eye color, those large hypnotizing gorgeous eyes, her diamond shaped smooth tanned face, the thin lips, the wide cheekbones and dimples that appear every time she flashes her million dollar smile, the smile that captivated her the first time…_the first time…the first time_…

"Is everything okay?" Lucy whispered when she saw the blonde's eyes locked on her lips. She closed her eyes and gasped inward, feeling the tip of the blonde's tongue on her face, her neck and a hand underneath her pajama top, massaging her breast. "ohhh…God…" Her heart began to beat a little faster.

Kristin smiled at her reaction and pulled her hand away. She sat up and began unbuttoning the brunette's pajama top. Seeing how slow the blonde was unbuttoning her top, Lucy tried to do it herself but was prevented from doing so. Kristin slapped her hand away.

Unsure of what the blonde has in mind, Lucy lay back down and tried to control herself as the blonde slowly unbuttoned her top, one button at a time at a turtle's pace. She lifted her head, looked down, and saw there were 3 more buttons to go. She made a mental note not to wear pajamas top with buttons next time.

"Honey, you're torturing me."

She just wanted her to know that. It's been more than a week since the last time they did it and it felt like months. Kristin let out a small laugh. After she finished unbuttoning the last button, Lucy sat up, took her top off and as she was about to throw it somewhere, she stopped and hid the pajama top underneath her pillow for later. She leaned in to kiss the blonde while her fingers worked on unbuttoning the blonde's pajamas top.

"Do you want the lights off?" Lucy asked between kisses. She was surprised when the blonde pulled back and took her top off showing her naked upper body with the lights on. Lucy leaned in and kissed her slow and deep, slipping her tongue into her mouth while gently pressing her down against the sheets. When out of breath, both pulled back to catch their breath. She looked down and realized that she still has her pajamas pants and underwear on. She quickly rolled off the body underneath her and took off her pajama pants and underwear. As she placed them on the table next to her, she found that she was a little too slow. The blonde crawled on top of her, kissing, licking her slowly from her neck down her chest. With each intimate touch, every cell in her body ignited with desire.

After a moment, feeling that it's time, Kristin kissed her way up and pressed her body against the brunette's. This time, with the lights on, she could see the brunette clearly, eyes sparkled with desire, chest falling up and down rapidly, sexy toned tanned body waiting for what was about to happen. That was her intention to have the lights on, to see her lover's reaction when they make love, hoping to remember what it's like, in their intimate moments together, before she forgets…everything. What happened today frightened her. In the locker room in the ymca, she panicked when she forgot where her locker was. People forget where their locker is all the time. But it shouldn't happen to her because she's a trained agent. That's when she asked the brunette for help. But later she felt relieved she was able to find it by herself. Then during dinner time, when her lover said she can't eat cheese, she could tell from the brunette's tone that she was supposed to know that.

After a long moment of love making, Kristin rested her exhausted nude body on top of the brunette's. As her breathing began to normalize, she couldn't resist laughing out loud.

"What's so funny?" Lucy said. Her arms wrapped around her naked lover.

"I can't believe you said that." What the brunette said while they were making love made her laugh. The brunette was again acting like a little child and she found her to be extremely adorable, whining like a little kid who wants to eat candy.

"That's how I feel. I prefer to be on the top." Lucy wasn't embarrassed to say that again. Now that they're married, she wanted the blonde to know what she preferred even though the blonde didn't agree to let her be on the top all the time.

Kristin continued to laugh out loud.

"Janet is going to say something tomorrow." Lucy warned. It wasn't just the laugh. It was the blonde's screaming too.

"She won't mind as long as you keep cooking." Kristin placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Honey."

"No." Kristin immediately denied her request again.

"That's not what I was going to say."

"Oh…sorry"

"Is something bothering you? Tell me what you're thinking." When the blonde locked her eyes at her face for a long time a moment ago, she felt something was wrong. She found it strange the blonde wanted the lights on. It was only their second time.

Kristin didn't respond.

Wrapping her arms around the naked body lying on top of her, Lucy remained silent and waited for her lover to open up to her. After a short moment, she released the hold when the blonde rolled off of her. Leaning on her side, she helped the blonde pulled the blanket over her shoulders.

Her hazel green eyes pierced into her lover's, a few inches away and she was sure the brunette already knew what was happening. There was no need to hide it from her, no need to hide from anyone. Kristin let out a deep breath before speaking.

Lucy managed to control her emotions as if what she just heard didn't bother her. It was serious. She hoped that it's short term. Lucy let out a small smile and began telling her, in as much detail as she could, the first time they met.

* * *

**Chapter 35: Chapter 35**

* * *

**Chapter 35**

Lucy remained silent, looking at the blonde who was giving her an odd look, raising one eyebrow higher than the other.

"What?"

"I don't believe you. I wouldn't do that."

"But you did. I was shocked to find…you…sleeping next to me…"

"so I slept with you the first day we met because you got sick from eating Alexis' dessert?"

"mhm" Lucy nodded, with a smile.

She didn't expect this to happen but when she began telling her the story of how they met, she came to realize even if the blonde forgets everything, it would be okay, as long as she's healthy.

"Have you ever seen a movie about a guy falling in love with a girl who has memory loss and forgets him the very next day?"

As expected, Kristin shook her head.

Lucy continued to tell her about the main character whose name happens to be Lucy. Due to a car accident, she had Goldfield Syndrome, a type of anterograde amnesia and wakes up every morning thinking that it's the day when the accident happened. The two main characters ended up getting married and had a little girl just like a regular couple. What the guy did was have Lucy watch a video tape of them of all the things they did, every morning she wakes up, to remind her.

"Is that a true story?"

Lucy reached out to tuck a golden stray hair behind her ear.

"Even if it's not a true story, if it does happen to you, I can make you fall in love with me again…you probably would reject me again…but I'm not going to stop trying…"

Lucy shifted closer when an idea hit her.

"You know what we could do now…we can make a video…"

"Lucy! NO!" Kristin pulled the blanket over her entire body, covering her face to hide her red cheeks.

"What?" Lucy said in confusion. It took a moment for her to realize what the blonde was thinking of.

"umm…honey…that's not what I was thinking of."

Kristin slowly pulled the blanket off her head. "No?"

"a sex video? Of course not! " Lucy rolled her eyes as she shook her head.

"What I'm thinking of…is when we get our wedding pictures taken, we can record that."

"I like that." Before listening to the brunette talk about their first time they met, she recalled some events that didn't make sense to her, but now it does. Pieces were slowly coming together. A smile appeared on her face when she realized that her memory loss might not be that severe.

"Now…where were we?" Lucy leaned in to place a kiss on her lips, on her face, her neck.

Kristin pushed the brunette's head to look directly at her. "It's time to sleep."

"Noooo…I seem to recall…that you said 'I'll get my turn.'"

Kristin pondered for a short moment as her eyes moved from side to side. "I don't remember that. Is there something wrong with your memory?"

Walking to the bathroom in the hallway with eyelids half opened, Janet rolled her eyes when she heard the blonde screaming and giggling uncontrollably inside the newlywed's bedroom.

* * *

Her legs trembled as she sat nervously on the bench. Those who knew her could only stand by or sit patiently. Strangers understood why she was acting this way. She could no longer sit and do nothing. She stood up and walked around in circles in the waiting room with her head down. On the other side of the room, Michel was doing the same thing, pacing back and forth. As Alexis was about to walk towards the brunette to comfort her, Scud grabbed her forearm and shook his head to let her know not to.

It wasn't supposed to be today. The operation was supposed to be in three days. Today is the day they were supposed to try on their wedding outfits.

_When they heard the blonde screaming in pain in the living room, Scud and Lucy ran out of their bedrooms and found her, holding her head while rolling on the floor. She was hitting her own head as if hitting it would make the pain go away. Veins popped out of her forehead and neck. Her face turned purplish red. Janet called for an ambulance. There was nothing anyone could do. Lucy's face immediately turned pale because what she saw reminded her of Ivan, the one who complained about a headache while playing poker and died from a ruptured aneurysm that day. Then the screaming stopped. No sound was heard except the uncontrollable rapid beating of her own heart. No. No. No. Like Ivan, Kristin passed out, lying unconscious on the floor. How is this possible? The aneurysm is small. Is there another one?_

Everyone was relieved when the blonde finally woke up in the hospital. Lucy thanked God that it wasn't a ruptured aneurysm. The doctor suggested to do the surgery early and here they are waiting for someone to come in to give them the good news. It's been three hours already. Lucy stopped. Michel stopped. Disappointed, both then continued to pace around when they saw Alexis' mother, wearing her hospital uniform, at the door. She walked towards her daughter and asked if they heard anything. Alexis shook her head. Realizing that 3 hours have passed, Alexis' mother sensed something might be wrong. It was supposed to be a 2 hour surgery.

"Have you eaten yet?"

Alexis shook her head as she watched the brunette walking back and forth. She is hungry but eating is the last thing on her mind.

Her eyes followed Alexis' line of sight to see what captured her attention. Her brows creased when she saw the brunette. She turned to look at her daughter again, back and forth a few times and understood. Grabbing Alexis' hand, she walked towards the door.

"Michel, Skye, we'll get you some lunch."

Michel stopped and nodded. Lucy continued pacing because the only thing on her mind is the blonde. Scud and Janet remained seated. They were not in the mood to eat.

Keeping her eyes on the brunette, Alexis did not want to leave but reluctantly followed.

After buying a few sandwiches, Alexis wanted to go back up to the waiting room but her mother insisted on eating in the cafeteria first.

"Alexis, is there something you want to tell me?"

Chewing slowly on her sandwich, Alexis slowly looked up at her mother. Her mind was still thinking about the brunette and the blonde. Unsure of what she heard, she asked her mother to repeat before shaking her head.

"How long have you known Skye?"

Alexis hesitated before answering, trying to remember exactly how long they've known each other.

"Not that long." She said as she took another bite of her sandwich.

"What do you think of her?"

Her brows creased in confusion, unsure what her mother wanted to know.

"What…do you mean?"

"Well, I think…she's…very…beautiful…the first time I met her, I…couldn't keep my eyes off her….she has this….this…" She held up her hand, unable to think of the right word to use. "…this…uniqueness…"

Alexis couldn't stop smiling as she listens to her mother.

"Your father said she's a friend of his. What does she do?"

Unsure of what to say, she hesitated before speaking. "I haven't seen her for a long time. I'm not sure what she's doing now." That is the truth. She has no idea what the brunette is doing in London.

"She's gorgeous. Don't you think?"

With mouth agape, her whole body froze for a few seconds as she stared at her mother, wondering why she asked. She cleared her throat before responding.

"Yes." She said in a low voice as she shyly looked down and took another bite of her sandwich. Her head then shot up hearing her mother's next question.

"Do you like her?"

Realizing her mother saw right through her, Alexis remained silent.

"Does she know?"

Knowing what kind of person Alexis is, her mother wouldn't be surprised that her daughter already let the brunette know how she feels about her. She understood when her daughter nodded without smiling.

"Sorry…"

Alexis shook her head as she let out a small smile, letting her know that she's okay. "We're friends."

"When I met her, I was thinking of introducing you to her. But then I thought…with that beautiful face of hers, she probably has men lining up from here to Paris."

Hearing that comment, Alexis couldn't help but laugh when she realized that her mother doesn't know about the brunette's preference.

"Is she married?"

Alexis shook her head. "She's…taken."

"That's what I thought. Anyways, what I want to talk to you about is your father."

Confused, Alexis took a drink of water from the bottle.

"How long has he been dating Kristin?"

Alexis would have spit everything out of her mouth if she didn't just swallowed everything. "What?"

"Are you okay with this? Because he said you don't mind. For the love of God, I just don't understand what that nice girl sees in your father. Is she a gold digger?"

"No!"

"Then what does she see in your father? Your father is so much older. He's not old enough to be her father but still, he's old. He might not look his age, but still he's old….."

"Mom." Alexis tried to explain but couldn't get a word in when her mother kept ranting. She stayed silent and let her mother finish talking.

"Do you know how old she is? If they get married, she's going to be your step-mother. That is going to be so awkward. Do you get along with her? Does Ashley like her?"

"I like her and Ashley loves her…but that's beside the point…she…" Alexis gasped inward when suddenly all the lights went out inside and outside of the cafeteria.

"What happened?"

Voices of panic were heard when the lights didn't come back on. The only lights in the cafeteria were from the lights from the gray sky with drizzling rain. People ran near the windows and saw that all the street lights, lights in the other buildings went out. The only lights they saw were the headlights from the cars lined up in traffic.

"Oh no." Alexis immediately ran outside of the cafeteria. When she saw a line of people standing in front of the elevators, she ran towards the door where the stairs were located. Her heart pounded rapidly when she didn't see any lights on the elevators. Either the backup generators failed or didn't kick in yet for whatever reason. With her mother following from behind, she jumped two steps at a time up 4 flights of stairs. "Please God..Please God…not now." She prayed as she ran up the stairs as fast as she could. Panting heavily, she pushed the door open. All the lights were out. It was dim. Lights shone through the window at each end of the hallway. Hospital staffs were walking rapidly down the hall. Visitors surrounded some of the staffs to ask what happened. Nurses asked everyone to remain calm. Running towards the waiting room, she accidentally bumped into people and apologized. But nobody seem to care at this moment. What people want is answers. What's happening in the surgery rooms? Do they have emergency lights? Without thinking, she called out the brunette's name "Keira!" after entering the waiting area. There was nobody there. She turned around and headed rapidly down the hall.

"excuse me…sorry…sorry…"

At end of the hall, she turned right. There she saw Scud, Janet, her father, the one she loves and a few others crowding around a hospital staff.

"Please, everyone, stay calm." No one listened. Everyone was panicking, afraid that their love ones would die in the middle of surgery.

Lucy wanted answers. She wanted them now. She couldn't take it anymore and yelled at the top of her lungs.

"BEEE…QUIIIII…EEEEEEET!"

Her sudden shout startled everyone, even Scud, even Alexis and her mother at the end of the hallway. Everyone stayed silent. A woman gasped when Lucy grabbed the female staff by the shoulders and moved her one step back.

"You…go in there and find out if they have lights. Come out and tell us." Lucy said in a commanding tone. She expected the female to do as she said and didn't like it when she didn't move.

Standing stiff, the frightened female staff pulled her head back slightly as fierce eyes pierced into hers. She responded in a trembling voice. "I…think…they…"

"Don't think…don't assume…go find out…now!" Lucy then pushed the female staff through the double doors. If she hesitated again, Lucy was going to go in there herself.

Holding her bangs up, Lucy began to pace back and forth nervously, staring at the floor, unaware that everyone around was watching her. What if there are no lights, no power, what can she do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Twenty seconds later, breathing heavily, the female staff pushed through the doors. All crowded around her.

"They have power."

All let out a loud sigh of relief until the woman spoke again. "…except for one…"

"Which one?" Lucy said.

"I don't know…wait…" As she walked towards the desk, all silently followed. Picking up a notebook, she flipped through the pages back and forth.

All let out another sigh of relief when she told them that nobody was being operated in that room. Lucy then pulled Scud aside. She didn't have to say a word. He knew what she's thinking. "I'm on it." Scud quickly left the area with Janet who had no idea where he's going. At this moment, the only thing he could do is find out what's causing the power outage and how long it will take to come back up.

"How long does the emergency backup last?" Lucy again did not like the female hospital staff response when she shook her head. It drove her nuts not knowing what type of backup they were using. Is it battery backup? Did the emergency generator kick in? Why don't they have lights here? Is it only powering patient care areas? She turned around and saw Michel with the same worried look. There was nothing either one could do. But she knew what he was thinking. If something happens to the blonde, neither one would be able to forgive themselves. Michel would blame himself for suggesting this hospital. She would blame herself for not noticing her problem, not taking care of her, for everything she put her through. At the corner of her eyes, she noticed another familiar face staring at her with concerned eyes. Standing still with her hands by her side, she closed her eyes as Alexis wrapped her warm arms around her. What she needed now is someone to tell her that the blonde will make it, that everything will be okay…and that's what she got.

"Michel, she's going to be fine." His ex-wife said as she handed her the bag of sandwiches.

Letting out a big sigh, Michel sat down on the bench, holding his head.

"You need to eat. She'll need you to take care of her." His ex-wife took his hand and put the bag of sandwiches in his hand. "I'll go find out what's going on."

Not in the mood to explain, Michel remained silent as she watched his ex-wife leave.

In the lobby, people crowded around the front desk. Police tried to calm the situation. Hospital staffs were running around. Scud and Janet ran outside to see what the people were looking at. Drivers came out of their cars, stuck in traffic jam. Noises, police car sirens, ambulance sirens, screaming, shouting, honking from cars were heard. Chaos everywhere.

"What the hell?" Scud said as he looked around. Then he looked up when a helicopter flew by.

They wanted to know what's going on, but nobody seems to know until a man came running towards their direction. "…get out of here…everybody…get out of here"

He couldn't resist and blocked the man from leaving. "What happened?"

"Two streets down…there's an explosion…Get out of here…man…" He pointed to the left and walked away.

"Explosion? Shit!" Having heard about the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, he wondered if this could be another one. He wanted to find out himself. As he was about to head into the direction of the explosion, Janet grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going?"

"I want to see what's going on."

"It won't help her. What we need is batteries, lights, portable power generators if we can find one."

Janet took her cell phone out.

Back in the hospital, sitting on the bench next to Alexis, Lucy answered the call.

"They have power. But Janet, I don't know what kind of backup it is, find what you can."

After learning about the explosion, Janet kept the information to herself. Nobody wants to listen to bad news at this moment. Michel took the sandwich out of the bag and handed it to the brunette who shook her head. Alexis took the sandwich out her father's hand and unwrapped it.

"I know you don't want to eat right now. But you have to." Alexis put the sandwich in front of her mouth. Lucy didn't feel like eating at this moment but her stomach said otherwise. She took the sandwich and gobbled it up within two minutes. After a moment, all turned to the direction of the double doors when a surgeon came out.

All immediately approached the surgeon and could tell how tired he was when he let out a deep breath. _Speak. Speak_. Lucy thought to herself. She managed to control herself from speaking her thoughts and gave the surgeon a moment.

"We got it out successfully. We'll keep her in the ICU for a few days." He explained that they were done removing the tumor when the power went out and the emergency backup kicked in after a few seconds. Lucy internally thanked the Lord. They learned that there were no complications and should expect the patient to wake up after anesthesia wears off. The more he spoke, their worry lessened. Alexis was right. Grandma won't let anything happen to her. Lucy believed that until a day later, she had another thought. The Lord was punishing her for all those bad things she did. "Punish me! Why are you doing this to her?!" Lucy yelled at the heavens above as she stared at the sky each night outside of the hospital.

Two days after the surgery, the blonde was moved from the ICU to another room. The post-operative nasal packings were removed. Lucy requested a separate bed to be placed inside the room for her.

Today was the third day. The blonde did not wake up. Something went wrong despite how successful the surgery was.

Sitting on a chair next to the unconscious blonde, Lucy rolled up the blonde's sleeve and washed her arm with a warm wet towel.

"We'll get you home once the doctor gives the okay…okay, honey?" Lucy said as she gently rubbed the wet towel around her lover's neck and face.

Before the surgery, she read online about patients who had their benign brain tumor removed. Most came out with good results with some side effects that later went away. Some who underwent craniotomy came out in a state of coma. But not with this method. There were no stories about patients being in a coma with this method EEA. Doctors were baffled. This, she didn't expect this to happen.

"Come in." Lucy said when she heard a knock on the doctor.

Holding a vase of flowers, Michel walked in with Alexis following from behind.

"Did the doctor come in yet?" Michel said as he placed the vase on the table.

"Not yet." Lucy responded as she pulled the blanket over the blonde's shoulders.

"Have you eaten yet? I bought you breakfast." Alexis said as she held up a bag and a cup of coffee.

Lucy didn't hesitate this time. She needed to stay healthy to take care of the blonde. She took the bag and coffee and stepped aside to allow Alexis to sit in her chair. Her head shot up when she heard the news on the tv. They were still talking about the power outage. She heard from Scud that the explosion was caused by gas leak underground which caused the power outage. Luckily the backup generators in the hospital kicked in when it was needed. No patients were affected. But the explosion killed several people nearby.

After a moment, Alexis' mother came in to see the blonde before starting her shift. This is the first time she's been into this room. The first thing she noticed was the extra bed.

"Hi mom." Alexis said as she continued to massage the blonde's legs.

She looked at the blonde before turning towards Michel and Lucy.

"I've seen a lot of these cases. Don't worry. She's in good shape. I have no doubt she's going to wake up soon."

She turned to Michel.

"Michel, I know you care for her but I hope you're not planning to sleep here."

Knowing how the blonde didn't want people to think she has anything to do with Michel, Lucy was about to say something but Michel beat her to it.

"No, I'm not sleeping here."

Alexis glanced at the brunette to see if she wanted to tell her mother the truth.

"Actually, I'm going to sleep here." Lucy said.

"Oh…good…what you can do is talk to her…she can hear you. They say music helps too. Play some of her favorite music and ….." She trailed off when someone came in.

It was the surgeon and another doctor. All remained silent as the surgeon took a moment to look at the blonde's eyes. After looking through the patient's chart, he handed it to the other doctor whom they've never met before.

"Has she had previous accidents?" The doctor asked, not directing the question to anyone in particular.

Since Michel was more familiar with what happened the time she got shot, he told the doctor what he knows without giving him all the details.

"And how long did it take her to wake up that time?"

Lucy can't remember, so she let Michel answered the question.

The doctor then asked about the blonde's family's health history which both Lucy and Michel had no idea.

"When can I take her home?" Lucy wanted to take the blonde home as soon as possible since it would be more comfortable for both of them.

The surgeon didn't think it would be a good idea at this moment. "We'll need to monitor her for a few more days."

After the doctors excused themselves, Lucy sat back down to rethink. She would have to get another apartment on the first floor. Getting the blonde up the stairs in their apartment right now would be difficult. Since they had plans on moving anyways, now would be a good time to search for one. Deep in thought, she didn't notice that Michel left the room.

"Where's her family?" Michel's ex-wife asked.

"She doesn't have any." Alexis responded.

"Oh…" Alexis' mother said in a sympathetic tone when she realized that the blonde is all alone.

"Such a beautiful girl…" She reached out to brush the hair away from her eyes. "…Is that why you're dating him?…because you don't have any family…because he can give you the security that young men can't…but he's so much older than you."

"mom" Alexis tried to explain but was again prevented from doing so.

"Sshh…" Alexis' mother placed a finger on her mouth as she glanced at her daughter, then to the brunette, motioning them to stay quiet.

"He's almost old enough to be your father. What do you see in him, anyways? There are so many young men out there who could be good for you."

It took a moment for Lucy and Alexis to understand what her mother was trying to do.

"You don't have any family but you have friends. There's Skye and Alexis. You don't need someone that old to take care of you. Michel is not right for you. Sweetie." She gently rubbed the blonde's hand. "I know you think you love him now, but what's going to happen after 10 years? He's going to be so old…and you're still…"

She stopped and looked at Alexis, then at the brunette. She whispered. "She moved."

Lucy immediately jumped up. When she was about to call the blonde's name, Alexis' mother held up her hand, motioning them to keep quiet again.

"That's right, Kristin. Michel is not right for you. People are going to say that you're a gold-digger, only interested in his money. I know you're not. But that's what people are going to say. That's what his friends are going to say when he introduces you to them. They're going to say: What's that pretty young lady doing with an old man? For money. That's what they're going to…."

Alexis gasped out loud, covering her mouth when she saw the blonde moving her eyelids, slowly lifting them up.

"Oh…my…god." Smiling wide, Alexis' mother extended her hand again, motioning the girls not to hover around her. "Give her a moment."

"I'll get the nurse." Alexis ran out of the room.

Lucy immediately took her place and stood next to the blonde whose eyes moved from side to side.

"Hi" Lucy said, holding back the sudden urge to cry. She felt as though a rock has been lifted off her chest. Everything is going to be all right after all. That's what she thought until the blonde spoke.

Blinking a few times to get adjusted to the light, Kristin moved her eyes towards the older woman. "Who…are you?"

"Kristin, she's…" Lucy stopped when Alexis' mother spoke.

"Give her a moment." After giving her a moment, Alexis' mother pressed the control to move the adjustable bed up in a sitting position.

"You might not remember me since we've only met a couple of times. Do you remember…" As she was about to point to the brunette, Michel, Alexis, and the two doctors entered the room.

"Here he is…you must remember your boyfriend." She motioned Michel to come closer.

At this point, Lucy wanted to explain but was again interrupted. All stepped aside for the doctor to take a look at the blonde. After introducing himself, he asked if the blonde knows where she is.

"No."

"Do you recognize anyone here?"

Lucy's heart skipped a beat when the blonde scanned the room, not even noticing her. She was afraid that this would happen.

Not hearing a response, the doctor asked another question. "Do you know who you are?"

All waited for the blonde to respond but what they heard shocked all of them.

"I…don't…know." She winced when she felt pain in her nose.

After the doctor explained what happened, he asked the nurse to get her medication.

The doctor then stepped aside to talk to the brunette and Michel.

"We don't know what's going on yet. But we do have patients who experienced this type of amnesia after the surgery. The memory loss could be short term. Now, you said before she was experiencing memory problems before the surgery." The surgeon asked the brunette who nodded.

"…and you said she had a car accident before." He asked Michel.

"Yes."

The doctor then suggested to give her some time to remember and give her time to rest before leaving the room.

"So…you're Alexis…and…you're her mother." Kristin said as she pointed to the older woman.

"That's right…and…he's your boyfriend."

"NO!" Michel, Alexis and Lucy said so loud in unison, it startled Alexis' mother and the blonde.

Michel stepped closer to the blonde. "I'm just a friend. She is." He pointed to the brunette.

Alexis' mother snapped her head at her daughter, realizing that she made a big mistake, realizing that it was a one-sided love for both her ex-husband and her daughter.

"She is what?"

"She is your girlfriend." Michel said.

If it didn't hurt to laugh, Kristin would have laughed out loud at this moment. She let out a small laugh.

"You're kidding me, right?" Nobody's laughing except her. All had a serious look on their faces.

"I'm not gay." She said in a tone as if the people around her were all crazy. She can't remember her name. She can't remember a lot of things but she knows that she's not gay.

_Oh shit._ Lucy expected memory loss after the surgery, but not this. She walked closer to the blonde.

"umm….I'm not your girlfriend."

"I didn't think so." She expected them to laugh at any minute but they didn't, just confused eyes staring at the brunette.

"Honey, you're my wife."

Silence filled the room. All eyes widened as they focused on the brunette. Both Michel and Alexis were stunned still. The blonde was no longer laughing or smiling. She wanted to say if this is another joke, but could tell from the others that they were as shocked as she was. Alexis' mother's jaws dropped so wide, it could fit a small apple.

"We got married two weeks ago." Lucy took out the blonde's ring from her jean's pocket. She held the ring up and put it on the blonde's finger to show her that it was a perfect fit.

Alexis' mother was glad the blonde wasn't dating her ex-husband. But she was still surprised about the blonde and the brunette's relationship. She now understood why the brunette acted that way during the power outage. Lucy thanked Alexis' mother who had to go back to work.

"I'm…sorry. I…don't…remember." Kristin said in an apologetic tone as she turned her face away.

"It's okay. I'm sorry. The doctor said not to give you any surprises. I didn't think this would…" She trailed off when the blonde took off the ring.

"Maybe you should hold on to this…until I can remember."

At this moment, she regretted buying the wedding band because it hurts when the blonde took it off. She internally blamed herself. _Maybe I shouldn't have told her_. "Sure." She said in a faint voice.

"I'll…mm…" Lucy swallowed to calm her aching heart and cleared her throat. "I'll...get you something to eat."

All could tell the brunette was deeply hurt when she walked outside with her head down. Requested by the nurse, all went outside for a moment.

Michel and Alexis stood in front of the brunette to comfort her.

"Congratulations." Michel said as he offered his hand and Lucy shook his hand firmly.

Alexis couldn't resist wrapping her arms around the brunette, one last time.

"Congratulations. I'm happy for you." She knew it was going to happen sooner or later. But it still hurts to see the one you love marrying somebody else. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly to control her tears from forming. "She's going to be okay. Give her some time."

After spending a couple of hours with the blonde, Alexis and Michel left. Lucy called Scud to let him know what happened and told him to buy lunch for both of them since she's not too fond of hospital food. She regretted telling the blonde about their relationship when she noticed the awkward silence. She wondered how much Alexis and Michel told her. They have been watching tv in silence for half an hour. It doesn't seem that the blonde wants to know anything about their relationship. _Shoot._

"Where are you going?" Lucy asked when she saw the blonde trying to get out of bed.

"…bathroom."

"Let me help you." Lucy quickly stood in front of her.

"No!" Kristin said a little louder than she wanted to. "I…mean…I can do it myself."

"No you can't. You're too weak."

She realized that the brunette was right when she placed her foot down on the floor. Her legs gave way, she fell on to the blonde's arms. Then suddenly her heart spontaneously beat faster when she felt the brunette's arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Lucy lifted her to sit back on the bed. With one arm under her legs, she took a deep breath and carried the blonde to the bathroom. This reminded her of the time the blonde woke up from a coma. But this time is different. She is carrying someone who has no idea who she is. Gently letting the blonde down in front of the toilet, she held her steadily.

"Let me know when you're ready." Lucy said before leaving the bathroom to give the blonde some privacy.

After a short moment, Lucy got the toothbrush ready when the blonde wanted to brush her teeth. Lucy stood in back of the blonde, wrapped her arms around her waist to hold her steady as the blonde slowly brushed her teeth, careful not to open her mouth too wide because her nasal passages hurt when she does that. Her eyes opened wide when she saw herself for the first time in the mirror and noticed that she was taller than the brunette.

"I look pretty good."

Lucy couldn't help but smile. "You're beautiful." She said in a genuine tone as she looked at the blonde in the mirror. _Maybe I shouldn't have said that_. Because what she just said caused the blonde to blush again.

_I'm gay?_ She was still shocked by that. The thought of sleeping with another woman or kissing another woman is…weird. She couldn't picture herself doing that no matter how gorgeous the other person is. After washing her face with a warm wet towel and straightening out her hair, she took a moment to look at herself in the mirror with the brunette holding her waist from behind. She took a few quick glances at the brunette. _My wife? _ She then spontaneously jerked her head to the side when the brunette suddenly planted a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"Sorry…I…I'm sorry." Lucy felt like an asshole when she saw the look on the blonde's face. She felt like she just indecently assaulted her...wife. She continued to apologize again. "I won't do that again."

It was unexpected. It startled her. Her heartbeat instantaneously raced again. Kristin was surprised that the kiss didn't feel like what she thought it would be. Not gross, not weird, not revolting.

"it's okay." Kristin said when she noticed how guilty the brunette felt.

Assisting the blonde back to bed, Lucy reminded herself to control herself. After gently putting her down and lifting her feet up on the bed, she pulled the blanket to cover the blonde.

"Do you need anything else?" Lucy noticed the blonde was looking at her from the moment she kissed her cheek. She remained silent to allow the blonde to look at her more closely, hoping it would bring some of her memory back. Then a thought suddenly occurred to her. That night when they made love, the way she was looking at her. _She was afraid that she couldn't remember me._ Her thoughts were broken by the blonde's question.

"Can…I…."

Unsure of what the blonde was asking, she remained unmoved when the blonde reached out, cupped the back of her neck, pulled her closer, and pressed her lips on her cheek. Lucy let out a low gasp, her eyes opened wide, looking at the blonde in confusion.

"huh…that feels…weird…but in a good way"

Lucy's smile slowly grew wider. She previously thought that it would be difficult to get the blonde to fall in love with her again. But now that doesn't seem so impossible. She held back the urge to kiss the blonde, from making any more movements that would scare her away. She was surprised the blonde kissed her cheek again. This time she could feel the tip of her tongue on her face.

"…Weird…" Kissing her smooth tanned skin was like kissing a baby's soft flesh. It felt different and weird at the same time but she wanted to do it again. As she was about to place another kiss on her cheek, she immediately pulled back when she heard a knock on the door.

_Bad timing. Scud._ She could tell the blonde was embarrassed about what just happened.

"Lunch is here." Lucy said in a gentle voice, flashing her a diamond smile. "What's wrong?" She said when she saw the blonde holding her heart.

Kristin had no idea what happened. Her heart suddenly pounded out of control when she saw the gorgeous brunette smiling at her.

"Should I get the nurse?" Lucy said nervously.

"I'm…fine." Kristin assured her with a smile.

After Scud and Janet introduced themselves, Kristin found it extremely comfortable talking to them.

"We got you some soup and pasta." Knowing that the blonde probably can't chew because of the surgery, Janet got her some soft foods.

Janet offered to feed the blonde, but Lucy insisted to do it herself.

After swallowing each spoonful of soup, Kristin asked the brunette about their relationship, how they met, first time they dated.

"The doctor said you should take it slow. Just know I love you." Lucy didn't want to give her too many surprises in one day. What she's afraid of is that one question would lead to another, then another, then eventually there would be questions she can't answer or can't tell her, not at this moment.

"…and you love her." Janet added.

Six pairs of eyes, brimming with concern, were looking at her. She had no doubts that the people in front of her worried about her. She had no doubts that what they are telling her is the truth. But she could tell that they are hiding something from her; her sixth sense, a feeling she couldn't explain.

After eating dinner, when Scud and Janet said goodbye to the blonde, all were surprised when the blonde asked the brunette to go home. Lucy tilted her head, motioning to Scud and Janet to go home without her.

"I know you can't remember me. But you don't have to be afraid of me."

"I'm not." She reached out to gently rub her cheek. "They, the nurses…they said you've been here since the surgery. I just thought you need a rest."

"I'm fine. I'm not leaving you here alone. We're going to go home together. Okay?"

Lucy reached up to hold her hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand.

Seeing the blonde's smile, Lucy shifted closer and leaned forward, allowing the blonde to continue where she left off earlier. When the blonde didn't make a move, Lucy wondered if she should. She again leaned her head a little closer. Their face four inches apart. But the blonde remained still.

"May I?" This time Lucy asked for permission first. She let out a smile when the blonde closed her eyes. Lucy leaned forward, as she was about reach her lips, she stopped and let out a big sigh when she heard another knock on the door. Damn it!

Kristin opened her eyes and pulled back immediately. She was looking forward to her 'first' kiss and was disappointed that it didn't happen.

It was a female hospital staff who came to help the blonde take a shower. Lucy immediately volunteered and told the hospital staff to get her a new hospital gown, soap and shampoo.

"I don't think…I want a shower." She said in an embarrassing tone. She wants one badly but not with the help of the brunette, not in front of her.

"I've seen you naked. We're married."

"I…just don't…think…I just don't…feel comfortable."

"so you would rather let a stranger help you…" Lucy didn't understand why she felt so shy about it. It's not like she's a man.

"I…just don't…"

Not wanting to upset the blonde, Lucy gave in and suggested that she could wash herself with a wet towel and tomorrow she could take a shower by herself. She noticed that her lover was gaining her strength back after having some solid food to eat. By tomorrow, she would be strong enough to walk by herself.

After helping the blonde wash up, Lucy took a shower herself. It was still early. Kristin wanted to get her arms and legs moving as much as possible, so she requested the brunette to assist her to walk around the room.

Feeling a little tired after walking for half an hour, one of her knees suddenly gave in. Lucy grabbed the blonde by the waist, pulling her into a tight embrace. "It's okay. I got you."

Feeling the brunette's upper body pressed against hers, she couldn't control herself from hugging the brunette tighter, loving the way it felt against her body; the bumps, the curves, the softness, the rapid beating of her own heart. _Oh God. I am gay_.

At this very moment, Lucy didn't want to let go when she felt the blonde hugging her back, but she had to pick up a call. After hanging up, she let the blonde know that her former boss would be visiting her tomorrow. Hearing that, Kristin became very interested in what she used to do. Ten minutes went by, then twenty, and thirty minutes, she didn't realize they spent an hour talking about her previous job.

"Wow!" She was surprised to learn that she used to be a government agent, not just a babysitter.

"You were one of the best." Lucy realized that Michel didn't tell her.

"But I don't feel like I know any martial arts, any self defense skills…I….Wow!"

What just happened surprised herself. While she was talking, her reflex kicked in. She held her forearm up to block the brunette's right hook that was about to hit her face. Her right hand extended out spontaneously to grab the brunette's neck but was held back by the brunette's grasp on her wrist.

"Are you a government agent too?"

"Not…exactly. I took some self defense classes myself."

"If I was so good at my job, then why I did quit?"

Lucy wondered if she should tell her that she quit to be with her. _What would she ask?_

"You hesitated. Did I do something wrong? Was I fired?"

"No…you didn't do anything wrong. You quit…because you…wanted to be with me." Lucy smiled as she shrugged her shoulders. She waited for her next question but all she she got was one word.

"Oh."

There was a short moment of silence. Lucy could tell she wasn't too happy. _Maybe I shouldn't have said that_.

"I know what you're thinking." Lucy said as she held both of her hands. "You didn't sacrifice your career to be with me."

She noticed the confusion on the blonde's face.

"It's because that's not what you really wanted to do. You…want to be an artist." Lucy got up and went outside. After a short moment, she came back with a piece of paper and pencil and placed it on the overbed table.

"Try to draw something."

Creasing her brows, Kristin glanced at the brunette before staring at her own right hand. For a long moment, she remained unmoved, not knowing where to start. There was nothing in her mind that could tell her what to do.

"Just try." Lucy said softly.

Kristin let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to remember. But she got nothing, it was as clear as the white sheet of paper in front of her. She picked up the pencil and drew the first crooked line. She had no idea what she was even attempting to draw, what that line represents until as if there were invisible strings attached to her hand controlled by a puppet master, her hand began to move, drawing short lines, long ones, crooked ones. Her eyes moved up, then quickly fall back down on the piece of paper that was no longer empty. As if hypnotized, she ignored the brunette who headed to the bathroom. After a long moment, Lucy opened the bathroom door and was a little confused when she saw a female nurse standing next to the blonde who was busily working on her drawing. As she walked closer, she heard the nurse praising the blonde's work before leaving the room. Seeing that it's almost time to sleep, Lucy stretched her arms and legs, did twenty pushups and situps, and did a handstand against the wall for several minutes. She then threw a few punches in the air to relieve the tension in her muscles.

"Are you done?"

The blonde nodded with a smile, satisfied with her work. Excited to see what the blonde drew, Lucy quickly walked over. Her smile immediately disappeared when she saw the drawing.

"You don't like it?"

"No…no…I love it. It's…beautiful."

The drawing was indeed beautiful but the problem was it reminded her of that time, the reason she got captured by the Head of Division 16 because what the blonde drew was a portrait of her.

"You're beautiful." Realizing what she just said, Kristin cleared her throat as embarrassment spread through her entire body.

Lucy let out a smile, knowing that it wouldn't be long for the blonde to regain her memory, knowing that maybe she would be allowed to sleep on the same bed when they get back to the apartment. She hoped so.

"May I keep this?" People may think that Lucy Diamond is dead. But she still wants to make sure this drawing doesn't get into anyone's hands.

Kristin nodded. As Lucy was about to put it in a safer place, her jacket pocket, Kristin grabbed the edge of the paper. "I'm…not finished. I want to add more detail to it."

"okay. But don't show …I mean…don't give it to anyone. I want to keep it."

After the blonde agreed, Lucy said good night and leaned closer.

"good night." Kristin said and continued to look at the drawing.

That's not what Lucy was expecting. She leaned closer and said good night again.

"good n….oh" Kristin turned her face to the left and noticed how close the brunette's face was near hers.

_Please no interruption_. Lucy slowly leaned forward, closer and closer. Getting no rejection, she held her breath and pressed her lips tenderly to the blonde's for a short moment. Her eyes pierced into hazel green ones. When the blonde's eyelids descended again, she understood and kissed her again, letting her lips linger a moment longer.

* * *

Lucy woke up the next morning and found that the blonde was still sleeping. Not wanting to disturb her, Lucy went down to buy a cup of fresh brewed coffee. Outside of the hospital, she looked up at the sunny blue clear sky and thanked the Lord for last night. Even though the blonde can't remember her, after last night's kiss, she was convinced that the blonde had fallen for her...again. _Thank you._ Things didn't turn out the way she wanted but she's not going to complain, as long as the blonde is healthy.

She wondered what day it is today, because like the Head of Division 16 once said, things will work out when you least expected.

Inside the room, with tears streaming down her face, her hands extending out, blood gushing out from a deep cut on her right forearm, Lucy stood in front of the blonde who's holding a knife, pointing towards her. She didn't care who saw her crying at this moment. All she wanted to do is hold the one who was threatening her to stay away.

"Who's that?" The blonde said when she heard the knock on the door.

Lucy stayed rooted to her position and remained silent as she stared at her lover.

"OhmyGod! What happened?" Alexis quickly ran over to the brunette, took out a tissue from her bag and covered the cut on the brunette's forearm. What shocked her even more was to see the brunette with a face full of tears. This was something that she had never seen before.

"Who are you people?" The blonde said with a panic tone of voice. She knows she's in a hospital room, but why?

"Kristin" Michel said in confusion. Helene quickly shut the door, hoping nobody outside heard.

"Who are you people?" She asked again a little louder than before, holding the knife firmly in her right hand.

"Calm down. Kristin. I'm Helene, your former boss."

"Who's Kristin?"

All wondered what the hell was going on. It was only yesterday when they saw the blonde.

Helene continued to explain who she is and and who she worked for.

"You're with the French government?"

"Yes and you are…"

"Then arrest her!" Kristin pointed to the brunette. "Don't you know who she is? She's Lucy Diamond. She's the notorious criminal mastermind, the diamond thief, the last surviving member of the Reynolds Crime Syndicate."

Sensing something was seriously wrong, the Head of division 16 immediately told Michel to go outside to prevent anyone coming in.

"We know who she is. But do you know who you are?" Helene spoke in a calm tone.

"Amy Bradshaw. D.E.B.S, Sector 1."

The older woman immediately gasped out loud and turned to look at the brunette. She realized why the tough Lucy Diamond was acting this way.

"Kristin, I'm Alexis. I'm your friend. Do you remember me? You're Kristin Smith."

"No...she's not." Lucy moved one step forward and brushed her tears away to get a clearer view of her lover. "She's Amy…my...Amy."

Alexis immediately snapped her head at the brunette. "Amy?" She had no idea that Kristin looks like Amy nor did she know Amy's last name. There were a lot of questions she wanted to ask, but now isn't the time.

"Are you sure? Kristin knows about Amy. She might be confused." Helene said.

Lucy never thought of that. _ She's right. How do I know if she's Amy?_ What does Amy know that Kristin wouldn't? Her mind began to think of the past. Brushing her tears away with the palm of her hands, Lucy moved a step closer.

"How's your boyfriend Bobby?" She said in her Lucy Diamond tone of voice.

All could tell the blonde didn't like it when her boyfriend was mentioned.

"How did you know about that? He's not my boyfriend. I'm going to break up with him."

Lucy internally smiled when she noticed the blonde's hand was no longer holding the knife firmly.

The blonde had no intention of hurting her. When she woke up, she saw the criminal mastermind sitting next to her. She panicked and took the breakfast knife on the table. Lucy thought she was going to hurt herself, so she tried to take the knife away. In the midst of struggle, she accidentally cut her forearm.

"How's your thesis coming along?"

"My thesis?…how…how did you know?"

"So you think…that I am incapable of loving or being loved…that I, as a woman operating in a male-dominated field, I felt the need…" Lucy paused for a moment, trying to remember what she said about her on their first date.

"…I felt the need to...overcompensate...by being exponentially more ruthless and diabolical than my established male counterparts." Lucy surprised herself that she could still remember those words.

"How did you know that? I haven't even finished my thesis yet."

_She's Amy. _ Standing still, Lucy let out a trembling smile, unable to control her tears from forming again. Kristin might have known about Bobby from Janet, but she wouldn't have known about the thesis. It's possible that Janet could have told her about that, but the chances were very slim. She doubted that Janet ever read the blonde's thesis.

"Because…that's what you told me on our first date, Amy." She didn't feel it was appropriate to mention that she kidnapped her.

Feeling a little dizzy, weak and extremely confused, Kristin lowered her knife and sat on the edge of the bed.

"What…are…you…talking about? What...are you people talking about?"

At this moment, Scud, Janet and Michel came in after Michel told them about the situation.

Seeing the only person she recognized, the blonde called out happily.

"Janet! Oh my God. Janet." The blonde rapidly walked towards her and pulled her away from the others.

"Where am I? Why am I here? What's going on?"

"Kristin, you just had…"

The blonde immediately stepped away from the former DEB.

"Who are you? You're not Janet."

"Janet, she's not Kristin. She's Amy." Lucy explained.

Janet gasped loudly, covering her mouth. Scud did the same and stared at the brunette.

"Amy, if you don't believe me, ask her. She's your friend. Ask her things that only she would know. Janet, tell her." Lucy said.

Janet was still shocked. It took her a moment to get herself together. She pondered for a moment and the only thing that came up was the secret that only the blonde knows about.

"Amy, do you remember what happened in Bulgaria? I drank too much and I almost got the chancellor killed. You didn't tell anyone about this not even Max."

The blonde nodded her head in response.

"You also told me that your boyfriend got drunk once and forced you…."

"HE DID WHAT!"

All were startled when the brunette shouted. Amy scanned the brunette up and down, her brows creased, wondering why she was so angry.

"He didn't…he tried…" Janet quickly explained. Knowing the brunette, she would probably hunt him down and kill him. "she kicked him in the nuts and…"

"…and I knocked him out…he sent me flowers everyday until I accepted his apology…

"he was walking funny for two weeks and nobody knew why." Janet continued, letting out a small laugh, remembering that moment. She stepped closer and hugged the blonde tightly.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Janet said as tears flowed down her cheeks.

Since Janet was the only she trusted, all of them left the room to allow her to explain. Meanwhile, all went down to the cafeteria to talk about what just happened. The first person to ask was Alexis.

"Is that why you fell in love with her because she looks like Amy?"

That's not what Helene and Scud wanted to know but all understood why she asked. Alexis wasn't afraid or embarrassed to ask that in front of all of them.

"No." Lucy said softly as she took a sip of her coffee. She wondered how Amy would feel about it if she heard that she had fallen in love with someone else...even though that someone else is her.

"Does Kristin know that she looks like Amy?"

Alexis wanted to know if she lied to the blonde before she married her, even though it didn't matter anymore at this point.

"Yes. That's why…she broke up with me…that time."

Michel remembered that time he ran into the blonde who told him that they were no longer together. After everything the brunette did for her, he thought it was strange that she left the brunette.

Alexis thought that the blonde left her because of her true identity at that time. But the brunette told her it wasn't because of that. She now understands why the blonde would feel that way. There was no way for Kristin to know if the brunette loved her for who she is or because of who she looks like.

Helene cleared her throat and began telling them about what they found out from Lisa.

"So Lisa was telling the truth. She knew what happened. She's the one who hid her identity from her." Helene explained.

All focused at Michel when he suddenly gasped out loud, covering his mouth. His jaws dropped in disbelief as he glanced at each one of them, stopping at the brunette.

"Now I know why she can't remember me. She has amnesia." He slapped his own forehead hard, blaming himself.

"What?" All said in unison.

Michel took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly before explaining.

"On the day of the plane explosion, I was there at the airport…Ashley and I. Kristin…Amy…she saved Ashley from a car accident but Amy was hit by the car and was taken to the hospital."

_Outside of the airport, Amy saw an oncoming car that seem to have lost control of the brakes as it headed towards the little girl. Without thinking for her own safety, she ran towards her, pushed her away from the oncoming car. There was no chance for her to escape the impact. Her whole body flew several feet away, hit the ground, her shoes flew off, her body rolling across an area of rough pebble pavement, hitting the front of her head against a large rock._

"I am so so sorry. We had to fly that day. I should have checked to make sure she's okay. When I got back to Paris, I checked a few hospitals and I couldn't find her. Then a couple of years later, we met at the charity function, she didn't recognize me…she…"

"She was working undercover." Helene said, realizing when the car accident occurred.

"She must have been seriously injured." Scud said tapping on the right side of the face and told them about the blonde's birthmarks that were no longer there.

"That's why you didn't suspect her for a year…because she risked her life to save Ashley." Lucy said in an understanding tone. She remembered that time when she tried to convince Michel to fire the blonde. He trusted the blonde with his life because she saved Ashley. She now realized that he was referring to the car accident not the kidnapping.

"yes…I…trusted her… she wouldn't hurt us…and because I…fell in love with her." Michel said with an apologetic look.

Tapping her fingers on the table, Helene thought of something that didn't make sense to her.

"Then why did she got off the plane? And why is her name on the flight. " She turned to the brunette. "You did check to make sure her name was on that flight, didn't you?"

Lucy controlled the urge to roll her eyes and held back the urge to say something sarcastic.

"We did. She's the only one who can explain that."

"There could be a lot of reasons. Human error." Scud said.

While listening to everything, Alexis felt sorry for what happened.

"Keira…she wants to kill you. Maybe you shouldn't…"

"It's okay. She meant no harm. This was an accident." She pointed to the forearm with the white bandage on it. She let out a deep breath as she looked up at the ceiling, realizing the mistakes she made, what an idiot she is, what could have happened if she let the blonde go. She didn't blame Michel. She blamed Lisa and herself.

"Scud, she's Amy." Lucy said with a small smile.

"Didn't I tell you that the probability of two people looking so much alike is very very very slim..?"

"yes…you did." She admitted that she was wrong. Not wanting to hear anymore of his 'I told you so', she stood up, taking the coffee with her and headed upstairs to the blonde's room. All followed from behind.

"You should listen to me more often." Scud continued talking from behind all the way to the room.

Unsure if Janet was finished explaining, Lucy knocked on the door before entering. There they saw the doctors looking at the blonde's eyes. Janet gave them the okay sign. _Okay? What does she mean by that?_

Lucy gestured with her fingers, motioning Janet to talk outside.

"What did you tell her?" Lucy said.

"Everything, but not in detail, just the important parts, you know, how you've changed."

"Did you tell her about the DEBS?" Scud said.

"yes."

What Lucy really wanted to know is if she told the blonde about their relationship.

"I did."

"…and what did she say?"

"well…her reaction was…laughing hysterically… silence…shocked…confused…shocked again…then she said she's not gay."

"Again?" Lucy closed her eyes for a short moment as she rubbed her temples. The thought of that romantic comedy she told the blonde about appeared in her mind. She hoped to God that she doesn't have that type of amnesia. Because if she did, she would be in danger. She's not afraid the blonde would hurt her. She's afraid the blonde would notify the police to arrest her.

After doing some tests, the doctor approved of the blonde going home, but needed to be back for checkup. Before the doctor came, Janet informed the blonde not to tell the doctor about her real identity because that might get the brunette and Scud in trouble. But more importantly, it was for her own safety since Amy Bradshaw is a wanted criminal. Amy had no choice but to agree and continued pretending that she's Kristin Smith. It wasn't difficult to convince the blonde. All Janet had to do was show her the the cell phone, the date, the events that happened over the years. One look at herself in the mirror proved it. She didn't change much, but she saw the difference.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Lucy couldn't help taking glances at her lover sitting in the back seat. She wanted to sit in the back, but her lover didn't allow her to. _This is going to be so difficult_. Last night was different. Yesterday, the blonde couldn't remember anything. But today, the blonde knows who she is and all the bad things Lucy did.

Lucy turned her head around.

"I didn't kill those agents in Antarctica or Peru. I've never met them. They died of frost bite and ebola or something." She hoped by telling her that, the blonde wouldn't hate her as much. That's what happened on their first date.

Everyone was confused why the brunette suddenly said that.

Amy turned to look at Janet. "She didn't. She didn't kill anybody."

"But you did steal all those money?" Amy said as she crossed her arms.

"I returned it, I returned all over it."

Janet again responded. "She did….she did it all for you…you changed her."

"…and every year I donated money to charity…" Lucy said as she nodded her head, hoping that the blonde could see how she's changed. But that did nothing.

Ignoring the brunette, Amy looked out the window.

_Shoot._ There was a moment silence. When the blonde spoke again, all realized there was another reason why the blonde was upset.

"If we lived together for seven months, how could you not know that it's me?"

_Oh shit._ _She's upset because I slept with another woman, but she's that woman._ Lucy shook herself to clear her thoughts, unable to think clearly on an empty stomach.

"Honey, I thought…"

"Can you not call me that?" Amy shivered, what she just heard made her goose bumps rise.

Lucy realized how difficult it would be to get the blonde to fall in love with her again.

"I thought it was you when I first saw you, but you didn't recognize me and you're different. You don't have…." Lucy pointed to her face where her two birthmarks were. "…and you know things that you didn't know before…"

"like what?"

"well…you're an excellent driver, excellent shooter, and you have a black belt in the master level, and…you're not a vegetarian…" Lucy regretted for saying the last word when she saw the blonde immediately covered her mouth as if she wants to vomit.

"How much did I eat?" Amy darted her eyes from the brunette to Janet. It was a stupid question. She knows that. It has been over four years. She probably ate a lot, all different kinds of meat.

"Amy, don't blame her. I couldn't tell either. You were a different person. We thought that you…she could be your twin." Janet defended the brunette.

* * *

Feeling hungry and not in the mood to cook, they decided to go home first and order take out. A step inside the apartment, Amy looked around. It wasn't what she expected. She expected a large house with expensive furniture but it was completely the opposite, just a regular apartment with the necessities. She wondered if the brunette was telling her the truth about returning all the stolen money. Janet led her down the hall to her bedroom.

Once Amy stepped inside the bedroom, she looked up and around, sensing something wrong.

"This isn't my room." She might not remember, many things might have changed, but there was something about the room that didn't feel right. For one, it had a queen size bed.

"It's our room." Lucy said, leaning against the door.

"What?" Amy contorted in confusion. "Are you…telling me that we're sleeping together?"

The question confused the brunette. That's what married couples do. Sleep together.

"I wouldn't do that. Sleeping together is not something I would do until marriage. It doesn't matter if you're a man…or woman, it's just not something I would do."

"umm…Janet, didn't you tell her?"

"I didn't get to that part yet." She turned to the blonde. "Amy, you're married."

Covering her mouth with both hands in shock, her eyes opened wide, she glanced at the brunette, then at Janet hoping what she said wasn't true. When she heard about their relationship, how she left the DEBS to be with her, she laughed at that at first, then was shocked. But she can accept that because all she had to do is leave the former criminal. It wasn't a big deal. Dating couples do that all the time without any strings attached. But marriage. Marriage is something she would only do if she could find someone irresistible, someone she couldn't live without, someone who loves her as much as she does, if not more. Her legs moved back as the brunette stepped forward. She realized why the brunette kept calling her 'honey'. She noticed the ring on the brunette but she herself didn't have one. Single people wore rings all the time so she didn't think it meant anything. Bumping the back of the knee against the edge of the bed, she fell down on the bed and immediately lifted herself up. Staring at the bed, the thought of them making love on it suddenly appeared in her mind.

_Oh God. I lost my virginity to…her._

It was too much information to take in, too many surprises, her mind couldn't take it, her eyes rolled back, her knees trembled, her weak body collapsed and fell into the arms of the one whom the DEBS had been trying to capture for years, her lover.

"Amy!"

* * *

**Chapter 36: Chapter 36**

* * *

**Chapter 36**

Inside a dining room sat a family of three, a loving couple in their mid 40's and their teenage daughter were laughing as they talked about the things that occurred that day.

"This is delicious. honey." She said to her husband and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Mom, can you not do that in front of me?" The teenager looked down in embarrassment.

"Sorry." She smiled at her husband who did the same. "Isn't this delicious?"

"awesome, Dad." As she chewed on her stir fried tofu, she rolled her eyes at her mother who extended her fork towards her husband's mouth. No matter how many times she told her not to do that in front of her, her mother just wouldn't listen.

"You know, someday you would be doing this to your husband…and when that happens, you'll know why."

"I already know why. The neighbors know why. My friends know why. It's because you love him, but do you really have to do display that kind of affection in public? It's…weird…_and gross_…" She whispered the last two words.

"Sweetie, someday you will find someone you love and you will understand." Her mother explained.

The husband cleared his throat and turned to his daughter.

"Since we're on that subject and you are old enough, I'm just going to say it…straight out."

Both ladies of the house frowned in confusion as they focused at the only man in the house.

"No sex before marriage." He said in a fatherly tone as she pointed to his only child.

"Daaaad…." Rolling her eyes, the teenager stood up and took her plate to the sink.

"Honey, I already have that talk with her."

"Oh…okay…good…." Satisfied, he returned back to eating his dinner.

"…and Amy, try to find someone who knows how to cook, you'll love him even more." Her mother advised.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Her eyes opened wide when she heard the sound of broken glass. Blinking a few times, her mind slowly came back to awareness.

"Jaannnnet." Holding a tray, Lucy rolled her eyes and walked slowly towards the blonde.

"Sorry." Janet said as she bent down to pick up the broken pieces of cup made of porcelain.

Lucy placed the tray down on the table next to the bed and assisted the blonde to sit up on the bed.

"hey, are you feeling okay?" Lucy said in a gentle voice. Seeing her reaction from before, Lucy decided not to give her any more information that would be too shocking. Take it slow, like the doctor said.

Not getting a response, only a silent stare, Lucy asked in the same gentle tone.

"Are you hungry?"

Lucy scooped up a spoonful of vegetable soup with macaroni, blew on it to cool it before putting it in front of the blonde's mouth. Raising her eyebrows, she let out a smile, hoping the blonde wouldn't reject her. Not knowing what the blonde was thinking, she remained silent and still in her position, holding the spoon. _Please. _It surprised her when the blonde opened her mouth as if she heard her thoughts.

Lucy Diamond aka Lucinda Reynolds. For her thesis, Amy read so much about her, the bad ass, ruthless criminal. She spent hours doing research. Her folder contained pages and pages of articles about the notorious leader. All of the pictures, the printouts of the master criminal she got from the DEBS database were unclear, small, grainy, had a look of pure evil on her face. But up so close, she saw something completely different; that dazzling smile, those big dark brown eyes brimming with concern, that gentle caring voice, that face…she's…she's….

She shut her eyes tight to clear her thoughts.

"Here's the pain killers." Janet said as she put another cup of warm water down on the table.

"Thank you." Lucy said.

Hearing the politeness of the brunette, Amy opened her eyes, realizing that the thief, the leader of the criminal organization, the one they tried to capture for years is not who she used to be. With her eyes fixed at the brunette's, her mouth slowly opened as another spoonful of macaroni was fed to her. Her mind spontaneously thought back to what happened, what caused her to passed out, the knowledge that she is no longer single, no longer…pure.

"Did I enjoy it?" Amy said in a faint voice.

Lucy glanced at the blonde then at the other former DEBS agent who was as confused as she was.

"Enjoy what?" Lucy said softly.

"Sex."

It wasn't supposed to be funny. But Janet couldn't resist letting out a chuckle, then bursting in laughter, holding her tummy. That's how Amy is. Sometimes she could be so serious, then there are times she could say something unexpected. _Where did that come from?_

Lucy wanted to laugh but she held it in and let out a smile, knowing that the blonde has come to accept the truth, that they're married, that they've slept together. What made her even more happy was that the blonde didn't feel all grossed out about it.

When Janet finally stopped laughing, she cleared her throat. "you…did."

"How do you know?" She didn't expect Janet to be the one answering.

"because we talked about it and I heard you…outside."

Two pairs of confused eyes immediately focused on her.

"She told you?" Lucy was a little shocked. She didn't think the blonde would kiss and tell.

"I told you?…that's private, I wouldn't do that. I didn't…Did I?" If she was herself, she knows she wouldn't.

After Janet explained everything, the couple felt better knowing that the shorter blonde really didn't know anything.

"Do you want another bowl?"

Still hungry, Amy nodded. She didn't realize that the brunette didn't eat yet until she heard her stomach growling.

"Here, take these and I'll get you another bowl." Lucy handed her the pills and cup of water before leaving. After a moment, when she came in with another bowl of vegetable soup, she saw Janet sitting in her seat. She expected Janet to step aside but instead Janet took the bowl from her.

"I can do this. Go eat your lunch. It's getting cold."

Lucy creased her brows when she saw Janet winking at her.

"the doctor said to take it slow." Lucy hoped Janet knows what she meant by that. No more surprises.

"okay."

After the brunette left the room, Janet was a little startled by the blonde's reaction.

"Did you just tell her what to do?" Back in the days of the DEBS, everybody was afraid of the diamond thief, the ruthless killer. She was surprised how much has changed, how much Janet has changed.

It took a short moment for Janet to realize what she said to the brunette. "Oh…I did…didn't I? Remind me not to do that. Sometimes I forget who she is. But you…you can tell her what to do and she wouldn't mind."

Letting out a deep breath, Amy covered her face in frustration, wishing this was all a dream.

"What am I going to do?"

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Amy uncovered her face, staring at her friend as if she's crazy. "Janet, I'm…not…gay."

Janet couldn't resist letting out another small laugh, remembering the blonde saying the exact same thing five years ago.

"Are you sure about that?" Janet said as she put the spoon of soup in her mouth.

"Of course I'm sure." Amy said in an obvious tone while chewing.

"Tell me honestly that you don't feel the slightest bit attracted to her."

"Of course not!"

"You don't think she's beautiful"

Crossing her arms, Amy rolled her eyes and remained silent. _She is but so what?_

Janet smiled, knowing that the taller blonde didn't want to admit it. "Amy, don't worry. You might not feel that way right now, but your memory will come back." Janet continued to assure her that everything will turn out fine.

"What if it doesn't?"

"If it doesn't, then…then…." Janet pondered for a moment. "…it's too early, let's not think about that. What you need to do right now is take care of yourself, get better."

After filling her stomach with food, instead of checking up on her lover, Lucy decided to go shopping by herself. When she came back, six pairs of eyes focused on her.

"Give me a hand, Scud." Scud quickly assisted her with the bags and brought them to the kitchen. To her, it seem that everyone was wondering where she went for the last two hours. But that wasn't what they were thinking.

Lucy looked around and when she finally found the bag, she brought it over to the blonde who was standing still next to the sofa. What she noticed is that her lover was looking at her in a different light from that in which she had looked at her before_. _

"I bought you something." Lucy handed her a plastic bag full of things. She wondered what the blonde was thinking at that moment when Amy neither respond nor move, just looking at her with a blank expression with eyes fixated on hers.

"Amy?" Lucy reached out and as she was about to touch her shoulder to shake her out of her thoughts, she pulled back, thinking it wasn't a good idea to be touching her at this moment.

Lucy pulled some of the things out and showed it to her. "I got you your favorite shampoo, body wash, moisturizer, makeup, and…oh shoot, I forgot to get your night facial cream…I'll go get it now."

Lucy turned around and stopped when she heard her name called.

"Luce"

Only Scud and Amy calls her that. Lucy quickly turned back around.

"Do you remember me?"

Her smile disappeared when the blonde shook her head.

"You don't have to get that. I have some."

Lucy realized that she has been in Kristin's room…her room. Sensing her tone was different, she turned around to look at Janet who immediately looked away and left the living room to help Scud in the kitchen. _What did she tell her? _She realized that the shorter blonde must have told her lover something shocking. Turning her eyes back to the tall blonde, Lucy remained silent. If Janet told her everything, she would understand what they went through, how much they love each other, what they would do for one another. She expected her lover to say sorry and hugged her back, then from there, everything would be the way as it was before. But instead all she got was an apology. _For what? _She had no idea because Amy just left and went back to her own bedroom.

Closing and locking the bedroom door behind her, Amy couldn't control her tears from forming. For the last two hours, what she heard from Scud and Janet was a story about her in more detail, from the moment she met the brunette to the moment she woke up in the hospital. Anyone hearing the story would be touched by it. She even let out a few tears listening to it. If it wasn't about her, she would have questioned whether it was real. Now everything became clear. What she went through, what the brunette went through because of her death, the sacrifice, the pain, the revenge, there was nothing she could do except say 'sorry'.

"I can't remember anything." If the story is about someone else, she would want them to have a happy ending. But it's about her. _That feeling isn't there. How can I be with her if I don't feel that way?_

* * *

After taking several hours of sleep, clearing her mind, her thoughts, Amy felt much better. Inside the dining area, Scud and Janet were waiting for her. She gasped out loud when she saw what was on the table. She had no idea how long she had that but it felt like forever.

"Wow…this looks delicious!" Amy said, licking her lips. What is on the table is a large glass bowl of lasagna with tomato sauce and chopped scallions on top. "Does it have meat in it?"

"It's vegan lasagna." Janet said, with a smile.

She didn't have to look around to notice that the brunette was missing. _Is she upset with me?_

"Where's…um…" Amy trailed off when she saw the brunette coming in from the kitchen.

Smiling wide, Lucy placed a basket of mini crescent rolls on the table and sat next to the blonde. Scud scooped each one a big piece of lasagna. As Amy was about to dig her fork into the mouth watering lasagna, she stopped when the brunette spoke. Lucy raised her glass of water and extended it towards the blonde.

"To your health."

Amy raised her glass of water and clinked against hers. She decided to put everything aside, let her memory slowly come back to her. Following Janet's advice, what she needed to do now is get better.

What Lucy really wanted to say is 'to us' but she didn't feel that this is the right moment. She smiled when Janet took the words out of her mouth.

"To us." Janet extended her glass in the middle and Scud was the first one to clink against hers, then Lucy, then Amy.

Unable to wait any longer, Amy was the first to taste the lasagna.

"this is soooo goood!" Amy closed her eyes as she slowly chewed.

Lucy never made this dish before because everyone could eat meat. Now that Amy is back, Lucy planned on making a separate dish for her.

Everyone noticed that the blonde was confused when she asked her next question.

"Where did you get this? We have to order from there. I want to try every one of their dishes."

"Lucy made this." Janet said.

If they bought this from the restaurant, the lasagna would have been in an aluminum pan, not in a glass bowl.

"You…know how to cook?" With all the money she stole, she could afford herself her own chef or go out to eat every day.

The question caused everyone to laugh out loud. Lucy took a bite of the crescent roll as Janet talked about the many different kind of dishes the brunette knows how to make.

"Lucy Diamond knows how to cook?" Amy was still shocked. _ Even I don't know how to make this._

Smiling at the blonde, Lucy propped her elbow on the table as she took another bite of the mini crescent roll. She could tell the blonde was impressed.

"Try this." Lucy took another crescent roll from the basket and put it in front of the blonde's mouth. Amy hesitated at first but Lucy was happy when she took a bite out of it.

Slumping her back against the chair, she couldn't resist letting out another moan.

"This tastes so good. What's the name of the brand?"

"I can give you the recipe if you want." Lucy took a bite of the lasagna.

"You made this from scratch?" Amy thought the rolls were from the frozen packages where she just had to cut it, roll it up and put it in the oven. Criminal leader, wearing an apron, baking and cooking in the kitchen, she had a difficult time picturing that. _She's really changed._

Lucy tried not to focus too much on the blonde. She planned on taking it slow, not to push her to remember, take it one step at a time.

"Oh Scud, remind me to tell Uncle Nick the good news." Her mind has been so focused on the blonde's health, she forgot to call Anthony and Uncle Nick to let them know. She hasn't decided if she should have Anthony continue searching for the fraudster. Should she stop and let Helene handle it? Should they lay low and see if Jean Claude would make any move?

After dinner, while Scud and Janet cleaned the table, Lucy made a call to Uncle Nick and Anthony and gave them the good news. As expected, both were shocked.

"It's a miracle…Uncle Nick, but she doesn't remember me…she can't remember anything about us….I know…I hope so….as long as she's healthy…okay…take care of yourself…I will." Lucy hung up the phone and was surprised to see the blonde when she opened the door.

"Hi" Lucy said.

"mm…Is my pajamas…inside?"

Lucy opened the door wide to let the blonde in. There, on the chair was Kristin's pajamas. Her heart ached when Amy asked if she had any of her things here. She knew the blonde wasn't planning on sleeping in the same bed with her, but she was hoping that maybe…._Who am I kidding? _Lucy opened the top dresser drawer and sat on the end of the bed as she looked at the blonde taking all of her other clothing. It felt like they were having an argument, a fight…even worse…a divorce.

"Amy." Lucy called out when the blonde was about to leave.

Standing at the door, Amy turned around. _She's not expecting me to sleep here. Is she?_ It wasn't what she thought. It was something she didn't expect.

"Can…you…keep this?" In her hand was the blonde's wedding band. Keeping it herself felt like she never got married. Keeping it herself felt like they were getting a divorce. Keeping it herself felt like there wouldn't be a chance for them to get back together. "Please…."

"That's Kristin's ring, not mine."

Lucy felt as though her heart shattered into pieces when the blonde refused.

She can't keep that ring. It wasn't meant for her. The one who agreed to marry her is Kristin not her. The one who loves her is Kristin and the girl who betrayed the DEBS Academy not her. Accepting her ring meant that there could be a chance for them to get together. She can't promise her that, at least not now, not until she gets her memory back. She could see the brunette was saddened by her response. As she slowly walked towards her bedroom, she regretted saying that. _Damn it. Why did I say that?_ She let out a deep breath and turned around.

"Lucy. Keep it in a safe place."

Even if she didn't say that, Lucy would have kept it in a safe place. She was just thinking about what the blonde said. The ring belongs to Kristin, not Amy. Even though they are the same person, their personalities are a little different. She fell in love with both of them. She had planned on proposing to Amy after she graduated from school. She even found the ring that she was going to propose with, but didn't buy it because it was too soon. _Amy might want another wedding band, not this kind. _She asked Kristin to marry her not Amy.

"Okay." Lucy said softly and returned to her bedroom. In front of the dresser mirror, she took off her own ring, wrapped them with a small cloth and put it in a jewelry box. She hoped that one day Amy would regain all of her memory including that of Kristin's.

* * *

Alone in her bed, even though she slept alone, Lucy slept well now that Amy is back. She didn't wake up until very late in the morning. Oh shit! Her eyes opened wide. She jumped off the bed and quickly went outside.

"Amy….Amy." Lucy called out as she knocked on the blonde's door. There was no response. She turned the knob and found it was unlocked. There was no one inside. Then she ran to the living room. Hearing laughter and noises from the dining area, she quickly headed that way. Standing at the entrance, she saw all of them sitting around the dining table, Janet talking with Amy and Scud reading a newspaper. All eyes focused on her.

"Is…everything…okay?" Lucy said, looking at the blonde. What she was afraid of was that the blonde would forget what happened yesterday. _It seems everything is okay_. When everyone said good morning, she internally let out a sigh of relief that Amy didn't have the same type of amnesia as the main character in the movie, First 50 dates. That's all she wanted to know. She headed back to her bedroom to get changed.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked.

Scud and Janet both shrugged their shoulders. They had no idea either.

* * *

Three weeks passed and Amy was able to do everything she could do before. Each week that she had an appointment with the doctor, she wanted Janet instead of the brunette to go with her. Lucy knew Amy was trying to avoid being alone with her, so she had a plan in mind. Today, all went with the blonde to the hospital for a CT-scan to check on her aneurysm.

Inside the hospital while waiting for the blonde to get the test done, Scud and Lucy ran into Alexis.

She was so ecstatic to see the brunette, Alexis called out the brunette's name. "Keira!"

Lucy's head shot up and turned around. Scud did the same.

"Keira, what are you doing here?" Alexis asked in excitement. She frowned when she saw the look on their faces and followed their line of sight.

"Oh shit." Alexis shut her eyes for a few seconds and slowly turned her head around. There, standing behind her was her mother. She had forgotten to call her by new fake name.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Alexis?" Her mother said.

Lucy quickly explained that Keira is her middle name but could tell that the older woman wanted to know something else.

"I'll explain later." Alexis had no idea what to tell her mother. She would have to think of something. Before her mother returned back to work, Alexis told her not to say anything to Ashley.

Both stepped aside to talk about the blonde.

"She still can't remember?"

"But she's feeling much better. So tell Michel not to worry."

"Give her some time. "

While Alexis continued to comfort the brunette, twenty feet away, Janet and Amy came out of the double doors. Amy squinted and recognized the brownish hair beauty talking with the former criminal. As she walked towards them, her brows furrowed when she saw Alexis hugging the brunette. It looked like a friendship hug at first but when the embrace lasted longer than expected, she sensed something strange was going on.

_Ah huh_! There was something definitely going on when she saw Alexis quickly pulling away. And that look…gave it away. She planned to ask Janet later.

"Hi Kris…I mean…Amy." Alexis said as she gave her a light hug. "How are you?"

"Fine." She said as she took a quick glance from the brunette to the blonde, back and forth.

"Are you ready to go?" Lucy asked.

"Where are we going?" Amy asked.

"I was thinking that we could go to places that we used to go, see if it can…." Lucy was then immediately cut off.

"That's a great idea. Alexis, is Ashley home? I would like to visit Ashley."

"But Amy…I…"

Interrupting the brunette again, Amy held onto Alexis' forearm and told them she wanted to spend a day with Ashley.

"Janet, I'll call you."

Lucy wanted to say something but Amy didn't give her a chance. She stood watching the one she loves leaving with the one who loves her.

While driving back home, Alexis remained silent, wondering how much the blonde knows. When the blonde was in the hospital, all she told her was what Kristin used to do at their house. She never told her about her feelings towards the brunette. There was no reason to. She took a quick glance at the blonde who smiled at her.

"So…Amy…do you remember anything?"

"Nope"

Amy remained silent throughout the ride. When Alexis parked the car and turned the engine off, Amy felt it's the right time to ask the question she wanted to know.

"Alexis, do you love her?"

If she was still driving, she would have stepped hard on her brakes right now. Alexis snapped her head towards the blonde.

"You remember?"

That wasn't the response Amy was expecting. She shook her head. "I just took a guess."

Unsure of what the blonde was thinking, Alexis felt the need to explain.

"She only loves you."

"You mean Kristin."

"She loves you…Amy and Kristin." Alexis said, confused with the blonde's response and her own.

"Are we friends?"

Alexis held the blonde's hands and assured her that they are good friends even though they fell in love with the same person.

"So you two never…"

"NO!…of course not! We didn't."

Amy was surprised at how fast the blonde responded.

"What I was about to say is have you two ever dated, but it seems that you are referring to something else."

Alexis jerked back, again shocked with the former DEBS agent's response. _She said she can't remember anything. But it doesn't seem that way._

Inside the house, Amy looked around to see if anything looks familiar to her. Nothing. Something caught her eye and she walked towards the bookcase. There on the filth shelf were pictures of a little girl, Michel, and Alexis. There was another picture of an elderly woman. Something seem odd to her.

"Where's your mother?"

It took a moment for Alexis to remember that she never met her mother.

"They're divorced." Alexis took a photo album from the bottom shelf.

While Amy sat on the couch looking through the photo albums, she noticed that a lot of pictures contained her, Ashley, and Michel. If anyone were to look at these, one would automatically think that they were a family. Some pictures show Michel hanging his arm around her. What she learned was that she infiltrated his family to gain information from him by working as a babysitter. But they never told her that there was anything going on with her and Michel or how she was able to get their trust.

"Huh…that's how. The art of seduction." Back in the days of the DEBS, she had used that plenty of times while undercover to get important information. Luckily all of the missions were short term assignments and there were always someone looking out for her in case she gets in trouble.

"An assignment that lasted a year. Jesus. No wonder she became so attached to them…What the hell am I talking about?" She shook her head, realizing that she was talking about herself. After looking through all the pictures, she walked to the kitchen where Alexis was preparing lunch.

Leaning against the door, Amy spent a moment watching Alexis from behind in silence. From the way Alexis handled the knife, moves around the kitchen, Amy noticed that Alexis is not only pretty but also can cook.

"So…how did you and Lucy meet?"

Startled by the sudden voice from behind, Alexis jumped and turned around.

"Have you eaten lunch yet? I'm making grilled tomato, smoked turkey, cheese sandwich."

"Not yet. Tomato with grilled cheese will be fine."

"Sorry?"

"I'm a vegetarian."

"Oh" Her mind spontaneously thought about all those times she saw her eat meat.

"I'll make you a vegetable wrap." Alexis opened the refrigerator and took out a head of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrot, avocado…

"You didn't answer my question."

Alexis looked up at the blonde. "What?" She wasn't trying to ignore the question.

"How did you and Lucy meet?"

"She didn't tell you?" Alexis said as she walked over to the counter with all the vegetables.

"She never told me about your relationship."

"Kristin." She shook her head. _Amy. Amy. Amy_. She reminded herself of the blonde's name. "Amy…we don't have a relationship. We're just friends."

"Okay. So how did you two meet?" She asked for the third time.

Seeing that there was no reason to lie the blonde, Alexis told her everything from the moment they met to the last time she found the brunette in the hotel, leaving out the part where they kissed. If she told her about that part, she was afraid that Amy wouldn't believe that they didn't have anything going on.

"They're back." Alexis heard the sound of the door closing as she put the sandwiches on a tray.

Amy wanted to ask her more questions because what she just heard didn't sound convincing. Amy realized what kind of person Alexis is when she admitted that she was the one who had fallen head over heels for her. Not shy, not embarrassed to say what was on her mind, no hatred towards her.

"Kristin!" Ashley called out from the living room and quickly ran towards the blonde to hug her.

Hugging the little girl, Amy glanced at Michel who placed a finger on his mouth. Amy got the idea and gave him a nod. She's not sure if the little girl knows about her amnesia.

"they said you don't remember me, is that true?"

"I…don't." Amy said in an apologetic tone as she placed her hand over her hair. "That's why I came, so you can help me remember. Will you help me?"

"Yes, but how?" Ashley said as she pulled back.

"Well, all you have to do is tell me everything that we used to do together. Okay?" Amy said in her sweet voice.

Ashley nodded vigorously. "Lunch is ready." Alexis called out from the next room.

"Let's eat lunch first."

When Ashley left to wash her hands, Michel walked closer to the blonde. He couldn't control himself and hugged the blonde while Alexis stood and rolled her eyes.

Michel pulled back and noticed that the blonde was feeling much better than the last time he saw her.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good."

"Any more headaches?" Michel said in a concerned voice.

Amy shook her head. Doctors, the brunette, and everyone she saw had asked her the same question.

"That's good. You look good." As he scanned the blonde from top to bottom, he noticed something was missing. Her ring.

"Is everything okay? Did something happened?"

"Everything's fine." Amy continued to explain why she's here.

"Does…she know you're here?" Michel wanted to make sure that Lucy knows where she is. Seeing that she didn't have her ring, he sensed that something could be wrong.

"She knows."

If Lucy doesn't know about this, he would have to call her immediately with or without the blonde's permission.

While eating lunch, Amy was surprised how intelligent the little girl was. Hearing stories from Ashley, she learned that most of the time, they, the three of them, went to movies, zoos, parks, shopping almost every weekend. Amy glanced at Michel who looked down in embarrassment as Ashley talked about the multiple times when people thought she was her mother. From this, she realized that Ashley and Alexis didn't have the same mother.

After lunch, Ashley show her former babysitter her room, the books she used to read to her and the drawings that she drew. Sitting on the bed next to the small cute blonde, Amy listened to the little girl as they looked at the pictures in the album.

"Do you remember this one?" Ashley pointed to a picture of three of them with the giraffe in the background, Ashley standing in the middle of them, holding Michel's and her hand.

"No. What happened?"

"This woman took a picture of us. I remember she said to me that I have beautiful blonde hair just like my mother. She thought you were my mother." Ashley chuckled, covering her mouth. Ashley then confessed that she wanted her to be her mother.

"Oh Ashley…I…"

"I know…I know…you can't because it would be silly…because then Alexis has to call you mother…that's just too weird."

"That would be weird." Amy chuckled at that thought. "But Ashley, it's not because of that. It's because your father and I are friends. I love you the same way I love your father. But that kind of love is not the same as your father has for your mother. Do you understand?"

"I know. It's like Grandma loves Grandpa."

"Right."

"It's like Prince Charming loves Cinderella.

"Right."

"It's like Alexis loves Keira."

"Right." Amy said as she looked at another picture. "Wait…what? How did you know about that?" Amy didn't think Alexis would let her sister know about that type of relationship since she's still so young.

Ashley told her about the time she saw Alexis and Keira kissing. Since she was curious to know why, she asked her teacher and she now understood why.

"You…saw them…kissing?"

"mhm…poor Sis…she loves Keira…and Keira is with Grandma now. Do you remember Keira?"

Amy shook her head and asked if Keira loves her sister.

"She does."

"She does?"

"…but not in that way…you know…like I love you…that kind of way…"

_She saw them kissing. How could she tell?_

"um…Ashley, how do you know if Keira doesn't love Alexis like your grandmother loves your grandfather?"

"Because Keira never comes over to my house. If you love someone, wouldn't you want to see her all the time? It's like Papa. He wants to see you all the time."

Amy wondered if there is an adult living inside the little girl. She cleared her throat, knowing that she need to change the subject.

"Ashley, let's talk about something else. Tell me about you."

Ashley told her about the school, her friends, he swimming lessons, piano lessons, Tae Kwon Do lessons, her favorite things.

"Hana, Dul, Set, net, Dasot, Yasot…Do you remember that?" Ashley recited the numbers in Korean.

"I do." Amy took Tae Kwon Do lessons when she was a kid as well. It came in handy when she joined the DEBS. She had her black belt by the age of 7. When she was a teenager, she began teaching classes to kids younger than her on certain days after school so that her parents didn't have to pay to continue on the next levels.

Surprised that the taller blonde could remember, Ashley jumped off the bed and showed her the first form she learned. After showing her first form, she jumped back on the bed.

"That's very good. Ashley. Did I teach you that?"

Amy was a little surprised when she learned that the brunette got her interested in it.

Meanwhile in the living room, Alexis told her father what happened at the hospital about her mother finding out the identity of the brunette.

"I told her not to tell Ashley but I don't know what to tell her."

"Tell her you thought she was dead and you just found out. Tell her it's complicated and we just need to make sure she doesn't say anything to Ashley."

Alexis nodded, thinking that it was a good idea, as long as Ashley doesn't find out.

"Did you notice that she's not wearing her ring?" Michel asked.

"Keira…" She hit herself on the head to remind herself to stop saying that name. "Skye's not wearing it either."

"Do you think they…."

"Oh shoot. Ashley." Alexis immediately stood up when a thought hit her. "Ashley might tell her about the kiss."

She quickly ran upstairs to Ashley's bedroom and knocked on the door. Without waiting for a response, she opened the door without permission. Amy was sitting on the bed. Ashley was standing and was in the middle of singing a song.

"Ashley, what are you doing?" Alexis asked nervously as she took a glance at the blonde.

"Kristin wants to hear me sing." She walked towards her older sis and pulled her to sit on the edge of the bed.

Ashley cleared her throat before she started to sing. Alexis turned to take a quick glance at the blonde to see if she knows about the kiss. She couldn't tell. What she saw was that the blonde was very focused, listening intently to her sister's singing.

"I…misssss…youuuuu." Ashley smiled when she finished the song.

"Ashley, that's beautiful." Amy clapped her hands softly. "Did you sing that to me before?"

"No."

"But it sounded familiar to me. When did that song come out? Who sang it?" Amy said as her brows furrowed.

When Ashley told her that was the megastar's song, Alexis remembered where she could have heard it.

"You went to her concert with Kat, do you remember that?"

"Concert?" The last time she went to a concert was when her parents were still alive, before joining the DEBS. She closed her eyes, picturing the atmosphere of a concert, with thousands of people screaming. She pictured Kat sitting next to her. _Kat? What does she look like? _Then all of a sudden, an image of darkness, then a light shone on a female with a guitar on the stage, the screaming from fans died down, a large display of the performer appeared.

"she has blonde hair…"

Alexis and Ashley both let out a low gasp, surprised that she could remember.

"tears…she's…sad…quiet…" Then an another image appeared. "Why is she wearing glasses?…wait…wait!" Her eyes then opened wide.

"That's weird. She doesn't wear glasses." Ashley said.

"No, not her, it's…" Amy stopped, remembering that Ashley doesn't know about the brunette. She wasn't sure when it happened.

"Kristin. You remember!" Alexis said.

Clapping her hands, Ashley jumped in excitement.

"Just a little. That song…is very touching."

Ashley explained to her who that song was written about. She didn't know herself. She remembered that's what Kat said.

After two hours, it was time for Ashley to go to her piano class. Alone inside the house with Alexis, Amy took the opportunity to ask her what that kiss was about.

Alexis covered her face in embarrassment once again and was shocked to learn that her sister knows that she loves the brunette.

"I didn't know that you and her were together then…it was me, she didn't want too." Alexis explained what happened. "You broke up with her before she left to Venice."

Putting all the pieces together she heard from Scud, Amy finally understood. Scud told her what he knows but not in detail and she never bothered to ask the brunette. She was kidnapped and the brunette saved her, multiple times, that's what they told her.

"So how did she get me back?"

"I wasn't there. My father knows. He was there." Alexis continued to tell her what happened that night when the blonde was in a coma, kidnapped. The more she was reminded of that night, the more angry she got.

"Your former boss knew you were kidnapped. She used you to capture her."

Amy understood why Alexis would be angry, but she, as a former DEBS agent, also understood why her former boss would do that. After telling her what she knows, Michel came back after dropping Ashley off. He was surprised to see that Kristin was still here. All three sat on the sofa as Michel told them what happened at the warehouse but not in detail which the two women noticed that he was hiding something from them.

"Michel, you're not telling us everything. Why?"

"It's not important. What's important is that she risked her life to save you and us. That's all you need to know."

Amy saw his eyes moved, looking at Alexis from time to time. She didn't realize Alexis also noticed until she spoke.

"Is it me? I'm not a kid anymore. I can take it. You said she had to fight with a guy and she knocked him out."

"Alexis, if I tell you exactly what happened, you're going to have nightmares." Michel wanted to tell the blonde exactly what happened so that she can see how much the brunette loved her. That was when he found out about the brunette's feelings. He could still remembered what she said.

"I can take it. I want to know." Alexis got even more curious to know what happened.

Michel pondered for a short moment.

"She didn't knock him out. He fainted." He described the warehouse, the number of men there were, what the two leaders were talking about, what Lucy had to do to get the blonde out.

"She said: **If…anyone…lays a hand on her…on them**, they…will get more than a broken leg." He shut his eyes for a second, remembering the sound of the broken leg.

"She broke his leg?" Alexis was shocked that the brunette would do that.

"Not only that, she broke his hand too for spiking her drink. She didn't recognize him until he told her."

He looked at the blonde. "It was a warning for them not to touch you…and you" He said to Alexis. "…she had to do it to show them."

If anyone heard, they would be grateful to the brunette. She expected the same reaction from the blonde; love the brunette even more. Alexis was shocked when the blonde spoke about the brunette…in a bad way.

"She's Lucy Diamond. That's one of the things she's known for." Amy said while staring into blank space, remembering what she learned about the former criminal leader while doing research.

Everyone could tell Alexis didn't like what Amy just said when she stood up and defended the former criminal leader.

"What do you mean by that? She did it for us. She did it to save us. She's not heartless. She's not cold blooded."

What Amy wanted to say is that the brunette is known for protecting her own. If anyone harms them, she'd get revenge for them. But something else came out of her mouth instead. Amy stood up.

"Alexis, do you know who she is?"

"I know who she used to be. She's not like that anymore. She's changed."

"Are you saying that if a person killed another person previously, we should forgive that person because she's changed?"

Alexis hesitated for a moment. She understood what the blonde was saying but all she could think of was that the brunette was not the same person she used to be.

"Did she? Did she kill anyone?" _Whether she did or not, it wouldn't change how I feel._

Both stared at each other. Michel remained in his seat as he looked up at both of them. Amy had a point. But without the brunette, he and his family wouldn't be here. So whatever Lucy did before, he would do anything to protect her in return. If Amy could remember what the brunette did for her, he believed she would have felt the same way they do.

"She said she didn't." Amy said.

"I believe her."

"She might not have killed anyone directly, but she did…indirectly."

"What are you talking about?!" Alexis was getting more angry.

"Illegal arms-running, smuggling, gambling, diamond theft, bank robbery…she did all of that…the guns she sold, do you think they were used for protection only? People died from those guns."

Alexis shook her head in disbelief. "Stop it! Why are you like this?"

What the blonde was saying is true, but she didn't want to hear it, especially from someone whom the brunette loves. _She doesn't sound like she wants to be with her_.

"You knew about that…you forgave her…Kristin knew about that…and she…you forgave her…so why…why are you doing this…why can't you see that she's changed? Why can't you forgive her?"

Both stared at each other in silence.

_She still loves her. No matter what she says, she will still love her._

Not wanting the conversation to lead into an argument, Amy decided that it was the right time to leave and picked up her jacket from the couch. "I…have…to go."

As she walked towards the door, Michel felt the need to say something.

"Kristin, we understand your point. But we…owe our lives to her…she didn't have to risk her life to save us…but she did…she didn't have to save Nadia, someone whom she doesn't even know, but she did." Michel wanted her to know that the former criminal did a lot of good deeds, not just stopped what she used to do.

"If you could remember how much she loves you, what she did for you, how much you love her, what you would do for her…you would know how we feel."

"Amy…." Alexis called out as she walked closer to her. "Just remember, you knew who she was when you were with the DEBS and you still fell in love with her." She reached out to hold both of her hands. "Give yourself time…see who she is now." She looked down and rubbed her ringless finger. "Don't…leave her…because if you do, when your memory comes back, she might not be there for you." Alexis knows that the brunette would not let the blonde go no matter what happens. What she was trying to do was induce fear into her, to convince her to stay with the brunette as long as she has to, to remember the past.

* * *

After leaving the Couric's house, Amy spent some time by herself in a café, drinking a non dairy peach smooth, watching people passing by, and thinking about what she learned. She understood how Alexis and Michel felt. Lucy Diamond was no longer the same person. She understood that. It's not that she couldn't let her past be the past, it's because she doesn't know how to face her, how to love her when she doesn't feel that way. _I was a DEBS agent. We tried to catch her for years. What did she do to make me fall in love with her? Why did I fall in love with her? _She learned from Janet that they were kidnapped by the brunette and she fell for her the first night. _I almost let her kiss me that same night?_

_"_Why did I want to kiss her?I'm not gay. This doesn't make any sense." She sighed loudly as she stared out the café window.

She didn't realize how much time had passed until Janet called.

"I'm coming home."

"Where are you? We'll pick you."

Since nobody wanted to cook, Amy waited for them to come pick her up so they could go out to eat.

Sitting in the French restaurant completely filled with people, Janet was the first one to ask how her day went.

"Good. They told me a lot of things. Ashley told me that Alexis…" She deliberately said that louder and looked at the brunette sitting across from her. "...loves you."

Lucy immediately looked up at the blonde. "Ashley?" She was surprised that Ashley knew. _The little girl is getting older. She must still be curious about why Alexis kissed me._

"Why didn't you tell me?"

All eyes glanced at the brunette, then at the blonde.

"We didn't think that's important since Lucy doesn't love her." Janet responded.

"I think that's important. You need to tell me every single detail…it might help me remember. In fact, she told me so much…I…remember something."

All stopped eating and asked in unison. "What?"

Looking at the brunette, Amy stayed silent for a moment, wondering if she should ask her about the kiss. _She probably would say that Alexis caught her by surprise._

"I…remember...the song."

"What song?" Janet immediately asked.

"I…remember seeing you…at the concert. What were you doing in the concert?"

_Oh geez. _Lucy was hoping that she could remember something else besides seeing the megastar.

"We were there to see the concert. Scud likes her." Lucy turned to Scud, expecting him to say something.

"Yea, I like her."

"Who?"

Scud told Janet who they saw at the concert. "Oh…I like her too. She's really talented. We should go see her next time." Janet then asked which song she remembered since she couldn't remember anything else. "Oh…I love that song. That's a very touching song."

While Janet continued to talk about the song, Lucy remained silent, pretending not to know what she was talking about and wished Janet stopped talking about it because she was getting quite uncomfortable.

All looked at the blonde when she spoke again.

"Michel also told me what you did at the warehouse."

_Why did he tell her that?_ "I had to…to protect you and them. There was no other choice, I had to…"

"I understand."

"You…don't think…I was…too cruel."

"If you kill him, then yes. To deal with those type of people, you have to use that method….talking certainly wouldn't help. You'd know better than anyone."

_I would know better than anyone._ Lucy would be lying if that comment didn't hurt. _I was trying to protect you._

"What did she do?"

Lucy moved her eyes away from the blonde, looked down on her plate, grabbed her knife and fork and cut vigorously into her perfectly grilled steak.

Amy regretted for saying that when she noticed that the brunette was hurt by her comment. She had no idea why she said it. It just came out. It was the truth. _She would know better than anyone. She used to be one of them._

When Scud whispered into Janet's ear, telling her what happened, Janet gasped loudly, staring at the brunette.

"You…broke his leg?"

Lucy turned to look at the shorter blonde. "I broke his hand too for spiking my drink."

Janet was curious to know what he put in the drink, if she drank it, and what it did to her.

"What did he put in your drink?"

Lucy took the last bite of her steak and put down her utensils.

"Maybe…I shouldn't have done that…maybe I should have let him keep his hand so that he can continue drugging woman….maybe I should just asked him nicely to stop doing that…because then people wouldn't think I'm like them." Lucy stood up and pushed her chair in.

"Scud, I'll take a taxi home."

Lucy had planned on taking the blonde to somewhere special, but she was no longer in the mood. Ignoring the blonde, she left the restaurant.

Everyone could tell that the brunette was upset. Scud doesn't blame her for leaving. That comment hurt him as well, but he knew that Amy wasn't herself, so he forgave her. They used to be criminals but there were a lot of things they didn't do: human trafficking, drugs, etc.

"Was she drugged? Was she hurt?" Janet asked in a concerned voice.

What Janet just said caused Amy to snap her head at Scud. She never thought of that.

"Yes." Scud responded.

"She was drugged?" Both girls asked in unison. Janet covered her mouth in shock. Horrible thoughts crossed their minds.

"She got dizzy from it. It did something to her but she wasn't seriously hurt."

Both women relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.

"If she was hurt, do you think that's all she would do?"

Even if Scud didn't say it, both knew Lucy would have done more than that.

Scud never told her about how Alexis almost got sexually assaulted by one of Lionel's men, he decided to tell her so that she would know why Lucy broke that guy's leg and hand.

"Amy…she did what she had to do."

Nodding her head, Janet agreed with Scud.

"I'm…sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I don't know why I said that." Amy apologized for blurting out that comment. As she was about to stand up to go after the brunette, Scud stopped her from leaving.

"She'll be okay." Scud took a look at his watch. "We have to go. It's almost time."

"Time for what?" Amy asked.

"You'll see." Scud said. Janet also had no idea where they were going.

* * *

Her jaws dropped as the Cupid Capsule slowly ascended to the top. Holding a glass of champagne, she was mesmerized by the beautiful lighted city of London and illuminated bridges below.

"This is really beautiful." Amy said as she took a sip of the champagne. Inside the Cupid capsule were Scud, Janet, Amy and and a hostess whom they asked politely to stand at the other end of the capsule.

"Does this bring back any memories?" Scud asked, standing next to Janet.

"No." She realized she must have been here before with the brunette.

"Nothing? Not a single thing?" Janet asked.

Amy shook her head again.

"Close your eyes and try."

"Janet, just tell me. Did something happen here?" She wondered why her friend insisted on having her try but did as told. Amy handed her the champagne and closed her eyes. She thought about the capsule with dim lighting, just like right now. She pictured herself with the brunette and the hostess in the other end of the capsule. What were we doing here? She pictured herself holding a glass of champagne. There would be a box of chocolates, a rose, and a bottle of champagne. It would be a romantic atmosphere. _She would be holding me. _"nothing…there's nothing…I can't…" Then all of a sudden, an image of the brunette holding a rose and kneeling on one knee appeared in front of her. The image disappeared after 2 seconds. She opened her eyes. "She…she…proposed to me…here?"

Smiling, Janet nodded. "You remember."

"She planned it for a long time." Scud said, remembering the times they've been here to test their gadget to block the cctv signal.

Janet told her about the proposal, everything she could remember. Even Scud didn't know how the brunette proposed.

"Did I say yes?"

"Of course you did." Janet continued on telling her about the argument they had about the wedding outfits.

"Did we take pictures? Maybe that would help."

"You had a headache that day and we brought you to the hospital." Janet said sadly.

Amy turned to look at the city. "She proposed…to…Kristin."

Both Janet and Scud looked at each, confused. "Amy, you're Kristin." Janet said.

"Am I? I'm nothing like her. She loves her. That's why she proposed to her."

"No, Amy. She was planning on proposing to you after you graduate from school. But you disappeared before that…She didn't tell me how. But I saw her…when we were living in Barcelona…she drew a big heart on the beach…I had no idea what she was doing then, but now I know."

"I knew it!" Janet shouted.

"So she was planning on using the same method to propose to me and Kristin…if there is a beach here?"

"What's wrong with that?" Scud shrugged his shoulders, not understanding why the blonde would be upset.

"um…honey…that's not right…" Janet signaled him to stay quiet. Guys just wouldn't understand.

"Why?" He's a genius in a lot of things, but at this moment, he's clueless.

"Because a proposal is supposed to be special, unique, if she planned on using the same method to propose to Kristin, that means she never got over Amy…I mean…me…then that means she thinks Kristin is me." Amy paused, jerking her head back a little, letting her own words sink into her brain. "She thinks Kristin is…me?"

Scud was getting dizzy from what the taller blonde just said…either from that or from the champagne.

"Amy, you are Kristin. Kristin is you."

"But at that moment, Lucy didn't know that, Scud. She never got over her. She loves Kristin because she looks like Amy." Janet tried to explain.

Shaking his head, Scud walked over to put the glass of champagne down on the bench. He needed to clear his head because the conversation was getting too confusing.

"I understand what you two are saying…and I believe that you girls are partly right. If Kristin only had your looks…if she has the personality of the worst bitch on the face of this Earth, do you think Lucy would fall in love with her? NO. She wouldn't. She loves her and she loves you.

"Scud, I think you should have just…_zip it._" Janet gestured with her fingers sliding over her mouth, indicating that he shouldn't have said that. Nobody likes to hear their lover falling for someone else.

"It took her 3 years to finally find someone she could love. It's because she never got over you. I have to keep telling her, to convince her, that you, the Amy I know, wouldn't want you to be alone because you love her. I had to persuade her to go on blind dates but none of them worked out, no matter how good looking, how nice they are. Until she met Kristin, she's like you in a lot of ways…but she knows that you are you…and Kristin is Kristin" Scud saw the blank expression on the blonde's face. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

He was surprised that Janet raised her hand.

"I know. I know. If…for example…that we're not together and I still love you…and I meet somebody else who looks like you, there are going to be moments where I would think of you because he reminds me of you…and it doesn't mean that I don't love him."

"yes." Scud turned to Amy.

Frowning in confusion, Amy slowly glanced at both of them, wondering how the conversation about the proposal led to this. She then finished the rest of the champagne in her glass in one big gulp.

"Scud, if you proposed to Janet and brought her a ring, she said yes, then you guys later get a divorce, then you found someone else and propose to her, would you buy the same kind of ring to propose to her?"

Before Scud could respond, Janet raised her hand again.

"She didn't do that. I know. I saw the receipt. She bought the ring the same day she proposed." Janet said and nodded vigorously to assure the taller blonde.

"that is exactly my point…she proposed to Kristin…not me…she loves her…" Amy walked towards the bench and poured herself another glass of champagne.

"Ammmmmy…" Scud wanted to say something but stopped when Janet pulled his forearm.

"Amy, everything is going to be okay. Your memory is slowly coming back…and when you get them all back, you and her will be like before."

"Janet, I know who I am. Didn't you say I fell in love with her that same night she kidnapped me?"

Janet nodded, but didn't understand what she was trying to say.

"Why? Why did I fall for her? What is it about her that made me fall in love with her?"

Janet was beginning to understand her point. "I…don't know. I…we…saw you talking and you were having so much fun with her…you let her…kiss…"

"I know. You told me that already. I let her kiss me. But why? " Amy looked at both of them. "I…don't…feel…that…way. Do you understand?"

It took a moment, but Scud finally understood why. He kept the thought to himself. About five years ago, the one whom Amy fell in love with was the leader of the criminal organization. Lucy was like the quarterback of a football team whom every girl wanted to date. But now, she is a nobody, a regular person living a civilian life. Things were different then. Lucy was different then. Like Janet said, Lucy has that charm, the magnetism, the mystery that captivates others. She still has all of that but her life now is simple and not as 'complicated, interesting or exciting' as what it used to be. The one whom the former DEBS agent fell in love with was the notorious Lucy Diamond whom people were afraid of, whom everyone wanted to know about, whom…no longer exists. _Shit. Even if she gets all her memory back, will she get that feeling back?_

_But Kristin is different. Kristin fell for Keira not Lucy Diamond. Kristin wanted a peaceful life because she was tired of working as a government agent. There may be hope._

The trip to the Cupid Capsule was Lucy's idea. In a way, Scud was glad that Lucy didn't go with them, otherwise he wouldn't know what the blonde was thinking. All remained silent inside the car during the ride home. Amy drank a little too much. Her tired eyes closed throughout the ride.

Scud and Janet were the first ones to enter the apartment while Amy dragged her feet up the stairs to the fourth floor apartment.

The tv was on. "What the hell?" Scud was shocked at what he saw when he turned the lights on.

Lying on the couch, face down, with one arm and one leg hanging over the edge was a drunk brunette.

"Lucy, Lucy…" Scud lightly shook her shoulder.

"she's drunk." said Janet.

Lucy didn't smell of liquor. It was her red cheeks that gave it away.

"Drunk? Lucy! How much did you drink? Lucy! How much did you drink?" Scud asked in a panic voice. When the brunette mumbled, Scud placed his ears closer. "What?"

Lucy mumbled again.

"Okay, you're going to the hospital." Scud said as he pulled the brunette to sit up.

"Scud…she hates me…she hates me…" Lucy said with her eyes closed as she sat on the couch. Her words were unclear but Scud and Janet heard.

"No she doesn't." Scud took her left arm and hung it around his shoulder and Janet did the same with her right arm.

"She…hates…me." Lucy mumbled continuously with her head down as she walked unsteadily towards the door with the help of Scud and Janet. When she managed to open her eyes a little, she saw a blurry image of the blonde standing at the door.

"Where…you…taking me?"

"Hospital."

Lucy immediately took her arms off Scud and Janet and wobbled towards her bedroom.

"Lucy! You have to go to the hospital." Scud immediately walked towards her and tried to hold her arm, but couldn't when Lucy flung his hand away.

"No!…I'm fine…" She slurred, tiredly and walked clumsily down the hall.

"How much did you drink?" Scud said as he stood in front of her, blocking her from moving forward.

"…just a little…" Lucy said as she placed one hand on his shoulder to stabilize herself. "it's not going to kill me." She said as she fluttered her eyes opened and continued walking towards the bedroom, using the wall to support herself. All watched the brunette move one step at a time. Janet then gasped loudly when the brunette stopped and slid down on the floor. Everyone ran towards her. Scud bend down next to the brunette and as he was about to carry her, Lucy pushed him away. "no!…no hospital…" Leaning her side against the wall, Lucy slowly lifted herself up.

Scud knew what she's upset about but found it strange that the brunette would get drunk because of it. After that incident where she almost died from drinking too much, she stopped drinking entirely. Anything with alcohol, she stayed away from it. But after meeting Kristin, she started drinking again, but not so much where she would get drunk, just a small amount of alcohol.

"What are you doing?!" Janet shouted when she saw her boyfriend raising his arm and about to hit the brunette on the back of the neck.

"I'm going to knock her out. That's the only way to get her to the hospital."

"You're going to give her a neck ache if you do that." Amy said.

"Really? That's how the people in the movies do it."

Lucy tried to flung the blonde's hand away when she felt someone grabbing her hand.

"I'm not taking you to hospital." Amy said as she looked at the brunette who was leaning her back against the wall. Lucy had her eyes closed, her head down, barely had the strength to stand. Amy took her arm, flung it over her shoulder and continued to tell her that she's helping her get to the bedroom. Not getting any rejection, Scud then took the arm and assisted the brunette to her bed.

"I'll stay with her tonight." Janet said as she placed a warm towel over the brunette's forehead.

Scud nodded and left the room since there wasn't anything he could do.

"Can you help me?" Janet began unzipping the brunette's jeans.

Amy understood. It wouldn't be comfortable wearing jeans while sleeping. Janet stood, staring at the drunk brunette, and smirked.

"Who would have thought that we would be taking Lucy Diamond's pants off?"

"Jaaaanet." Amy said as she rolled her eyes. _If I could remember, I'm sure I was doing more than that._

"Sheee…hates…meee…shee…hates…me…" Lucy murmured, her eyes still closed.

"No she doesn't." Janet said repeatedly until the brunette stopped talking. Both realized how hurt she was after hearing that comment from Amy in the restaurant.

After Amy took a shower, she looked after the brunette so that Janet could take a shower. Amy took a small bucket of warm water from the second bathroom. She rolled up the brunette's sleeves and washed her arms with a warm wet towel. After washing her neck and her abdomen, she rolled the brunette over on the side and washed her back.

"Should I?" She said to herself. What she's thinking about is whether she should take the brunette's bra off. _It would be more comfortable._ After thinking for a moment, she chastised herself for thinking too much. _It's only a bra._ She unclasped it and took it off from one arm first, then the other. She has no intention of washing her chest, so she just left it at that and pulled the blanket over the brunette.

"Ammmyyyy.y.y.y…Ammmyyy…" Lucy continued to murmur her name.

_I did this. I did this to her. _From what Janet said, she's the only who could do this to her.

Amy covered her mouth, feeling sorry for causing this, when she saw a tear flowing down at the corner of the brunette's eye.

Leaning the side of her face on the pillow, Lucy continued to mumble. "…miss…you….I luv…you" Lucy then rolled on her other side away from the lamp and mumbled again. Her voice was so faint, Amy couldn't hear it.

Sitting on the chair, Amy covered her face in shame, blaming herself for saying those words, those hurtful words that cause that brunette to start drinking. She heard what happened to the brunette, what she did after her 'death'. _She did it to save me. Why did I say that?_

"I'm sorry. Lucy." She whispered.

"I'm sorry." She gently shook her shoulder as if wanting the brunette to respond back, to say she accepted her apology. But what she heard was a different response.

"I'm sorrrryyy…" Lucy mumbled as she rolled back on her back. Her eyes moved under the eyelids as if she wanted to open them but couldn't.

Amy wasn't sure why the brunette was apologizing. "no…I'm sorry." Amy whispered and reached out to gently wiped the tears flowing from the corner of her eyes.

"…hates me…she…hates m…"

"No…I don't…I don't…I…just…I…just…I…"

She stopped when she heard the door opened.

"I'm all set." Janet whispered.

Amy turned around. "I'll stay with her tonight."

Janet was a little surprised with her response. "Are you sure?"

Amy nodded. "It's my fault."

Janet understood and left the room.

Sitting down, Amy stared at the brunette who was moving her lips, but even though no words came out, Amy could figure out what she was was trying to say.

"Lucy, I don't hate you." Her hand slowly reached out to brush another teardrop away. "I…just…don't know why…why would I fall in love with you?" She said softly as she gently rubbed her red cheek. "Why would I give up everything up to be with you?" When she heard from Janet what she did at the Endgame, she couldn't believe it herself. What's even more shocking was that Lucy Diamond gave up her empire to be with her.

"Aaammyyy….love…youuuu"

"Why? Why would you give up everything to be with me?" She knew why. The brunette told her many times. Janet told her many times. Scud told her many times. But it just doesn't make sense to her. She leaned closer to the brunette's face, taking in every detail, her thumb still rubbing her cheek.

"You…are beautiful…but I wouldn't…" She wouldn't fall for someone because of their looks. That's how she was attracted to her ex-boyfriend. His looks. But after a few dates, she found out she had no connection with him. To know somebody, it would take time, so she continued to go out with him. They were both busy and she somehow let the relationship last more than a year.

"…why am I attracted to you?…you're a girl…" This is what is most confusing to her. Growing up, she was never attracted to a girl. Sure, she would look at anyone who's beautiful, whether it's a male or female, like any normal person would do. But having those kind of thoughts, Never. Was she ever curious to kiss a girl? Never. Biting her bottom lip, she wonders if she should try, just to see what it feels like. The thought of kissing her didn't gross her out. The thought of having made love to her…that was too much…she had to be deeply in love and married to do that…she shook her head to clear that thought. One inch at a time, she slowly leaned closer to the brunette's red cheeks. She could tell that the brunette wasn't sleeping peacefully by the deep furrows on her forehead. With her finger, Amy gently rubbed her forehead, successfully erasing the frown. She leaned forward and closed her eyes. What she was aiming for was the brunette's face. Her eyes suddenly opened wide, when something didn't feel right. Instead of her face, her lips landed on the brunette's lips when she suddenly turned her head. Amy immediately jerked back, covering her mouth. Her heart pounded even more rapidly in fear of being caught. She swallowed and nervously waited to see if the brunette noticed what she did. After a short moment, she let out a sigh of relief when no movement came from the brunette. Being tired herself, she turned the lamp off and gently slipped into the other side of the bed. Staring at the ceiling, she thought about what just happened. The kiss wasn't that bad. Her lips were definitely smoother than a guy's. It's not as different as kissing her ex but if she had to choose, she would, no doubt, picked the brunette. Just thinking about kissing her ex makes her gag. _What am I saying? That's because I don't love him._ She slowly turned and saw the brunette facing her. _What is it about you that made me fall in love with you? Not once, but twice_. She wished she knew. She wished by tomorrow, all those memories, feelings would come back to her. Then they could continue to live their lives where they left off over four years ago. But if she doesn't get that feeling back, she's not sure what she would do…continue to live like this as friends not as lovers…under the same roof…just won't work. She leaned in to give the brunette a soft kiss on the cheek.

"I'm sorry" Amy whispered and lay on her other side, her back facing the brunette. After a short moment, her tired eyes closed.

* * *

**Chapter 37: Chapter 37**

* * *

**Chapter 37**

Amy never told anyone about her dreams, not even Max, her first and closest friend in the DEBS. Max knew she was interested in art. She had seen her drawings and thought they were awesome. But every time Max would say something nice about it and that would be the end of the conversation. Never once did Max or Bobby asked her if she would want to pursue a career in that field. They just assumed that it was a hobby to her.

"I wanted to go to art school. "

"Art school?"

"In Barcelona."

"You should go, you should do it."

Amy was surprised that the girl in front of her, whom she met for a few days, the badass criminal mastermind encouraged her to follow her dreams as if she would do anything to make her dream come true. It was her eyes. She saw the sincerity in her dark brown eyes. Even if her words were just words of encouragement, she was happy. But they weren't just plain words. She could tell that the brunette wanted to help her fulfill her dreams no matter what, at all cost. What she realized was that the person in front of her is her future. She finally found someone who understands her, who loves her. She couldn't resist. Her hands cupped the brunette's cheeks, she leaned in for a short kiss, then another and another. Their kissing became so passionate, so intense, so deep, there was no doubt in her mind that the brunette was the one. She pulled away to catch her breath. Her arms raised up to allow the brunette to pull her top off. She reached out and unbuckled the brunette's belt as fast as she could. They collided in another passionate kiss. Breathing heavily, with the brunette on top of her, she was surprised when the brunette stopped kissing her and asked the one question that she thought it was obvious.

"Do you love me?"

"Yes." She responded with a smile, without a doubt. _If she knew this will be my first time, she would know just how much I love her._

She pulled the brunette closer and kissed her deeply, slipping her tongue into her mouth. Once they removed all their clothing, she let out an involuntary moan when the brunette gently lay on top of her, pressing her naked body against hers. While her neck was being kissed, her sensitive areas being touched, her breathing quickened. "Oh God." Her hands roamed the brunette's back, touching everywhere her hands could reach. She stopped when the brunette pulled back to ask another question, a very silly one.

"Honey, do you want the lights off?"

"What?" Amy whispered. Her face contorted in confusion. The lights were already on before they started. If she wanted the lights off, she would have said something.

"Never mind." The brunette then kissed her feverishly, running her mouth down from her neck to her collar bone to her chest, kissing, nipping every inch of her body until she heard her name being called. She moved her body up and hovered over the blonde's face.

Panting heavily, she looked up at the brunette. All she could hear was her own heartbeat pounding wildly against the naked body on top of her, her own rapid breathing and the brunette's. When the brunette didn't move, Amy knew what she was waiting for, her approval. Amy cupped her face and pulled her in for another passionate kiss to assure her that she wanted to continue. Holding on to her shoulder blades, she closed her eyes and waited for what was about to come, her first time. She had no idea how she would react to her first time. Her own reaction surprised herself when she let out an involuntary shriek, then another and another, as the brunette slowly glided her hips against hers. The sensation was indescribable, she couldn't think. She had no idea why the brunette was talking or even asking questions at this intimate moment.

"What's…that?" She said, breathing heavily, her eyes still closed.

"Do you want stir fried tofu with vegetables or vegan lasagna for dinner?"

"What!"

Her eyes then open wide. She could see the white ceiling clearly with the brightness in the room. Her heartbeat was still pounding rapidly. She blinked a few times to focus. When she realized it was only a dream, she turned and let out a sigh of relief when she saw the brunette still sleeping.

She turned her head back, staring at the ceiling, letting her heart rate normalize. It was a crazy dream. But it felt so real…because…because…_Oh…my…god._ Even though it wasn't real, the wetness in her private area is. She never had those kind of dreams before. Was it a memory from Kristin or Amy? She wondered if that's how it happened, her first time. But it was bizarre. _Asking me what I want for dinner while making love…now that's crazy. _Usually dreams have some truth to it. She wondered which part. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and quickly got out of bed before the brunette sees her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Not expecting to wake up so early, Amy decided to go for a run around the block. She wanted to get back into shape as soon as possible because what she had in mind was to get a part time job and go back to art school. Staying at home doing nothing was just too boring. She learned from Scud that they were going after Alexis' grandfather for more than a year, but because of Kristin's condition, her condition, the brunette devoted all of her time on her. Now that she's back, there will be no need to go after the fraudster herself. It's up to her former boss. That's what she thought, but was unsure if the brunette was thinking of the same thing.

After a 45 minute run, Amy went back, took a shower, and started cooking breakfast for everyone.

"Good morning." Janet said as she entered the kitchen.

"Good morning. Janet. I'm making tofu scramble. Do you want some?" Amy said as she poured the tofu scramble on her plate.

"No thanks." Just thinking about it made her whole body shiver.

"How about a vegetable omelette?"

"Sounds good. Thanks. I'll make the coffee."

Scud then came in and told the blonde to make him a ham and egg croissant sandwich.

"What does she want?"

"mmm…no idea…she'll probably won't wake up til later…and…she'll probably have a headache after last …" He trailed off when he was interrupted by the person behind him.

"I'm fine. Scud."

All were surprised to see Lucy at this hour especially after last night. Not only were they surprised to see her up so early, they were surprised by her appearance. She had light makeup on, her hair was washed and dried, tied in a pony tail, she was all dressed up in a black v neck top and blue bootcut jeans as if she was planning to go out today. Usually she wore a pair of comfortable sweatpants in the morning and changed into something else before going out.

Amy stayed silent and watched the brunette walked towards the refrigerator. Scud closed the door and left them alone inside the kitchen. Pretending as if nothing happened last night, Lucy took 2 eggs out of the refrigerator.

"You're going to burn that if you don't flip it." Lucy said when she noticed the blonde was looking at her instead of the pan.

Amy quickly used the spatula to flip the omelette over and returned her eyes at the brunette. What she wanted to do was apologize for what she said yesterday but noticed that the brunette wasn't mad at her anymore.

Lucy cracked the two eggs in a bowl and stirred with a fork.

"I can do that. I'm making breakfast for everyone. What would you like?" Amy said in her gentle voice.

"mmm…that's okay…I don't like burnt food." Lucy said as she tilted her head, motioning the blonde to look at the pan again where smoke was coming out of the omelette.

"Oh shoot." Amy knows how to cook, but her mind was concerned about the brunette's feelings at the moment.

Lucy took two more eggs from the refrigerator. "What were you making?"

"vegetable omelette. It's for Janet."

Lucy walked towards the door to the dining room and asked Janet and Scud if they would like meat omelette instead since she was planning to make one for herself.

Getting no rejection, she cut up pieces of cooked ham, mushroom, tomato, peppers, onions and tossed it into a heated pan.

"I'll make it for them." Lucy said.

Knowing that she cannot get through the day without apologizing, Amy was about to apologize but stopped when the brunette asked her to toast the bread. Amy decided to let the brunette finished making the omelette first. After the brunette put the third omelette on a plate, she felt it's the right moment and walked towards the brunette, standing at the sink.

"I want to apologize for last night."

Lucy turned to look at the blonde and slowly let out a small smile. "I accept."

Amy immediately felt better.

"Can you take those out?" Lucy asked politely.

"Sure." Smiling, Amy did as told and walked out holding two dishes.

Unbeknownst to her, as soon as she walked out of the kitchen, Lucy's smile disappeared. She let out a deep breath. Her heart ached when she heard her apology. Lucy quickly took a napkin to absorb the tears that were about to escape her eyes and turned around before the blonde came back to get the other dishes.

"I'll clean it up later." Holding the last two dishes, Amy called out from the door.

"Okay." Lucy responded in a happy tone without looking back.

While eating their breakfast, Janet complimented on Lucy's cooking once again.

"Don't eat too much of this stuff, it'll go right to your hips." Lucy joked.

"Don't worry about me. I joined the gym and we could all go together." Janet said and took another bite of the omelette.

"Oh, good. You can go with Amy." Lucy said as she took a sip of coffee. When she put the coffee down, she saw 6 pairs of eyes looking at her.

"What does that mean?" Scud asked, sensing that the brunette was giving them a hint.

"I'm going to visit Uncle Nick today." Lucy said as she took a bite of the omelette.

"Is he alright?" Scud asked.

"He's not feeling well. He wants to see me." Lucy said.

"I'll go with you." Scud immediately responded.

"Scud, I need you to be here." She needed him here to take care of the blondes, both of them.

"Where are you going?" Amy asked. All wanted to know, except for Scud who knew where Uncle Nick lives.

"Canada."

"For how long?" Janet asked.

"2 weeks." Lucy ordered a one-way ticket, unsure how long she would be staying there.

"So Scud, while I'm not here, maybe you can take Amy to Barcelona." She turned to Amy.

"Do you remember we lived in Barcelona?" Lucy knew she wouldn't.

Amy shook her head apologetically.

"You always wanted to go to Barcelona. Now that you're getting better, you can go with them." Lucy said in a gentle tone.

"Janet, do you want to go to Barcelona?"

"I want to go." Janet said as she nodded her head vigorously.

"Good…it's been a really long time since we all had a vacation. This would be a good time." As Lucy reached out to the center of the table to get the butter, her sleeves stretched up just high enough where Janet noticed the black and blue bruise on her forearm.

"What happened?" Janet grabbed her forearm and pulled up the sleeves.

Lucy didn't pull back because if she did, they, especially Scud would know something is up.

She didn't want to talk about what happened last night but had no choice to bring it up.

"Oh…bump on to the coffee table last night…no big deal…" She didn't try to hide it and continued to spread the butter on the slice of bread.

At the corner of her eyes, she noticed all of them were still looking at her. She wasn't sure if they believed her lie. To break the awkward silence, Lucy spoke again.

"can you take care of them while I'm out?" She knew Scud would.

Lucy took the last bite and looked at her watch. Without saying a word, she took the plate back into the kitchen and dropped the plate into the sink filled with water.

As expected, when Lucy came out of the kitchen, Scud wasn't in the dining room. He was in his bedroom making a call to Uncle Nick, making sure she wasn't lying to him.

Lucy packed light, just one luggage would be enough. Seeing that she still has plenty of time, she sat on the couch, turned on the tv and took one of the magazines on the coffee table. She needed to stay cool. She needed to act as if she is just taking a trip for 2 weeks. But deep inside, it hurts. She's_ right. The future proved it. If she had never fallen in love with me, her life would be better. She wouldn't have amnesia. She wouldn't have been brainwashed. She wouldn't have lost four years of her life, not knowing who she really is. She wouldn't be in danger. She would have been married and possibly have kids by now. Now that she's not in love with me, it would be a good time to end this relationship. It would be better for her._ Lucy closed her eyes as she felt another sharp pain in her heart.

"give me you hand."

Lucy opened her eyes and saw the blonde next to her. Amy took her hand and placed a heat pack on her bruised arm.

"thank you." Lucy pulled her hand back and held the heat pack on her forearm as she continued flipping through the pages of the magazine. At the corner of her eyes, she noticed the blonde was looking at her. She was extremely surprised with the blonde's next question.

"Can you tell me what we've talked about the first time you kidnapped me?"

"The first time when I kidnapped you?"

"…us…Janet and I…she said you brought us to some place inside a tunnel…" Janet had told her that that was the time she let the brunette kissed her. She wanted to know if it was something they talked about that made her fell in love with her. Maybe then she would understand why.

"mm…you didn't want to talk to me at first, I asked you about your thesis. Then you said…" Lucy told her what happened. "You thought I wanted to kill you. Then I told you I didn't kill those guys in Antarctica and Peru."

"That's it?" Amy frowned in confusion when the blonde stopped talking.

"After I said that, you looked at me differently. You told me that you broke up with your boyfriend."

"I finally broke up with him. Thank goodness."

Lucy smiled at her response and continued to tell her what they talked about.

"So that's it?" Amy was expecting the story to be more romantic, expecting the brunette to say something that would impress her, cause her to fall head over heels for her, but what the brunette just described sounded like a casual conversation between two people getting to know each other as friends.

"yup…you basically told me how you didn't like your ex and you wanted…more." Lucy didn't leave out any details. _If she couldn't remember what that felt like, why she allowed me to kiss her, then so be it._

"So then I…let…you…kiss…me." Amy asked, still confused.

"Yea…" Lucy said as she flipped through the magazine. "…but then…."

"Lucy, have you seen my pink sweater?"

After Lucy and Amy shook their heads, Janet left the living room.

"…as I was saying, Janet interrupted us…" Lucy smiled and continued to look at the magazine.

Disappointed, Amy slumped back against the sofa. That did absolutely nothing. _It didn't make me want to kiss her, that's for sure._

"Did you forget anything?"

"Nope. It was our first date. I remember it very clearly." Lucy said and returned her eyes back to the magazine.

"Are you sure? I mean…did something happened in the club? Like a fight broke out and you saved me or ….."

"That's my club. Nobody starts a fight in my club." Lucy said in her Lucy Diamond tone of voice. She was going to continue telling her what would happen if someone did start a fight but decided not to. That was the past.

Hearing the brunette's tone, Amy noticed a different personality suddenly came out of the brunette. Her voice, no longer gentle. She wasn't the same woman who was cooking in the kitchen awhile ago. She stared at the brunette until something she heard on the tv caught her attention. Amy slowly moved her eyes away from the brunette's.

"Is…that…her?" Amy pointed to the tv.

Lucy turned and saw the megastar on tv. When she reached out out to grab the remote on the coffee table and changed the channel, Amy asked her to turn it back.

"I want to watch the news." Lucy said.

"Change it back." Amy demanded as she tried to take the remote away from her.

Lucy didn't expect her to try to grab it from her but was quick enough to prevent her from taking it. She placed the remote behind her.

"Lucy, change it back!" Amy tried to reach behind her but couldn't.

Janet and Scud both came into the living room when they heard the screaming.

"What's going on?" Janet asked.

"Nothing." Lucy responded.

"Janet, hold onto her."

Janet immediately moved one step back away, not believing what the blonde just asked her to do. Lucy might have changed a lot but she's still Lucy Diamond. Even if she tried, she wouldn't be able to. "umm…I don't think…"

"Lucy, I want to watch!" When she reached out with her right hand, her wrist was immediately grabbed on by Lucy's hand. She then reached out with her left hand. Lucy grabbed her left wrist. Frustrated that it didn't work, Amy pulled her hands back. As she was about to walk towards the tv to change the channel, Lucy grabbed her hand and pulled her back to sit on the couch. What she was trying to do is stall, hoping that the show would end soon.

"Sit down, let's just watch the news." Lucy said as she held onto the blonde's hand.

Scud had no idea what was going on but knew that Lucy had a reason. He walked towards them and sat on the recliner while looking at Lucy who was watching tv and holding onto the blonde with her right hand.

Amy glanced at Janet who was standing behind the brunette and said. "alpha, alpha, pi"

Scud and Lucy both looked at the blonde in confusion, wondering what she said.

Amy rolled her eyes when Janet shook her head. What she asked Janet to do was hold onto the brunette from behind.

"pi, alpha, alpa, sigma" Amy said. Janet didn't shake her head this time. Lucy wondered what they were up to. Amy pulled her hand back and crossed her arms. Lucy looked at Janet who was standing behind her. They were using DEBS code, so she had no idea what they were talking about until she turned her head back at the blonde who suddenly grabbed her head and pressed her lips against hers.

Janet, who wasn't expecting the blonde to do that, gasped out loud. She was expecting Amy to hold on to the brunette so that she can take the remote. _Oh shoot_. Janet remembered what she had to do and immediately took the remote behind the brunette's back. It wasn't difficult since Lucy didn't move a muscle. Scud dropped his jaws while watching them. He then let out a smile, realizing that they might be able to get back together after all.

Janet cleared her throat. "Ummm…Amy…I got it."

Amy pulled her mouth away and saw the brunette remained unmoved, her eyes still closed, clearly enjoying what just happened. She had no choice. Yelling and sweet talking won't persuade her to give up the remote. That's what she learned in the Art of seduction 101 class. _I guess that works on woman too_. Luckily she never to had to do that in any of the missions she went on, because what it requires is to give that person the most passionate kiss as if you're kissing your lover, which means she just French kissed her. Amy took the remote from Janet, changed the channel and sat on the other sofa.

Hearing the megastar's voice, Lucy opened her eyes. _What the hell just happened?_ She saw Janet sitting on the same sofa as her, watching tv. She then glanced at Scud who raised his brows up and down and understood why she was hiding the remote. She didn't think Amy would do that…for a remote control… in front of Scud and Janet? _God, I'm going to miss that._ She looked at the blonde who was focused on watching the megastar's interview and didn't look like she was embarrassed at all. Shifting her body back to the left, she kept her eyes at the blonde, the one who just kissed her not the megastar on tv, and wondered what she was feeling at this moment. Was she grossed out by it? _She didn't look like it_. In fact, she felt that the blonde enjoyed it as much as she did. _But last night's kiss told her otherwise…one kiss on the lips, Amy jerked back as if her lips had poison on them. _

Last night, Lucy wasn't drunk. She did have a few alcoholic drinks but that was it. She wanted to get drunk but she couldn't. Drinking almost took her life last time and she vowed that she would never let it happen again. She knew exactly who took her pants and bra off last night. She was surprised when Amy offered to look after her. She was even more surprised when Amy wanted to kiss her. But she was disappointed with her reaction when she deliberately turned her head so that their lips touched. She didn't plan on the blonde sleeping with her but she was glad that she did because it will be their last time. She could tell from the tone of her voice that her apology at the end wasn't to apologize for the comment she made at the restaurant, it was for something else. _Why would I fall in love with you_? _Why would I give up everything to be with you?_ Hearing the questions broke her heart because Amy would be the only one who knows the answer to that. But it convinced her that she is making the right decision.

"Amy" Lucy called out.

"Sshhh" Amy said while focusing on the tv show.

"So first, I would like to congratulate you on winning the song of the year." The interviewer said.

"Thank you." The megastar said as she sat on a couch across from the interviewer.

"I would like to say that I personally absolutely love…love…lovvvvvve this song….and I admit, on television, it made me cry…" The female interviewer said as she raised her right hand. "…and don't tell me for those of you who heard this song didn't make you cry…" She pointed to the audience. "Raise your hands if you cried when you heard this song….c'mon…admit it….I did." Most of the female audiences raised their hands. "…oh…c'mon…guys….admit it…there's no need to hide it, nothing to be embarrassed about…" Everyone laughed including the megastar, Janet, Scud and Amy. But Lucy wasn't laughing. She was smiling, extremely happy for the megastar.

"Let's show the video, please."

The music video then came on. Lucy heard the song before but she never saw the video. As soon as the video appeared, she immediately recognized the place. _ Oh. _She realized that the commercial the megastar was shooting in Paris, the one that didn't make sense to her, wasn't a commercial. It was a music video for her song. At that time, she followed the megastar to the airport. The airport signified that they met on the plane. The place near the La Seine where they met three bullies, that signified the island where she told her ex-boyfriend that they can't be together. "Oh shit." Lucy said in a whisper. What she saw was that the video somehow included her in it when she was standing on the bridge looking at the megastar while she was filming. Thank goodness there were other people on the bridge with her and the image was small enough that people wouldn't notice unless she told them.

After playing a short video, everyone in the audience clapped their hands.

"Isn't that one of the most touching songs you ever heard?" The interviewer asked the audience and all clapped and whistled. The megastar thanked the audience again.

"Now, tell us…I know you've been asked this many times before. There are a lot of speculations. "They say it's about one of your ex-boyfriends. Is this true?"

All remained silent to listen to the megastar's response. Lucy was also curious to know how she would response.

"Well, every song that I wrote has a special meaning to me. At that moment, that's how I felt. Sometimes it takes years to finish one song and…"

"You're not going to tell us, are you?" The interviewer asked in a funny way as she tapped her fingers on the arm of the sofa and everyone laughed.

Smiling, the megastar neither shook her head nor responded.

"Well, can you tell us if you're dating this guy?" The interviewer pointed to a large screen showing the megastar walking along with a handsome young man.

When the megastar didn't respond, she pressed a button on a remote and another picture of a man appeared.

"How about this guy?" Another picture appeared on the screen. The megastar didn't respond. "No?" The interviewer continued to show another picture.

"This guy?"

"That's my father!" The megastar responded in a shocked voice and everyone laughed again.

The interviewer continued to show pictures of her with her family members, causing the audience to laugh loudly.

"Now everyone has been waiting for this moment. You said you're going to tell us something that you haven't told anyone yet."

"Yes."

"Are you getting married?"

A laugh then came from the audience. What caused them to burst out laughing even harder was that one man in the audience shouted 'NO!". All focused on that man in the audience.

The interviewer stood up and shouted back. "I'm kidding!"

Amy, especially Janet could not stop herself from laughing out loud.

"I'm working on a new song and this one has a happy tune to it." The sound of audience clapping, screaming, and whistling was heard.

"Because that's how you feel right now, happy…" The interviewer said in an obvious tone.

"yes. I am."

"Who inspired you to write the new song?" The interviewer said as she leaned forward.

"Well, I think that everyone has a moment in their life where they would feel sad and once they get through that, they would…."

"You're not going to tell us." The interviewer interrupted her again and the audience couldn't resist laughing.

This time, the megastar apologized politely.

_Smart girl._ _Don't tell them anything. _Lucy thought to herself.

"What's the name of the song?"

"mmm…I haven't decided yet….but I have a few ideas…it could be…I have something to say…or…let me know where you are…or…call me, my guardian angel."

"Oh…so the song is about guardian angels?"

"No…not really." The megastar responded in a way to let the audience know that she was only joking about the last part, causing another burst of laughter from the audience.

"Hey, she's funny." Janet said and Amy agreed.

"Would you like some suggestions?"

Immediately the same guy in the audience shouted "Marry me!" and all laughed uncontrollably.

"Security…watch out for him…." The interviewer said as a joke. Janet laughed along with the audience.

As the interviewer continued to ask the questions, Lucy was impressed with how the megastar handled the tough questions without offending the interviewer, without giving them any details.

"One last question." The interview read from a card. "This is from one of your biggest fans. Ready?"

"yes. I'm ready." The megastar responded in a serious tone, then chuckled causing the audience and the interviewer to let out a small laugh.

"Have you ever done something so crazy that you never ever thought you would do?"

Everyone was surprised at how fast the megastar responded.

"Yes."

A sound of 'ooohhhh" came from the audience.

"Really….Did you regretted afterwards?" the interviewer leaned forward and everyone stayed silent.

"No" Another fast response came from the megastar. Everyone including Lucy knew what the next question would be.

"What did you do?"

Knowing how well the megastar handled herself through the entire show, Lucy had no doubt that the famous blonde would be able to answer the question without telling anyone the truth.

"I…" When the megastar hesitated, the interviewer leaned closer.

Lucy saw that Janet also leaned forward.

"I…once ate a whole plate of meat lover's omelette with ham, bacon, sausage, onions…oily…greasy…home fries right before the photoshoot…"

"You're kidding?" The interviewer pretended to be shocked, causing everyone to laugh.

The only one who knows what the megastar was referring to was Lucy. She fed the megastar the meat lover's omelette at the hotel but she didn't eat all of it. And the craziest thing the megastar did would probably be sleeping and showering with her.

When the show ended, Lucy leaned back and smiled, happy to see the megastar was doing well and enjoying herself. She turned to look at the other blonde, Amy, and felt guilty for not recognizing her lover, for sleeping with someone else.….

She immediately shook herself out of her thoughts when the blonde stood up and handed her the remote. What's done is done. It's the past.

"What were you going to say?" Amy asked.

"I… don't remember." Lucy said as she took the remote. She didn't forget. She just didn't want to ask the question in front of Janet and Scud. Lucy stood up and locked her eyes at the blonde whom meant everything to her, whom she was willing to do anything for including staying away..._as long as she's happy._

She placed the remote down on the coffee table and took a look at her watch.

"Scud, can you give me a ride?"

While Scud and Lucy left to get their things, Janet couldn't resist and asked the blonde what just happened.

"What?" Amy asked, pretending not to know what she was referring to.

"Do you remember something?"

"No."

"Then why did you kiss her?"

"so you can get the remote from her." Amy said in an obvious tone. "Don't you remember from that class we took? That's the only way to distract her. Besides, it's just a kiss."

"just a kiss? Umm…Amy, I saw what you did. That wasn't…just a kiss. That kiss turned her on. Are you….."

"No, I'm not. Janet. That was just to distract her….and it worked."

"So…you didn't feel weird about it…"

When Amy was about to respond, she saw Scud and Lucy at the door, about to head out. "Wait. I want to go."

During the ride to the airport, Amy's eyes fixated at the brunette sitting in the passenger side. There were a few reasons why she kissed her, one to distract her, two…to see how it feels…three…to see if it would remind her of the past. What she found out was that she didn't feel weird about it and it didn't make her gag. That was the first deep kiss she had given to anyone as far as she could remember. She was certain she never did that with Bobby. When she pulled away and saw the brunette with her eyes closed, she was reminded of something. It looked familiar to her. She had seen the brunette in that state before. But where? It didn't matter because that feeling just wasn't there.

Inside the London International Airport, Lucy hugged Janet and Scud first. Not wanting him to suspect anything, she didn't say anything except to look after the girls. Scud and Janet stepped aside for Lucy to talk privately with Amy. Standing in front of the blonde, Lucy let out a smile as she took in every detail of her lover. She can't let her know what she was thinking. _Even if she does know what she was planning to do, it wouldn't make a difference because the fact is Amy doesn't love her anymore. _She clenched her teeth as a sharp pain again pierced thru her heart.

"Don't go to France or Italy. It's not safe to go there right now." Lucy was afraid that the blonde would want to visit Kat or Nadia in Paris. Because of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, it wouldn't be safe to go there. It made her wonder if Helene even has time to look for the fraudster.

"I know."

Seeing that they were alone, Lucy took the opportunity to ask why she kissed her.

Amy was a little surprised with her question.

"to distract you." Amy smiled as she shrugged her shoulders to show her that it wasn't a big deal.

"You know, there are other ways to distract me."

"It's more effective. That's how…they taught us."

Lucy was surprised with the response. "So you've used this method before on…someone else?" She hoped not. Amy never told her about this.

"you're the first."

Lucy nodded happily. She then opened her arms, expecting the blonde to give her a hug and she did. Holding her lover one last time in a tight hug, Lucy closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Lucy said in a whisper. She didn't intend to say it so loud where the blonde could hear her, but Amy heard it.

"sorry for what?" _That's what she kept saying last night_. She wanted to know why.

"I'm…sorrryyy…for…those times that you've cried because of me. I'm sorry for not noticing that you weren't feeling well. I'm sorry for not recognizing you. I'm sorry for…"

"…stop…I know what happened. They told me why you did what you did…and…I understand…you don't have to apologize."

Lucy was happy to hear that. But that wasn't what she was apologizing for. _I'm sorry I can't keep my promise._

"Amy. Take care of yourself." A sharp pain again coursed through her heart. She quickly leaned forward to give her a short kiss on her cheek and turned around to say good bye to Scud and Janet before heading towards the departure gate.

"Have a nice...trip." Amy frowned as she watched the brunette leave.

Inside the car, Amy stared out the window, watching planes fly by. It was very quiet. Nobody had anything to talk about.

"Am I the only one who feels that something's wrong?" Amy broke the silence.

"Wrong? What do you mean?" Janet asked.

Amy wasn't surprised that Janet didn't notice. After five years, she is still the same old Janet.

Scud felt it too, but he didn't want to say anything.

"She's acting…strange….I don't know…there's something…odd."

"Amy, I think if anyone is acting strange here…it would be you…You French kissed her earlier."

"Janet, I did that to distract her." Amy said as she rolled her eyes. Since nobody agreed with her, she thought she was thinking too much.

* * *

Inside the plane's lavatory, Lucy washed her hands and turned off the faucet. She took a paper towel and dried her hands.

"Shit. It still hurts." She said to herself while pressing on the bruised area on her forearm.

"You would never have been able to touch me if you didn't attack me from behind."

She let out a deep breath, blowing her bangs up, looking at herself in the mirror.

"You better take care of her. If you don't, I will hunt you down and kill you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own DEBS or any of the characters used from the movie. They belong to Angela Robinson. This disclaimer applies to all chapters in this story.**

**Chapter 38**

A few days after Lucy left, Scud took Janet and Amy to Spain to visit the place where they used to live, the beach near their house, and the art museums. After spending a little more than a week visiting Barcelona, Madrid and other cities, they decided to go back to London.

After taking 2-1/2 hour night flight from Barcelona to London, they took a taxi back to the apartment before going out to eat since nobody didn't feel like cooking. Having eaten in Spain for more than a week, what they missed most was the food in London…American food.

Sitting inside a dimly lit American restaurant with a small bar area, Scud took a big bite of the juicy steak. As if she hadn't eaten for days, Janet stuffed her mouth with a big piece of the grilled lobster tail.

"mm…" Janet closed her eyes and let out a moan. "This is good. But Lucy makes it better." She cut a piece and extended it towards Scud. Scud took the bite and agreed.

Amy jerked back when Janet put a piece in front of her mouth. "Want some?"

"No. "

"Try it. You might remember something. You loved it last time."

"Janet, no thank you." Amy said in an obvious tone and put a spoonful of roasted vegetable pasta. _She's right. Even this doesn't take as good as hers._

"Scud, did she say when she's coming back?"

Scud shook his head as he took a bite of his French fries and asked if she remembered anything while they were in Barcelona.

"a little bit..."

"Oh that's good…like what…maybe I can give you more detail."

"mmm…I don't think so." Amy said in a shy tone and continued eating her dinner.

"Why?"

Amy took the last bite on her plate and took a sip of water.

"because you weren't there." What she remembered was that she told the brunette that she can't, not until after they're married and Lucy was quite disappointed about it. She had no idea why all the things that she remembered always involved kissing, making out. It's been over a week since she last saw or heard from her. She didn't want to admit it to anyone but deep inside, it felt odd not having the brunette around. She suddenly lost her appetite and excused herself to the restroom. Inside the restroom, there were two stalls. One was occupied. After coming out of the stall, Amy walked over to the sink to wash her hands. She let out a deep breath, looking at herself in the mirror and brushed her stray hair behind her ears. She just came back from vacation from Barcelona, the place where she dreamed of going, but the mood she was in was completely not what she expected. While thinking, she ignored the person standing next to her until both reached for the paper towel.

"Sorry."

"Oh…my…God!" The person immediately stepped away as far as she could. "What the hell are you? Who the hell are you?!"

"Max?" Max looked different. Amy would never have been able to recognize her with her short hair, her slimmer, toner body if they weren't standing so close.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Max. It's me. Amy."

"Amy's dead. " Max said as she shook her head, not believing who's in front of her.

"Max, it's a long story. I had amnesia…and…sort of…still does." When she took one step forward, she was surprised her friend moved one step back. She stood still, crossed her arms and pretended that she was the tough Max whom she met the first time she joined the DEBS.

"That's my bunk, bitch." Amy said in the same tone as her friend. Those were her first words when they met. "Remember that, Max."

"Jesus…Christ…Amy?" As her brows creased in confusion, Max slowly stepped forward. Amy took 2 big steps forward and embraced her long time friend in a tight hug.

After giving her a short story of what happened to her, Amy thought it would be a good idea to call Janet to come to the restroom instead of meeting her outside. Last thing she wanted was to attract attention. As expected, Janet jumped up and down and squealed with joy. Next would be Scud. They decided to leave the restaurant first before letting him know whom they ran into.

"Max?"

Both girls nodded their heads.

"Does she know?"

Both girls remained silent and nodded their heads again at the same time.

"What is she doing here?" Scud wanted to make sure she's not working in the law enforcement field.

"She took a job here a month ago."

"bodyguard." Janet added.

"bodyguard?" Scud was surprised with her change of career.

Scud turned to the direction of the black woman, standing 10 feet away from the car.

Janet waved her hand, motioning Max to come closer.

"Max. It's been long time. You're looking good as always." Scud said as he offered his hand out.

"You don't look too bad yourself…like the goatee." Max shook his hand firmly and looked around. "Where is she?"

"Why? Do you want to kill her?" Scud responded, causing both Amy and Janet to snap their heads at him. They then snapped their heads the other way when Max spoke.

"As a matter of fact, yes." She cracked her knuckles while looking around. "…but now, I just want to give her a piece of mind…" She punched into her own palms repeatedly.

"Max!" Amy understood why her friend would feel that way. She learned from Janet what happened at the Endgame, how Max wanted to prevent her from eloping, the threat she made to the brunette, and what she did to the other DEBS who talked about her, being a traitor after she left. Max wanted to shut them up and she did by fighting with them which caused her to get demoted. Even though she doesn't know how Max felt when she learned about her death since Janet already left the DEBS before that time, she has no doubt that Max blamed herself for not stopping her from leaving five years ago.

Amy held her hand and spoke in a gentle voice. "I'm sorry…but it's not her fault. Can you let this go?"

Knowing that Max won't easily let Lucy off the hook, Janet explained what happened to the brunette after she learned of Amy's demise, hoping that she could understand that Amy's death caused the brunette a lot of grief as well.

"Let's go home and we can talk." Amy smiled at her friend.

"um…I don't think that it's a good idea." Scud said as Amy opened the car door.

"Scud, she's a friend. She doesn't work with the government. Even if she does, she's not going to tell on us. Right, Max?"

"Of course, Janet." Max rolled her eyes as if that's the most ridiculous question she ever asked. "…even if my life depends on it, I will not betray you guys…okay?"

Scud still didn't like the idea inviting her to their apartment. "Is anyone following you?"

"Jesus…" Max raised her right hand to assure him. "I am not going to let anyone know about you guys. And no, there's nobody following me. The only people I know here are the people at work. If I tell anyone about you, then…then let this year be my last."

Without waiting for Scud's response, Amy gently pushed her inside the car.

While climbing up the stairs to the 2nd floor apartment, Max wondered why they would be living there. She expected a large house with private driveway, balcony and a big backyard. Once inside the apartment, her face contorted in disbelief when she saw an apartment with a regular size living room, nothing fancy.

"Where is she?"

"Max!" Both Janet and Amy shouted in unison.

"Calm down. I just want to talk." Max said as she looked around the apartment. "Nice place."

All could tell that Max didn't mean what she said.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Amy offered.

"Just water."

When all the girls sat down on the couch, Scud sat on the armchair with his legs crossed while the three women talked about what happened after the DEBS disbanded.

"What happened to Ms. Petrie?" Amy asked.

"Retired early, probably taking care of her grandchildren."

"Oh…poor kids." Janet responded, causing all to laugh out loud.

"How about Dominique?"

"No idea. We didn't keep in touch."

Max continued to tell her about the other people they once knew.

"What about Bobby?" Janet was the one who asked. Amy wasn't interested.

"Bobby is…." There was a moment of silence. Janet and Amy looked at each other before returning their eyes at their former captain who reached out to hold Amy's hand. "Amy, Bobby is…"

Whatever happened to Bobby, it didn't matter to her since they broke up a long time ago. But she didn't wish anything bad to happen to him. "What?" Amy said.

"Bobby is the same freaking asshole as he always been." Max said in one breath.

"Max!"

Max burst out in laughter, then Janet and Amy joined in, realizing she was only having some fun with them.

"You're different. Max. You seem to be more relaxed." Amy can't remember the last time Max laughed so loud. Max always wanted to be the top, the captain, the leader and to become that, she had to be tough and strict on her followers.

"Of course. I don't work for the government anymore. It's less stressful, less rules, less politics, and the best part, more money…and the worst part, can't carry a gun."

They were surprised when Max asked Scud if he has a gun in the house.

"No."

"It's been a while since I held one. I just want to feel it, touch it, look at…."

"We don't have one. There's no reason for us to carry them anymore." Scud said as he took a magazine from the coffee table and ignored her. He has one, actually a few, but there is no way he's going to let them know about it, especially the psychotic woman.

They learned that after DEBS disbanded, Max took a job in the US working with juvenile offenders.

"It was very meaningful. I liked it. But I got bored. I wanted some action, but I don't want to work for the government anymore. So I got myself a job as a bodyguard, protecting the famous, the rich…and I was recommended by one of my employers to come here."

"Who are you protecting? A movie star?" Janet was curious to know.

Max smiled and nodded.

"really, who?" Janet continued to ask but Max didn't respond.

Max then changed the subject by asking Amy about what happened to her in more detail. Scud continued to look at the magazine while listening to Amy. He only spoke up when he felt that Max needed to know what the brunette went through, what she did for the blonde.

"She didn't know it was you?! How the hell could she not know? You girls lived together for 7 months."

Amy controlled the urge to roll her eyes. That was the same question she asked the brunette.

She felt that she should say something but Janet beat her to it and told her all the reasons.

"You were brainwashed?"

"That's what my former boss thinks."

"What's her name again?"

"Lisa Lane." Amy said.

"Lisa Lane? Lisa Lane. Why does that name sound so familiar? Lisa…" After a moment, when she suddenly stood up and shouted 'Son of a bitch!', all were startled.

"Lisa Lane. Do you remember her?" Max turned to Amy who shook her head. She creased her brows at first, but then remembered the blonde could only remember things that happened before she met the criminal.

"Janet, you remember Lisa."

When Janet shook her head, Max reminded her of the time they met Ms Petrie and her assistants when they beamed down in the room to talk to Amy. "That day, Lisa called her to congratulate Ms. Petrie because Amy survived after meeting Lucy Diamond. That was the day she promoted Amy to captain of the squad. Do you remember that?"

"Yes, yes! You were so mad at her. You hated taking orders from her. You…"

"Wait, I was promoted to Captain because I met her and survived?" Both nodded in silence. "But I don't want to be captain….Did I?"

Max smiled and placed her hand on her shoulder. "No, you…didn't. I'm sorry for that. But you did got me worried sick when you let her kidnap you and didn't tell me about it…so we're even…okay?"

Janet couldn't resist rolling her eyes. That was a long time ago. _Why is she still talking about it as if it happened yesterday? _

"I'm…sorry…I don't know…why I would do that." Amy said while trying to picture herself being with the brunette while the whole DEBS organization was worried about her.

"Because you love her." Scud responded in an obvious tone and all focused at him. He remembered that day when the brunette brought her to the lair. He and all the members were very surprised as well, bringing in a DEB.

"You wanted to get away from everyone else. She's the only one who understands you. She…made you happy."

Max cleared her throat. "As I was saying, Lisa Lane could be the one who called that day. She knew about you. Heck! Everyone…DEBS, FBI, Central Intelligence, Interpol know who you are." Max stopped when she noticed the blonde was in deep thought again. She sat down next to Amy who was staring into blank space. It took a moment for Max to realize that Lisa wasn't all that bad.

"she didn't arrest you. She gave you a new identity so that you don't have to live your life as a criminal."

Not liking what the psycho was saying, Scud narrowed his eyes at her.

"She…saved you…even though she brainwashed you…but…"

"You are freaking unbelievable." Scud interrupted the crazy woman.

Ignoring the man of the house, Max continued. "As I was saying, she gave you a new life. You were happy…weren't you?"

"I…don't…remember." Amy said as she frowned at her friend. She too was at a loss at why her friend defended the woman who brainwashed her.

"Well, it doesn't matter now. You're free. You can do whatever you want with the new identity and you can start your new life again."

Scud couldn't resist again and repeated the same words 'You are freaking unbelievable.' which Max ignored again.

"Max, I didn't tell you this. But I…she…the one who was brainwashed…she married her…we're married."

"Ohhhh…" Surprised by the news, Max looked at Scud who was frowning at her and then turned to Janet who smiled and nodded. She scanned the blonde and when she noticed that she wasn't wearing a ring, she laughed out loud. "…you almost got me there." She took the blonde's hand and held it in front of her face.

"I'm not joking." Amy said softly as she pulled her hand back.

Max then stopped laughing. "Then…why aren't you wearing a ring?"

"Because I…can't…remember why…"

"Because you don't love her." Max interrupted.

Amy remained silent. She wasn't afraid to acknowledge it in front of both Scud and Janet since they already knew how she felt. But she didn't want to say it. Even if the brunette wasn't there, she felt like she would be hurting her feelings if she said that out loud…in her apartment.

"Amy?" Max wanted to know if she was right.

"I…just can't remember that feeling…right now."

Max could tell that Scud didn't like what she was asking. "Well…go on…continue with your story." She sensed how uncomfortable the blonde was talking about this subject. Amy gladly continued.

All could tell that Max was shocked at what the brunette was willing to do to get revenge for Amy.

"Is she still looking for him?"

"Of course we are." Scud immediately responded.

"We are?" Janet and Amy asked in unison.

"Yes, we have people working on it. He killed Nadia's father and all those people on the plane. She…we…are not going to let him off so easily. But we're not going to let him ruin our lives either, right Janet?" Scud asked her deliberately to let her know that he knows what's important to him.

"Right." Janet said as she walked over to Scud, sat on the arm of the recliner and held his hand. Their closeness caused Max to ask the next question.

"Are you two married?"

"Max, we only dated less than a year." Janet told her her story, what she was doing after she left the DEBS, why she avoided all the DEBS friends, and when she came to London.

"So you guys kept in touch all along?"

"mhm"

"Wow…you really got them all fooled."

"Thank you." That was the second time Janet heard a compliment from her former Captain.

"Anyways, Amy, what are you planning to do now?"

"I'm planning to get a part time job and go to art school."

"So you're going to continue living here?"

All focused their attention at Max and wondered what she meant by that.

The only one who knew what she was thinking was Scud.

"You are freaking unbelievable."

Janet frowned in confusion at her boyfriend's behavior.

"Max, I can't just leave. We've been through a lot. She's…I'm…trying to get my memory back."

"…and she's sick. She needs to stay here so we can take care of her." Janet added.

Max nodded in silence as she looked at each of them. She then took a look at her watch and stood up. "It's getting late. I better go. I have to work tomorrow. So…I'll give you a call tomorrow and you can come over to my place." Max said while walking to the door.

While Amy walked Max towards the door, Scud couldn't resist.

"Do you need us to call you a taxi?"

"Scud…" Janet wondered why he's acting this way toward her friend. "I'll give you a ride."

Inside the car, Amy and Max sat in the back seat as they continued to talk about their past. They learned that Max is still single. She had a relationship that lasted a year but didn't work out.

"Amy, remember that time, we bet on who's going to get married first. We all said it was going to be you…and we were right…just not to Bobby." Janet tried to make a joke but nobody was laughing.

"I remember that." Amy said.

"You do?" Janet said. Even Max was surprised.

"Do you remember what the bet was?"

"Yes, but it doesn't count…since technically **I** didn't marry her."

Janet pouted her lips but nobody could see. The bet was to buy whatever the winner wants under a thousand dollars.

"I also said I would have at least one child by the age of 30." Amy said disappointed. The dream of having a family seem to be impossible even though she still feels like the same person five years ago, but her body tells her otherwise.

"30 is still young. I'm 31 and I'm not worrying about it."

"Me too. These days, people have kids at 35, 36, 37. So we still have a lot of years. Don't worry." Janet said and stopped at the red light.

All noticed that something was bothering the blonde when she let out a big sigh.

"What's wrong? Are you worried about your aneurysm?"

Amy shook her head.

"What if…by then…I still can't remember. I can't keep living with her." She knew if Lucy heard what she just said, it would break her heart.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Max said.

Janet then understood why Scud was acting rudely toward Max.

"Amy, you need to give it time. It's still early. You can't think about leaving now." Janet said while focusing on the road.

"I know…and I'm not. I just…maybe I should give myself a deadline…like if I don't…"

Before she could continue, Janet stopped the car hard causing everyone to jerk forward. They were at the destination. She put the brakes on and turned around. "don't you like living me…with us?"

"I do…but.."

"Janet, can you put yourself in her shoes? If she can't remember, she has to move on. How is she going to move on when she still lives with you…all of you? How is she going to bring home a boyfriend?" Max deliberately said the last word out loud.

"But…you will remember someday…I know you will."

"when? Janet. When she gets to 60? Didn't your boyfriend say he's not going to let that bastard ruin his and your life? It's the same thing. Nobody knows what's going to happen in the future. If she keeps on living with you…with her, she's not going to have her own life. It's going to be awkward…for both of them."

"Max? What are you doing?" Janet knew what she was trying to do, the same thing she did five years ago.

Max stepped out of the car, then all did the same.

"Well, this is my apartment. Do you want to go in?"

"Max, why are you trying to break them up?"

"Janet, have you been listening? They're not together. Amy wants to move."

"Amy?" Janet asked in a concerned tone.

"No…I mean…not now…"

"Girls, it's getting late. Let's talk tomorrow."

When Max turned around, Janet still wanted to continue the conversation and grabbed her shoulder. She didn't realize how hard she grabbed her until her former psychotic captain shrieked in pain.

"What's wrong?" Janet immediately let go.

"Just a little pain…from work." Max said as she winced in pain and held her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Amy said in a worried tone when she saw how much pain she's in.

"Fine. No big deal. That's why I took this job. A lot of action." She put up her hands like a boxer and threw some punches in the air. "How about you? Amy. Have you been keeping up or are you just a regular civilian now?"

"Of course I have. In fact, the new me is even better."

Max turned to Janet who nodded a few times. "Oh really…then let's see what you got."

She stepped back a few steps and put her hands up.

"you're not really serious. You're hurt." Amy said as she crossed her arms.

"Ohhhh…so you think you're that good, huh…c'mon…you're not going to hurt me."

Amy looked at Janet and both knew Max is the still the same old Max, always want to prove that she's the best. Janet shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes.

"Give it all you got. I'll know if you don't."

Amy put her hands down.

"c'mon, Amy."

Amy remained unmoved and silent.

"Don't tell me you forgot all those training you had?" She moved a step closer. Her fists still held up in front of her chest. "So what did you do after you eloped with her? Crawl into bed with her, cook and clean for her, so she can pay for your education…let the past be the past."

Seeing no response and no reaction from the blonde, Max let her hands down and stood in front of her.

"Amy…I know that you want to be an artist, but…OW!"

As she was talking, when she put her hand on the blonde's shoulder, Amy grabbed her wrist with the right hand and grabbed her elbow with her left hand and twisted it at the same time in a way that caused her to turn around. With her hand held tight behind her, Max cried out in pain when the blonde pulled her hand up in an awkward position like her arm was about to break.

"…actually Max, I didn't sleep with her until after we got married…just to be clear, she was the one who knelt and proposed…and…she does the cooking and is exceptional at it…and the cleaning…well…she would do that if I ask her to." Amy said softly behind her and let go of her arm. The sleeping part, Lucy told her that. When Lucy told her that she was the one who initiated it, she didn't believe that part. _Yeah, right._ The cooking and cleaning part, she remembered something like that happened when they lived in Barcelona and London.

She wasn't surprised when her tough former Captain then tried to elbow her. Amy blocked the elbow with both hands and kicked the back of her knee, thus causing Max to kneel down on the floor. Not wanting to play anymore or rather not wanting to hurt her friend anymore, Amy moved a few steps back.

"ahh…" Max said as she slowly got up while holding her right arm.

"Are you okay?" Amy said in a genuine tone.

"Looks like I don't need to worry about you."

Smiling, Amy shook her head.

"Is that really true?" Max asked out of curiosity. The awful things she said, she didn't mean it. She said all of those things to provoke the blonde to fight with her. She was curious to know what their relationship was like. She was surprised that Janet responded instead.

"Yes."

"Which part?"

"All of it." Both said in unison.

"Really?" What Max was shocked at was the part about the former criminal knowing how to cook.

"We can tell you how she proposed if you want to know." What Janet wanted to do was convince Max how much Lucy loves Amy and hoped that she would stop trying to encourage her to leave the brunette.

"Tomorrow." Max stretched her arms as she let out a yawn.

After the girls left, Max wriggled her shoulders around inside her own apartment.

"Damn it! Looks like I'm the one who needs more training." She looked at herself in front of the vanity mirror in the bathroom.

"Still hurts." She said as she moved her jaws up and down, side to side.

* * *

Toronto, Canada

It has been a month since Lucy went to Toronto, Canada to visit Uncle Nick. Scud called from time to time and she let him know that Uncle Nick was getting better, but wanted to stay longer.

"Your turn." Uncle Nick said.

Lucy shook her head out of her thoughts and walked around, looking for the right angle. When she finally found it, she picked up a chalk and applied it to the tip of her stick.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Lucy bent forward, jerked the cue stick back and shot it hard. "I have no choice."

"Nice. You win again." Uncle Nick whistled and clapped his hands. "How long did you say since you last played?"

"Too long." Lucy smiled and took a sip of water. After she eloped with Amy, she played a few times when they went out for bowling and billiards. She was surprised that she could still make those trick shots.

"Come here…Oscar…come here…good boy…" Lucy bent down to pick up a small white maltese terrier and sat down on the brown leather sofa.

"Lucy, you do have a choice. If you don't go back, it's going to be more difficult for her to remember her past." Uncle Nick said as he walked around the table to pick up the balls.

Gently petting the lovable dog, Lucy remained silent.

"It's been a month now. Don't you think they would know something is up?"

"She knows who I am." Lucy said as she stared at the dog resting on her abdomen. "She knows who she is. She just doesn't know why she fell in love with me."

"Is that what she said?" Uncle Nick said as he put all the balls back inside the rack. When he didn't get a response, he knew that the brunette must have found out somehow.

"Do you love me?" Lucy held the cute dog in front of her face. As if it understood what she said, the small white terrier stuck out its tongue to lick the brunette's face.

"It's almost time." Uncle Nick said as he took a look at his watch.

* * *

Inside a 2000 square feet suite of the city's most prestigious hotel on the 19th floor with panoramic windows, Lucy sat on a luxury dining table with 8 seats next to her long time friend whom she hadn't seen for more than a year. Before leaving Uncle Nick's house, she disguised herself as a man with a fake beard, hair, and glasses.

"So how's Amy?"

Last time he heard about Amy was that she couldn't remember her.

"Fine. She's not getting headaches anymore. She just need to go back regularly to check on the aneurysm." She took a bite of the fried scallop.

"That's good." Anthony took a bite of the steak on his plate before he spoke what Lucy wanted to know. He had been on the case since he heard from Scud that Lucy survived. "It has been really quiet. So quiet, it's odd…like they're planning something."

This caught the brunette's attention.

"either that or he could be really sick…like you said."

Lucy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She thought Anthony could tell her something new about Jean Claude's activities but it turned out that he didn't find anything unusual. What she learned was that the dark haired woman who rescued Alexis did what she said she would. She quit and Anthony got her a job in one of his companies doing office work.

"How is she?"

"Good. She's doing good. I don't blame her. I want to settle down myself."

What he just said caused both Lucy and Uncle Nick to laugh out loud.

"I'm serious."

"Anthony, if you want a woman, there are plenty out there who wants to be with you. All you have to do is give them a chance." Uncle Nick said.

"But I don't want just any woman. I want love, true love, someone who loves me, not my power, not my money." Anthony looked up at the ceiling like he was thinking of something as he gently swoosh the glass of wine around. Lucy was a little startled when he suddenly mentioned the megastar.

"Who?" Lucy pretended not to remember. Anthony reminded her and Uncle Nick of the singer they saw in Paris.

"oh…I remember her." Uncle Nick nodded and glanced at Lucy to see her reaction.

"What about her?" Lucy was finished with her dinner. She didn't feel like talking about the megastar at this moment and she wasn't sure why Anthony brought it up.

"She doesn't have a boyfriend."

"Oh for God's sake, Anthony." When Lucy stood up, Uncle Nick did the same and shook his head.

"What?" Anthony followed them to the living room. All stood in front of the large window to look at the panoramic view of the dark city with lights and the CN tower.

"What! For one thing, she's not interested in you. Second, she's a celebrity which means you'll get a lot of attention if you even tried to get near her and you don't want that. And third, she's not interested in you."

"Listen to her. Don't waste your time on her. She's not right for you."

When Uncle Nick told them that his son Nathan is currently dating someone now, Anthony leaned his forehead against the huge panoramic window.

"Oh…geez…even Nathan has a girlfriend."

Seeing how disappointed Anthony was, Lucy didn't know what to say. She didn't want to hurt his feelings by repeating what she just said about the megastar not being right for him. But she wanted to stop him from looking for the megastar. It wouldn't surprise her if Anthony would be willing to give up everything for the megastar just like how she gave up everything for Amy. It seem that Anthony really wanted to settle down if he found the right person to be with. She turned to Uncle Nick for help, hoping that he could persuade his former assistant to stop thinking about the megastar. Having him near the megastar not only would hurt him but also would cause problems for the famous blonde. Anthony, after all, is connected to the criminal organization. Uncle Nick took the hint and walked over to the powerful leader who's not acting like himself at this moment.

"Anthony, your future wife is out there somewhere. Sometimes things happen when you least expected. Look at Lucy. She's a perfect example of that."

_Okay. That's not what I had in mind. _She had no idea why Uncle Nick is using her as an example especially now that he knows why she is avoiding the blonde. To her, she herself is not a good example of having a happy ending.

"Did you know she's married?"

Anthony's head then shot up and looked at the brunette. "Really?" He shook the brunette's hand to congratulate her but noticed there was no ring on her finger. "Where's the ring?"

"um…she can't remember…so she told me to hold on to it."

"Oh…that…sucks…" Anthony said sadly. He knew about the blonde's memory loss but he didn't know that they were married.

"I have no doubt that Amy will remember you." Uncle Nick assured her with a smile and patted lightly on her shoulder.

"It's okay. Even if she can't, as long as she's healthy. That's all it matters."

Anthony nodded in understanding. Realizing the brunette's situation was even worse than his, he tried to comfort her. "You know what we should do tonight. We should…" He stopped when Lucy signaled him to wait because her phone was vibrating.

"What's up, Scud?….What! Max! She ran into Max!...Oh….well, that's good. Maybe she can help her remember."

"Remember what! Lucy! She hates you. She's trying to split you two up." Scud shouted so loudly, Lucy had to take her phone away from her ear.

The first day that Max came to their house, Scud sensed what the mad Max was up to. Each week, Amy spent more time with her than anyone else. He didn't tell Lucy about this since there was nothing anyone could do, not even Janet who took the blonde to all the places she and Lucy went to to help her remember. But now, he felt that Lucy needed to know because he overheard a conversation between Amy and Max, talking about moving.

"Hello? Did you hear what I said?" Scud asked when he didn't hear a response.

"I heard you."

"Well?" Scud asked again.

"Well what?"

"Lucy? Did you hear what I said? You have to come back here. She's planning to move out."

"I can't right now." Lucy moved away from Anthony to prevent him from hearing. "Besides if I come back, Max would probably want to kick my ass."

It was a joke.

_Without a gun, she found that Max was no match for her. Max was the one who surprised her from behind that night. The minute she turned around, she was attacked by a powerful kick aimed at her chest which she blocked by her right forearm. Max looked very different. It shocked her to see her there in London. Max didn't even give her a chance to explain and kept throwing punches and kicks. Lucy had no choice but to defend herself and threw one knuckle punch aiming at her upper chest right beneath the collar bone, then a left hook at her jaw. Since the furious psychotic woman wasn't listening, Lucy decided to run inside the park where there wouldn't be anyone around. _

_"You bitch. I'm going to kill you." Panting heavily, Max spit out some blood on the ground._

_Lucy stood behind a tree, ready to move away if Max come running after her again. She wasn't afraid of her. She just didn't want to hurt her._

_"Max, listen to me. Amy…" _

_"Shut up! Don't even say her name. If it wasn't for you, she would still be here." When Max started to run after her, Lucy also started moving. The only way to stop the crazy woman was to get her exhausted, so Lucy ran as fast as she could around the park until she saw the short haired brunette could no longer keep up. Panting heavily, Lucy slowly walked back. She kept herself a good distance from Max, ready to run again if she has to._

_"Amy is alive."_

_As expected, Max needed her to repeat what she said. _

* * *

Lucy let out a low gasp when she heard an unexpected gentle voice on the other line.

"No, she won't."

Not wanting Uncle Nick and Anthony to hear her conversation, Lucy quickly locked herself in the bathroom. "How…are you? Amy."

"Lucy, when are you coming back?"

Tears brimmed her eyes when she heard her lover's voice. It has been a month since the last time they spoke. _I want to. But then what?_

"Scud said you're…moving out?" Even though she knew it would happen, her heart ached at the thought.

"Max…she wants me to move in with her." Amy said in a whisper.

Lucy could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

"Why don't you stay with Janet and Scud? I have things to do. I won't be coming back." It broke her heart to say the last sentence. But if it will get her to stay with Janet and Scud, then she would do whatever to make her stay. At least this way, she would feel more comfortable having someone besides Max to look after her. She was afraid that Max wouldn't have the time.

"What do you mean you're not coming back?" Janet and Scud both listened intently after hearing what Amy said.

"You don't have to move. Please, just stay with Janet and Scud. They can look after you."

"Lucy, answer my question! When are you coming back?!" Amy spoke louder, no longer gentle.

There was a moment of silence. Lucy took in deep breath to control her emotions. Tears instantaneously flowed down at the corner of her eyes. What Amy just said sounded like she wanted her to come back, to be with her…as a friend…not as her lover.

"I'll come back when you…can remember me." When Lucy didn't hear anything on the other line for what seem to be a long moment, she spoke her last words before hanging up the phone. "Take care."

* * *

Back in London, after Lucy hung up, Amy flopped down on the sofa, holding the phone.

"What did she say?" Janet asked in a worried tone when she saw the dazed look on the blonde's face.

After hearing what the brunette had to say, a lot of thoughts crossed her mind. The brunette's behavior at the airport, the many weeks of no contact, the reasons she gave for staying in Canada, Amy came to realize that the brunette had no plans of coming back from the moment she said she was going to Canada.

Amy had plans of moving out if she couldn't remember but she never thought it would be this soon. Max had asked her to move in with her but she hasn't decided yet. She wasn't even sure why she didn't agree to it, what she needed to think about. Her memory hasn't improved since she came back from Barcelona. During the last few weeks, she found herself making breakfast for the brunette when she's not even there. There were times when she knocked on the brunette's door to tell her to cook, but then realized the room was empty. As each day passed by, when she wasn't with Max, the conversation during breakfast, lunch, and dinner time were about the former criminal. Amy wanted to know in more detail, what she was feeling then, what Kristin was feeling then.

"No…" She shook her head when a realization hit her.

"What? What?" Janet sat next to her.

"It wasn't at the airport. She heard what I said."

"What?" Janet and Scud asked in unison.

"Did you tell her what I said when we were in the Cupid capsule that night?" Her eyes darted to Janet, then at Scud. Both shook their heads.

"Damn it. She wasn't drunk that night."

Janet understood, but Scud was still a little confused. Janet explained that Amy was the one who stayed behind to look after the brunette.

"Oh…." Scud nodded but was still confused. "Then why did she pretended to be drunk? What did you do that night?" It was a simple question. Scud was a little surprised with the blonde's reaction.

"Nothing. I didn't do anything. " Amy realized she overreacted and could tell they didn't believe her. "I…just…told…her how I felt."

Then both snapped their heads at the shorter blonde for speaking out the most ridiculous thought at this moment.

"Oh my god…I knew I wouldn't be able to take her pants off so easily. She wasn't drunk. She was pretending."

Shaking his head, Scud didn't understand why the brunette would be pretending. Well, at least, he's glad that she didn't go back to her old habits of getting drunk.

"What did she say?" Janet wanted to know.

"She…told me to stay here. She's…not…coming back."

"What! What the hell is she talking about?" As Scud was about to call the brunette, Amy stood up and stopped him.

"…until…I can…remember her." Amy slowly sat back down on the sofa. Covering her face with both hands, she thought about what to do to make the brunette come back. _The result would be the same if she comes back. We can't be together like we used to. I just can't remember._

It took a moment for Scud to realize why his boss decided to leave. _She knew this was coming. She knew it would happen sooner or later. What she wanted was to have someone look after her and the only way to prevent the blonde from moving out is move out before Amy does._

_Lucy, damn you…why do you always do this?_

* * *

Lucy put on a fake smile before walking outside of the bathroom and asked what Anthony was going to say before she got the call. It turned out what Anthony wanted to do was go out to have some fun, go dancing. Lucy didn't want to go but after taking the call, she changed her mind. Sitting in a fancy car with leather seats, Anthony couldn't keep his eyes off the brunette.

"Lucy, you're being ridiculous. Nobody is going to recognize you." Anthony himself had a fake beard on. Lucy looked nothing like herself. With a fake beard, glasses, fake hair, brows, she was disguised as a man.

"Just want to be careful. You never know who you'd run into."

"Can you even dance in that?"

It was difficult to look like a man with her slim body. Thank goodness it was cold outside, she wore extra pair of clothing to cover her private areas. Dressed in a pair of jeans, black sneakers, a black shirt long enough to cover her private area and a dark brown blazer, she saw a crowd of people in the dance floor inside a middle class night club. People were mingling, chatting and drinking. The club was dimly lit, lights of different color shone on the dance floor. Bar area was filled with people. Music was so loud, she could hardly hear what Anthony was saying. With two bodyguards following them, all of them walked casually towards the dance floor.

"Have fun. Okay! " Anthony shouted. That's what he's here for. To forget, to loosen up, to enjoy a night without any worries.

As soon as Anthony started dancing, a few women around him noticed and turned to dance with him. Even though Anthony may be a little older than most guys there, he could still attract women with his good looks and physique. No words were exchanged. All just danced to the beat of the music. Anthony smiled when he saw one of the women getting close to Lucy and she moved back a little avoiding body contact to her lower private area. She was surprised when the young woman with the brown hair asked for her name.

"just came to have fun." Lucy said in a deep voice, hoping the girl would get the hint that she's not here to make friends. She was here to clear her mind and hopefully to find Anthony a date to keep his mind off the megastar.

The young woman was pretty good looking. At least she's not dressed like a prostitute like many girls there who were showing a lot of skin. With light makeup on and dressed in a pair of tight blue jeans, she was unlike the other girls who were dressed in very short skirts as if screaming for guys to touch them. _She looks like a descent young woman. _Lucy turned to Anthony and saw that he was more interested in the woman dancing in front of him. That blonde looked sexy too but Lucy did not think she's the right type for Anthony.

_Blonde? Huh. Maybe he likes blondes._

After a moment, the young woman told Lucy that she was going to get a drink. Lucy nodded and continued dancing with no one else in particular. It was so crowded. It really didn't matter if she was dancing by herself. She was unaware that the woman she was dancing with a while ago was expecting her to follow along until her friend, the blonde whom Anthony was dancing with, tilted her head, motioning her to look that way. Lucy turned and saw the young woman was sitting at the bar by herself looking at her.

"I just came here to have fun." She said again to her friend, hoping that the blonde could explain to her friend that she's not looking for a date.

"It's her first time here!"

Lucy nodded in understanding and continued dancing.

After a short moment, the woman decided to take a break to be with her friend who was alone, drinking by herself. Anthony understood and thanked the blonde for dancing with him. As soon as the woman left, another woman moved in front of Anthony. This woman, unlike the other, was aggressive. Not only was she standing close to him, she was touching him, his chest, his waist, his muscular arm, his behind…

"Okay, I think I need a break." Anthony said as he moved off the dance floor, followed by his bodyguards and Lucy. Sitting in the bar stool, Lucy couldn't resist chuckling at what just happened.

"very funny…" Anthony said. He too then burst out laughing. "You…are a magnet."

Both turned to the bartender when he put a drink in front of Lucy.

"It's from the girl over there." He pointed to the woman who was dancing with Lucy awhile ago.

"What is this?" Lucy asked.

"Sex on the beach."

After the bartender left, Anthony raised his brows up and down. "Holy crap! She wants you."

"Oh shit." This is really not what she was looking for. She didn't want to be impolite nor did she want to give her any signs that she was interested, Lucy smiled at the woman, nodded, and mouthed a 'thank you.'

"Do you want this?" Lucy asked.

"I don't think she would like it if you gave it to me."

"But I can't drink this and I don't want her to think I'm interested."

"Then just move it aside." Anthony then ordered a drink for himself and one non-alcoholic drink for Lucy.

As they were drinking and having a casual conversation about the club, the women on the dance floor, the blonde who was dancing with Anthony from before came to talk to them, politely apologizing for interrupting them. Anthony and Lucy both looked at each other in confusion when the woman asked Lucy why she didn't accept the drink.

"Because it has vodka in it." Lucy spoke truthfully.

"I knew it. I knew there had to be a reason." She then explained that her friend was discouraged by the whole situation, being in a night club for the first time, looking for a date, and was rejected.

"I understand this has nothing to do with you. But could you possibly…talk to her?"

Lucy immediately rejected the idea. "I'm not looking for a date. I'm just here to have a good time."

"I understand…and that's what I told her…but she…doesn't…believe me…she thinks…it's her. It would be really great if you could…just…talk to her."

Lucy looked over to the other side and saw the young woman was indeed unhappy for getting rejected. The young woman was downing one drink after another. She turned to Anthony for advice but he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Is this a joke? Because if you're playing with us, you **do not** want to do that." Lucy stood up and spoke in a serious tone to warn the woman. When the woman saw Anthony and 2 bodyguards surrounding her, she immediately told her that it wasn't.

"Sorry to bother you." The woman apologized before going back to comfort her friend.

Sitting next to her friend, the blonde tried to get her back to the dance floor.

"Caitlyn, he said he can't drink that because it has vodka in it."

"Then why was he laughing? Was he laughing at me?"

"No, he wasn't. He sounds like a really nice guy. He said he's not looking for a date. He just came to have a good time."

She held both of her hands.

"It's okay if he's not interested. Everyone gets rejected at least once. If we all stopped looking after getting rejected, then this place would be pretty empty."

"Then what's wrong with me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you."

Both turned towards the unexpected voice behind Caitlyn.

"Would you like some chicken tenders?" Lucy held a plate of chicken tenders in front of the young woman.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Taking the hint, her friend smiled at Lucy and left.

The young woman then introduced herself shyly. "What's your name?" She asked again and was hoping that he would tell her this time.

"Like I said before, I'm just here to have a good time. But if you really want a name, you can call me anything you like…a jackass, bastard, jerk, idiot…" Lucy paused when she realized she succeeded in making the young woman laugh. "…Tim, Luke, David…take your pick."

Lucy was surprised at her choice.

"Where are you from, Luke?"

"Not here." Lucy smiled and took a bite of chicken tender, being careful not to ruin her beard. "I want to thank you for noticing me when there are dozens of more handsome men out there."

"Do you want to know why?"

"Sure."

"Because you look different from the rest of them."

_Oh shit. Don't tell me she could tell. _"Like how?"

"There is something about you that's just…different."

Lucy changed the subject when she saw the young woman looking deep into her eyes. She cleared her throat and moved away from the recessed light above her.

"I also noticed there is something about you too that's different from the rest of them." Lucy complimented on her clothing choice compared to the rest of the woman dressed in skimpy clothes.

"To be honest, I think if you really want to find a date, this is not the place to be. If you…"

Lucy stopped when she saw the young woman covering her mouth as if she was going to vomit. Instead of running to the bathroom to throw up, she ran to the nearest exit which it's closer to where she's sitting. After looking around for Caitlin's friend in the crowd but weren't able to find her, Lucy followed the young woman out the exit to make sure she's okay. Outside the club, Lucy looked left, then right but couldn't see the young woman. It was a cold and quiet night outside. As she walked several feet away from the club, she saw Caitlyn standing on a dark side street, leaning one hand on the wall, coughing after vomiting.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lucy said as she handed her a napkin.

"Fine…just a little bit…more…" Caitlyn then threw up again.

Lucy looked around and noticed how quiet the side street was. It was like an alley where guys would hide out to take a leak. After giving the young woman a moment, she suggested that they go back inside the club. Not wanting the young woman to know her true identity, she didn't offer her hand.

"Let's go back. It's cold here."

"okay. I think I got it all out."

Caitlyn took one step slowly, walking closely next to the brunette. Without thinking, Lucy's reflex kicked in and held onto the young woman who accidentally tripped over an uneven payment.

"Are you okay?" Lucy said as she grabbed on the young woman's arm to pull her up.

"fine….just being clumsy…" Caitlyn chuckled, lifted herself up and put one arm over the brunette's shoulder.

Lucy reached out to hold onto her waist as the young woman leaned closer to her. When she took two steps forward, before she knew what was happening, her legs weakened, there was complete darkness, her body then collapsed on the hard surface of the dirty pavement.

* * *

**Chapter 39: Chapter 39**

* * *

Chapter 39

On a hot summer day over 90 degrees, two beautiful women in bikinis caught the attention of all those who walked pass them along the sandy beach in Barcelona.

"Honey, you're getting burned." Spoke the brunette with beautiful tanned skin to her lover who didn't seem to tan well with her white pale skin.

"Oh shoot." Amy gasped inward, feeling the slight pain when she turned her body around and sat up on the blanket.

Lucy squeezed a small amount of aftersun soothing lotion and massaged it on her lover's red skin on the back.

Feeling her lover's gentle touch, Amy let out a moan.

"Feels good?" Kneeling behind the blonde, Lucy massaged her lovers' tight shoulders.

"mhm"

It had been 5 months since they lived together. As promised, Lucy fulfilled her lover's dreams of going to art school while she occasionally worked in a restaurant she bought.

"Do you need anything else?"

"hm?" Amy turned slightly to look at her lover, unsure what she meant.

"How about a whole body massage?"

"Oh…" Amy said, knowing where the brunette was going with this. "no thanks."

"Are you sure? I've been taking massaging lessons. I'm pretty goo…" She stopped when the blonde turned her body around.

"You've been what?! Who did you do it on? Who have you been touching? Don't tell me it's that cashier in the bakery store. I saw how she was flirting with you. Every time when I go there to buy a muffin, she gives me this strange stare, and every time, I find my muffin crushed into pieces in the bag. It's like she deliberately did that before giving it to me."

Surprised with her lover's sudden outburst, Lucy raised both of her hands. "I didn't. I didn't touch her. I swear. I didn't." She understood why the blonde would be upset since she too felt that the cashier was interested in her. The big muffins, the free coffee, the politeness…every regular customer and worker could tell that the cashier had a thing for her.

Amy pouted her lips as she turned around for the brunette to continue massaging her shoulders.

"The reason I learned it is because I want to do it on you. You seem to be so tense lately. Is school giving you a hard time? I can make you feel…relaxed." She said as she squeezed her tight muscles.

"you know what happened last time."

How could she forget? Last time, Lucy gave her lover a massage on her shoulders just right before bedtime. One kiss on the shoulder led to a trail of kisses, then a heavy makeout session until Amy stopped her from taking her clothes off. That night they ended up sleeping in different rooms to cool down.

"You know I can't. Not until we're…married." Amy said the last word in a whisper.

"Then marry me." Lucy blurted out without thinking, causing the blonde to snap her head around.

"What?" Amy heard and was surprised with the brunette's proposal. There was no doubt in her mind that she would marry her some day but right now isn't the right time.

"mm…nothing…never mind." Lucy chastised herself for saying that. She wanted to marry the blonde but knew that her lover would want to complete her education first. Besides, she wanted the proposal to be special not like this. She looked around the sandy beach and smiled at the thought of proposing on the beach. Why not? Night time, a moon above the water shining down, roses, a big heart in the sand, maybe sunrise…

"You're not upset. Are you?" Amy said when she noticed the brunette's hands stopped moving. "Lucy?"

It's her fault. Amy blamed herself for letting them went as far as they did when they were at her lair, the night they were caught naked under the bedsheets by the DEBS. Even if the DEBS didn't come, she would have eventually put a stop to it. After they eloped to Barcelona, on their first night sleeping on the same bed together, it didn't surprise her that her lover was expecting more than just sleep. So she explained what she believed in, how she was brought up and the brunette understood. It was either sleeping alone or sleeping on the same bed without doing anything else. As expected, her lover chose the latter.

"Of course not. Anything you want. Okay?" Lucy said as she moved back to lie down on the beach blanket next to the blonde. She put her sunglasses on and locked her hands behind her head. She closed her eyes and smiled internally, thinking about the details of the proposal.

"I'll make it up to you." Amy leaned in, looked around to see if anyone was watching before giving the brunette a short kiss on the cheek.

"That's okay. I'll practice on someone else."

Before she knew what hit her, Amy dumped a bottle of ice cold water on her face, causing her to scream and open her eyes.

* * *

"Glad you're finally awake. Miss Diamond."

With her head soaking wet, Lucy shook her head vigorously and blinked several times to focus. She spit out the water from her mouth and looked around. Sitting on a chair, her hands were tied behind her back and her legs were bound together above the ankle. Inside the room was a sofa, a queen size bed, two doors, two windows covered by ply woods, four chairs, one being sat on by her kidnapper on the other end of the long table in front of her.

"Son of a bitch!" While struggling to get her hands free, Lucy cursed at the man on the other end of the table. He was the one whom she had been looking for over a year, Benjamin Couric. She had no idea what time it was or how long she had been out. After shouting every word of profanity she could think of, Lucy stopped to catch her breath.

"Miss Diamond. That mouth of yours. What in the world does Alexis see in you?"

Anger boiled up inside of her. She tried to get her hands loose but could not. She looked around to take in every detail to see if there would be something that could tell her where she was. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took in a few deep breaths to calm down. When she opened her eyes, a woman stood in front of her, holding a towel. She remained still to let the woman dry the water off her face. Moving her mouth around, she noticed that she still had her fake beard on.

"How did you find me?" She said calmly. She had been captured. She needed to save her strength. She needed to stay focus.

When Benjamin slowly stood up with his cane, Lucy could tell that he was indeed sick. They were right. Amy was right.

"Why can't...you just let it go? If you just let it go, you wouldn't be here."

Lucy remained silent. Her fierce eyes stared at the man who faked his death twice and conned the world.

"As you can see, I'm sick. Why can't you just let me live in peace? I'm not going to live long. Can't you just leave me alone? "

"How did you find me?" Lucy repeated as she scanned the old man walking closer to her.

"I am curious to know how you were able to find me. How did you know I was in that hospital? Maybe you should have disguised as a man that day. Then my men probably wouldn't have recognized you."

Lucy's brows creased as she frowned at him. "I was visiting. If I knew you were there, don't you think I would have brought more people?" Lucy said as she looked around.

"...and how do I know if you're really him? Is this one of his tricks? Where is he? Is he looking at me right now?" She looked up at the ceiling for surveillance cameras.

"Are you going to pretend to die in front of me again?!" She spoke loudly.

Benjamin laughed so hard, he started to cough. Even his two men and the woman laughed along with him.

"I see now. It's your charm. That's why she fell in love with you." He moved one step closer. "Does Alexis know? Poor girl. She was so so sad. Maybe I should tell her that you're still alive. Then maybe she won't hate me."

"Why? Aren't you going to kill me?"

"Or better yet, maybe you can call her and let her know. Isn't that a better idea? Then she won't hate me and I can kill you afterwards."

"That's a great idea. Then I can tell her that her grandfather is going to kill me. Do you think she would call the police or let you kill me?" Lucy too wondered what Alexis would do. _Will she betray her grandfather?_

Benjamin's smile quickly disappeared as he narrowed his eyes at the brunette.

"Bring her in."

_Her?_ Lucy frowned in confusion, wondering who he kidnapped. It can't be Amy or Janet. She knew that for sure.

Then later, Lucy turned to the direction of the door where a woman, blindfolded and crying in pain, was pushed inside the room. "Ow!…what's going on? Who are you? What do you want?"

Forgetting that her hand and feet were bound, Lucy tried to stand up but couldn't.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked in a nervous tone. "I don't know her."

Caitlyn cried out again as she was pushed down hard on the bed.

"Now, do you think you can make that call?" Benjamin asked in nicer tone.

"I don't know her." Lucy repeated, hoping that he would let her go.

"I know that. You met her in the club. Aren't you the one who risked your life to save others whom you barely knew? By the way, thank you...for saving my family."

"Then let her go. She has nothing to do with this." Her breathing quickened. Her mind couldn't think of anything else except for the possibility that someone innocent will die because of her.

Benjamin took a phone from one of his men. "Then...are you willing to make the call? No surprises. Just let her know you're still alive."

Not getting a response from the brunette, Benjamin tilted his head, signaling his goon to start torturing the innocent woman. Caitlyn cried out each time the goon slapped her face.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Lucy shouted in anger. Her veins popped out of her neck as she tried to free her hands.

The goon stopped when Benjamin gave him the signal. He then put the phone in front of her face. Huffing in anger, Lucy glared at the phone, then at the old man. After a moment of waiting, Benjamin ran out of patience and again signaled his man to do something…something else.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked when she saw his goon pushing Caitlyn down to lie down on the bed while goon #2 held down her legs. "Stop it!" She couldn't believe what Benjamin was telling his men to do to the young woman.

Caitlyn continued to struggle and cried out loudly when she felt someone unbuttoning her shirt. Knowing what was about to happen, she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Help! Help! No! Stop! Stop!"

"Son of a bitch! Stop it!" Lucy tried to get her hands free but it was hopeless.

All stood watching as goon#1 began unbuttoning and unzipping innocent woman's jeans.

Feeling defeated, Lucy yelled so loud, all focused on the older man for his signal. "STOP!"

Benjamin tilted his head, signaling them to stop. "Keep her quiet." Goon#1 then stuffed Caitlin's mouth with a paper towel.

Puffing in anger, she stared at the old man in front of him.

"Well?"

All she had to do was say something, a code that only Alexis knew about…one last time...to let her know that something was wrong. But then what? Would she be able to find her? If she could find her and if her grandfather got captured because of her, would she be able to live with herself? That night when Alexis made a move on her, she apologized for not being able to do anything. She was devastated and blamed herself for not being able to save her. Lucy can't do that to her again. This had nothing to do with her.

Benjamin then began pressing one number at a time on the phone.

"She already knows." Lucy said in a faint voice.

"Excuse me?"

"Alexis knows that I'm alive!" Lucy said loudly. Her eyes burning with hatred.

A small laugh came out of Benjamin. "Miss Diamond, now I believe what they say about you. You gave up a whole empire for a woman…" He reached inside his suit and took out a gun. Pointing the gun towards the brunette's forehead, he clicked the safety off.

"…and now…you are willing to give up your life…for her…for someone whom you don't even know." He shook his head to let her know that he was disappointed in her decision. He expected her to call Alexis, to drop a hint that would tell her what was happening. He was a little surprised that the notorious criminal mastermind didn't even try.

Her teeth clenched. Lucy stared at the man who was about to kill her. Her eyes opened wide. Her fists clenched tightly behind the chair. There was nothing else she could do except wait for the inevitable.

"Are you scared?" Benjamin asked as he pushed the gun against her forehead.

Lucy leaned forward against the gun. "Do it."

After a short moment, when Benjamin tilted his head, Lucy turned to the direction where Caitlin was. Sobbing quietly, Caitlin was then lifted to sit up on the bed. Once they took her blindfolds off, Lucy realized that the young woman's fate would be the same as hers. Benjamin wouldn't be stupid enough to show anyone his face.

Caitlyn blinked a few times to adjust to the light. She jerked back when she saw guns pointing at her.

"Be quiet." Goon#1 said as he pointed a gun to her forehead.

Caitlyn remained still as goon#2 untied her hands.

"Luke?"

"It's going to be okay." Lucy said in her own voice. There was no need to pretend anymore.

Benjamin again shook his head and smiled.

"My…my…you are just so funny. How can you say that in your situation right now?"

"What's going on? Why do you sound like a woman?"

The room was then filled with laughter.

"My dear. That's because she is." Benjamin said as he took the wig off the brunette. When he tried to take off the fake beard, Lucy opened her mouth and tried to bite his fingers but the bastard was able to pull back quick enough.

"I'll leave the rest to you."

Lucy frowned when she saw him putting the safety back on. Benjamin walked slowly towards the door, followed by all of his goons. He then turned when a realization hit him. He suddenly realized why she didn't call Alexis.

"Miss Diamond, I am very happy to have met you. Alexis…she…has good taste. You are safe for one more day."

When the door closed, Lucy immediately turned to the young woman and noticed that she was a little shaken up.

"Caitlyn, can you untie me?"

As the young woman was untying her hands, Lucy apologized for getting her involved. After getting the ropes off, Lucy looked around the bathroom for any hidden cameras and bugs. It has to be somewhere. He wouldn't be stupid enough not to have one. She checked the ply wood covering the windows and found that it was impossible to get them loose. She checked under the tables, chairs, mattress, sofa, closet and found nothing that her naked eye could see.

"What's going on? Who are you?" Not as frightened as before, Caitlyn asked when she saw the brunette pacing back and forth.

"One second." Lucy said when she realized she still had her fake beard on.

After taking off her disguise inside the bathroom, Lucy came out and noticed that Caitlyn was shocked by her looks.

"You…why…"

Holding her hand, Lucy led the young woman to sit on the couch.

"The less you know, the better. They're after me, not you. So don't worry. They won't hurt you again. They'll let you go. " There was nothing else she could do except lie at this point.

"Are…you…okay?" Lucy noticed that her hands were still trembling.

Caitlyn nodded and began sobbing quietly.

"It's going to be okay. I promise." Lucy held her hands firmly. She looked around to see if there were any tissue but couldn't find any.

"Listen, your friend knows you're missing. My friend knows that I'm missing. So they're out there looking for us right now."

"but…they don't know where we are.." Caitlyn said as she sniffed in her tears.

Lucy remained silent, not knowing what to say. So instead of responding to her question, she changed the subject. "Did they take your watch?"

Caitlyn nodded.

"I think it's still night time. Are you tired?"

Caitlyn nodded in silence again.

"Then do you want to take a shower first?" Lucy asked in a gentle voice. Knowing that she vomited earlier, she probably would want to take a shower.

After taking a moment to calm herself down, Caitlyn walked towards the bathroom.

"What's your name?"

"Caitlyn, the less you know, the better." Lucy reminded her.

After Caitlyn went inside the bathroom, Lucy checked one more time for bugs and hidden cameras but couldn't find any. She tried to remember what happened before she became unconscious. Did someone knock me out? She moved her body around and didn't feel any pain.

"Damn it. It's the drink. He didn't kill me. Then he must want something."

After both took a shower, Lucy allowed the young woman to sleep on the bed.

"um…you can sleep here"

"It's okay." Lucy walked towards the door to shut the lights off. When she turned off the lights, she quickly turned it back on when she heard a scream. The windows were blocked so the room was completely dark.

"What's the matter?"

"Can you leave the light on?"

What the innocent woman just went through, Lucy understood.

In their current situation, it was extremely difficult to fall asleep especially with the lights on. Lying on the uncomfortable sofa, Lucy twisted and turned. She closed her eyes and put the blazer over her head since there were no other blankets around.

Lucy lifted the blazer off her head when she head her crying quietly. "Caitlyn?"

When her quiet sobbing became louder, Lucy sat on the bed next to her to comfort her.

"Hey…it's going to be okay." She said in a gentle voice.

No matter what Lucy said, she couldn't persuade the young woman to stop crying.

"Ssshh…it's going to be okay." Lucy said as she patted her back.

Sitting up on the bed with her knees bent close to her chest, Caitlyn cried into her palms. "They're going to kill us."

"No, they're not. Trust me. They're not."

"They're going to…oh god…"

She didn't have to say it. Lucy knew what she was thinking.

"I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry." Lucy apologized for what she just went through. "I promise I won't let them hurt you. He want something from me. That's why he didn't kill me. So all I have to do is give them what they want. I won't let them touch you. Okay?" Lucy continued to rub up and down her back.

After a long moment when Caitlyn finally was able to control her emotions, Lucy pulled the blanket over the young woman and as she was about to get off the bed, Caitlyn stopped her by holding her hand.

"Stay here. I'm scared."

"I…don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"because…I like to sleep alone."

Seeing the frown on Caitlyn's face, Lucy knew that it didn't make sense to her.

"I can't sleep. I'm scared." Caitlyn said.

"I'll be right over there. We're going to keep the lights on. So there's nothing to be afraid of."

Lucy tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't.

"Please. I'm scared."

"Caitlyn, I…"

"Please…" Caitlyn begged with teary eyes.

This all happened because of her. Lucy felt extremely guilty but maintained control of herself. Sleeping with a stranger was out of the question even if they weren't going to do anything. Lucy took a pillow and placed it underneath the young woman's arm. "Hold on to this. You'll feel safer."

After lying back down on the sofa, exhaustion quickly took over. Even if she was attacked in the middle of the night, she wouldn't have the strength to fight them off. Lucy didn't realize it was daytime until one of Benjamin's goons came to wake them up.

"Jesus, what time is it?"

"Breakfast is on the table." The female goon said.

"Can I get an extra blanket? It's cold at night." Lucy asked liked she was a guest not a prisoner.

She was surprised when she saw clothing, toothbrush, toothpaste, towel, and accessories on the coffee table.

"Looks like I'll be staying here for awhile." It was a good sign. Yesterday was all an act. There is no doubt in her mind that Benjamin wanted her to do something.

After taking a quick shower and changed into her new clothing, she noticed that Caitlin was still sleeping.

"Caitlyn, wake up."

When Caitlyn woke up, she screamed for a short moment before all her senses came together and realized where she was. After she was done taking a shower, Lucy already finished eating breakfast.

"Is this safe to eat?"

Lucy was about to say 'If they wanted to kill us, they could have done it yesterday.', but this would only make the young woman feel more scared, so she just nodded her head. She tried to make the younger woman think about something else besides waiting for the inevitable by asking her personal questions. She learned that the woman is from Toronto and works in a daycare.

"You like kids?"

"I love them. They're so sweet, so innocent…every time I see them, they made me so happy."

Caitlyn took a bite of the cranberry muffin.

Talking about kids made Lucy think about the blonde. Amy…Kristin…wanted to have kids. Amy loves kids but they were still young then, so the subject of having kids never came up. Lucy looked up and let out a smile when the younger woman spoke again.

"But I'm having such a hard time finding a date, I don't think I will ever get married. No marriage, no kids." Caitlyn let out a big sigh and took another bite of the muffin.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be able to find the man of your dreams someday."

"I thought I did, but you turned out to be a woman. I reeeally…know how to pick them."

Caitlyn's response caused Lucy to chuckle.

"Sorry."

When Lucy saw her looking down in embarrassment, she knew what was about to happen again. "Hey, it's going to be okay." _Please don't cry. Don't. Don't. Shoot._

Lucy handed her a napkin to wipe her tears. There was nothing she could say to comfort her. If she asked her about her family, she knew the young woman would continue to cry even harder.

* * *

One day later

London

"Are you sure about this?" Janet stood at the door watching the blonde pack her belongings.

"Janet, if I don't move, she's not going to come back."

"Amy, didn't you say she's not coming back until you can remember her? So why move? She wants you to stay here." Scud asked while leaning against the door.

Amy stopped and let out an exhausted breath. She didn't realize how much clothing she had until she started packing. Most of the clothing belonged to Kristin. She held a jacket up and contorted her face in disgust. "This is so old. Why did she keep this? Why did I keep this?" Throwing the jacket down inside her suitcase, she turned around.

"Scud, call her, tell her I'm moving out."

Janet gasped inward as a realization hit her. "So you mean, you're staying if she comes back?"

Amy sat down on the bed. Her hand ran over face, frustrated and confused at her own plan.

"I…just don't want her to be out there because of me. She should be here with you guys. If she knows that I'm moving out, then she will come back." She glanced at Janet then at Scud to see if they understand what she was trying to do. When she saw Scud nodding, she let out a deep breath. "You guys can come visit me."

"I have no idea what you're trying to do." Janet said as she shook her head in confusion.

"Pumpkin, she wants to let Lucy know that she's moving out regardless of where she is. If Lucy knows that she's not staying here with us, then she will come back."

"Why?"

Scud expected his girlfriend to understand. "Well, if you're not here, I would be worried."

"I understand that. But she's still not going to come back because she knows that we're here…She knows that we can take care of Amy if she needs us…"

Scud pondered as he tapped his finger on his chin. "I get your point."

"Amy, why can't you just stay here?"

Feeling tired with the same conversation, Amy continued packing. She realized that Janet could be right. She didn't plan on leaving so soon. She was hoping that she could stay here while going to school. She was hoping that by the time she graduates, her memory would come back to her. But the appearance of Max and with the brunette suddenly leaving changed everything.

* * *

Max's apartment

"Well, here it is. What do you think?"

"It's really nice. Max." With gleaming hardwood floors, the living room had two waxed oiled black leather sofas that looked like nobody ever sat on them, a glass table in the middle, a large LCD tv, and white walls with plenty of recessed lights to lighten up the good sized room.

"There are 2 bathrooms. So we don't have to fight over that." Max joked.

Amy was surprised when she saw that there was already a bed, a mahogany chest drawer, a desk inside her room. She thought she had to sleep on the sofa for a few days.

"I bought this the other day. Hope you like it."

Flopping down on the edge of the bed, Amy tried it out. "Thanks. I'll pay you back."

"Don't worry about it. I told you…money is not an issue now." She led her to the bathroom down the hall. "And if you need money for school, I can help you with that."

"I have it."

"You have money? How? From her?"

Knowing what Max was going to say about the brunette's dirty money, Amy immediately responded.

"I have…savings…from my previous job." From her previous job as a government agent, Amy saved enough to attend school for a year, but won't have enough to pay her share of the rent.

"I didn't mean anything by it. You're sick. With all of those medical bills, I'm glad she didn't return all the money, otherwise she's not going to be able to…."

"Max, she did return all the money. The money she has now are from her old company and from…her…father…" She trailed off when she realized where her father's money came from…the same way…from criminal activities.

"Look, Amy."

"Max, she's changed. She donates money every year, thousands of dollars. Nobody told her to do that but she did. And she saved a lot of people whom she doesn't even know."

"Nobody told her to do that? Are you certain of that? I'm sure someone told her to do that. " Max hinted that it could be her. "As I was about to say, let's not talk about her. Are you hungry? Want to grab dinner because…you know me…I can't cook."

Catching the apartment keys with one hand, Amy smiled. "Some things never change."

* * *

Inside the restaurant in a mall, they stood in line, waiting to be served. When their number was called, they followed the waitress to their table next to the window. While holding a menu, Max noticed that Amy was looking around as if she was looking for someone.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Amy returned her eyes back to the menu. The place looked familiar.

Both focused on the waitress who introduced herself and told them about the special of the day.

There weren't a lot of options for vegetarians, so it was an easy decision for the blonde who ordered pasta primavera. Max ordered a medium rare steak and an alcoholic drink. Some things never change. Amy thought to herself. It was a full house. Amy looked around and noticed that Max was looking over at the people at the bar area which was filled with mostly men.

"Hey, look at that guy over. He's cute. Isn't he?"

Amy controlled the urge to roll her eyes. What her friend just said surprised her. Five years ago, when they were still 'DEBS', all she ever talked about was missions, goals, career and not one single word about men. Max never liked Bobby either so Amy never talked about him with her. But Janet liked him. So whenever she talked about Bobby, Max couldn't stand it.

"mhm…" Amy nodded as she took a drink.

"Hey, that other guy over there is looking at ya."

Not wanting to look, Amy didn't turn her head.

"Amy, look."

"um…Max, I'm not looking for a boyfriend right now. I just want to finish school first."

"Who's talking about a boyfriend? I just want you to look."

Knowing that looking would create more problems for herself, Amy decided not to and excused herself to the restroom.

Watching the blonde leave, Max wondered what was bothering her. She thought that the reason Amy wanted to move out was to start a new life.

When Amy came back, she frowned when she saw that her table was empty. Looking around, she dropped her jaws when she saw Max talking with the 'cute' guy sitting at the bar stool.

"Oh…my…god." This was something she never thought Max would be doing…approaching a stranger? T_alking and smiling like...she's flirting_? _Did I wake up in the twilight zone, another dimesion? Why is everyone so different?_ At the corner of her eyes, she noticed a guy in the bar area watching her, she pretended not to notice and sat down at her table.

After a moment, when the waitress came with their orders, Max also came back and apologized for leaving.

"Did you order a drink for me?" Amy said when the waitress put down a drink in front of her.

"No."

"This is from the gentleman over there."

Max immediately turned to see who he was. Amy, however, became frozen stiff.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I…just…have a feeling of déjà vu. Where did…" As she was about to ask herself where she heard that before, the waitress interrupted.

"I thought you look familiar."

Both heads snapped at the waitress.

"Do you know me?"

The waitress told her of the incident from last time where a guy bought her wife a drink.

"My wife?"

"Her wife?" Max didn't intentionally say it so loud where the people next to them heard.

Amy cleared her throat and asked shyly, putting a strand of hair behind her ear. "um…how…how…did you know that she's my…um…wife?"

For some reason, the word 'wife' sent a shiver down her spine. The word 'partner' sounded better.

"I didn't know at first. She said you were both married but I didn't know that she meant…to each other. But I think a lot of people knew when you two started…eating."

When the waitress noticed that both of them didn't understand what she meant, she explained in more detail.

"Remember? You two were feeding eating other…in a…couple.y kind of way."

Amy's cheeks instantly turned red. She looked down in embarrassment.

"I'll take care of this. I'll let him know you're married." The waitress picked up the drink and left.

Amy began eating her dinner, stuffing her mouth with a spoonful of pasta and chewing as quickly as she could like she wanted to leave the restaurant as soon as possible.

"Wow…"

With her mouth full of pasta, Amy mumbled. "What?"

"I…just can't picture that…her…doing that…in public." Max shivered at the thought.

Dropping her spoon down, Amy took a sip of water and swallowed the food down.

"Max, she can be very gentle…and thoughtful"

Her mind spontaneously thought of the first day the brunette fed her in bed.

"…and she is an excellent cook. "

She looked down at her dish of soggy pasta. "God. I miss her cooking."

"I can't picture her…cooking…either. I can picture her with a knife…or a gun…but definitely not in an apron." Max noticed the blonde was deep in thought, staring at her plate. "Amy." Max called out again when the blonde didn't respond. "Amy." Her next question caught the blonde's attention.

"Amy, can you picture yourself having sex with her?"

"What?!"

"Food and sex are two different things."

"What are you talking about?" She had no idea why her friend suddenly brought up sex in the conversation.

"See that guy there…I can picture myself making love to him." She looked at the guy she was talking to earlier.

"Max!" Amy said in a whisper, afraid that people in the next table could hear them talking about sex.

"A lot of people can have sex without love. But we…you and I…aren't those type of people. Don't get confused with…love for her cooking...with love for her. You need to ask yourself…Can you picture yourself making love to her?"

"Of course not." Amy responded immediately and put a spoonful of soggy pasta into her mouth. Her face contorted in disgust as she took each bite. It wasn't because of what Max said. It's the food. It's really not that good…too soggy, too oily… As for picturing herself making love to the brunette, well…she didn't have to…she had dreams about it…lots of times…she had no idea if it was a memory or just a dream. After she woke up from the dream, she didn't feel disgusted. Each time she had one, it made her heart beat twice as fast and she would wake up…wet. But it was only a dream. _Could I do it for real? Probably not. Like Max said, I have to be in love to let it happen._

Amy placed her spoon down and took a big gulp of water to wash down the taste.

"Lost your appetite?" Max let out a smile, thinking that Amy probably got disgusted with the thought of having sex with the brunette.

At that time when Max found her roommate in bed with the brunette, it shocked the hell of her. They went to numerous missions together. They lived under the same roof for two years and she had no idea that the blonde was interested in woman. She heard her complain about Bobby, but she didn't find anything wrong with that since she hated that dufus. She couldn't understand why the blonde even went out with him. Janet didn't have a boyfriend. She knew that. Dominique was a slut, bringing home a different boy almost every night after the curfew. She knew that and let it slide. Amy never once let Bobby stay later than 5PM in the house. She knew what kind of person Amy was. That's what she thought until that night. She too didn't understand what happened. What did she do to her? What made her sacrificed her whole life, her dignity, her being called a traitor? love? How? Why? Did she brainwashed her? What happened? Max shook herself out of her thoughts. Doesn't matter. Amy is back. The Amy she once knew is sitting right in front of her.

* * *

Canada

Two nights passed and the only people who came into the room were Benjamin's goons, bringing them breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

"What do you want from me?!" Lucy shouted as loud as she could while banging on the door. She had been in this situation before, captured in a room without windows. She wasn't afraid then because the one who captured her were the good guys. But this time was different. This time, she got an innocent girl involved. She needed them to release her before the young woman couldn't take it anymore…because Lucy herself couldn't take it anymore, Caitlyn's frequent crying was driving her nuts. Lucy was worried that Caitlyn would soon have a mental breakdown.

"Stop it. Stop it!" Crying uncontrollably, Caitlyn covered her ears while sitting on the end of the sofa. The place was driving her crazy; not knowing what was going on because the brunette won't tell her anything. She had no idea what time it was. They could only guess that it was in the afternoon by the food they just brought in for them.

Lucy stopped banging the door when she realized she was making the situation even worse for the younger woman. They, Benjamin and Jean Claude would come when they're ready to see her. She had no doubt that Jean Claude was involved. Lucy walked over and sat next to the distressed young woman. Wrapping her arms around her, she hugged the innocent woman to calm her down.

"Sshhh….sorry…sshhh…it's okay…it's okay." Lucy said in a gentle voice as she ran her hand up and down her back. From the past two nights, Lucy learned a lot about the young woman. She had to keep her talking to distract her from the current situation. It was difficult, though, because every time she talked about her family and friends, she wanted to cry. She can't tell her about her personal life, who she is and why they're after her because that would lead to more questions and she didn't want Benjamin to know about her friends. There might be bugs in the room.

"Are we going to die here?"

"No." Lucy brushed away the tears from her face and noticed that the young woman could see right through her.

"You're lying."

"Caitlyn…"

"I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of dying…Miss…Diamond."

Lucy wasn't surprised. She knew that she heard the conversation between her and Benjamin, but was unsure how much she heard.

"That's what he called you."

Lucy remained silent. Every time Caitlyn wanted to know something about her, Lucy kept telling her to stop asking because it would get her in trouble. It was hopeless. She could no longer persuade her from wanting to know the truth. Lucy understood why. It was at the point where the innocent woman thinks that she's going to die and she wanted to know the reason.

"You…gave up an empire for a woman."

Lucy slowly pulled her hands away from the young woman's face.

"You…risked your life to save his family. He wants to kill you. Why?"

"because his family has nothing to do with what he did….he killed a lot of people." Lucy replied in a soft tone.

"Alexis…who's Alexis?"

"Caitlyn…"

"Please…I want to know."

Lucy hesitated for a moment and wondered if she should tell her. Whether she knows or not, it wouldn't matter. The end result would still be the same.

"She's his granddaughter."

"He wanted you to call her, why?"

"she hated him…she thought I died…because of him…"

"She knows that you're still alive…but he doesn't know that…"

Lucy nodded and knew what her next question would be.

"…but you could have called her…to let her know that you…"

"No. This has nothing to do with her. She shouldn't be involved."

"But he's going to kill you."

"There's nothing she can do. She won't be able to forgive herself if she knew. She already blamed herself…the first time…"

Lucy slumped against the sofa and looked up the ceiling. "There's nothing she can do. She can't save me."

"You…love her."

Lucy closed her eyes and shook her head. She knew how much it hurts to love someone and not having the love returned. She's been in that situation once before…now…twice. And it hurts…it hurts so bad, it feels like someone poured red hot lava over her heart.

Caitlyn understood when the brunette shook her head.

"Can you...tell me…your name?"

Lucy slowly let out a smile. She had no intention of telling her her real name. When she was about to tell her to keep calling her Luke, the door opened.

Both stood up and directed their attention towards the old man walking through the door. Caitlyn moved closer to the brunette and held on to her arm.

As Benjamin walked slowly towards the table, two men followed from behind. Lucy could tell that he didn't look good. He looked worse than the last time she saw him and that was only two nights ago.

"Thanks for the food and everything. But can I possibly get another blanket?" Lucy asked so many times for them to get her a blanket, but nobody seem to be listening to her. She had been sleeping on the sofa with her blazer and a bath towel. No matter how many times Caitlyn told her to sleep on the bed, she refused to do so.

Benjamin pulled out the chair and slowly sat on it. When he tilted his head, goon#1 walked towards Lucy. Unsure of what he was trying to do, Lucy moved back and Caitlyn stood behind her.

"Hey, don't touch her." Lucy held her hands up, ready to strike if she has to.

"We need to talk…alone." Benjamin said in a tired tone.

When the man reached out to grab the young woman, Lucy grabbed his hand.

"I said…don't touch her."

"Do we need to do this the hard way?" Benjamin ran out of patience and motioned his goon to take the woman out.

"No…stop!…" Caitlyn cried out as the man tried to pull her away.

Lucy knew she couldn't do anything in her situation. If she hit the guy, it would just make things worse. There was only one thing she could do.

Lucy walked towards the old bastard, goon#2 walked in front of Benjamin to protect him.

"Promise me, you're not going to let them touch her. Look at her! She's just like Alexis. Did you know what could have happened to Alexis if my people didn't rescue her on time? She's innocent. She has nothing to do with this. Just like Alexis. Look at her!"

Lucy was hoping that by mentioning Alexis, it could make him see that Caitlyn is as innocent as her granddaughter. Even though Benjamin sounded like he wasn't going to hurt her, Lucy needed to make sure that his goons understood. Sometimes people don't understand the orders given by their boss, just like that guy who almost assaulted Alexis. Caitlyn does look like Alexis in a way, the brown hair, the slender body, about the same age, but shorter. Lucy felt relieved when she was able to get point across the old man.

"Make sure nobody touches her. Understand?" Benjamin said in a commanding tone.

"Yes. Sir."

Lucy walked over to Caitlyn. "It's going to be okay. Just wait outside. They're not going to hurt you." Lucy glared at the man who was holding Caitlyn's arm, taking in every detail of his face and committing it to memory. She leaned in closer to look at the man to let him know what she's doing.

"Do you know who I am?" Lucy asked goon#1 in a her Lucy Diamond voice.

Goon#1 didn't respond.

"I…might be in here. But do you know how many times I survived in a situation like this?"

It surprised Lucy that the goon#1 shook his head in response.

"Many times. Do you know what happened to the guy who tried to touch Alexis?"

Lucy wanted to let him and Benjamin know what happened.

When the guy shook his head, she let everyone in the room know what her people did to that guy. Seeing the look on goon#1's face, Lucy knew he understood what she was trying to say.

After Caitlyn left, Lucy sat on the other end of the long table. She crossed her arms and waited for him to speak. She was surprised that something else came out of his mouth.

"I..didn't know. Is she…did they…" He was afraid to continue his question.

"My people got there on time."

Benjamin nodded his head and sighed with relief. "Thank you." He himself didn't expect to learn so much about what happened. He knew the brunette saved his family and he was grateful for that. If she didn't want revenge, he wouldn't have went after her. He wouldn't have tried to kill her.

"Let's talk about business, shall we?"

"Business?"

"You do this for us, she gets to go home…and you…well, we haven't decided what to do with you yet.

"Oh…well…that's nice…" Lucy shifted her chair back and rocked back and forth. "No deal."

Benjamin then spoke in a slow tone like he had no energy to talk.

"You see…here's the problem…we are willing to let you go…but are you willing to stop coming after me? Should we lock you up until the day I die? It won't take long. Just a few more months."

Lucy stopped rocking her chair, stood up, and pressed her palms on the table. If he didn't have Caitlyn, she would have tried to knock him out.

"You see…I…don't want you dead. If I wanted to kill you, I would have shot you…your look-alike…at the arena. What I want…is for everyone to know that…you…are still alive…you, your accomplices, and everyone who's involved in blowing up that plane…go to jail."

"I said this many times…but nobody believes me. People believe what they want to believe because they want someone to be responsible for the death of their love ones. Ethan, his brother, his sister, they can't accept the fact that their father died of an accident. They wanted someone to blame…so they picked me. I have given them many chances. If they have listened, we wouldn't be here today. If I wanted to kill them, they wouldn't be living peacefully in France right now."

That was a warning. _He knows where they live._ She wondered if he knows about Scud, Amy and Janet. Jean Claude lives in France. It would be very easy for him to get to them if he wanted to.

Glaring at the elderly whom Jean Claude called a genius, Lucy remained silent for a moment to think about what to do. Do this or Caitlyn will die. Do this or Nadia will die. Lucy sat down on her chair and began rocking it again.

"So you're…telling me…that you didn't have someone blow up that plane."

"I'm dying. Is there even a reason for me to lie to you at this point?" He covered his mouth as he let out a few coughs.

"Gee…I don't know…since I don't know you. If I know what you're thinking, then I wouldn't have fallen for your trap last time, **would I**? Jean Claude said you're a genius…so there must be another reason why you're telling me this." Lucy looked around up at the ceiling as if looking for a hidden camera. "Where is Jean Claude, by the way? Is he busy? When is he coming…because I'm getting really tired of sleeping on the sofa."

Benjamin let out a laugh, impressed with the brunette's intelligence. He turned to look at the bed and frowned. "That is a queen size bed."

"I like to sleep alone."

"Then let her sleep on the sofa."

Lucy had no clue why he wanted to talk about this.

When he didn't hear a response, he nodded in understanding. "I see…that's not how it works...in your world." He realized that even though she used to be the former boss of a large criminal organization, she probably got what she wanted most of the time and her followers would wait on hand and foot. But when it comes to women, she would act as a 'gentleman'.

"I'm curious. Have you…and…Alexis…"

Lucy couldn't believe what the old man was asking her.

"It's none of your business." She didn't want to answer him but since they never did, it wouldn't hurt to tell him. "No."

"Why not? Is it because of me?"

Lucy tapped her fingers repeatedly on the table to let him know that she's running out of patience with these questions. Then suddenly a thought occurred to her.

_He thinks Alexis and I can't be together…because of him? Is that why he denied his involvement in the plane explosion?_

"It's a little too late for you to be concerned about her. Don't you think?"

He knew that, but just wanted to know more about them. "If…you see her again, can you tell her…I'm sorry?"

Lucy stopped tapping her fingers. "If…you see her again, can you…tell her…I'm sorry."

Nobody knows what the outcome will be. She could die before he does and if she does, she wanted him to tell Alexis that she's sorry for not being able to return her love.

Benjamin frowned, not fully understanding what she meant by that. He cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"As I was saying, you do this for us, we'll let her go, we'll let you go, provided that you promise not to come after me."

"You want me…to promise you?"

"Yes."

"I seem to recall…that someone last time made a promise that if I win the fight, I…get to kill…you." She pointed at herself then at him. "So…if I promise you now, what makes you think that I will keep my word?"

Benjamin let out another laugh. "My goodness. You…can be so funny."

Lucy wasn't laughing and wasn't sure what card he's holding.

"I was hoping that you would just say 'yes'. How long has it been since you tried to find me and you still weren't able to find me? By the time you find me, I probably would be dead. But if I'm not, you…still won't be able to do anything to me…because…" He stopped and wanted to see if the brunette could figure out what he was going to say next. When he didn't hear a sound from the brunette, he continued.

"…because you…cared…about your friends…you…cannot protect them forever…even the French La Surete can't…"

Lucy wanted to say something back but remained silent and began tapping her fingers again.

Benjamin remained silent to allow her to think about what he said. He was surprised with her next question.

"You do know that I'm not the only one after you."

He couldn't resist to let out another laugh, even louder than the last. What the brunette was implying was that if he gets caught by others, the police or his enemies, it's none of her business.

"I know that. All I need from you is your promise that you won't come after me."

Lucy pondered for a short moment. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

Lucy could see that Benjamin was no longer smiling. Something she said hit a nerve.

"It's funny...that you would say that. That's exactly what I said to my wife…before she passed away."

The memory of meeting Alexis' grandma flowed to her mind. She came to realize that Grandma knew about what her husband did.

"She's a very…sweet lady."

Surprised with her comment, Benjamin looked up sadly.

"You…met my wife?"

"She asked me to…protect them. She knew what you did, didn't she?"

"She…had no idea…until…that day." He wanted the brunette to know that his deceased wife was innocent. If she had known, she would've done something to try to stop him.

"It was too late. I had no choice." He sighed, remembering that moment his wife was brought to the hospital when she heard about what he had been doing for all these years.

"She asked you to…protect them? Did…she know who you are?"

Lucy looked down on the table as her mind thought about that moment. She too thought Grandma recognized her. Amy…no…Kristin and Grandma were acting quite strange that time. She said I looked familiar. The sketchbook. Kristin was showing her her sketchbook. Lucy came to realize that Grandma must have seen her portrait in Kristin's sketchbook, the portrait was the reason she was captured.

"No. She...somehow knew…that I could."

Lucy looked up when she saw the bastard standing up like he was about to leave.

"Let's talk some other time. I'm not feeling well. Let's wait for Jean Claude." He came to tell her what he wanted her to do, but all the talk about his dead wife ruined his mood.

Since there was nothing she could do, she might as well asked for things.

"How long do I have to wait? Can I get a blanket and some good food around here?" As she walked closer to him, his goon blocked her path. When the door opened, Lucy was shocked when goon#1 pushed Caitlyn inside.

Lucy quickly approached the young woman on the floor and took off her blindfold.

"You son of a bitch! What the hell did you do to her?!" Caitlyn's face was a little red and it wasn't because she was blushing. It looked like someone slapped her.

"Didn't I tell you not to touch her?" Benjamin spoke in an angry tone.

"She tried to run away."

"Did she see anything?"

When goon#1 hesitated, Benjamin rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"I don't think so."

He looked at the young woman with the swollen face, then at the brunette.

"If she try that again, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my promise." He wanted to let Lucy know that he will have to kill her.

"If you touch her again, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you." Lucy warned. After that talk that they had, she sensed that she was in a position to bargain.

After Benjamin left, when the door closed, Lucy shouted out another request.

"Give me some ice!"

After a moment, Lucy was satisfied with how fast they brought the ice pack in and fruits and snacks that she didn't even ask for.

Sitting on the sofa, Lucy placed the ice pack wrapped with a towel on Caitlyn's face.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" She didn't believe what goon#1 said. She expected a lot of people outside guarding them.

Wincing in pain, Caitlyn told her that there was only one man and while he was in the middle of tying her hand, the man received a call and sloppily tied the ropes on her hand which she was able to squeeze her tiny hands out of. She thought she was able to escape until another man came in and saw her.

"Do you know where we are?"

"They had window shades down." She jerked her head away from the ice pack.

"Caitlyn. Don't do anything else. He's going to let you go. Okay?" Lucy said in a gentle voice as she locked her eyes at the innocent woman.

"What about you?"

"When they let you go, I want you to pretend that nothing happened, don't tell anybody about us. Do you understand?"

"But…"

Lucy put down the ice pack and held her hands firmly. "It's for your own good."

"Are they going to…let you go?"

Lucy nodded her head. But deep inside, Lucy wasn't sure if the bastard would keep his promise. Would he let me go? Knowing how that piece of shit operates, he probably would go back on his word. There's nothing she could do now except wait.

* * *

London

After moving in for a few days, Amy went back to Janet's apartment to pack the rest of the things.

Both Janet and Scud immediately snapped their heads towards the door when they heard someone turning the doorknob. They weren't expecting anyone with keys to their door except for the brunette.

"Lucy?" Scud said as he opened the door, only to find that it was Amy.

"Hi Scud. Is Lucy coming back?" Amy was confused when the Scud shook his head and began pacing around in the room. "What's going on?"

Scud didn't respond.

"He thinks something happened to Lucy." Janet told the blonde that Scud was unable to reach Lucy since he last talked to her.

"Did you call Uncle Nick?" Amy asked.

"Something's wrong. Something's wrong." Scud kept mumbling to himself.

"What did Uncle Nick say?"

"He said she's with Anthony." Janet shrugged her shoulders. She too didn't understand why her boyfriend was so worried.

"What did Anthony say?" Amy asked the obvious question.

"He said she's fine. She needed time alone."

Looking at Janet, Amy frowned in confusion, not understanding why Scud was acting this way.

"Scud, she's fine." Amy said.

Scud immediately stopped moving. "No, she's not. I know she's not. She won't pick up my call."

"maybe she wants some peace and qui…"

"No! the last time she did that, she got herself captured."

When Scud saw that they were confused, he explained what happened last time.

Amy remembered what Alexis told her, how her former boss used her to capture the brunette. She didn't hear the part about the brunette not telling Scud what she was planning to do.

Amy knew that this wasn't the right time but she was really curious to know.

"So how did she get out?"

"She made a bargain with them." Oh shit. Scud wasn't thinking and blurted out something that he shouldn't have. Scud quickly turned around and began pacing back and forth like before. But he wasn't thinking of what happened to Lucy. He was thinking of how to respond to the blonde's next obvious question.

"What was the bargain?"

Scud told her that her former boss let the brunette out to get the fraudster.

"But weren't they afraid that Lucy would just leave? Why would they believe her?"

He knew this information wouldn't satisfy the blonde's curiosity because when he found out at that time, it didn't make sense to him either, until he learned the truth.

"They were desperate. They had her followed after they let her out." Scud quickly took out his phone and tried to call Lucy again. He knew that Lucy wouldn't pick up. He just wanted to do something else, hoping the blonde would stop asking questions. If he accidentally spilled out the truth, he knew Lucy would do more than kicking his butt.

Amy nodded in understanding. The missing pieces were starting to come together. She learned from Scud why Lucy faked her death, the reason they moved her, secretly hiding, waiting for the fraudster to come out of hiding while she recuperate from her numerous injuries.

"Let me try. " Amy took her phone out and pressed the speed dial.

One ring, then two, then three. Amy hung up and redial. She was disappointed that the brunette didn't pick up her phone and decided to leave a voice mail.

"maybe she's busy?" Amy said.

"You don't understand." Scud said as he blew out a deep breath.

"Scud, maybe she's…" Janet stopped and glanced at the blonde before whispering to his ear.

"no…" Scud jerked back when he heard Janet's explanation about why the brunette was avoiding all of them.

"…could be…" Janet shrugged her shoulders.

"could be what?" Amy noticed that that Janet was hiding something from her.

"No…she wouldn't do that…" Scud said.

"Why not? It might work."

Tired of being left out of the conversation, Amy walked closer to both of them.

"What are you guys talking about?"

When Scud was about to tell her, Janet immediately held onto his forearm.

"If you tell her, it's not going to work. You might ruin her plan."

"pumpkin…I know Lucy…she wouldn't do that. She would at least give me a heads up so I wouldn't be worried sick about her."

"Did she tell you when she went back to Paris to rescue her? Did she tell you the reason she went to Canada? No…she didn't." Janet crossed her arms.

Scud placed his hands on the shorter woman's shoulders. "Janet, she didn't tell me about Paris because she didn't want me to get in trouble. She didn't tell me about Canada but she did pick up my call. It's been 3 days now. There is no reason not to pick up my call."

"Can you please tell me what is going on?" Amy said in a frustrated tone.

"She thinks…"

"Scud…" Janet tried to stop him.

"trust me, that's not why she's not picking up my call." He turned to the blonde. "She thinks that Lucy is not picking up our calls because she wants you to worry about her."

"What! That's so ridiculous…so irresponsible…so immature…She's not that childish, is she?" She doesn't know the brunette that well. All she saw was her tough, considerate and gentle side of her. From the stories she heard from Janet, she learned that the brunette could be very romantic as well.

"She could be quite childish, you should know. You two…were acting like kids that night." Janet remembered that night when she heard them laughing inside the bedroom. It sounded like they were tickling each other.

"What were they doing?" Scud asked out of curiosity and leaned his ear towards his girlfriend.

"Oh." Scud then realized why his girlfriend suggested that they move out. The girls were being too loud.

Even though that wasn't 'her', Amy understood what Janet meant. Feeling a little embarrassed by it, she quickly changed the subject.

"Do you think that's why?"

"No. She wouldn't do that." Scud said.

"But Anthony said she's fine." Janet reasoned.

That's what didn't make sense to him. Both women could tell how worried he was about the brunette. Amy got an idea, pressed the speed dial, and handed the phone to Scud.

"Tell her something happened to me. Tell her…I'm in the hospital."

Scud knew Lucy would yell at him for lying, but it was the only way to get her to call him back. All he wanted was to hear her voice.

After leaving her a voice mail, all sat in the living room to wait for the call back. They didn't expect her to call back right away, but did expect her to call back after an hour. One hour passed by, then two, then three. Amy came to pack some things but decided to stay longer. The tv was on, but nobody was interested in watching it except for Janet. Leaning his head on his palm, his elbow propped on the arm of sofa, Scud was looking at the tv but his mind was somewhere else. Why did Anthony say she's fine? Why can't she call me back? Does she really wanted to be alone? He looked up at the blonde who, like him, was also worried about the brunette. Is Lucy, like what Janet said, avoiding everyone to make the blonde worried about her? He glanced at Janet who was holding a bowl of grapes, putting one in her mouth and watching tv. If that was her goal, then she succeeded it because Amy couldn't take it anymore after waiting for five hours.

"If this is her plan to get me worried, then she's going to regret it after I get my hands on her." Amy punched her fist into her palm.

"Scud, let's go to Canada."

Janet almost choked on the grape. Janet and Scud stood up, wondering what the blonde had in mind.

"What?"

"Let's go to Canada."

Amy didn't understand why they were looking at her as if she's crazy.

"What?" She looked at Janet.

"Are you…what do you plan on doing after you find her?"

"Well, I'm going to yell at her for getting us so worried." An image of her slapping on the brunette's face suddenly appeared in her mind.

"Then, I'll probably give her a piece of my mind, depending on how I feel at that moment. If she's okay, then we can come back…"

"…come back…together?"

It took a moment for Amy to realize what Janet was trying to say.

"I just want to make sure she's okay."

Seeing that the blonde had no intention of being with the brunette, Scud decided that he should go alone to Canada.

"I'll go."

All were startled by the ring on Amy's phone. Without looking at who's calling, Amy quickly picked up the phone.

"Lucy?…oh...hi Max."

Janet and Scud both let out a disappointed sigh.

"Okay Max….okay…don't' worry about me. I'll be fine. Okay."

After she hung up, she explained that Max had to travel for a few days for work and wanted her to stay with Janet.

That ruined Scud's plan. He was hoping Max would be able to look after the blonde. With only Janet, he didn't feel comfortable leaving them alone because he did promise Lucy to look after the sick blonde.

* * *

Night time

Canada

Everything the brunette asked for, a blanket and better food, she got. Lucy even got magazines. She thought she would be able to get a better night sleep than the last few nights without the blankets, but it was actually worse. Lying on the sofa, her whole body was shivering. The room was colder than previous nights.

"God damn it!" Lucy lifted the blanket off, got off the bed and banged on the door. When she got someone's attention on the other side of the door, she asked why the room was so cold.

"The heater's broken."

"What! Then get someone to fix it!" Lucy yelled while holding her arms and shivering.

"All the shops are closed. They'll come and fix it tomorrow."

"Jesus Christ!" Lucy yelled and kicked the door in frustration. "If I get sick and I can't do what he wants, it's going to be your fault." She warned and kicked the door again.

"Luke…sleep here…it's warmer." Caitlyn said in a gentle tone.

"It's okay." Lucy responded and headed to the bathroom. When she came out of the bathroom with all the bath towels, she was surprised that the young woman was waiting for her outside.

"Is something bothering you? Why won't you sleep here?"

"I'm used to sleeping alone."

When Lucy was about to walk towards the sofa, Caitlyn stood in front of her.

"I want to get out of here. If you get sick and you can't do what they want, we have to stay here longer and I don't want to."

"I won't get sick. I was just trying to …." Lucy trailed off when she felt warm hands on her face, her head being pulled forward.

"Are you attracted to me?"

Lucy immediately pulled her head back. "Of course not!"

"Good. Then there won't be a problem." Caitlyn pushed the brunette to sit on the bed and gently pushed her shoulders down. She then walked towards the door to turn off the light, leaving the bathroom light on, the door slightly opened. While she slipped into the other side of the bed, she mumbled something to herself.

Lucy watched every move the young woman made. She noticed how Caitlyn's behavior was starting to change ever since she convinced her that they will let her go.

"What did you say?" Lucy asked while placing the bath towels between them.

"Nothing."

"No, you said something."

Pulling the blanket over her shoulders, Caitlyn turned to look at the brunette. "I said I don't understand what you're thinking. You're not attracted to me. You know that I'm not gay. So why?"

Lucy can't tell her the truth. Last time she slept with Alyson, Nadia, and Alexis, all three of them ended up kissing her. It was a crazy thought. Caitlyn isn't like them and look where we are. This isn't a hotel. She let out a small embarrassing smile and shrugged her shoulders.

After a moment, Lucy closed her tired eyelids until she heard a faint voice.

"What is it like?"

"huh?" Lucy said as she tried to open her eyes.

"Never mind." Caitlyn said good night before turning on her other side, her back facing the brunette.

The bed was warmer than the sofa, but still she wasn't able to sleep well due to the cold. Caitlyn too didn't sleep well and woke up early. As they were eating breakfast, Lucy was surprised to see Benjamin so early.

"Why is it so cold in here?" Benjamin asked one of his men.

"The heater is broken." Goon#1 responded.

"Broken?"

"You better get it fixed tonight. If I get sick, I'm not going to be able to help you." Lucy warned.

"There's no need. We're leaving today."

Lucy and Caitlyn both stopped eating and turned to look at the old man who looked more pale than last time.

"Where? What about her?"

"She's coming with us. Of course. We'll let her go after you finished the job."

Frustrated, Lucy threw her utensils down on the table. "You haven't even told me what you want me to do."

"Does it matter? Miss Diamond. You don't have a choice, remember?"

After breakfast, both were given new clothing to wear and were warned not to make any stupid moves. Lucy only realized what he meant when they were brought to the international airport. As soon as she stepped inside a private plane, she had an idea of who's going to be inside waiting for her and she was right.

"nice to see you again, Miss Diamond." Jean Claude offered his hand and Lucy reluctantly shook on it.

"Sit." Jean Claude pointed to the leather seat across from his.

Inside the luxury private plane was a long sofa along the other side, 4 leather seats with a gleaming wooden table in between, a large LCD tv hung on the divider, and more seats on the other section of the plane.

Benjamin sat on the leather seat next to Jean Claude. Lucy took the seat and watched Caitlyn being led to the other section. Goon#1 closed the door and sat in another seat.

"So, it's been a long time. How have you been?"

"Pretty good. Yourself?"

"good…that's good…how was your stay? I hope you got everything you needed."

When Lucy was about to yell at him, Benjamin told him what happened.

"no heat?"

He looked at goon#1 who nodded.

"I do apologize for that." Jean Claude said in a genuine tone.

Tired of the pretense, Lucy leaned forward. "Why don't you cut the bullshit and tell me what you want from me? Do you want me to kill somebody? Do you want me to steal something? What?"

At this time, the captain of the plane spoke on the speaker to have everyone buckle up.

"This is an eight hour flight, Miss Diamond. Relax. You'll find out soon enough."

Then when an extremely gorgeous flight attendant with the long legs came to take away the wine glasses, Lucy couldn't help but scanned her from top to bottom. Both Benjamin and Jean Claude noticed. After the plane was up in the air and the seat belt sign was off, the attractive flight attendant came with a bottle of wine. Lucy kept her eyes on the blonde, pouring the wine in her glass.

"Thank you." Lucy said as she took the wine glass from the attendant who smiled back. Her eyes focused on the blonde who walked towards the other section.

"There's no drugs in that." Jean Claude said when he noticed the brunette putting the drink down.

"I'm not in the mood." Lucy crossed her legs and tapped her fingers on the arm of the sofa as she waited for him to continue.

"So how do you know Jacques Mercier?" Jean Claude asked as he took a sip of his wine. He remembered that she was invited to the billionaire's daughter's birthday party. When he heard the brunette's response, he almost spilled his drink.

"Who?"

Jean Claude turned to look at Benjamin. From the look on his face, Lucy could tell he was surprised with her response.

"Mercier, the billionaire in Paris, you said you know him." Benjamin explained.

Frowning in confusion, Lucy shook her head. "Never heard of him."

Jean Claude immediately put down the glass wine.

"Miss Diamond. Stop kidding around because your life depends on it."

Lucy uncrossed her legs and leaned forward. "If you want me to pretend that I know him, then okay…I know him." Lucy said in a casual tone and leaned back against the comfortable leather seat.

Extremely angry with the brunette's response, Jean Claude stood up. This was Benjamin's idea, his plan to save him and his company. Hearing the brunette's response, he felt that all his planning just got flushed down the drain.

"You don't know Jacques Mercier?! So you and Anthony were bluffing that time?!" Jean Claude said in angry tone.

His reaction startled her.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy said calmly.

Jean Claude was too angry to explain. After Benjamin reminded her of that moment when they were at the arena over a year ago, Lucy then realized who Jean Claude was referring to. She only saw Jacques Mercier once, at his daughter's birthday party, where she ran into the megastar and saved Jacques' mother from choking on a piece of chicken. He was the one who was in charge a multibillion dollar project and Jean Claude wanted to be part of it. At that time, Lucy used that as a bargaining chip to exchange for Benjamin's life. She told him that she could do something to prevent him from being part of that project. But Jean Claude had other plans instead.

"Ohhhhh…..Jacques Mercier…sure…I know him. His parents are very lovely. I saved his mother. Did you know that?" Lucy wanted to let them know that she wasn't bluffing that time.

Feeling a little better, Jean Claude calmed down and sat back down. He was there at the billionaire's party. Other people might not have noticed, but he saw and remembered what happened when the brunette gave an old woman the Heimlich maneuver. He just didn't realize that the two old folks were the billionaire's parents until he started digging into the billionaire's background.

After taking the multibillion dollar project, all was going well until Jean Claude's son screwed up. His construction company was in charge building several large building complex structures but a couple of the buildings had flaws in it because his son bought cheap materials to replace the ones that should have been used. The building structures have not been completed yet and luckily he found out before something serious happens.

"So your son pocketed the money." Lucy understood. It happens all the time. Bribing inspectors and officials to look the other way, to ignore code violations, expedite the permit process, etc. People might use a different material that was not part of the plan, put in the actual cost of the materials that should be bought and keep the difference. If nothing happens to the building, then nobody would know.

Lucy could tell Jean Claude was angry, not with her, but with his son.

"So what do you want me for? All you had to do is kidnap his little girl, his parents or even him…threaten him. You guys are good at that." Lucy knew why he didn't but just wanted to see what he had to say.

"If we could do that, we would have done it already. This is a huge business deal. There will be more after this. This would ruin my company if word gets out."

"Just find someone to blame it on." Lucy glanced at Benjamin. That's how he was able to fake his death twice. Find someone else to be him and kill him.

"What I want from you is talk to him…to give me more time…to fix the problem before he sends out his engineers."

"You want him to keep his mouth shut…that's what you want."

"Yes, that too. When the problem is fixed, then it wouldn't be a problem and nobody has to know. He doesn't have to know what the real problem is. Just tell him I'm a friend of yours and you need him to return the favor."

"I'm assuming that you took care of the building inspectors from the government?"

"That's the easy part."

She glanced at Jean Claude before darting her eyes at Benjamin and let out a smirk.

"I thought you want me to steal something."

Jean Claude then laughed loudly. "I realized that is your talent. But what on earth would I want you to steal that I don't already have?"

Lucy smirked again at his comment. She could think of a lot of things, like famous paintings and diamonds but Jean Claude wouldn't give a damn about them.

"Just to be clear, I do this for you, you let her go, you let me go and you stay away from my friends."

"…and you stay away from him…" Jean Claude took a sip of his wine, feeling more relaxed than before, knowing that his plan, Benjamin's plan was coming together.

"Miss Diamond, do you realize this is the deal I offered you when we first met? If you have accepted that, you wouldn't have been injured and we wouldn't be here."

Lucy wasn't happy with what he just said because he was right. None of this would happened if she let it go. She wouldn't have the scar on her shoulder from the bullet wound. She wouldn't have wasted one year of her life. She and Kristin would have been together. Then what? Kristin still has the tumor. She, Amy, still wouldn't remember me.

In deep thought, Lucy didn't realize how many times the flight attendant asked her what she wanted for lunch until the blonde shook her shoulder.

"Would you like steak, chicken marsala, lobster, or shrimp?"

Lucy looked up at the blonde for a moment before responding because she reminded her so much of Amy.

"Steak…please."

As the flight attendant walked to the front to get the orders ready, Lucy kept her eyes on her. She then turned around to look at Jean Claude when he spoke and was a little shocked at what he was suggesting.

"To thank you for your cooperation and to apologize for last night, you can take the bed in the back…and…if you want, I can talk to her…" Jean Claude tilted his head towards the front where the flight attendant was.

If Lucy was drinking or eating right now, she would have either spit it all out or choke on it. _Stay cool. You're Lucy Diamond. Don't let them know what you're thinking. _It wasn't the first time or the second time she had that type of offer. Although it had been a long time.

Back in the old days, besides money, that's what crime bosses who needed her help would offer her. One time, when she was in a hotel in another country doing business, she found a beautiful young woman at her doorstep, not like a prostitute kind of girl, one with high class, sort of like a model. She didn't say she wasn't interested. Instead, she played along. She had to because they, the crime boss she was dealing with at that time, expected that. Prostitution, they were never in that business and those who were disgusted her. The 'paid for' woman played her role and stripped in front of her. Lucy sat on the edge of the bed and waited for the naked woman to come to her. Before she allowed the 'escort' to touch her or take her clothes off, she asked. "Are you being forced to do this?" It was a stupid question. The obvious answer would, of course, be a yes. But she wasn't surprised that woman responded with a no. That woman had to because she was afraid her boss would find out. Lucy, with her charm, was able to get the woman to tell her the truth and she offered her freedom. It wasn't difficult since Lucy had money and power. With one word to the crime boss, she was able to do that and send that 'escort' away, far far away.

But it didn't happen that smoothly with some of the women she encountered. There was one who confessed that she was doing this for money and nobody forced her to do it. It was a job that she willingly took. "It's better to be with you than with a man." Lucy could still remember what that blonde 'escort' said. In that particular incident, Lucy didn't try to stop her from doing her job because she had an image to uphold to. But Lucy made sure it stopped...when it got to that point and she let whoever called on the other line, usually Scud, to let him and the naked escort know she was angry for the interruption. All she had to do was make up an excuse that she had important things to attend to. That 'escort' ended up giving Lucy her phone number for future jobs. There were many like her because the people whom Lucy dealt with wouldn't dare to send someone who works off the streets. They weren't dealing with hundreds or thousands of dollars, they were dealing with hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions. And with her reputation and image, they made sure whoever they're sending would be as beautiful as the celebrities.

Those offers stopped coming when crime bosses found out that she had a woman by her side, her first love, her ex who later dumped her.

"Thank you." Lucy Diamond leaned forward and said in a low voice so that only Jean Claude and Benjamin could hear her. "But I don't like to force beauties like her into that…besides I detest the idea of doing it on your plane…who knows if you have any hidden cameras installed?"

Jean Claude then laughed loudly at her comment but Benjamin wasn't laughing at all. He was glaring at her.

He leaned forward and spoke in the same tone. "Then we have something in common. I like my women to put it out…willingly…as well."

Lucy couldn't believe that they were actually having a conversation about this. It felt like old times. She had these conversations before when she used to be the leader but that was a long time ago, she needed to have those conversations with other crime bosses for a reason, to make her look tough.

He leaned his back against the leather seat.

"Don't worry. There is no reason to have them."

"I would like to take the bed though. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"You're welcome to it. It's in the back."

Lucy excused herself. When Jean Claude's man opened the door, she was surprised to see a familiar face sitting on the leather seat across from Caitlyn. She had no idea that his son Thomas was on the plane as well.

"Keira? What are you doing here?" Thomas immediately stood up and approached the brunette.

Lucy was confused why this pervert still doesn't know who she is. _Isn't it obvious why I'm here? Didn't his father tell him?_

Caitlyn immediately stood next to the brunette and held onto her forearm and hid behind her as if she was afraid of Thomas.

"Is everything okay?"

Caitlyn nodded.

"What is she doing here?" Thomas asked his father standing behind the brunette.

"It's none of your business. You stay away from her. Do you understand?" Jean Claude said in an authoritative tone.

"…and you stay away from her. Do you understand?" Lucy added, took Caitlyn's hand and led her to the bedroom in the back of the plane.

Having been in luxury private planes before, Lucy wasn't surprised to see a good size bed for two with plenty of room and a bathroom in the back. She had seen bigger bedrooms. With white carpets, brown bedsheets, 2 pillows, 4 small cushions, and a beige blanket, the bedroom had the feeling of tranquility. She looked around the ceiling to check for cameras and headed towards the bathroom. After coming out of the bathroom, she saw Caitlyn sitting on the edge of bed. Feeling tired and exhausted, Lucy flopped her body on the bed and stretched her arms and legs.

"Keira. Is that…your name?"

With her eyes closed and her body relaxed on the bed, Lucy responded in a tired tone.

"No. But you can call me that if you want. Whatever you want…is fine."

"is everything going to be okay?"

Lucy slowly opened her tired eyes, sat up and assured her with a smile. She wasn't in the mood to talk since she had a lot to think about. She needed to think about how to convince Jacques. She needed to think about how to escape afterwards because there is a possibility that Jean Claude might not let her go.

"You can go back to see your kids…very soon. Okay?" Lucy reached out to brush her bangs away from her eyes and could tell that Caitlyn too didn't have a good sleep last night. She didn't get a response. All she got was tired brown eyes looking deeply at her.

"Caitlyn?"

Without saying a word, Caitlyn shook herself out of her thoughts, got up and went to the bathroom.

Letting out a deep breath, Lucy flopped down on the bed again and stretched her legs and relaxed until she heard a knock on the door. She wasn't expecting anyone and was surprised to see that it was the sexy blonde with the long legs.

"Lunch is ready."

"Okay. Thanks."

Lucy expected the blonde to leave but instead the flight attendant moved one step forward closer to her. Smiling, the flight attendant leaned closer to her ear and whispered.

"If you need me, I'll be available after dinner or after we land."

Lucy then jerked back slightly after the blonde kissed her on the cheek. With mouth agape, Lucy watched the blonde make her way to the other section of the plane. Not only was she surprised that Jean Claude went through with it, she was shocked that the blonde agreed. _I wondered how much he offered her._

Distracted by what just happened, Lucy was startled when she heard a voice from behind her.

"lunch is ready." Lucy said.

As Lucy was about to step out of the bedroom, she stopped when the young woman pulled her hand. Lucy frowned in confusion until Caitlyn took a tissue, wiped her face, and put the tissue in her hand. The tissue had a pink beige lipstick on it which told her that Caitlyn saw what the flight attendant did. She let out a small smile. There was no need to explain so she didn't. She frowned when Caitlyn left the bedroom first and walked back to her own seat where her lunch was, where Thomas was sitting across from her.

"Caitlyn…do you want to sit over there?" Lucy motioned to any empty table next to them.

It's better than sitting across from the pervert.

"Keira, sit here." He pointed to the seat next to her.

Not getting a response from the young woman and ignoring the jackass, Lucy called out again.

"Caitlyn?"

Lucy turned around when the flight attendant came over to ask where she wanted her lunch. Lucy politely told her to put it down across from Thomas.

"What would you like to drink? Apple juice, orange juice, soda, red wine or…all night long?" She spoke the last three words in a whisper.

Knowing what the flight attendant was suggesting, Lucy quickly cleared her throat. "Just water"

"Let me know if you need anything else." The blonde said seductively after placing her lunch down.

After the blonde left, Lucy turned and saw Thomas and Caitlyn staring at her. She knew that they heard and understood what just happened.

Thomas, the idiot that he is, just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut.

"Did she just…hit on you?"

Lucy pretended not to know what he was talking about.

"Keira, she likes you."

_She's a gift from your father. You idiot_. Lucy let out a fake smile and returned to eating her steak.

"So how have you been, Keira?"

"fine." Lucy continued to cut her steak. At the corner of her eyes, she could see Caitlyn staring at her. She turned to look at Caitlyn who immediately turned her eyes back on her plate. If Thomas was sitting in front of her, she would have asked her if something was bothering her.

Lucy finished her lunch as fast as she could since she didn't want to talk to Thomas. She wasn't even sure why his father didn't tell him who she is. If he knew, maybe he would stay away from her. All turned to look at the flight attendant who was holding a tray of desserts.

"Would anyone like some desserts?" After Thomas took what he wanted and Caitlyn took a bowl of fresh fruit, the flight attendant asked the brunette.

"How about some jello, ice cream, cheese cake? If you don't like any of these, I have some other desserts in the front."

Knowing what the blonde was implying, Lucy swallowed and smiled. "…maybe later…"

"sure…maybe after dinner…"

Lucy again swallowed when the blonde deliberately reached out to take the empty plates off the table, leaning closer to her side. One of her top buttons was undone and all could see a little bit of her cleavage as she bent down to put the plates back onto the food cart. Lucy was so focused on the blonde, she was unaware that Caitlyn had left the table and went back to the bedroom.

After the blonde left, Lucy quickly took one last drink of water before heading to the bedroom because she couldn't stand what Thomas was saying.

"She's flirting with you."

_No kidding, moron._

Lucy knocked on the bedroom door and waited for Caitlyn to open the door. When it took a long time for the young woman to open the door, Lucy thought something was wrong until the door was opened.

"Is everything okay?" Lucy asked in a concerned voice.

"Fine. I was in the bathroom."

Feeling extremely tired, Lucy flopped onto the bed, closed her eyes, hoping to get some rest before landing in six hours. She opened her eyes when she felt Caitlyn sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Do you want to take a nap?" Lucy asked. Since the bed was situated along the windows, the only way to get to the other side is from the end or crawl over her.

Before Lucy could lift herself up to let the young woman in, Caitlyn crawled on top of her to the other side. What the? Why did she do that? She remained unmoved, looking at the young woman who was facing the windows. Lucy was unsure what just happened. She shifted as close to the edge as she could without falling off the bed. Too tired to think, Lucy flopped her head on the pillow, placed the smaller cushions in between them, pulled the blanket over her, and closed her eyes. She was so tired, it didn't take long for her to fall into a deep sleep. She would have continued sleeping if not for the sudden turbulence causing her whole body to rise and fall back down.

"AHH!" Lucy screamed when the plane shifted to the left a little, causing her to fall off the bed.

"Luke!"

Lucy got on her knees and crawled back on the bed. She opened the window shades and saw that it was completely dark.

"We have to get to a seat!"

Holding the young woman's hand, Lucy led her outside. There they saw everyone was awake in their seats, buckled up. Lucy wasn't afraid. It wasn't raining outside. There were no announcements from the captain. After helping Caitlyn get strapped in, Lucy herself buckled up. Looking around, she noticed that drinks were spilled on the floor. The door was closed to the other section of the plane so she couldn't see Jean Claude and Benjamin. Thomas had his eyes closed and hands gripped tightly on the arms of the leather seats. She turned to look at Caitlyn who was in the same position like Thomas, scared stiff. She reached out to hold the young woman's hand.

"Hey, it's just a turbulence. Don't worry."

Lucy could tell that Caitlyn was really scared when she didn't open her eyes, her teeth clenched tight. She let out a small smile when the memory of how she met the megastar flowed into her mind. That was a 1000 times worse than this. When the turbulence stopped, loud sighs of relief came from everyone except from Lucy.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked when she saw the young woman taking in deep breaths. She was so shaken up, no words could come out of her mouth. After a long moment, when the seatbelt signs turned off, Lucy was the first one to get out of her seat.

"Stay here. I'll get you some water." It wasn't a good idea to go back inside the bedroom seeing how frightened the young woman was. What Lucy wanted to do was to take a look at the other section of the plane, to see if Benjamin was still alive. She needed him alive. He better not have a heart attack. Lucy opened the door and saw that he was sitting on the leather seat, trying to calm his beating heart. He doesn't look good. Lucy wondered what he has.

"Where are you going, Miss Diamond?" Jean Claude asked when he saw the brunette passing by.

"Where do you think I'm going? We're on a plane." It's not like she can escape. Lucy rolled her eyes and headed to the front.

When she slid the curtain open, she saw that the flight attendant was trying to clean up the mess on the floor. The food cart had fallen on the floor. Food, plates, and drinks were everywhere. Lucy turned around and pointed to one of Jean Claude's men.

"You…can I get some help?"

The goon turned to his boss who nodded in approval. With the goon's help, it didn't take long, just 15 minutes to clean everything up. Lucy picked up the last bottle of water on the floor and handed it to the flight attendant.

"Do you need any more help?" Lucy asked in a polite tone.

"No, I think I can handle it from here." The blonde looked around the floor before turning her eyes at the brunette.

"Well, if you need anything. Just let me know." When Lucy turned around, she stopped when the blonde called out.

"Wait. You have…something on your face." She took a napkin from her apron. Instead of handing it to Lucy, she walked forward. Standing in front of the brunette, she cupped her cheek with her left hand and dabbed her forehead, then her face with the napkin.

"I want to thank you…for helping me." She said as she continued to gently pressed the napkin everywhere on the brunette's face.

"Not a problem." Lucy managed to get the words out of her mouth as she locked her eyes on the mesmerizing blue eyes in front of her.

"You…have the…most…beautiful smile…I have ever seen."

When Lucy was about to thank her, her mouth opened slightly when the blonde whispered into her ear. "Just to let you know, I've never done this before."

Stay calm. You're Lucy Diamond. "I'm curious. Just exactly how much…"

"a hundred thousand."

Lucy's eyes opened wide. A hundred thousand to have sex with me? Lucy was surprised at how generous Jean Claude was. He didn't have to.

"You must be very important to him."

"Well, I think you just sold yourself short. He would have agreed if you asked for more." Lucy said in a whisper. She expected the blonde to be pissed but was completely surprised with her next response.

Shaking her head slowly, the blonde responded. "Like I said, I've never done this before."

Lucy wasn't sure if she meant she never had sex with a woman or used her body in exchange for money.

"I was planning to give you my number. But since he offered, why not?" The blonde shrugged her shoulders.

"Really?" Lucy wasn't sure if she should believe her. Either way, it didn't matter since she wasn't interested.

"mhm…and this is to thank you for helping me."

Before Lucy knew what happened, the blonde cupped her cheeks and captured her mouth in a hot kiss.

"Luke.." Caitlyn dropped her jaws when she opened the curtains and saw them kissing.

The blonde immediately pulled back and gently swiped her mouth.

"What can I get for you?" the blonde asked in a gentle voice, pretending as if nothing happened.

Lucy totally forgot about Caitlyn's water bottle. Without a word, Caitlyn closed the curtain and left.

"Is…she…with you?" The blonde pointed to the curtain.

"No." Lucy said in an obvious tone.

"She…looks…upset."

"What? Why?" Lucy frowned in confusion and opened the curtain to see Caitlyn walking back in a hurry.

"…because she's jealous…" The blonde said in a guessing tone.

What?

"I love to continue this but I got some work to do." She took a bottle of water, a cup of ice and handed it to the brunette. "If you like, you know where to find me." She turned the brunette around, gently pushed her through the curtains and closed the curtains behind her. Holding a bottle of water in one hand and a cup of ice in the other, she glanced at Benjamin, then at Jean Claude, then at the two goons who were all staring at her.

Shit. Do I have lipstick on my face? Lucy wiped her face and her lips with the back of her hand as she slowly walked down the roomy aisle. She wondered if they heard what happened.

"So how is she? Miss Diamond." Jean Claude asked.

Lucy changed into her Lucy Diamond mode and responded in a way he expected her to.

"Haven't tried her yet. That's very generous of you."

"You're very welcome."

Lucy took one step forward and when she realized she forgot to say something, she moved one step back.

"No cameras?"

Jean Claude couldn't resist letting out a chuckle. "No."

That's what they expected from Lucy Diamond, the ruthless criminal leader. Lucy smiled and walked back to the end of the plane.

"Your water and ice." Lucy placed it on the table but didn't get a response from the young woman who seem to be ignoring her and pretending to be reading a magazine.

Jealous?

An hour later, dinner was being served. When the flight attendant was trying to move the food cart forward, Thomas held onto the food cart. Lucy noticed this and walked over to his table.

"Is there a problem?" Lucy asked while looking at the spoiled son of Jean Claude.

"No problem, Keira. We were just having a casual conversation."

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm a little hungry." Lucy pushed the food cart along. The blonde understood and thanked her with a smile.

"…and Thomas…stay away from her too or I'm telling your father…and you know how upset he is already about what you did…" Lucy said in a serious tone to let him know that she knows about everything. She could tell that he understood when he cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Lucy sat back down in the leather seat next to Caitlyn. Smiling, she winked at the blonde to let her know that she took care of that jackass.

"we'll be landing in 2 hours." The flight attendant said.

That was a hint for Lucy to hurry up and eat if she wanted dessert.

After taking ten minutes to eat, Lucy went back inside the bedroom to rest. Not liking the airplane food, she didn't eat much. She opened her eyes when she heard the door opened and closed them when she saw Caitlyn. Seeing the blonde flight attendant, her mind spontaneously thought of Amy. It had been so long since she last saw her. What is she doing now? Can she remember me? Thinking about the deep kiss that they last shared, she licked her lips. By this time, Scud probably knows that something has happened to me. He probably went to Canada to look for me. Her thoughts were then broken by the voice next to her.

"Are you attracted to her?" Caitlyn, who crawled up on the bed from the end, lay next to the brunette.

"Who?" Lucy pretended not to know who she's referring to.

"her, who else?" Caitlyn said in a frustrated tone.

Lucy noticed her change in attitude as well and turned to look at the young woman. "Sure…she's attractive… looks like she's interested in me too."

"She's not right for you."

Lucy frowned in confusion. "Why? She seems nice and pretty and…"

"she's a slut" Caitlyn said as she crossed her arms.

Lucy didn't expect that to come out of the sweet innocent daycare teacher. "Excuse me?"

"I just don't think she's right for you." She leaned on her side and shifted closer to the brunette. "I just…think…that…" She reached out and put the brunette's hair behind her ear when she noticed her bangs were covering her eyes.

" you…deserve someone who cares for you, who loves you just the way you are, who's willing to do anything for you." She spoke softly, her thumb gently rubbed the brunette's cheek like she was wiping dirt off her face.

When she saw the brunette looking at her in an odd way, she stopped and slowly pulled her hand back. She didn't mean that to happen. What she wanted to do was look at her eyes while talking to her. She couldn't control herself from wanting to touch the tan toned beauty in front of her.

"Luke, I…" She stopped when she saw the brunette getting off the bed. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get some dessert. I'm feeling a little hungry." Lucy slipped into her shoes and headed out the door, ignoring the young woman who was calling out to her.

She wasn't 100 percent sure, but could feel that the younger woman was acting strange. Lucy walked pass Thomas, Jean Claude, and Benjamin and headed to the front. She looked around the food cart to look for some dessert but couldn't find any.

"Is it all gone?"

"What are you looking for?" Came the voice from behind.

"Dessert? Do you have any left?" Lucy turned around and saw the flight attendant standing over her.

"Sure. Follow me."

Lucy followed and was led to a door.

"um…that's the captain's room."

"Have you been into the captain's room?" She opened the door.

"Sure, plenty of times. I've took flying lessons before."

Lucy had also been in the cockpit of a plane because flying was also something she was interested in. She took several lessons flying a helicopter, a small jet, a plane but never flew one on her own. But that was a long time ago. She didn't understand why she suddenly had a fear of heights when she rode on the ferris wheel with Kristin.

That wasn't the response the blonde was expecting. "Oh." She pulled her inside the room and locked the door.

"Um…I don't think it's a good idea to be in here."

"I asked for permission. He won't be needing it."

She moved closer to the brunette.

"Now…the question is…were you looking for real dessert or something else?" She leaned in closer as she unbuttoned the first button on her shirt, then the second.

Meanwhile outside, Jean Claude called out when he saw his son heading to the front.

"Where are you going?" He said in an authoritative tone.

"I want to get something to eat. I'm a little hungry." Thomas said as he covered his stomach with his hand.

"Go back to your seat."

He then turned to his men. "Don't let anyone go up the front." He said in a commanding tone. Two men understood and walked up the front.

"But…"

"I said…go back to your seat." He said in an angry tone.

Thomas turned around and contorted his face in dissatisfaction towards the person in front of him before going back to the back of the plane.

"…and you…where do you think you're going?"

"I…"

"Go back to your seat!"

The flight attendant wasn't part of his plan. He had no idea that the brunette would be interested. It was just business. That's what he does to most of his business arrangements, to satisfy his clients, to be on their good side. Since the brunette was interested, why not? It would get her to focus on the blonde instead of thinking of how to get out of the situation. He needed to distract her as much as possible before they get to the meeting with Jacques. Sex seems to work in every situation.

Inside the bedroom, Caitlyn paced back and forth. What she was thinking of earlier was to stop the brunette from meeting with the blonde.

"She wanted dessert. Yea, right. She wanted that slut for dessert."

When the door suddenly opened, she noticed that the brunette's hair was a little messy. The way the brunette stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door, well, that told her that what happened with her and the blonde flight attendant…absolutely nothing.

Caitlyn let out a deep breath and chuckled to herself. She wondered what happened.

* * *

When the plane landed, Thomas got off first, followed by Benjamin who didn't feel well. Two men had to help him off the plane.

When Lucy walked up the front, she noticed that Jean Claude was talking to the flight attendant.

The captain and pilot stood at the front to say good bye to the passengers. Lucy wanted to say goodbye to the blonde but since she was busy talking to Jean Claude, she decided not to.

"Nice landing." Lucy shook the pilot and the captain's hands who thanked her and apologized for not being able to avoid the turbulence. Caitlyn stepped off the plane first, followed by one of the goons. Lucy followed from behind. She turned around when she heard the blonde calling.

"Hey…wait."

Lucy stopped. Caitlyn stopped. Jean Claude smiled as he passed by the brunette.

Lucy stood at the end of the connector as she waited for the blonde.

Caitlyn was so focused on the brunette, she was unaware that Jean Claude was walking towards her until her view of the brunette was blocked. When Jean Claude stepped aside, a low gasp escaped her mouth when she saw the blonde and the brunette…kissing. Jean Claude slowly turned around to see what caused that reaction. Both stood watching the blonde give the brunette one last kiss on the cheek before going back into the airplane.

Lucy walked casually towards them as if nothing unusual happened.

"Is that really necessary?" She said when she noticed Jean Claude's goon was holding onto Caitlyn's arm like he was afraid that she would run away.

Caitlyn was still stunned by what she saw. She had no idea what Lucy was referring to until she took her arm away from the goon and led her down the connector towards the inside of the airport while holding her hand.

"Oh…she said thank you." Lucy said to Jean Claude as they walked down the connector. "You didn't have to since we didn't…" Lucy trailed off when she noticed Caitlyn was looking at her. It wasn't appropriate to talk about this in front of her. "Thanks to that…bastard."

"I apologize for his interruption. He…well…you know why…he did that." Seeing the confusion on the brunette's face, he explained why Benjamin interrupted her from having sex with the blonde. "That's the only thing he could do for Alexis."

"Now he cares?" Lucy muttered a curse, pretending to be disappointed that it didn't happen.

"thank you for not telling her anything."

"Well, I figure she's probably one of your people, so why bother?"

"Smart choice, Miss Diamond."

Outside of the airport, Lucy stood, looked up at the night sky, took a deep breath and exhaled loudly as she waited for a vehicle to pick them up. Where she was being taken, she had no idea.

"Miss this place, Miss Diamond?"

"Thanks to you and that son of a…" She stopped when she noticed Caitlyn looking at her again. "…I had to leave this beautiful place."

"If everything works out, you can stay here."

"I hope you don't mean under the ground, because I've already taken one of those spots. It's not fair to take more than one spot in a country as small as this."

Jean Claude burst out in laughter after hearing that comment.

Her tone quickly changed into a gentle voice when she saw Caitlyn, holding her own arms while shivering. "Are you cold?"

Caitlyn nodded in silence. As she was about to wrap her arm around her, she stopped and pulled back. She looked to the left and saw the goon standing next to her had a jacket on.

"Hey, take off your jacket." It wasn't a question. It was a command. She had no doubt that Jean Claude would approve a request as simple as this. He did just spend a hundred thousand dollars on her.

The goon took off his jacket and handed it to her. After helping Caitlyn zipped up the jacket, all were surprised with her next question.

"Is he the one who hit you?" Since Jean Claude needed her help, she didn't think he would mind if she teaches his goon a little lesson.

Caitlyn glanced at the goon next to the brunette.

"Luke, no!" It was too late. She gasped out loud, covering her mouth when she saw the brunette slapped hard on the goon's face.

The goon raised his hand, about to hit the brunette, but stopped when Jean Claude cleared his throat loudly. Lucy didn't even try to block him because she knew he wouldn't dare to touch her, not in front of his boss who desperately needed her help.

"See…that's how you follow orders. When your boss says not to touch, you…don't…touch. Got that." She leaned closer. "But even if he says to, you…better think twice before you do it…because…you have no idea…who I am and what I'm capable of." She said in a serious tone.

If it wasn't for Caitlyn who pulled her away from the goon, Lucy would have just stood there to see what the goon would do. Would he disobey his boss's orders? Lucy was ready to strike where it hurts the most if he made a move.

Inside the van, Lucy insisted that she sit in the middle row with Caitlyn and not with any of the goons. Seeing that they can't do anything, Jean Claude agreed. Lucy remained silent throughout the ride. She wasn't thinking of a plan to escape or what to say to convince Jacques Mercier. She was thinking of Amy, the time she spent with her in Paris, the first night she met her as Kristin. She thanked the Lord for not taking her lover away. It was her memory that the Lord took away. She could deal with that. As long as Amy's healthy and happy, she was willing to give her up. Lucy pressed the button to roll down the windows and took a deep breath of fresh air.

"Thank you." Lucy mouthed as she looked up at the night sky with shimmering stars. Suddenly, it occurred to her that she had not seen Benjamin since she stepped off the plane.

"Where is that piece of scum?" Lucy said. If Caitlyn wasn't here, she would have called that bastard something else. Knowing that Caitlyn works as a daycare teacher, she's probably not used to that kind of language. Lucy was expecting a response but didn't get any.

When they arrived to the destination, Lucy did not like what she saw when she was led to a bedroom. It was a nicely decorated furnished room. The problem was there was only one bed and no sofa.

"Jean Claude, could you get us a second bed?"

"Miss Diamond, we didn't expect her to be part of this. It just turned out that way. It's not going to take long. So bare with it."

He tilted his head towards two females behind him. The two females stepped inside the bedroom. One took out a measuring tape. The other held a pad of paper and pen.

"Excuse me?" Lucy asked loudly when one of the females asked her which brand of makeup she wears and if she's allergic to any brand in particular.

"We need to get you some new clothes."

Lucy rolled her eyes. She understood what they were doing but just didn't find it necessary.

"Where are we meeting him? In a ball?"

"As a matter of fact, yes…well…kind of"

"What?" She expected him to meet Jacques in his office.

"He's fully booked. I couldn't get an appointment."

"What! Can't you find out where he's eating lunch? We can meet him there." Lucy didn't like the idea of getting all dressed up again.

"Like me, he doesn't like to be bothered when he's eating."

Lucy had a lot of questions. She waited for the females to leave before asking them.

When they were about to leave, Lucy needed to make sure of one thing.

"Hey, no dresses and black only or I'm not wearing it."

Both females scanned her from top to bottom for a moment and nodded to each other.

"oh…um…while you're at it, could you get me a mattress…a twin size…would be fine…or a inflatable bed…." She knew it wouldn't work. Both women ignored her and left the apartment.

Lucy crossed her arms as she stared at him.

"When…where…and why?

"You'll know when we get there. Not why…but how…This is what I'm thinking. We go together. You pretend to be one of my friend's daughter."

"oh good…I thought you want me to be your girlfriend." Lucy remembered that time when he had a young girlfriend with him.

"I thought about that, but it won't work…he's never going to believe it."

No kidding. Jackass. Lucy controlled the urge to roll her eyes.

"…and I thought about you being Thomas's girlfriend, but I don't think he would believe that either. So…you can tell him that your father and I were friends and I helped your father through tough times…and I helped you after your father passed away…then just give him a story on how I helped your father if he asks…then kind of hint to him that you're worried about me because of the project…but you don't know all the details…all you know is that I needed more time to fix the problem at the construction site."

With arms crossed, Lucy remained silent for a short moment while narrowing her eyes at him.

"Look, he knows he owes you a favor. I don't want you to blurt it out and say this is what I want you to do. Be subtle. It has to come from him…willingly."

Lucy understood what he was trying to do, but didn't expect it. She was planning to say ask Jacques to return the favor, as simple as that.

"You…don't want him to know that you set this up. You…want me…to make you…look like a hero, a good person who's willing to help out a friend and his family…you want me to tell him how I wish I can help solve your problems in return. If I said that, you think…he will return the favor that he owes me…by helping you?"

"I…don't think…he will. I know he will because that's the type of person he is."

"Well, Jean Claude, I have to say…that's a good plan…after you fixed your problem, I'm sure he won't ever forget you because of me…then he would probably introduce you to his close friends…your businesses will boom and you'd be wealthier than you are now."

"That's what I was gearing towards…until that spoiled brat of mine…put a dent into my plan."

"But there's just one problem."

Jean Claude frowned in confusion.

"What if he can't remember me?"

His frown quickly changed to laughter.

"Well, then that's your problem…not mine. Do whatever it takes. But I warn you, threatening him won't work."

Lucy expected him to say that.

"One more thing."

Jean Claude was getting a little tired due to the long plane ride. "What?"

"I want her to come with me."

Lucy turned around and was surprised that Caitlyn had fallen asleep. She thought the younger woman was listening to them.

"She has to stay here."

Lucy uncrossed her arms, lifted her shoulder off the door and spoke in a low voice, not wanting to disturb the young woman.

"I don't trust your men. You heard what they did. If you want me to go, she has to go. I have to know that she's safe."

"She will be safe. It's not going to happen again." He too spoke in a low voice.

"After I convince him, then what? When are you going to let her go? How do I know that you'll keep your promise? You can keep me here until everything's all set. But you need to let her go."

"Are you…" Jean Claude trailed off as he pointed to Caitlyn.

"Am I what?" Lucy frowned in confusion.

The thought in his mind almost came out of his mouth. He decided not to say it. It was unimportant.

"Then how do you suggest we do this?"

Lucy remained silent since she couldn't think of how to do this either.

"Let me think about it." She whispered.

After Jean Claude left, Lucy let out a big sigh as she walked over towards the bed, looking down at the innocent girl sleeping peacefully in the middle of the king size bed. She didn't think it would be this complicated. She was unsure if Jacques could remember her, but she had no doubt that his parents will. Will his parents be there?

It's completely dark outside. It's past midnight. Lucy could tell how exhausted the young woman was when she heard her mumbling. She hate to wake up her up but she had to since she was sleeping in the middle of the bed…sideways.

"Caitlyn…" Lucy called out a few times but wasn't successful in waking her up.

Lucy leaned closer to listen to the young woman who was caught in the middle of all of this charade. She jerked back when she heard.

"…slut…Don't go."

Lucy stood up, scratching her head and and at same time, wondering why she would be talking in her sleep about the flight attendant.

"Caitlyn" She called out again but there was no response.

She looked around and contorted her face in disappointment. Should I sleep on the floor? Lucy decided to take a shower first and hoped the young woman would wake up afterwards. After taking a quick shower, she sighed loudly as she looked at the woman on the bed.

"Sorry, but I'm really tired and I don't want to sleep on the floor." Lucy lifted the blanket on one side, crawled on the bed, slipped her arms underneath the body, took a deep breath and held it, lifted the body up a little and put it down, moving the body a little by little towards the left side of the bed. "One more" Lucy took a deep breath and lifted her up. Not expecting the woman in her arms to suddenly move, she was completely surprised by it.

"ah…." Her weakened arms gave out and her tired body landed on top of her.

"What…are you…doing?" Caitlyn slowly opened her eyes and spoke in a whisper.

"Hi…" Out of breath, Lucy still had one arm underneath the young woman's back and the other under the back of her knee. "You…were in the middle of the bed…so I was trying to move you." Lucy could feel a tingling sensation in her hands. "Can you move over? my hands are getting numb."

Caitlyn heard what the brunette said but it didn't sink into her brain because the brunette's head was leaning on her upper chest.

"umm…Caitlyn?…my arm…"

"Oh…" Caitlyn rolled over to the side.

Lucy got off the bed and shook her hands.

"You could've just wake me up."

"Believe me, I've tried." Lucy said as she slipped into the other side of the bed and flopped her head down on the pillow, getting herself comfortable. When she noticed the young woman was looking at her, it took a short moment for Lucy to realize what she meant. She immediately sat up and raised both her hands up. "I didn't touch you. I didn't. All I did was lift you up, that's all."

"…and that requires…touching…me."

"sorry… you were sleeping so deeply…and I don't want to sleep on the floor…maybe I should have tried harder" She said, still holding her hands up.

"Luke, it's fine." Caitlyn said as she let out a small smile. She had no idea why the brunette was acting this way. So what if she's gay. It's not like she's a man. If she was a man and touching me while I'm asleep, then that would be a problem.

Lucy let out a deep breath and lay back down on the bed. After pulling the blanket over herself, she pulled her head back deeper into the pillow when she saw Caitlyn crawling on top of her. Her eyes opened wide, looking at the young woman hovering above her. What is she doing?

"Luke, I'm not gay and you're not attracted to me." It wasn't a question but she saw the brunette nodding her head. "So…if I do this…" She leaned in to give the brunette a short kiss on the cheek.

"Do you feel anything?"

Confused, Lucy shook her head vigorously.

"Me neither. It's like I'm giving my girl friends a hello or good bye kiss. It's okay if you touch me."

Lucy got the point but was unsure why the young woman remained unmoved, still on top of her, still looking at her. "okay." Lucy responded softly to let her know that she understood.

"…and if I do this…" Caitlyn pressed her lips against the brunette's, staying there in that position longer than she should. "Do you feel anything?"

What Lucy felt was a little shock at why she did that. She shook her head side by side.

"Me neither. So are we okay? Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Lucy slowly nodded her head in understanding.

Caitlyn slowly crawled over her and as she was about to get off the bed, she forgot something, turned around and noticed the brunette was still looking at her in a strange way.

"Oh…Luke…" She leaned back down to give her a short kiss on the cheek and pulled back. Her face a few inches away from the brunette's.

"I just want to thank you for teaching that guy a lesson." Her eyes scanned the brunette, taking in every detail. Then after a short moment, she got off the bed, took her clothes, and went to the bathroom. Once inside, she quickly locked the door and turned on the shower. Standing in front of the vanity mirror, she placed her hand over heart that was beating out of control. "What's happening to me?" It happened the moment her lips touched the brunette's smooth cheek. The first night she slept with the brunette, she asked her what it felt like. What she wanted to know was what it would feel like to kiss a woman but didn't think it was an appropriate question at that moment. She had no idea that the brunette was gay until she heard Benjamin talking about Alexis and about her giving up a empire for a woman. An empire? What exactly did she give up?

Her other hand lifted up, running her finger over her lips. "You're just curious, that's all. That's all it is." She spoke to herself in the mirror.

After taking a shower, a bit longer than she intended to, she couldn't control her mind from thinking about what just happened. Outside, she found that the brunette was already sleeping. She moved closer to the bed and as she was about to crawl on top of her to get to the other side, she stopped herself.

What the hell am I doing? There was no need to crawl on top of the brunette to get to the other side. She walked around the bed and slid underneath the blanket on the other side. It was a king size bed so there were plenty of room between them. When she felt something in the middle, she lifted the blanket up and found 2 cushions placed in the middle. _If you're not attracted to me, then why are you doing this?_

* * *

Toronto, Canada

After getting off the plane, the first place they headed to was Uncle Nick's house. Scud didn't even bother to book a hotel or inform him that he was coming. Uncle Nick was very surprised to see all of them especially the blonde whom he never met. Knowing that it wasn't polite to stare, he took glances at the blonde whenever he could without making it too obvious. Not only did he want to know why the blonde was here with Scud, he was curious to know what it was about her that captured the brunette's heart.

Inside the huge dining room, all were eating their lunch while they waited for Anthony to come over. Sitting at the end of a long table with 8 seats, Uncle Nick could tell that everyone wasn't in the mood to eat. Everyone was worried. He spoke bluntly to break the silence.

"So Amy, how are you?" Uncle Nick said in a gentle tone and six pairs of eyes immediately looked up at the man of the house.

Knowing that he probably heard everything about her, she responded in a casual tone.

"I'm good."

"Good…good…" He scooped up a spoonful of corn and put it into his mouth.

Everyone was surprised with his next question.

"What are you doing here? She said that you two are not together anymore. So I was just wondering why you're here."

Amy didn't have to think of what to say. She immediately responded.

"May I…call you…Uncle Nick?"

Uncle Nick nodded as he chewed on a piece of chicken.

"Uncle Nick, we may not be together. But I still care about her." It's as simple as that. She didn't want to explain why they're not together because one, it's personal and two, he probably already knew why.

"as a friend?"

"Yes." Amy put a spoonful of corn into her mouth.

"We all care about her." Came the voice of Janet.

Uncle Nick smiled at the shorter former DEBS agent and then turned to his right.

"Scud, you're Lucy's friend."

"yes…and she's my boss." Scud responded, unsure of what Uncle Nick was leading to.

"I'm sure she thinks you of a friend not an employee. If…Lucy is in trouble, would you sacrifice your life for her?"

"of course I would." Scud straightened his back.

Uncle Nick knew that he would. He turned to look at the woman on his left.

"What about you, Janet?"

Janet hesitated for a moment to think of the question.

"I understand." Uncle Nick smiled, letting her know that it's okay since she doesn't know the brunette that well. "But you would…for him."

Smiling, Janet nodded vigorously.

"What about you, Amy?"

When Uncle Nick asked Scud that question, Amy knew it would be her turn.

Would I give up my own life to save her's?

"I would." Both Scud and Janet were surprised with her response. If she was the old Amy, they wouldn't be.

"Why?"

Everyone wanted to know what she was going to say.

"Because she saved me numerous times." Amy saw that Scud was disappointed with her response. She glanced at Janet but couldn't tell what she was thinking. Her eyes then moved and saw Uncle Nick nodding his head in understanding.

After lunch, all sat in the living room except for Scud who was pacing back and forth, anxiously waiting for Anthony. Amy held the white maltese terrier while Janet gently rubbed the dog's tummy. "She's so cute." Janet couldn't resist, knowing that this wasn't the right time.

"She loves her." Uncle Nick said as he sat on the recliner, rocking it slowly.

"Lucy likes dogs?" It never occurred to Janet that the brunette likes animals.

"Sure. But I meant Oscar loves her. She follows her everywhere."

"Oscar?" Janet and Amy asked in unison, wondering how the female dog ended up having a male name.

"I don't remember how she ended up with that name. She's thinking of getting one herself…as soon as she finds a house nearby here."

Surprised, Janet stopped petting the dog. "She said…that."

Amy was still petting the dog, but was listening, pretending that it didn't affect her.

"She likes it here and she could help me with my businesses."

"But what about…." Janet slowly turned to look at Amy who was playing with the dog. "…us…"

"Sorry?"

"What about Scud?"

"Scud? What about him? He has you. When you two decide to get married, let me know."

The only person who wasn't listening was Scud who kept pacing back and forth. Janet wanted to say something to Amy but what could she say to make the blonde change her mind? She was hoping her friend would at least say something or ask about the brunette, but not a word came out of her mouth.

"Amy" Janet held her hand to stop her from playing with the dog.

Amy remained still, looking at the dog. They came here to find out if Lucy is okay. And if she is, then she would try to convince her to go back with them. She can't promise the brunette anything. I can sacrifice my life to save her's. But I can't be with her, not in that way.

All stood up when the man that they've been waiting for walked through the double doors.

Even before he had a chance to greet his former boss, Anthony was blocked by Scud.

"Where is she?"

"She's fine. Scud. How are you doing?" Anthony took his hand and shook it.

"Then where is she?"

Ignoring Scud for a moment, he approached his former boss and shook his hand.

"You must be…Janet. Nice to meet you." Anthony said as he offered his hand.

After Janet greeted him, he turned to the blonde whom he met once at that time when she was in a coma.

"…and how are you?….Amy" Anthony said in a gentle tone as he offered his hand out.

"Have we met?" Holding the dog with one hand, she shook his hand with the other.

"…once…you were in a coma…I am very happy to finally meet you…and I can now see why…"

"Sorry?" Amy said, not understanding what he meant.

Anthony smiled and didn't explain. He motioned everyone to sit down and all did except for Scud who ran out of patience.

"Anthony, where is she?!"

"Scud, I told you she's…fine."

"That's not what I asked. She won't pick up my call. Why won't she pick my call? Did something happened?"

Anthony held both his shoulders and moved him to sit down next to him on the leather sofa.

"She's fine. You can all go back to London."

Sensing that Anthony was hiding something from him, Scud couldn't stand it any longer.

"Damn it! Anthony! Why won't you tell me?" He shouted in anger as he stood up.

Janet was unsure why his boyfriend was so upset when Anthony continuously said that the brunette was fine.

"Last time, you said she was fine and look what happened. She got captured!"

"Yes, but she got out…unharmed, didn't she?" Anthony reasoned as he pointed his finger up.

His eyes darted from Scud to Amy who suddenly put the dog aside and stood up.

"She…got captured?" Amy spoke in a trembling voice.

"I didn't say that."

Scud darted his eyes from Anthony to Amy, back and forth a few times. It took a short moment for him to realize what the blonde was thinking. He knew he shouldn't but he couldn't control himself. He grabbed Anthony's jacket and pulled him closer to his face. "You just did."

Janet then gasped loudly, covering her mouth and stood up when she realized what they were talking about.

Anthony looked up at Scud, then down at his jacket, motioning him to let go. After Scud let go, he explained calmly to everyone what happened that night.

"Jesus, Anthony, why didn't you tell us?!" Scud said in an angry tone.

"I already have my people looking for her. There is nothing that you or anyone can do." Anthony tried to explain why he didn't let anyone know.

"It's been more than 5 days and you haven't found anything! She could be dead!" Frustrated and worried, Scud began pacing back and forth while clenching his fists.

Hearing what Scud just said, Amy covered her mouth in shock as the thought of the brunette's dead body lying somewhere crossed her mind.

"No. She's not. She's not." She looked at Anthony, then at Scud, hoping someone would tell her that it wasn't true, that it wouldn't be possible. When she didn't get a response, she couldn't control her tears from forming. "Oh God. It's all my fault. This is all my fault." Her heart was pounding. She flopped back down on the sofa and covered her face.

Janet immediately sat close to her and put her arms around her. "Amy, no, don't say that. She's not dead. She's not."

"Right, if they want to kill her, they would have done it there. There's no point in kidnapping her. So I think they want her…for a reason."

After hearing what Anthony said, Scud stopped pacing. "They? Who's they?"

"Scud, promise me that you're not going to do anything. I'm working on it. If you interfere, she might be…"

"Who is it! Damn it!" It was driving him nuts not to be able to do anything.

Seeing how Lucy's loyal follower was behaving, Uncle Nick felt that he should say something.

"Scud, calm down…you can't think clearly…like this."

"I need you to trust me. Scud." Anthony said in a serious tone as he put his hand on his shoulder. He understood why he's feeling this way and he didn't blame him.

Unsure of what to think, Scud turned to Uncle Nick who nodded. After taking a short moment to calm himself down, he spoke in a softer tone.

"who do you think has her?"

All were surprised when the blonde spoke. "Benjamin Couric?"

Scud immediately turned to look at Anthony who nodded.

"What! For what?" Holding his head, Scud moved one step back as horrible thoughts crossed his mind. " Oh my god! He's going to torture her, then kill her."

That comment made both women approached the powerful leader.

"Tell me. She's not dead. She's not." Grasping his shoulders, Amy shook her head. All could see tears flowing down her pale cheeks.

It wasn't a question that he could answer. He wasn't absolutely sure himself. But if it could make her feel better, then he would tell her what she wanted to hear.

"Amy, she's Lucy Diamond. She escaped death many times…and this time won't be different. We'll find her. Don't worry. Okay?"

"do you know where he is? What does he want with her?"

He knew Scud would ask.

"All of you. Stay here and wait for my good news."

"You know where she is?" All asked in unison.

"I don't. But I have an idea where he could be." He immediately held up his hands to stop them from asking the next question.

"You guys can't go. I can't do this and worry about your safety. If anything happens to you….you…and especially you…" He pointed to Amy. "…she's going to kill me when I rescue her."

"You two girls stay here. I'll go." Scud immediately said to the two girls who didn't like his idea.

"No way, Scud. I'm going by myself. You have to be here…to look after them."

"I'm going." Scud walked towards the door and blocked it to prevent him from leaving without him. "Uncle Nick can look after them. Sent more of your men here."

"We don't need to be looked after." Both girls said in unison and were surprised that they were thinking of the same thing.

"We used to be DEBS. We can take care of ourselves." Janet said.

"We are very capable of protecting ourselves. We want to go. We could help." Amy reasoned.

"ummm….Amy…" Anthony felt a little embarrassed to say it but the blonde needed to know. "You might not remember, but you were kidnapped twice and we had to rescue you…twice." He said as he held up two fingers.

It took a short moment for the blonde to remember what Janet and Scud told her.

"I was in a coma the first time I was kidnapped. And the second time…" She turned to Janet to see if she knows how she got caught. Janet shrugged her shoulders. Amy then turned to Scud who showed no reaction. Anthony knew that he was partly responsible for the blonde being kidnapped both times, but he kept his mouth shut.

"It doesn't matter. We're going to be with you wherever you go."

"Sorry, no way." Anthony was adamant in his decision.

Scud who was blocking the door turned around when he heard a knock on the French doors. Uncle Nick's butler pushed the door opened.

"Sir, your guests are here."

* * *

2 days later

After trying out numerous outfits, Lucy was finally satisfied. The outfit she chose was very similar to the one she wore to Jacques' daughter's birthday party except it's not sleeveless. It was a very plain outfit since she didn't want to capture anyone's attention. Unsure if Jacques could recognize her, she tried to look the same as a year ago. Lucy stared at herself in front of the vanity mirror for a moment and let out a deep breath. "This is it." She exhaled and blew her bangs up.

When she stepped out of the bathroom door, her jaws dropped. She swallowed when she saw Caitlyn putting on a dress. Catching a glimpse of her naked back, she quickly turned around and shut her eyes.

"Can you zip me up?"

Unsure if the younger woman was fully dressed, Lucy covered her eyes and turned around. She slowly parted her fingers. Caitlyn couldn't resist chuckling when she saw what the brunette was doing.

"how many times do I have to tell you that it's okay?" She said as she pulled the brunette's hand away from her eyes. After turning around to let the brunette zip up her back, she turned around twice.

"How do I look?"

What she was wearing was a one shoulder brown color ruched evening gown, tight at the waist, showing her sexy curves and a lot of skin on the top.

Wow. Amy would look good in that. Lucy scanned her from top to bottom and back up again a few times. "You look beautiful."

A small smile appeared on her face when she saw the brunette staring at her.

"You don't look too bad yourself."

"not stunning?" Lucy wanted to make sure her outfit doesn't stand out.

"mmm…well…if you want to look stunning, then…"

"I don't." Lucy had something serious to say to her. When she reached out to hold both of her shoulders, she quickly pulled back because her dress doesn't cover the shoulders.

Caitlyn noticed and rolled her eyes. "it's fine. You can touch me."

Lucy cleared her throat and held her hands instead. "Caitlyn, you…are going to go home tonight. After we leave there tonight, we're going to the airport. What I want you to do is get on that plane, go back to London, and never talk about this to anyone."

"What about you? Aren't you coming with me?"

"I have to stay here. He's not going to let me go until everything is all set."

"But…"

Lucy gripped her hands tight. "Don't worry about me. I'm going to give you a number to call later. You can call my friends to pick you up at the airport. You can tell them what happened but tell them not to come looking for me. Once this is all set, I'll find a way to get out."

Caitlyn shook her head.

"Can you tell them that? It's very very important that they don't come looking for me."

"I don't understand."

"I have friends here and he knows where they live. If my friends in London comes after me, he will hurt them. Do you understand?"

Caitlyn nodded in silence. Lucy could tell that she was worried about her safety.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. Nothing is going to happen to me."

Both directed their attention towards the door when one of the goons knocked on the door. "We're leaving in 15 minutes."

Seeing that the woman still didn't have her shoes on, Lucy picked up the high heel shoes and motioned the younger woman to sit down on the chair. Bending down, Lucy strapped both shoes on for the innocent bystander. She looked up and noticed that the younger woman had her eyes fixated at her the entire time. Tonight will be their last night together. She hoped that everything will work out the way she planned. Lucy got up, extended her hand, and helped the younger woman up. Both walked in silence towards the end of the bed to grab their long coats. Standing at the end of the bed, Lucy picked up the younger woman's coat and helped her put it on. Caitlyn did the same for the brunette.

"Hey, it's going to be okay." Lucy said softly.

"I'm…going to miss you." Caitlyn spoke in the same tone as she gazed deeply into her eyes.

"I'm sorry I got you into this."

"Luke, I…"

As Caitlyn stepped forward, she accidentally tripped on her high heel shoes, causing her body to involuntarily jerk forward, pushing the brunette down on the bed, causing her to let out a puff of air when her body landed top of hers.

"Sorry…are you okay?" Caitlyn apologized for her clumsiness. Her face hovered over the brunette.

"Fine."

Lucy expected her to lift herself up, but when she didn't, Lucy tried to get up but was held back down.

"I…have something to say."

"Okay." When Lucy tried to get up again, Caitlyn shifted her body to the center so that the brunette couldn't move. With the thin fabric of her dress, she could feel the curves, the bumps, the rise and fall of the abdomen beneath her. Seeing the expression on her face, she was certain that the brunette could feel the same.

Lucy's legs were wide opened. Their private areas touched. Oh Geez. "umm…Caitlyn, can you…" She wanted to ask her to move but was interrupted.

"Don't move. I just want to confirm something."

Frowning in confusion, Lucy remained still. When she opened her mouth to ask what she meant, she felt two hands holding the sides of her head. Then her mouth was captured in an open mouth kiss.

Lucy immediately pushed Caitlyn's shoulders back.

"Caitlyn, what are you doing?"

"One minute. Can you give me one minute? I just want to confirm something."

Not waiting for an approval, Caitlyn leaned forward to kiss her cheek, then another, and another, running her mouth down her neck.

"what are you doing?"

"40 seconds." Caitlyn continued to kiss the brunette's neck and jaw. "20 seconds." She said between kisses and hoped the brunette would not tried to push her away. She turned the brunette's face to face her. "10 seconds." She pressed her lips against the brunette's and at the same time glided her lower body against the body beneath her.

"mmmph.." That's enough. As Lucy was about to push her off, Caitlyn stopped and hovered over the brunette's face.

"What exactly are you trying to confirm?" Lucy said while trying to catch her breath.

"I…am…definitely...straight…" Caitlyn lifted herself off the brunette and straightened her dress.

"What?" Shocked, Lucy sat up on the bed. "That's what you're trying to confirm?!"

"Sure…" Caitlyn shrugged her shoulders. "It happens to a lot of people. You can't blame me…seeing someone as beautiful as you…got me confused."

Thank goodness. Lucy previously thought the blonde flight attendant was right about her.

"Well, I'm glad you know which team you're on." Lucy smiled and headed to the bathroom to see if there are any lipstick on her face. When she turned around, she frowned in confusion. Did she really have to do that? She wasn't referring to the kiss, she was referring to the other part.

After the brunette closed the bathroom door, Caitlyn flopped her back down on the bed, her hand moved over her racing heart. "I'm in so much trouble." She said to herself as she looked at the ceiling.

* * *

The event wasn't a birthday party. It was an anniversary party for Jacques Mercier's parents. Held in one of the most prestigious hotels in Paris, the function room was huge, much bigger than the last place where he held his daughter's birthday party. Young people mingled. Old people sat around the table, chatting. Men and women stood along the panamoric windows to admire the view of the lit up Eiffel tower. A long red carpet lay in the middle and ends with the center of the stage. More than 40 round tables with 6 seats with white table cloths were neatly aligned.

"This is his parent's anniversary party?" Lucy whispered as she walked next to Jean Claude towards their seat. Caitlyn and Jean Claude's female goon followed from behind them.

"Yes, you'll get to meet his parents, maybe his mother will remember you."

"Not here. Do it after the party." Lucy immediately turned around and the goon stood in front of her to block her from leaving.

The goon stepped aside and Jean Claude took her place. "What's wrong?"

"This is not the right place. After the party…I can talk to him after the party."

All heard and all were confused.

"We are here. We need to put on a show. We need them to see you by accident, dancing with me. We can't do this after the party." Jean Claude spoke in a whisper, afraid that others could hear him. All could tell that Lucy was worried for a reason. Lucy glanced at each one of them. What she really wanted to do was look around but she didn't want them to know that she was looking for someone. What she was afraid of was that there is a possibility that the megastar and her father could be here since they are friends of Jacques Mercier. Will she be here? She thought to herself.

"Now, please…after this is over, she can go home." Jean Claude pulled the chair out, motioning her to sit down.

Seeing there was no way out, Lucy did as told. Caitlyn sat next to her. The female goon sat next to Caitlyn. Jean Claude excused himself to meet the host. "Now, please don't go anywhere. I have people waiting outside."

"Then can we walk around?" Lucy asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Of course, the ladies room is over there. But I warn you…if she…finds that you've contacted your friends, don't blame me for not keeping my promise."

After Jean Claude left, Lucy looked around, but not in an obvious way.

"What's wrong, Luke?" Caitlyn asked in a concerned tone.

"nothing, everything's fine." She reached under the table to hold her hand. "You're going home tonight. I promise." Lucy assured her with a fake smile.

"C'mon, let's go over there." She tilted her head towards the panoramic windows.

If the megastar was here, she wouldn't worry about her. The megastar would know what to do. But what if her father, her mother, or her brother were here? She can't let Jean Claude know about them.

Please, don't let them be here. Standing in front of the panoramic window, she prayed to the heavens above. At the corner of her eyes, she could see that the younger woman was concerned about her. Lucy pretended that there was nothing wrong.

"Have you been to Paris before?"

"once"

"It's beautiful. Isn't it?" Lucy said, looking at the lit Tower.

"beautiful." Caitlyn said while staring at the brunette.

Both stayed silent as they gazed at the Tower. Lucy wasn't thinking of how to talk to Jacques. Her mind was so deep in thought, thinking of what to do if the megastar shows up. She didn't hear the announcement from the speaker, asking the guests to sit.

After dinner was served, all could tell that the brunette was worried since she didn't speak a word.  
"Don't worry. Miss Diamond. Just do as we planned and you both can go home safely." Lucy looked up and Jean Claude could see the hatred in her eyes. Her eyes then turned gentle when she looked at the younger woman. After a long moment, hearing that the music was on and seeing guests dancing on the dance floor, Jean Claude stood up and extended his hand.

"It's time."

As Lucy slowed walked down the red carpet, her eyes focused on the table where the host sat and glanced at the tables nearby. She let out a smile when she didn't see the megastar or his father. After dancing for a moment, Lucy was surprised that it was Jacques' father who recognized her. Everything was going according to plan. Jean Claude left Lucy alone with Jacques' parents and he went back to his table.

"Caitlyn, what is going on with you?" He asked without looking at her.

Caitlyn didn't respond. Her mind was somewhere else. Her eyes focused on the brunette who was chatting with the old couple.

Jean Claude was worried about his daughter who seem to have changed tremendously over the past few days. This was Ben's idea, to use his daughter to lure the brunette because she had that sweet innocent look. Who would be better at it than someone who's interested in acting? Nobody knew that he had a daughter out of wedlock.

Caitlyn knew what her step-brother did. She knew what his father needed but what she wasn't told was the brunette's past, who she is, and why she would be the only one to help them. All of that was unimportant. That's what her father told her. All she had to do was to get the brunette's sympathy and trust. That was her part. And that was the easy part. A lot of things didn't make sense to her like why Benjamin wanted to kill her and yet the brunette saved his family and why she wanted to kill him.

"Caitlyn, why did you tell them to hit you? You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted her to trust me more." Caitlyn responded in a soft voice.

"…and the other part…" Jean Claude was referring to the part where his goon unbuttoned her shirt and unzipped her jeans.

She smiled at his father, remembering that moment. "That's the most important part. She fell…for it…"

A feeling of accomplishment washed over her at that moment. But at this moment, she was feeling something else.

"…and the heater?"

"I was hoping that she would get close to me, so she would tell me more…but she didn't even want to be in the same bed with me"

"She didn't?"

Caitlyn shook her head. "She put cushions between us."

"You're kidding?" Jean Claude chuckled.

Caitlyn let out a small smile, keeping her eyes at the brunette.

"She's…" Caitlyn cleared her throat and looked down at her plate of cake. "…weird…" What she really wanted to say was she's beautiful.

"Weird? I think you're not her type."

Caitlyn nodded in agreement. Her smile quickly disappeared.

"If I am, then maybe she would have told me more." She continued to tell her father that the brunette didn't tell her anything.

"Thank goodness she's not interested in you. Caitlyn, I don't want you to do that, not for information. Do you understand?" He didn't have to say that since her part was about to end. "Do you think she knows?"

"No. She has no clue." Caitlyn said in an obvious tone. But deep inside, she felt sorry that she lied to the brunette. A part of her regretted for taking part in this. And another part of her didn't because she wouldn't have met her.

"It's going to be over very soon.…but you still need to be careful…she's very smart, you need to be careful with your words. This is why I didn't tell you her real name because I'm afraid you'd slip. Did she...tell you her real name?"

"No."

"hmm…it looks like she doesn't completely trust you."

"no, that's not the reason." She turned her eyes back at the brunette. "She doesn't want me to get involved. She's worried about me. She said…the less I know, the better." Caitlyn told her father what the brunette wanted her to do after she gets on the plane.

"Good…good…everything's going according to plan…now we just have to wait."

While waiting for the brunette to come back, she couldn't resist to know more about the brunette.

"Benjamin said she gave up an empire for a woman. What exactly did she give up?"

"That's not important." Jean Claude took a drink of water. She could see that the brunette was now talking to Jacques.

"I want to know."

Jean Claude put a spoonful of cake into his mouth. "everything"

"I…don't understand."

"She…used to be like me…power, wealth…she gave all that up for love…" Jean Claude shook his head and mumbled. Caitlyn heard what he called the brunette, but she disagreed with her father. Her father would never understand the meaning of love. He had a lot women but none of them truly loved him, including her mother.

"Where is she?"

"why do want to know all of this?"

"I'm just curious."

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he looked at his daughter for a moment. Since her part was about to end, there was no reason to hide the information from her.

"She died…many years ago."

Her heart suddenly skipped a beat. She covered her mouth in shock and turned to look at the brunette who was smiling while talking to the host. A thought then appeared in her mind. She learned from Benjamin that his granddaughter Alexis loved her but it seem that the brunette didn't feel the same way. _Is she afraid of being in love and getting hurt again?_ When the blonde flight attendant flirted with her, she didn't look like she was interested. But then something changed her mind. I_s that why she was with her? because she found out the blonde was paid for in exchange for sex, a one night stand with no strings attached? That's what they were talking about after we landed. Is that why she put cushions between us because she's afraid of getting involved with anyone?_ _She said at the club she wasn't looking for a date. She just wanted to have a good time_. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She came to a conclusion that she was right. The brunette was afraid of being in love again. The death of her love one hurts too much.

"How? How did she died?"

The question caught Jean Claude by surprise. He can't tell her what happened.

"I don't know."

"you're lying."

"Caitlyn" Jean Claude was shocked by her daughter's behavior. "What is going on with you?"

"nothing. I just want to know what happened."

"…and I told you…I don't know….sshh…here she comes…"

After a moment when the brunette reached the table, she ignored Jean Claude's question when she noticed that something was odd about the younger woman whose eyes were focusing on her.

"Are you feeling okay?" Lucy said as she placed her hand on her forehead.

As if hypnotized, Caitlyn stared at the brunette, feeling extremely sorry for her.

Jean Claude cleared his throat, hoping that his daughter would come out of her deep thoughts and hoping to distract the brunette.

"So…how did it go?"

Crossing her arms, Lucy said sarcastically. "What do you think?"

"he fell for it?"

"Weren't you listening?"

Jean Claude frowned in confusion, wondering what she meant by that.

Seeing his confusion all over his face, Lucy leaned forward. "Don't tell me you didn't plant any bugs in this outfit that you want me to wear?" When she saw the look on his face, she realized that he didn't. "Really, Jean Claude. I expected that you would."

"I didn't have to since I'm holding all the cards. I trust that you wouldn't put your friends in jeopardy."

"He said to meet him after the party. Now, can we let her go?"

Outside of the function room, in the lobby area, all stood outside of the bathroom to wait for Caitlyn to change into a casual outfit. When she came out, Lucy noticed her look of concern.

"I can't go with you. She's going to take you to the airport. Once you get there, she's going to take a video of you going through the gate, then I'll know you're safe. Do you understand?"

She turned to Jean Claude.

"And Jean Claude, don't try anything…I'll know if she's safe or not." She then turned to the female goon. "I want a long clear realtime video footage."

Lucy took her hand and as she was about to led her outside of the hotel, Caitlyn stopped her.

"Wait, I want to talk to you…privately." Caitlyn turned to her father, hoping he would approve.

"I did what you want me to. There's nobody in the bathroom. We can't do anything else." Lucy reasoned.

"Make it quick. You don't want to miss your flight." Jean Claude said, unsure of why his daughter would want to prolong this act.

It was a bathroom for a single person. Caitlyn locked the door behind her. Lucy waited for what the younger woman had to say.

"Luke, I…want to tell you something…before I leave."

"okay." Lucy wondered what she wanted to say this time. Last time, what she did and said surprised her.

"I'm…sorry."

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong. I got you into this. I'm sorry."

_If she knew, she would hate me._ "I understand now."

"huh?" Lucy said, confused.

"I wished that we've never met."

"Caitlyn…I'm..s…" Lucy was about to apologize again but couldn't when she felt a finger on her lips.

"sshh…please…just hear me out…" She slowly took her finger away and placed her hand on the brunette's shoulder. "Then there's another part of me that was glad that all of this happened." She said as she put her other hand on the brunette's other shoulder. "…because…I met you. You...are a very unique person."

Lucy smiled after hearing the compliment.

"It's very lonely…not to have anyone." She could see that the brunette was very confused.

"what?"

"Sshhh…this is the last time we're going to see each other." Caitlyn stepped closer as she tried to hold her tears in. "Can…you…give…me one more minute?"

Lucy didn't understand what she meant until the young woman captured her lips in a slow gentle kiss.

"mmphh…Caitlyn." Lucy pulled her head away.

"50 seconds" She slowly leaned in and pressed her lips against the brunette's. Her hands held the the back of the brunette's head.

Not understanding what the young woman was trying to prove this time, Lucy remained still for 40 seconds more since this would be their last time together.

Placing a trail of kisses from her mouth to her neck, then back up, Caitlyn spoke the time after every 10 seconds. "30 seconds…20 seconds….10 seconds…"

Lucy expected what the last 10 seconds would be but was surprised that it wasn't what she thought. Caitlyn wrapped arms around her so tight, Lucy could feel the rapid beating of the younger woman's heart. "Hold me…" Caitlyn closed her eyes and smiled when the brunette did.

After one minute was up, Caitlyn slowly let go of her arms and Lucy did the same.

"What are you trying to confirm this time?"

Her arms hung around the brunette's neck. Their face a few inches apart. There was a short moment of silence. Lucy frowned when she saw Caitlyn's eyes brimming with tears. Letting out a small smile, Caitlyn blinked and a tear flowed down her cheek.

"I'm…not…gay." She whispered.

"I…know."

Caitlyn took one deep breath before saying what was in her mind.

"Don't be afraid to fall in love again. If…I could…be that person, I would, but I know…we can't."

Caitlyn leaned in and gave her a short kiss on the lips.

When she saw the shocked look on the brunette's face, she turned around and headed towards the door. With her back facing the brunette, she apologized again before leaving the bathroom.

Lucy was stunned still for a short moment. She quickly left the bathroom and saw the female goon and Caitlyn going out of the hotel. "How did that happen? When did that happen?" She asked herself.

After 30 minutes, Lucy saw the video of Caitlyn going inside the airport, checking in, and crossing the gate.

"Satisfied?"

Lucy didn't like the tone of his voice and ignored him.

"Did he say when he wants to meet?" Some guests already left. Jacques was still there.

"Let's go. He said to wait for him upstairs."

* * *

**Chapter 40: Chapter 40**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own DEBS or any of the characters used from the movie. They belong to Angela Robinson. This disclaimer applies to all chapters in this story.**

Chapter 40

With 2 men following from behind, Lucy and Jean Claude took the elevator to the highest floor of the luxury hotel. Standing in front of the hotel room, Lucy asked one more time.

"When are you going to let me go?"

"After this is over."

Lucy let out a frustrated breath and knocked on the door.

When a man opened the door, Lucy asked if this was the room that Jacques Mercier reserved before going.

"Yes, he'll be up shortly."

Lucy walked into the room first, followed by Jean Claude, then his two goons. Once they stepped inside the luxury suite, all except for Lucy were surprised to see who were waiting for them. Four men with guns surrounded Jean Claude and his followers.

"What the hell?" Numerous thoughts flowed into his mind. _How? _It was a thought-out plan devised by the genius who conned thousands of investors_._ He trusted him. He believed that it would work. But at this moment, he realized that the ones who were conned were them.

"Well, hello…Jean Claude, nice to meet you again. We have been waiting for so so long." Anthony extended his hand out as he approached him.

Realizing what had happened, realizing that he had lost, realizing that the former criminal mastermind got the better of him, Jean Claude stood still, glaring at the brunette who was walking towards the leaders sitting on the sofa. Huffing in anger, Jean Claude ignored Anthony's handshake.

"Boys, can you take them over there?" After searching for the two goons for any weapons, Anthony's men led them to the dining room.

"Please…join us." Smiling wide, Anthony led Jean Claude to sit on a recliner in the living room.

"Nice to see you again. Miss Diamond." Lionel shook her hand.

"Nice to see you too. Lionel."

Lucy then shook the hands of the other criminal leader. A year ago at the arena, Lionel and the other criminal leader were there to make sure that Jean Claude would give up Benjamin Couric if she won the fight. They believed that it did happen until Anthony approached them, convinced them and invited them to join him here.

"How have you been?" Lionel asked out of concern.

"hmm…well…let's see…" Lucy stood up and paced back and forth while looking at Jean Claude. "First I got shot…here" Lucy pointed to her shoulder. "I spent a year in hiding to recuperate. Then...I was kidnapped, tied up, and given a lousy room with no heat to sleep in…**and** I have to share a bed with a stranger who…well…that's not important. Besides that, I'm great…but my friends aren't since they've been spied on, they think I'm dead, and they're worried sick about me." She stared at Jean Claude who wasn't looking at her.

"I was really, really sad to hear about your death. I am so happy to see you again." Lionel said in a genuine tone.

All stared at Jean Claude and waited for him to speak. But not a word came out of his mouth.

"So Jean Claude, I'm guessing you have a lot of questions." Anthony said.

Jean Claude remained silent for a moment before turning towards the brunette.

"I underestimated you. Miss Diamond. You really did a fantastic job of acting."

"even better than Caitlyn?"

Shocked, Jean Claude's eyes opened wide. "You…knew…the entire time?" He gritted his teeth.

All could tell that he wasn't happy.

"Wait…wait…who's Caitlyn?" Anthony was the one who asked but all would like to know. Lucy explained, leaving out the unimportant facts.

"Really? That sweet girl is one of yours. Huh…well, I'll be damned. No wonder I can't find any trace of her."

"How did you find out?"

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. She had no intention of telling him.

"I want to know." Anthony said and looked at the other leaders to see if they want to know too. Both leaders nodded.

"There were a lot of things that didn't make sense. She's a great actress. Don't get me wrong. It's your men. Did that **bastard…**tell you what he was going to do to her in front of me?" Lucy didn't have to describe it in detail. They had an idea what happened.

"Your men were very careful about it. He was afraid to touch her. I had to say, though, it was very convincing if it weren't for…." Lucy stopped, realizing that what she was about to say was unimportant and she could get a lot of questions afterwards. "Doesn't matter, with or without her, it wouldn't have made a difference."

Knowing that he was caught, there was nothing else he could do except ask where his plan went wrong.

"When did you know about this? How?"

"Sorry, we can't tell you." Lucy sat back down at the end of the sofa. She can't tell him or them what happened because there were too many people involved and the identity of those people need to be kept as a secret.

"Well, I really love to hear your story, Miss Diamond. But I'm a little tired. Why don't we get to the point?" Lionel turned to the other criminal leader who nodded in agreement.

"Jean Claude, I think you know why Anthony brought us here today." All waited for the man to speak, but when he didn't, Lionel continued.

"It was a deal and you broke it. How do you want to handle this? The peaceful way or do we need to get involved?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I handed Benjamin over and he's dead over a year ago."

Anthony could see that the brunette was getting very angry when he saw her fists clenched tight. Afraid that the brunette wouldn't be able to prevent herself from hitting the bastard, Anthony quickly stood up.

"Jean Claude, all we want is for you to stop. You stay away from our friends, our family and we'll stay away from yours. Benjamin is no longer your concern." Anthony said in a serious tone.

Feeling defeated, Jean Claude glanced at each one of them. There was no way he could go after them if they joined forces. And with all the problems with his company, he wouldn't have the time to deal with this.

"I don't know where he is." Jean Claude lied.

Lucy was surprised that Jean Claude was that kind of person. At this moment, he was still unwilling to tell them the whereabouts of the fraudster.

"I understand and I respect you for that. You don't have to tell us. All I'm asking is for you to leave me, my family, and my friends alone. You protected him long enough. He started this. He has to pay for what he did."

"Miss Diamond, he told me that he didn't do it." Jean Claude was unsure if others knew what Ben did. "I believe him."

Lucy looked into his eyes to see if he was telling the truth. Is this another one of Ben's tricks? _Maybe he lied to him too. _

"This is what happens when he lied to so many people, nobody would believe him even when he's telling the truth." Lucy wanted to let him know that it's difficult to believe that guy. "I'll believe him if he swears on his wife's grave."

Jean Claude understood why the brunette did what she had to do. If someone killed his son or daughter, he would have done the same thing.

What Lucy also wanted to know was if Jean Claude was involved in the explosion of the plane, but she knew he would deny it.

Then a faint buzzing noise was heard. Jean Claude slowly took his phone out of his pocket. He glanced at the phone before looking up at the brunette. There was no reason to stop him from taking the call. Lucy's not afraid that he would tell his guys to come over. There was no point unless he wanted something big to happen, like a shoot-out in the hotel. Jean Claude wouldn't be stupid enough to do that.

"Yes, what?…How?…okay." Jean Claude hung up the phone.

His eyes darted towards Anthony, then at the brunette. He wondered if this was all part of their plan as well or was it just a coincidence. "You have my word. This ends now. As of this moment, he is no longer connected to me. You can do whatever you want."

Lucy and Anthony both frowned at each other, wondering who that phone call came from.

"Well, I'm glad we can finally settle this." Lionel said as he stood up. The other criminal leader did the same.

After shaking hands with Anthony, Lionel shook the brunette's hand.

"It has been a pleasure. Miss Diamond."

"same here…but I hope this is the last time we meet." That was her hint that she didn't want anything to do with them and hoped that Jean Claude would keep his word.

After Lionel and the other criminal left the room, Jean Claude stayed behind since he still had a lot of questions.

"What exactly did you and Jacques talked about? Did you tell him the truth or did you…"

"Jean Claude, I know who you are. I would not stab you in the back by telling him what I know about you…unless **you** force me to. This here…" Lucy pointed to her shoulder with the bullet wound. "There will always be a scar here but I'm going to forget about this." She wanted him to know that he still owes her. "You were right about Jacques. You cannot threaten him. I was about to tell him exactly what you wanted me to say. But I didn't even get to the part about being worried about you, about you being my father's friend, how you helped me through tough times. He remembers the favor he owes me. But do you know what he said after that?"

Jean Claude waited for the brunette to continue.

"He said…if there's anything that I could do for you, nothing illegal…of course, just ask."

"But you didn't have to give him the details."

"He already knows!"

Shocked, Jean Claude froze. He had no idea that the billionaire already knew about his problem. Those who knew about it, he kept their mouths shut. That's what he thought.

"There will always be someone, like Ethan's father, who's not going to go along with it."

This was how their plan to capture Benjamin Couric started. Anthony received information about Jean Claude's company's problems. They talked about what Jean Claude would do to fix it. At about the same time, Lucy also received information about Benjamin being in the hospital in England. But she wasn't sure. Every time she tried to capture that bastard, something always prevented her from doing so. There were too many people in the hospital. What if his men opened fire with all those people around? What if she contacted the head of Division 16 to look for him there? Would she be able to catch him this time? Would information be leaked out again? Does Jean Claude have informants inside her Division? What about Anthony's men? Can she trust them? There were too many questions, too many doubts that made her think that the end result would be the same as last time. Benjamin Couric would be able to escape. So Lucy suggested to use herself as bait. That day, she intentionally walked into the hospital, allowing Benjamin's men to see her. She had no idea if they were watching, but hoped that they would recognize her. Uncle Nick knew about it, but did not agree with her method. He asked her numerous times if she was sure that she wanted to go through with it. She responded with the same words. "It's the only way." She needed to end the madness so that Scud, Janet, Amy, Nadia and her siblings can live peacefully without worries. She knew that Jean Claude wouldn't give up looking for her if he knew that she's alive. There will be a day when someone would recognize her and when that day comes, it would be too late and she wouldn't know what hit her. The only way to make sure that day never comes, to make sure she would get the upperhand was to lure the bastard in.

She was very surprised that Caitlyn was part of it too, that sweet innocent girl who confessed her love for her. Even if Caitlyn wasn't part of it, even if it was someone else, it wouldn't have made a difference because she wouldn't have told her anything anyways. Was she afraid that Benjamin would put a bullet in her head? She knew he wouldn't…because of Alexis. From the video footage taken at the mall, she saw how sad he was when Alexis yelled at him. Besides, if he wanted to kill her, he would have done it in the alley. She calculated all these risks before putting herself in a helpless situation. If she had told Scud her plan, he would never agree to it. He would probably tell everyone including Amy to convince her out of it. Then they would be back in the same situation.

Max came at the perfect time. Lucy had a reason to leave them, to initiate the plan that they talked about for several weeks. Caitlyn wasn't the only surprise that she didn't expect. There was another unexpected person. The blonde flight attendant. She wasn't interested in the brunette. What she was totally shocked Lucy. She was a spy sent by the Head of Division 16 to act as undercover, working as a flight attendant in Jean Claude's private plane. _That older woman was doing something after all. _

* * *

_When the flight attendant recognized her, she tried to make the brunette notice her. It wasn't hard because she looked a little like Amy. That was why she intentionally flirted with her, giving her hints to join her in the front for dessert. It was Jean Claude's private plane, so the blonde wasn't sure if he had hidden cameras or bugs installed either. The only way to lure her in was to make it as real as possible, flirt with her, kiss her passionately. It made her job even more simpler when she was offered money in exchange for sex. She made it even more real by raising the price from $20,000 to $100,000. She was surprised that Jean Claude agreed.  
_

_Inside the captain's room, Lucy wanted to get out of there when the blonde began to unbutton her own shirt. Lucy didn't touch her until the the blonde whispered seductively into her ear, the last name of the Head of Division 16. When Lucy heard and saw the wink and the smile, she understood. From there, Lucy pretended to be the Lucy Diamond that Jean Claude expected her to be. She gently pushed the blonde down on the bed and unbuttoned her shirt, kissing her fiercely like she was hungry for sex. Thank goodness for Benjamin who came at the right moment to interrupt them. If he had not, she would have still put a stop to it with an excuse that she wasn't comfortable doing it not knowing if there were hidden cameras installed. _

_After the blonde closed the door, she apologized for not being able to continue. _

_"Sorry, maybe we can continue after we land. We could get a hotel nearby."_

_"umm…sounds good…but I have plans." Lucy replied.  
_

_"Are…you…sure?" The way the blonde said it, Lucy understood what she meant. The blonde wanted to know if she needed help. She had no idea why the brunette was with Jean Claude but she could tell that she wasn't there voluntarily._

_"I'm sure." Lucy then pulled her in for another kiss.  
_

_After the plane landed, the blonde flight attendant continued with the act, thanked her for the hundred thousand dollars and gave her one last hot kiss. Lucy wondered what happened after that. Did the blonde tell her boss about her? What was she trying to find out?_

* * *

"I suggest you have a serious talk with him. Maybe he would give you a chance." Lucy suggested to Jean Claude. Both could see that he wasn't listening. He was in deep thought, thinking of how to fix the problem. Now that the billionaire knows about it, there's really nothing he could do except….

"Jean Claude." Anthony called out a few times before finally getting his attention. "I know what you're thinking. But don't. It's going to get you into more trouble."

What Jean Claude was thinking of doing was doing what he's at best at…kidnapping, threatening, bribing, illegal ways, etc.

With nothing to say, Jean Claude realized that Ben's plan failed miserably. Not only did it not work out, it got himself…captured.

Feeling exhausted, Lucy flopped down on the sofa after Jean Claude left with his two goons.

"Ready to go home?" Anthony asked.

Letting out a deep breath, Lucy looked down at her pants.

"I can't believe he didn't put bugs in this outfit. For sure, I thought he put it in the buttons. If he did…."

"If he did, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyways. We have people outside." Anthony interrupted.

"True. But better be safe than sorry, I need to change."

"Here." Anthony threw a bag of clothing to her. Lucy was surprised that he thought of it ahead of time.

"I figured you wouldn't be comfortable wearing that the whole day."

In the hotel lobby, Lucy, dressed in her casual outfit, was surprised to see that Jean Claude was still here. Both were thinking of the same thing. _Maybe he's waiting for Jacques._

Lucy took a look at her watch while she was walking towards the rotating doors. She stopped when she noticed the person inside the rotating door coming out. It was Caitlyn. _She came back but why? Does she know?_

Caitlyn stood, stunned still. When she was at the airport, she called her father and left a voice mail, begging him not to harm the brunette. She knew he wouldn't listen to her, but she had to try. She called numerous times but her father didn't pick up. She decided to go back and continued calling until her father picked up and told her that it's okay to come back. There's no need to pretend anymore. She was unsure what he meant by that. That was 5 minutes ago. She saw her father standing on the other side. Her eyes returned back at the brunette. Her face said it all and Lucy noticed.

Lucy walked towards the younger woman and said in a gentle tone. "Hi, what are you doing here?"

_She knows. _"I…I...want to make sure that you're okay." She took a quick glance at her father who noticed her.

"I told you that I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me."

Caitlyn didn't understand why the brunette was still being so nice to her, even after knowing the truth that it was a set-up. "I'm sorry."

"Caitlyn, I told you from the very beginning that this is not your fault. I'm sorry for getting you involved."

"From the very beginning? You knew?" She was shocked to hear that from the very beginning, what they said to each other, everything was a lie.

Lucy smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"How?" She wanted to know how the brunette found out. But more importantly, which part was the truth?

"There were a lot of things. You did a pretty good job. You were very convincing. So don't blame yourself. Okay?" Lucy turned to look at Jean Claude. "I'll have a talk with your boss so he won't blame you." As Lucy was about to walk away, Caitlyn took hold of her arm.

"Luke, you don't have to."

"It's okay. It's not your fault. He'd listen to me. Everything's going to be okay." She patted lightly on her hand.

Caitlyn pulled her arm to stop her.

"Luke, he's not going to do anything to me. He's…he's my father."

Lucy was shocked. Anthony, standing a few feet away, also heard.

"Oh…" Lucy nodded in understanding. Things that she noticed before was now clear to her. Caitlyn and Thomas were both scared stiff on the plane. She wondered if something happened to them both when they were younger. She was surprised that Jean Claude got his daughter involved. Wasn't he afraid that there could a be possibility that something could happen and she could get hurt?

"I hope he didn't force you into this."

"He needed my help."

Lucy felt better knowing that Jean Claude wasn't the type of person to put his love ones at risk.

"I hate to interrupt, but we have to go." Anthony tapped on his watch.

"We have to go." Lucy said in a gentle voice.

"Wait…will I…be able to see you again?" Caitlyn said in a shy tone.

Lucy turned slightly and saw the look on Anthony's face. She knew what he was thinking. Anthony moved 2 steps back to give them some privacy and pointed to the watch.

"Caitlyn, I have to go home now."

"Home? Canada?"

"Take care." As Lucy was about to leave, Caitlyn stopped her by holding her arm.

"Let me go with you." When she saw the confused look on the brunette's face, Caitlyn explained why.

"Let me go with you to the airport. I have a lot of questions." She needed to know the real brunette. She needed to know if she fell for someone who was pretending.

Lucy turned to look at Anthony for suggestion, but all he did was shrugged. _She's Jean Claude's daughter. Does it matter if Jean Claude knows she's going back home?_

Without waiting for a response, Caitlyn called his father who was standing 60 feet away to tell him that she's going home. She wanted to let the brunette know that she's not going to tell anyone where she's going.

Sitting in the back seat of a luxury car, Caitlyn stared at the brunette sitting next to her. Anthony was sitting in the passenger side. With so many strangers inside the car, she was too embarrassed to ask the questions that she wanted answers for.

"So…you probably want to know when I found out?"

"When? at the club?"

"No…when they tried to…" Lucy trailed off, not wanting to embarrass the young woman.

Caitlyn was surprised that she figured it out so soon. "How? I thought…."

"It wasn't you. It was the guy who hit you. He was being very careful not to touch you. But you wouldn't have noticed since you were blindfolded."

Caitlyn internally cursed the goon for screwing it up so soon. Lucy was surprised to learn that it was Caitlyn's idea.

"I wasn't a 100 percent sure, but there were other things that gave it away."

"Like what?"

"You…were acting strange…after several days, you were…out of character."

Caitlyn remained silent, knowing what she meant. She was playing a character that was kidnapped. She should be scared the entire time, but instead she was behaving like herself.

"I want to know…if everything that you said…to me…was all a lie."

Lucy didn't have to think about the question.

"Everything that I told you is true."

"including the part when you said you're not attracted to me…"

Lucy noticed that Anthony heard when he turned his face sideways.

"I was treating you like you were an innocent girl who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I wasn't pretending. This has nothing to do with you. And I'm sorry for getting you involved."

Caitlyn was happy to hear that she wasn't pretending. She wanted to ask the brunette if she was a little bit attracted to her but was interrupted.

"What about you? Was that the real you? the shy, innocent girl who never dated, who never went to a club to meet someone, or are you like your brother?"

"step-brother." Caitlyn crossed her arms and slumped back against the seat. Frustration showed on her face. "…and no…"

"I didn't think so."

Caitlyn snapped her head at the brunette, wondering what she meant by that.

"Like I said, you were acting out of character." Lucy said as she let out a smile. What she was referring to was the part where she kissed her for a minute.

Caitlyn wanted to say something but not in front of the two guys in the front seats.

"Can you tell me your real name?"

_She wasn't pretending. "_He didn't tell you?" She was surprised that Caitlyn didn't know anything about her. She frowned at her next question.

"How did she died?"

"Who?"

"The one you gave up everything for."

Realizing that Caitlyn had no clue who Benjamin was, Lucy shifted her body to gaze at the younger woman. She was there to help her father without knowing the entire truth.

"Do you trust me? Do you trust me that I wasn't there to hurt you or anyone else?"

Caitlyn took hold of the brunette's hand, rubbing it gently.

"Of course, you're the one who's been kidnapped. I came back for a reason. I wanted to make sure that my father keeps his promise, to let you go."

"Thank you. All you need to know is…we didn't start this. We were forced to do this, so that my friends can be safe. Do you believe me?"

Caitlyn nodded.

"We have nothing against your father. Everything has been worked out. That's all you need to know."

Caitlyn silently stared at the brunette for the rest of the ride to the airport. After arriving to the airport, Lucy didn't expect Caitlyn to follow her inside. Caitlyn pulled her aside to a corner inside the airport after checking in.

"Caitlyn, take care of yourself." What Lucy really wanted to say was stay away from her father as far as she could but she didn't have the right to say that.

"Luke, I want to tell you something."

Hearing that made Lucy move one step back and look around. She was afraid that Caitlyn would start kissing her again…in public to prove a point. There's not a lot of people in the airport at this hour, but still Anthony was watching.

As Caitlyn moved forward, Lucy stepped back.

"mm…Caitlyn, you don't need to pretend anymore."

Caitlyn slowly moved her hands up and placed them around the brunette's neck. She moved one step forward, backing the brunette against the corner and leaned in to hug her.

"That's what I want to tell you. I wasn't pretending. I meant what I said." She spoke in a gentle voice over her shoulder.

Lucy patted her back lightly and gave her one last hug. "I know that you're straight."

Caitlyn couldn't resist letting out a small laugh and pulled back to look at the charming brunette who flashed her a million dollar smile.

"Yes, that…but that's not what I meant. Can you tell me the truth? Are you really not attracted to me? Not even one bit?" She gestured with her hand holding up one finger and thumb.

Not wanting to hurt her feelings, Lucy lied. "Sure…maybe just one tiny…tiny bit…" Lucy did the same with her fingers. That earned her a gentle slap on the shoulder.

Caitlyn smiled and was unsure if the brunette was telling her the truth.

"Were you really…interested in that…slut?"

"Sure, she's hot." Lucy can't tell her the truth about the flight attendant. When she saw that Caitlyn wasn't pleased with her response, she smiled and shrugged her shoulders. That was a hint to her that she was just kidding. Whether Caitlyn believed it or not, that would be up to her.

Caitlyn understood and gave her another gentle slap on the shoulder.

"I'm serious."

Lucy stopped fooling around and remained silent. Her face turned serious.

"I meant what I said." Her eyes locked onto the brunette's. There was no need to explain any further. Lucy understood what she meant when she embraced her in a tight hug for the last time for one minute.

* * *

Afternoon, Toronto, Canada

Feeling exhausted after an 8-1/2 hour flight from Paris to Toronto, Lucy closed her tired eyes throughout the ride from the airport to Uncle Nick's house. She learned from Anthony how Scud reacted when he learned about her capture. She expected that to happen and she expected to get a lecture from him again. What she didn't expect was Amy finding out. She thought she was staying with Max. There was no need for Scud to tell her. When Anthony told her how she was crying, how she blamed herself for her capture, how she wanted to come along, she wasn't sure what to think about the blonde. Her plan was to get herself captured, then after 2 weeks, she can come back and nobody would know what happened. The difficult part was convincing Scud that she was fine and wanted to be alone.

_Finally._ Lucy stepped out of the car, stretched her arms, took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.

"Ready?" Anthony asked.

Lucy expected to get a hug first from everyone, then a lot of lecturing and yelling.

"Let's do it." She planned to keep her mouth shut and allow them to yell at her. She hoped that they would allow her to get some food first before that. Lucy rubbed her stomach that was growling.

Anthony walked through the French doors first to the living room. Lucy followed from behind. Starting from the right, she looked at each one standing and staring at her. Uncle Nick, Scud, Janet, Nadia whom she could tell was extremely happy to see her. Tears were flowing down her face. Then there's Amy…her eyes focused at the blonde for a longer moment. Then there's a young man whom she never met before. _Ethan_. The last person standing at the end was Alec.

She moved one step forward. The first person who approached her was the most obvious, Scud. She could tell that he was upset but at the same time, happy to see her. Scud hugged her tightly and whispered into her ear. What he told her was that they didn't tell Nadia and her siblings about Amy. Lucy understood. Next was Janet.

"I'm glad you're okay."

Lucy remained silent and hugged her.

Uncle Nick then came forward and shook her hand. "Everything worked out as planned?"

Uncle Nick knew about the plan from the very beginning. He kept his mouth shut for many reasons. One, she told him too. Two, he himself wanted to see how Amy would react.

Then there was Alec. He introduced his brother Ethan who thanked her. Lucy smiled and didn't say a word. Both stepped aside for the next person. Lucy waited to see who would come first. Nadia or Amy. She wondered how much Amy knows about Nadia. Lucy frowned when both girls remained unmoved. After a short moment, Nadia walked forward. No words were spoken. Just tears rolling down. Lucy hugged her firmly for a longer moment. It has been over a year since the last time they saw each other. There will be time for them to talk, but not in front of all these people. Nadia pulled back and walked towards Anthony to give him a hug. While others were talking with Anthony, Lucy moved two steps forward and waited for the last person. There were no tears, just a blank expression. From what Anthony said, she knew that Amy cared. standing about 5 feet apart, they stood looking at each other for a long moment. Others noticed as well. If she just gave her a hug, Lucy would be satisfied with that. _What is she thinking?_

Lucy placed her hand over her stomach. She needed some food. She decided that they could talk later, more privately. She turned around and wanted to leave the room but was blocked by Scud.

"Not now, Scud. I'm hungry."

Noticing how tired she was, Scud stepped aside. After stepping out of the French doors, walking a few steps down the hall, she was a little startled when someone grabbed her arm. Without a word, Amy pulled her upstairs to a bedroom where she had been sleeping for the past few days. She closed the door and turned around. _Okay. No hug._ Lucy expected a hug but from the look on the blonde's face, it didn't look like she was going to get one. What she got was a slap on the face instead. Definitely not what she was expecting. Lucy felt the pain, but deep inside she was happy, happy to know how much Amy cared for her.

Amy gasped out loud, covering her mouth. When she learned from Uncle Nick what the brunette did, she was like Scud, angry with her for not telling them. It was a suicide mission. _How could she be so sure that Benjamin wouldn't kill her?_ It got them all worried for more than week. She couldn't sleep. Scud couldn't sleep. When she learned that the plan worked and Lucy was coming back, she like everyone else was thrilled. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Then everyone laughed when Scud said 'she's going to get it for getting us all worried' Scud wasn't joking. He was angry with her for making the decisions without him and putting herself in danger once again. Not only was he angry, it got her angry. That was how she felt when she saw the brunette walking through those French doors, a mixed feeling of happiness and anger. She was happy to see her alive and angry at her for keeping it from her.

Her hand trembled. _Why did I do that? _ She thought about it but she didn't think she was actually going to hit her, at least, not this hard_. Why did she let me? She could've avoided it. _

What's done is done. She can't let her know that she regretted it. She needed to know what she did was wrong.

"Ow…" Lucy groaned with pain as she placed her hand on her injured face. It wasn't as hard as last time, but it still hurts.

"How could you?! How could you not tell us?! Do you know how worried we were?"

Lucy stepped backwards as the blonde continued to hit her shoulder and upper arm.

"What if something happened to you? How do you think we would feel? I can't believe you!"

Lucy was surprised that Amy was acting like Scud, but Scud wouldn't dare to hit her. She stood still, closed her eyes and put her hands down by her side, allowing the blonde to continue hitting her.

"You're always trying to be a hero…always risking your life to save others. What the hell is the matter with you?! There was no need for you to go after him anymore!" Amy shouted in anger.

Hearing that comment, Lucy couldn't keep quiet anymore. She opened her eyes and grabbed the blonde's hands.

"I…have no choice." Lucy said calmly.

"of course you do. You could've let them handle it."

"…and hoped that he can't find me…or kidnap you…Scud…Janet, Nadia. It's the only way for you to live peacefully…with Max. It's the only way for Scud and Janet to live peacefully so they don't have to worry about who's stalking them." Lucy said calmly and let her words sink in.

Amy understood what she meant. It was her way of telling her that she's not going back with them.

"Now…you can…live wherever you want. You…can do whatever you want."

Still feeling the tingling sensation on her face, Lucy was holding on to her hands.

"You can go back to Paris to finish your degree. Nobody would be looking for you. But just promise me…that you're not going to live alone."

What she just said made her own heart ached. She didn't want the blonde to go anywhere else. She wanted her to stay close to Max or Scud or Janet so they could look after her. But what she really wanted was to be with her, to wait for her to get her memory back. But she can't. _Max is right. I would be in the way, preventing her from having her own future. I need to fix it. I need to give her back what she had before...before she met me. Her freedom. _What she planned to do was to wait…patiently…for Amy to remember her until…the day she gets married. Then, if that time comes, she will finally be able to let her go and move on. It hurts to even think about the possibility that Amy, her wife, could get married to someone else. She swallowed at the thought. Seeing that the blonde had nothing else to say, Lucy stepped aside and walked towards the door.

"Lucy" Amy called out in faint voice.

Lucy stopped and turned around.

"Did I…" She held up her hand. "…hit you before?"

Lucy smiled, knowing that her memory was slowly coming back.

"I deserved it…all three times." Lucy rubbed her face gently before heading outside. She was a little disappointed that she didn't get a hug.

After eating half of her sandwich in the dining room, all alone by herself, Lucy felt much better than before. Scud couldn't control himself any longer. Lucy remained silent, chewing her sandwich while allowing her friend to yell at her. Those were the same words spoken by the blonde. After he was done lecturing and yelling, he sat down and let out a deep breath.

"Did you get injured? What happened to your face?" It was a little red. _That's odd. It wasn't there before._

"I'm fine."

After learning from Anthony, there were still things that he didn't understand and Anthony didn't know the answer.

"So…how in the world did you find out that he's in that hospital? Don't tell me it was an accident."

Lucy wiggled her finger, motioning him to come closer. Scud leaned forward.

"Sshh…it's a secret."

"Lucy! You know you can trust me."

"I know. Scud. But I also know people can slip sometimes…accidentally…and I don't want that to happen."

Scud pouted in anger.

"I'll tell you someday…but not today." Scud creased his brows even more.

That night before they made love, Kristin was reading a magazine on the bed. Lucy didn't know what captured Kristin's attention until the day she brought Amy back home. That night, Amy slept in her own room. Lucy slept alone in hers. She flipped through the same magazine, the one Kristin found it to be 'strange'. Lucy stopped at a page in the magazine and understood why the blonde said that. On the page was a photo of the megastar and next to it was an article about her. She was asked many personal questions like her favorite kind of food, the brand of makeup she uses, what she wears at home, and the name of her small dog. The answer to the last question was what Kristin found to be strange. The last question was 'What would you like to say to anyone who will be reading this?' and her response was. "I have something important to tell you."

The interviewer then asked. "Okay. What would you like to tell them?"

"That's all I want to say."

Anyone who saw this article would find it strange. Lucy found it odd as well. It took her a moment before finally figuring it out that it was a message for her. She called the megastar with another phone the day after. What the megastar told her was she recognized a man in the hospital in Canada while she was visiting cancer patients. She was unsure because he was supposed to be dead. She recognized him because he looked like the one who killed her. When the news about Benjamin's death and the brunette's death came about the same time, she came to a conclusion that it was him. He was the one whom the brunette was trying to capture. She was devastated, so she remembered and recognized his face no matter how pale and different he looked. When Lucy told her the reason she faked her death and Benjamin was in fact alive, the megastar knew that she was right. There were also other secret messages for her but Lucy was too preoccupied with the blonde's sickness at that time to notice. On the day when the megastar's interview appeared on tv and Kristin wanted to see it, Lucy wasn't surprised that the megastar had again given her the same secret message. That interview was old. Lucy was however surprised that Scud didn't notice what the megastar was trying to say. There were three hints given. Maybe Scud wasn't listening.

"Is there anything else you would like to know?"

Scud pondered for a moment. Everything else that Anthony said made sense.

"So everything went smoothly? No surprises?"

Seeing that Scud wouldn't believe her if she told him everything went smoothly, she decided to tell her about the flight attendant.

"…really….that's interesting…"

"mhm…" Lucy took the last bite of her sandwich.

"Wow…a hundred thousand dollars to have sex with …" Scud cleared his throat when he saw Nadia walking in.

"Hi, am I interrupting? I'll come back later?" Nadia said in a gentle tone.

"Nadia." Lucy tilted her head, motioning to come over.

Scud took the hint and left.

Lucy moved the plate and drinks aside and shifted her body to look at the shy woman whom she had not seen for over a year. She remained silent and still to allow Nadia to look at her. Nadia placed her hand on the table and opened it. Lucy understood and placed her hand over hers. She did the same with the other. After gently rubbing her hands, Nadia placed a hand on the side of her face and gently stroke her cheek. There were no need for words. Lucy understood how she felt.

"You…haven't changed."

Hearing her sweet gentle voice, a warm feeling washed over her. "I'm sorry."

Nadia shook her head to let her know that she understood.

Lucy knew that Benjamin would go after them. So she had Anthony put his men in Paris to protect them, to get them here when it's time. Before the plan even started, Lucy had already moved them out of Paris, have them act like they were taking a vacation. When Benjamin told her that he knew where they live and would hurt them if necessary, she knew that he was bluffing.

"How are you?" Lucy asked in the same gentle tone.

What she learned about Nadia was what Kristin told her. Nadia became friends with the blonde. Lucy wondered if Amy remembers her.

"You don't have to worry about me." Nadia said, with a small smile.

"It's going to be over soon."

Now that Jean Claude's not helping Benjamin anymore, she had no doubt that the fraudster would not be able to escape this time. Anthony's men stayed behind in Paris to look for him. She was certain that the flight attendant would inform her superior and they too would be looking for him.

When Nadia stood up, Lucy did the same. Nadia scanned the brunette from top to bottom, spreading her arms wide apart to make sure that she's not hurt. She stepped closer and hugged her tightly. They remained in that position for a moment until Lucy heard someone clearing his throat. Nadia quickly pulled away, looking down in embarrassment.

_Something's never changed. _Lucy thought to herself.

"Alec, how are you?"

She told the same thing that she told Nadia, asking them to stay for a few more days. She never met Ethan but found him to be more like Nadia.

"So Ethan, I heard that you're a chef too."

"Yes. We're actually working in the same restaurant."

"Well, I would love to try your cooking some day."

"Keira, I'll cook today." Nadia immediately suggested. She frowned when all eyes focused on her. "What?"

"Nadia…her name is…"

"It's fine. Alec. Actually, my new name is Skye. You can call me Skye from now on."

All nodded in understanding and Nadia excused herself to prepare for tonight's dinner.

"So Alec, I heard that you have a girlfriend now."

That's what the Head of Division 16 told her. Alec showed a picture of his girlfriend and told her a little about her.

"What about you? Ethan?"

"I…umm…still looking."

Lucy smiled when she noticed that he was embarrassed by the question. _Just like Nadia_. She realized how difficult it must be for him to confront the man who killed his father, how difficult it was for him to shoot someone. What Benjamin told her, Lucy wasn't sure if she should tell them. She herself found it hard to believe that he didn't blow up the plane.

"What about Nadia?"

When both didn't respond, Lucy understood that her death must have affected her tremendously.

* * *

Meanwhile inside the living room, Anthony was talking to Uncle Nick and Scud. Janet was holding Oscar and Amy was sitting next to her, daydreaming. She wasn't thinking about what happened to the brunette over the last few days. Anthony already explained that. What she was thinking about was what she found out from Nadia and her siblings. After spending a few days with Nadia, she learned that Kristin became good friends with her after the brunette's death. But something she saw was bothering her. What she saw in the dining room earlier was Nadia hugging the brunette. She could tell it wasn't just a friendship hug. It was more than that. _Does she love her too? _How come nobody said anything? _Just like Alexis_. Nobody said anything about her.

"Janet. What do you know about Nadia?" Amy spoke in a whisper.

"nothing…really. What I know is what Scud told me. She kidnapped you and Ashley because…" Janet continued to tell her what she knows. Everything that Janet said, Amy already knew.

"What I mean is 'Does she know about us?'"

Janet took her eyes away from the dog sitting on her lap and directed her attention at the blonde. Her brows creased together. Her hand reached up to scratch her head.

"us?" She said, confused more than ever.

"you know…" Amy said as she raised her brows. When she saw that Janet had no clue whom she's referring to, she gave in. "Lucy and..." She pointed to herself.

"Oh…" She was confused because according to the blonde, there was no 'us' anymore. "I don't know. Why?"

"Why?"

Amy's face contorted in confusion as if Janet should know why. _Why?_ It took a moment for her to realize that it didn't matter if Nadia knows about their relationship or not. It wouldn't even matter if she and her…

All directed their attention to the double doors.

"I'm a little tired. I'm going upstairs to take a nap." Lucy said.

As she was about to leave, she smiled and bent down to pick up Oscar who ran towards her.

"Hey, Oscar. You miss me…yea…" Lucy said as the small white terrier licked her face.

Feeling a little pain when Oscar licked the side where the blonde slapped her, Lucy gasped inward and moved the dog over to her right side of the side

"can you take her, Scud?"

After Lucy handed the dog to Scud and left, Uncle Nick was curious to know what happened to her face. Her face wasn't red anymore, but noticed that she was in pain.

"Did she get hurt?" Uncle Nick asked in a worried tone.

"No." Anthony frowned in confusion.

"It looked like someone slapped her." Scud said as he played with Oscar.

It took a moment for his own words to sink into his own brain. He looked up at the blonde who cleared her throat and walked out of the room.

_She's the only one who could. _Scud smiled to himself._  
_

* * *

Standing in the middle of the open balcony that's connected to the billiard room, Amy looked up at the clear sunny blue sky. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly before opening her eyes again. "It's finally over. I can go back to Paris to finish my degree." Those were the words spoken by the brunette. "Is that what I want to do?" She had plans on going to school in London while working part-time and living with Max. If she goes back to Paris, she could continue her studies without having to retake the courses. "But what does it matter? I can't remember the classes I took anyways. I have to start from the beginning. Shoot…" She realized by the time she graduates, she would be 34…getting closer and closer to the age where having a baby would be difficult. "Maybe I can go to school full time and take courses in the summer…then I could finish in less than 3 years." It was a good idea. "Where am I going to get the money? I can't let Max pay for it." She knew Lucy would insist to pay for her education but she couldn't allow that to happen. One. Max would say something. Two. They're not together anymore and it wouldn't be right. In the middle of pondering on her current situation, her eyes moved to the right when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Kristin"

"hi Ethan."

Amy learned from Nadia that on weekends, she would go to Nadia's apartment to learn how to make a few dishes. They would go hang out, go shopping and movies…and sometimes Ethan would go with them too.

"So…we're finally alone."

Amy frowned in confusion, wondering what he meant by that.

"You really don't remember me?"

Ethan had a lot to say to the blonde but didn't find it was appropriate since everyone was worried about the brunette.

"sorry, it's not just you, I don't remember anybody except Janet."

"Well, allow me to introduce myself again. I'm Ethan Theroux." He straightened his back and offered his hand. He continued to introduce himself after the blonde shook his hand. "I have a big brother and a little sister who works in the same restaurant as me. I'm a chef, specializing in French cuisine. But I'm also interested in all sorts of cuisines, Italian, American, Asian…and if you would like, I can show you how to make a few dishes."

Amy smiled and did the same.

"I'm Kristin Smith. I used to be a government agent but now unemployed. I'm interested in art and I'm planning to go back to art school. I was told that I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and I'm very good in martial arts…and if you would like, I can show you some moves…."

Both stayed silent for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter.

"Do you know how to play pool?" Ethan tilted his head towards the billiard table.

"I…don't remember." Amy stared at the pool table, trying to remember if she ever held a cue stick.

"I can show you."

It had been two hours since they started the game. Amy couldn't remember the rules but quickly caught on after the first game. Standing behind a small bar, Ethan smiled while stirring a drink.

"Your turn, Ethan."

"Finally." It wasn't because the blonde was slow in making a shot. She got every shot in during the entire time he was mixing the drinks. Both realized that she had indeed played this game before.

"Here." Ethan handed her a glass of pink colored drink.

"What's this?"

"Try it." Ethan took his cue stick and walked around the pool table.

"mm…it's good." Amy licked her lips, trying to determine what's in it. "Cranberrry juice, pineapple juice…and…" Amy took another sip and licked her lips again.

"Ethan, go."

Ethan shook his head to clear his thoughts and cleared his throat. When he found where he needed to be to take his shot, he pulled his hand back and took the shot.

"One more and I win."

"I'll let you win this time. Okay?" Amy let out a small chuckle. She didn't realize how good she was until after the first game which she lost. She won every game after that.

"Oh…thank you, that's so kind of you." Ethan smiled as he walked back and forth to determine how to make the shot. Standing at the end of the table across from the blonde, he took a chalk and rubbed it against the tip of the stick. He bent down and leaned forward against the table.

"That's a difficult shot."

"Are you trying to distract me?" He took in a deep breath.

"Me…I wouldn't do that. I like to play fair."

Getting distracted, Ethan pulled back and exhaled.

"If you're trying to distract me, it's working." He bent down and looked at the ball again.

"Okay, okay. You won't hear a word from me." Amy stood at the other end, taking small sips of the drink. She smiled when she saw Ethan bending his neck and wiggling his shoulders as if he was about to go against a boxer.

Ethan lowered himself. His left hand stretched as far as he could. Taking in one deep breath and holding it, his eyes spontaneously left the white ball and moved up. What he saw in front of him was a tall blonde wearing a tight blue top with light blue jeans showing her sexy curves. What captured his attention was the way she was drinking, her tongue licking the upper lip, then the bottom in slow motion. He could see the movement of her throat, up and down. He could literally hear the sound coming out of her throat after each swallow. His eyes on its own moved down from her throat to her….._Oh God. _

Hearing a sudden noise, Amy snapped her head towards the table. She covered her mouth, trying to control herself from laughing when she saw his upper body sprawled flat on the table. Laughing uncontrollably, Amy wondered what happened.

"There you are." Nadia walked in wearing an apron.

Nadia frowned when she saw her brother quickly getting off the table.

"I'm making dinner tonight. What would you like to eat?" From living with her in the past few days, Nadia learned that Kristin somehow became a vegetarian. Her explanation was that she no longer wanted to eat meat after having her tumor removed and she had no idea why.

"Nadia, I'll make it for her…since I lost."

"fare and square." Amy added.

"What would like to eat?"

When Amy couldn't think of anything, Ethan suggested that he would give her a surprise.

"Okay." Amy said happily.

After Ethan left, Amy called out to stop Nadia from leaving, feeling that this was the right time to ask her.

"Nadia, you said we are very good friends."

"Yes."

"Then…did I ever told you about how I met…her?" Amy was hoping that she understood whom she meant.

"you and Keira…I mean…Skye? Of course, she's all we talked about…after she…" Nadia held both her hands. "…and thanks to you…otherwise, I don't know how I would be able to….well…it doesn't matter anymore…she's back."

Seeing that she didn't get her point across, Amy asked again.

"What exactly did we talk about…when we talk about her?" Amy could see that she was confused.

"I told you how we met and you told me how you met her…then sometimes we talk about what we liked about her and what we don't like about her."

_She still doesn't understand what I meant. _Amy nodded and smiled.

Both directed their attention when Scud, Janet, Alec, and Anthony came in.

"I gotta finish making dinner." Nadia left the room in a hurry.

Amy stood still as she realized how much the fake death of the brunette affected Nadia. It sounded like she wouldn't be able to move on if it wasn't for her, Kristin, to keep her company, to comfort her. _How exactly did I feel when I found about her death? It's probably worse than when I found out about her being captured_. Her heart ached like never before. She asked herself numerous times why she felt that way. _Is it because it's my fault? She got captured because of me. Is that why I'm feeling this way?_ It's not only that. When she said she won't be coming back to London, when Uncle Nick said she plans to get a dog and live her by herself, a sharp pain pierced through her heart_._ That's not what she wanted for the brunette. _I want her to be happy, to be with her friends in London, and I can visit her from time to time_. But she realized that the only way for the former criminal mastermind to be truly happy is to have her by her side…and not just as friends. _That's why she said she's not coming back until I can remember her. It hurts her to see me and not be able to be with me_.

After several hours of deep sleep in her warm comfortable bed, Lucy felt energized. She looked at the time and realized that is almost time for dinner. Nobody knocked her door yet, so she knew dinner isn't ready yet. As she walked down the long hall, she heard loud sounds of laughter coming from the billiard room. _It's been a long time since she heard that kind of noise. _She smiled to herself. Standing outside of the billiard room, she saw that everybody was inside with the exception of Nadia, Ethan, and Uncle Nick. When Lucy walked inside, a short moment of silence filled the room until Anthony called out to Janet to hurry it up and shoot.

"Want something to drink?" Scud said.

"No thanks. I'm good."

"Want some ice?"

"What?" Lucy was paying attention to the pool table.

"For your face." He showed her by slapping his own face and smiled to let her know that he figured out what happened.

Lucy rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"Darn it!" Janet shouted when she missed the pocket.

Alec then stepped near the table and he shouted in disappointment when he missed.

When Amy stepped in, Lucy realized what kind of game it was. Lucy stayed still and tried not to distract her.

"How is she?" Lucy said in a whisper.

"Good….very good." Scud said as he focused on the blonde.

Lucy was surprised that the blonde remembered how to play. When they were together, they played a few times. She was quite shocked at how good Amy was at it. A DEBS agent knows how to play pool? Who would believe it? If it was Max, then she would believe it.

Janet jumped and cheered when the striped ball fell into the pocket.

"What's the bet?"

"no bet…"

It was girls against guys.

When Amy missed, Anthony stepped in.

"How is he?"

"Pretty good." Scud was not allowed to play since they're afraid that he would let Janet win.

At the corner of her eyes, Lucy could see Amy walking closer to her.

"Do you want to play? I'm sure the guys won't mind." Amy handed her her stick.

"I don't know how." Lucy smiled and noticed that Scud was listening even though he didn't turn back to look at her.

"you don't know how to play?" Amy said in a tone like she didn't believe her.

"just a little, I'm not very good at it. I don't want you to lose because of me."

Amy turned to look at Scud. She knew Scud wouldn't tell her the truth even if she asked.

After Anthony missed his shot, Amy thought it would be a good idea to ask him.

"Anthony, does she know how to play pool?"

Amy deliberately stood in front of him to prevent him from looking at the brunette.

"She's terrible at it. Lucy, remember that time you lost to Ivan? What was the bet? What did you have to do?"

"I have to bow to him and call him Sir every time I see him for a whole month." Lucy rolled her eyes.

"that's right…so you avoided him" Anthony laughed out loud.

It was Amy's turn. She shot the ball into the pocket.

"So Lucy, how about we play a game after this."

Amy walked to the side and put another ball into the pocket.

"How about we make a bet?" Amy said as she put some chalk on her cue stick while looking at Lucy. A loud sound of 'oooo' came from Anthony and Alec. Janet's eyes darted from Amy to Lucy, back and forth.

"A bet? Mmm…no…I learned my lesson." Lucy said and began walking out of the room.

"Are you…chicken?" Amy herself was surprised that she said that. _Why did I say that? __That sounded so childish. _It's not something that she would say.

Then another sound of 'oooo' filled the room. Anthony gasped out loud. All noticed that got the brunette's attention when she stopped and turned around.

"Lucy, think about it. You know what happened last time. Don't let it get to you. Walk away." Anthony said, reminding her of what happened last time someone called her a chicken.

"Sure, why not? Just a game, right. What do you want to bet on? Money, dinner…" _Taking a shower with me…_This reminded her that the blonde still owes her.

"Very simple." Amy pulled her hand back and shot the last ball in the pocket. Janet then jumped up and down, clapping her hands. "The loser does whatever the winner wants."

That made Lucy think twice. She wasn't thinking what the blonde wanted her to do. She knew what the blonde wanted.

"Okay." Lucy said in a casual tone and took Anthony's stick. Anthony smiled and winked at her. Everything that he just said was a lie except for the chicken part. It was Ivan who lost. It's still possible that Amy could win. She was pretty damn good.

Alec took 2 cue balls and placed them on the table. Amy stood at the right side.

"ready." Alec called out.

"1…2…3…go." Both shot their cue balls at the same time. When Anthony saw that Amy won the lag, he wondered what was going through the brunette's mind. _Maybe it's been a long time. _Amy chose to break first. After a few minutes, it didn't look good for Lucy since Amy sunk all the balls she called.

"Three in the left corner." Amy called out.

That ball looked difficult since it was blocked by Lucy's striped balls. Amy knew there would be no way to get it in, so she tried to get it as close to the pocket as possible.

It was Lucy's turn, all focused on her. Lucy walked around and when she found the target to shoot, she called the shot but was interrupted by the butler.

"Dinner's ready."

"let's eat first. I'm hungry." Anthony was the first one to leave the room followed by Lucy who walked out casually and headed to the bathroom.

In the dining room, all were seated except for Nadia and Ethan. There were 3 empty seats left, 2 to the right side of Amy and 1 next to Alec. Seeing that Nadia had not yet arrived, Lucy went into the kitchen to help her, passing by Ethan who was smiling and holding two plates with a cover on it. Grabbing the last plate, Lucy walked into the dining room and noticed that Ethan had taken the seat next to the blonde. Lucy took the seat next to Alec and Anthony and placed it in front of her.

Janet and Scud were in complete awe of what's in front of them, a square plate of pan seared chicken breast bathed in gorgeous terragon cream sauce with slices of mushroom, chopped tarragon, asparagus lay on top of it and a slice of lemon on the side. In the middle of the table were two baskets of warm French dinner rolls.

Nadia frowned when she saw Ethan sitting next to the blonde. Alec moved to the empty seat next to Ethan to let Nadia sit next to the brunette. Uncle Nick held up his glass of red wine and others did the same.

"To friendship, old and new." Uncle Nick said as he glanced at Anthony, then at the siblings.

"To love, old and new." Uncle Nick glanced at Lucy, then Amy before looking at Janet and Scud.

Lucy couldn't resist and took a glance at the blonde and was surprised that she was looking at her.

"To health and happiness." Uncle Nick looked at each one of them.

All raised their glasses and clunk it against the person next to them. Lucy placed the glass of water down and as she was about to cut up the slice of chicken, Nadia stopped her.

"This is yours." She switched her plate with Lucy's. "There's no cream in it."

_She remembered._ _That was so long ago_. "A little cream won't kill me." Lucy joked.

All focus their attention to Amy's plate when Janet spoke out loud.

"Oh, that looks beautiful…"

When Ethan took the cover off the blonde's plate, steam came out of the porcelain bowl with the flaky veggie-packed vegan pot pie. It wasn't the pot pie that captured Janet's attention. It was the decorations made from vegetables neatly placed round the bowl, a flower made of carrot, a rose out of tomato peel, leaves made with cucumber, small shapes of birds, butterflies, rabbits made with vegetables.

Lucy didn't like what she saw. _It's happening, right in front of her._ This was the reason she didn't want to go back. Ethan seem to be a nice guy. _But what the hell is he doing? Doesn't he know? _It was clear not only to her but to Nadia as well that Ethan was hitting on the blonde. Nadia was also staring at her brother and not in a nice way. Lucy looked down on her plate and closed her eyes for 2 seconds. While clenching her teeth, she inhaled and exhaled quietly. There was nothing she could do about it. _This is what the blonde wants._ _Amy wants to move on_. _But it hurts. God damn it. It hurts. _She had no idea how Michel could stand seeing her and Kristin together.

All continued to eat and complimented on Nadia's cooking.

Through dinner, Lucy stayed silent the entire time and tried not to look at Ethan who was chatting quietly with the blonde until Anthony spoke.

"Don't forget to take that out?"

"Take what out?" Scud asked in a concerned tone as he put the last piece of chicken into his mouth.

"do you seriously think I would agree to her plan without knowing for sure that she would be unharmed?"

This caught everyone's attention including the blonde.

"She's wearing a tracker." Anthony said in an obvious tone.

"wearing? Where?" Scud was certain that it wasn't somewhere she could easily take off.

Uncle Nick cleared his throat and explained that the tracker was designed by one of his companies.

"How did you get through security in the airport?"

"If it didn't work and the alarm went off, I could always tell them that it's the bullet. They knew about that." Lucy said in a casual tone as if she was never in serious danger.

"What?" All asked in unison.

Lucy snapped her head to the left when Nadia grabbed her arm.

"You still have the bullet?" Nadia asked in a worried tone.

"I'm kidding." Lucy assured her with a smile. That was her plan if it didn't work. But it should since they've tested it.

All turned to the direction when Ethan spoke.

"The tracker will tell them where you are, but they won't be able to get to you on time. And when you're in the air, that's going to be impossible."

"No plan is foolproof." Lucy said as she put a slice of mushroom into her mouth. "Sometimes you have to take risks…and you have to decide..if that risk…is worth taking." Lucy said as she glanced at the blonde. She wanted to let her know that she was willing to risk her life for her and it was the only way. Both stared at each other for a short moment. With a blank expression, Amy looked down and dug her fork into the carrot and put it into her mouth.

"Where…." When Janet was about to ask her where they put the tracker in her, she trailed off when the blonde suddenly spoke loudly, attracting everyone's attention.

"Sometimes you do have to take risks. But before you decide to proceed…" She turned to Ethan. "you'll need to let your friends…and family know…otherwise they'd think that you're… **selfish, irresponsible, inconsiderate, insensitive…foolish**." The words that came out of her mouth got louder and louder as she stood up.

Even though she's looking at Ethan, everybody knew whom she was referring to.

Amy changed into a gentle tone as she spoke to Ethan. "Thank you for making this. It's delicious."

She then pushed her chair in.

"We have a game to finish." Amy said to the brunette and left the room. All could tell that the blonde was upset and all understood the reason.

Lucy glanced at Janet who quickly looked down at her own plate as if embarrassed to have heard what the blonde just called her. She looked at Scud who smiled at her. She was unsure why. She then saw Ethan standing up and taking the empty plates with him and left the room. When she saw Alec smiling at her, she knew he understood why she had to do it without letting anyone know. Next was Nadia. She expected her to understand. She expected a smile from her. But instead her question surprised her.

"She doesn't remember you?" Nadia said in a soft sympathetic tone. In the past few days, she learned that the blonde lost her memory but she had no idea that the blonde couldn't remember the brunette. She understood when the brunette let out a small smile and shook her head slightly. That smile was to let her know that she's okay but her eyes told her something else. _Oh no._

"Are you done?" Anthony said as he stood up. "You still have a game to finish." He couldn't resist letting out a chuckle before he walked out of the room.

_She just called me a foolish irresponsible ass in front of everyone and he's laughing at me._

Lucy rolled her eyes when his laugh got louder and could still be heard from far away.

Her eyes darted from Uncle Nick to Scud. She didn't understand why both were smiling at her.

"Let me to talk to her."

As Nadia stood up, Lucy stopped her from her leaving.

"Nadia, we've tried." Lucy led her outside of the dining room to talk privately because there was something else she wanted to know. She wanted to know if Ethan knows about them.

"No, but he will. Don't worry. I'm going to make sure he stay away from her."

That's what Lucy wanted to hear but she knew it wasn't right. If not Ethan, there will be others.

Lucy pondered for a moment and let out a deep breath.

"mm…wait…don't tell him."

"Why?"

"just…don't tell him, don't tell anyone."

Nadia was confused. "I'll make sure nothing happens between them."

Lucy couldn't resist letting out a laugh and cupped both of her cheeks.

"thank you. But no. You don't have to do anything. If she's attracted to him…then let them…okay?" Lucy felt a sharp pain in her heart after saying that. She herself couldn't believe what she just said.

Nadia held both of her hands.

"Even if I don't do anything, she's not going to be attracted to him. She rejected him before." Nadia continued to tell her what happened during that time she was with the blonde. Ethan asked her out and she told him she wasn't interested and it wasn't because he was younger than her. Kristin didn't find it necessary to explain why she's not interested. Ethan and Alec both had no idea. Nadia found out when she noticed how devastated Kristin was when Lucy was in the hospital. She didn't know for sure until she and Kristin started talking.

That brought a smile to Lucy's face. If Kristin rejected him then, it would be quite possible that Amy would do the same. But it's different. _Kristin loves me. Amy doesn't._

Both were startled by an angry voice several feet away.

"Are you done eating?" With her arms crossed, Amy tapped her feet continuously as if she ran out of patience.

"Coming!" Lucy rolled her eyes and Nadia noticed.

Nadia was quite shocked at the blonde's behavior. "She's…different."

Both watched the blonde stomped out of the hallway.

"No…no…she's the same…that's how she is when she's…" _jealous…she's jealous?…_

_"_She's what?"

Lucy shook her head out of her crazy thoughts. That's what she wanted to believe.

"um…that's how she is when she's upset. You probably never saw that side of her. When she's upset, she could do unexpected…crazy…things." Lucy smiled as she placed her hand over her face.

Upstairs in the billiard room, Anthony poured himself a drink at the small bar. When Lucy entered the room, she could tell that the blonde was quite angry…vigorously and forcefully grinding the tip of the cue stick into the center of the chalk. _Uncle Nick would have to get another cue stick soon._

"Are you in a hurry to lose?" Lucy said sarcastically.

"Can we be clear about the bet?" It was none of Anthony's business. Amy wondered why he asked.

At this time, Scud, Janet and Alec came in followed by Oscar.

"What's not clear about it? Anthony. The loser must do whatever the winner wants." Amy said.

"okay, just want to make sure." Anthony smiled as he took a drink. What he was thinking was that Lucy could get the blonde to be with her. That's what Lucy wants.

Lucy walked near the table and remembered where she left off. One ball after another, Lucy pocketed the ball. One more ball to go. Amy realized that she's been had.

"Did you really lose to Ivan?" Amy needed to know.

Anthony couldn't hold it in and burst out in laughter. "He lost. He never played with her again after that." Scud also laughed along.

"8th in the corner." Lucy called the shot. She bent down, leaned forward and pulled her hand back. It was an easy shot. There's no way she could miss. That's what everybody thought until Janet stepped closer to the pool table and Oscar jumped out of her hands onto the table, running around and moving the solid balls and 8th ball out of place.

"Oscar. NO!" The loud shout came from Anthony and Amy.

Janet dropped her jaws. Scud and Anthony expected Lucy to be mad but was surprised when she picked up the dog and stroked it gently.

"Why did you do that? hmm…" Lucy said in a gentle voice while holding the dog in front of her face. The dog barked a few times as if she was responding to her question.

"You lost." All were shocked at what Amy said.

"No way! That doesn't count!" Anthony defended the brunette.

"Sure it does. It was her turn."

"umm…Ame…Kristin, that doesn't seem right…" Janet corrected herself.

"Well, let me ask you. Was that your intention since you were holding the dog?"

"Of course not."

"right, it's not your fault. Oscar jumped because she…"

"Two out of three" Lucy said so fast, no one heard.

All focused on the brunette.

"What?"

"Two out of three. You won this round." Lucy suggested. Since she didn't want to admit defeat, it was the only way to get back into the game.

At this moment, both Nadia and Ethan came in, each holding a tray.

"Wowwww…" Scud and Janet gasped out loud when they saw a watermelon carved into the shape of a basket. In it stored different shapes of watermelon, pineapple, strawberries, nectarine, kiwi, honeydew, star shaped, heart shaped, flower shaped, ball shaped, slices, chunks, etc.

Ethan handed the blonde a toothpick with a heart shaped pineapple on the top.

"spiced rum?" Amy said as she put the heart shaped pineapple into her mouth.

"what?"

"That drink has spiced rum in it."

Realizing what the blonde was referring to, Ethan let out a small laugh which both Nadia and Lucy noticed.

Standing a feet away, Nadia scooped up a spoonful of chocolate soufflé and extended it towards Lucy's mouth. "Here…try this."

When Lucy jerked back, Nadia winked and moved her eyes towards her brother, hoping she would understand what she was trying to do.

"huh?" Lucy was clueless at this moment.

"just open your mouth." Nadia whispered and Lucy did as told but was still confused.

She scooped another spoonful and fed the brunette.

"don't move." Nadia whispered again. She reached up and swiped the brunette's mouth with her thumb a few times as if to wipe the chocolate off her lips. At the corner of her eyes, she could see the blonde walking towards them and could tell that she wasn't happy for some reason.

"Since you lied, let's make this a fair game."

Lucy didn't like what she said.

"yes, I lied…but…

"whatever…" Knowing what the brunette was going to say, Amy interrupted. She was the one who started this.

"How about we each pick a person to play with us?"

"Sounds fair."

"But you can't pick Anthony or Scud."

"I'm not playing." Janet raised both hands. She knew she would be blamed no matter what.

Both Lucy and Amy rolled their eyes.

"I chose Ethan."

"Why am I not surprised?" Lucy then turned to Nadia. "Then I'll pick Nadia. Okay?" It was a stupid move. She knew that. It just felt right to pick her since the blonde chose Ethan. She had no idea if Nadia even knows how to play.

"Do you know how to play?"

"umm…just a little…" Nadia said in her soft sweet voice.

"It's okay. I'll show you." Lucy responded in the same tone.

"Are you sure? There's still one left to choose from." Both turned to look at Alec who was sitting down on the leather sofa, enjoying his cup of chocolate soufflé.

Anthony shook his head, giving her a signal not to choose him because Alec wouldn't be able to help her.

"Okay, let's begin."

Anthony shouted in excitement when Lucy won the lag. One, two, three, four balls went into correct pocket. Then it was Amy's turn who tied the number of balls. Nadia then walked around the table and called the shot. She looked up at Lucy who nodded in approval. Nadia bent down and as she was about to shoot, Lucy stopped her.

"Wait…."

All wondered why she stopped the fitness instructor.

"Can I give her a little help?" She asked Amy for approval first.

"go ahead." Amy said in a dissatisfied tone.

After thanking the blonde, she took Nadia's place and showed her how to stand. Nadia understood and stood in her place.

"Like this?"

Lucy walked closer and stood behind her. While holding her hips, she used her leg to spread Nadia's legs further apart. She leaned forward against her back, guided her left hand up, held her other forearm while instructing her what to do.

All could see that Amy was running out of patience.

"okay?" Lucy said and Nadia nodded.

"Finally." Amy whispered to herself.

Bang! The ball went into the correct pocket. Everyone clapped their hands except her siblings and Amy. Then another ball went in. When she missed the next one, she apologized to the brunette.

"You did good. That's a difficult shot. I wouldn't get it in either." Lucy said in a gentle tone.

It was Ethan's turn who got three balls in. When he missed the black ball, he shouted in disappointment because there were only 3 balls left on the table and those were easy shots.

When Janet saw Lucy looking at her, she got the hint and took Oscar out of the room. One shot. Two shot. Then the last shot easily went into the pocket.

Next up, Ethan went against his sister and he won the lag.

Lucy saw the disappointment in Nadia and comforted her. "It's okay. Relax." She then took a toothpick with a ball-shaped watermelon on top and fed it to her. Nadia did the same. Janet noticed and deliberately walked in front of them and turned around so the blonde couldn't see them. She wanted to ask the brunette what the hell is she doing but it wasn't her place to ask. Both didn't realize it was their turn until Ethan called out.

"I'll go first." Lucy said.

After 6 balls went in and missed the 7th ball, Anthony gave her a high-five. Lucy went back to sitting in front of the small bar and continued what she was doing before with Nadia, quietly chatting and eating fruits out of the watermelon.

"your turn." Amy called out, noticing that Lucy and Nadia weren't even paying attention to the game.

"oh…it's my turn." Nadia smiled at the brunette.

Walking around the table, she pointed her cue stick towards the ball, looking down with seriousness on her face. She stopped on the side, took a chalk, and gently rubbed the tip of it. Not only did Lucy noticed, Anthony noticed the way she did it. Lucy stood up and walked one step forward.

"5 in the side." She pointed to the pocket and spoke with more confidence than before. With one fast shot, the ball rolled straight into the intended pocket.

"uh oh." Scud said, looking at the cue ball slowly rolling to a spot a few inches away from the striped ball which was between the cue and the number 8 ball. As Lucy and Anthony stepped closer and wondered how to make that shot, Amy wasn't worried since she felt that it was impossible even for her to make that shot. She sat back down on the sofa and took a bite of the kiwi from the bowl of fruits that Ethan got for her. She then stopped eating and stood up. All did the same, remained still and watched Nadia taking another cue stick. Janet dropped her jaws when she saw Nadia twisting the stick. She herself had no idea that it could come off in two pieces. Everyone stayed silent as Nadia rubbed the chalk on her tip. Lucy smiled, knowing what she was about to do.

"8 in the corner." Nadia called the last shot.

Moving her left fingers close to the white ball, Nadia pointed her stick and lifted at an angle like a professional. Then bang! The cue ball jumped over the striped ball and hit the black ball, pushing it lightly towards the corner pocket.

Amazed, Janet, Scud and Anthony screamed and applauded. Like everyone else, Lucy was shocked and clapped her hands.

Nadia put the stick down and walked slowly towards the brunette. Her eyes focused on nobody else except the brunette.

"…a little…huh…" Lucy realized, just like her, Nadia was pretending.

Smiling, Nadia shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Did you know she could do that?" Amy yet again felt stupid for suggesting it.

Ethan shook his head.

When Nadia gave the brunette a tight hug, Janet gasped out loud, covering her mouth. Scud understood. Anthony understood. Even Lucy understood what the woman with the tanned toned body was trying to do. _I think that's a little too much. _She wasn't even sure if it would work. She could tell the blonde was upset but unsure of the reason. _I would be upset if I lost. _Hearing the brunette clearing her throat_, _Nadia pulled back.

"Okay…you won…what do you want?" Amy said in a dissatisfied tone as she crossed her arms.

When they made the bet, Lucy knew what she wanted. What she wanted was Amy, to be with her, to move back into the apartment. That was her thought for about a minute. But then what? What will happen after that? She can't force her to love her again the same way she used to. She could see Anthony and Scud standing behind the blonde; the smile on their faces, their brows raised, they had the same thought.

"umm…You're right. This isn't a fair game. If you could remember, maybe you wouldn't have lost…."

Lucy could see that Anthony was shocked by her response. It was her ticket to get the blonde back and she blew it. That's what Anthony was thinking. Lucy headed towards the door with a smile.

"Lucy." Amy called out. "I lost."

She said as she walked towards the brunette.

"Let me know…what you want…from me." Amy said in a serious tone as she looked deeply into her eyes for a moment before walking away. "…and Lucy…it expires when I go back." And with that, Amy left the room leaving a room full of confused faces except for Ethan who followed the blonde out and Alec who had no idea why everyone was so quiet.

Inside her bedroom, Amy closed and locked the door, not in the mood to talk to anyone after losing the game.

"I can't believe her." Frustrated, Amy threw her socks on the floor and flopped down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling.

She thought it was a plan that couldn't go wrong but it failed not only once, but twice. What she wanted was to have the brunette go back to London. It was a good plan until she realized that she had fallen into their trap, a trap that she got herself into. While they were playing the first game, she realized that there was a possibility that she could lose and if she lost, she knew what the brunette would want from her. But it was okay even though it didn't work out the way she planned it. The brunette was willing to risk her life for her. She could do the same. She thought it over and decided to give 'them' a chance to get to know each other. It caught her by surprise when the brunette called off the bet. That wasn't the only thing that surprised her.

"…Isn't that what she wants? and what the hell is she doing with Nadia?" Putting the pillow over her head, Amy let out a frustrated groan into the pillow.

As Lucy walked into her bedroom, she didn't close the door since she was aware who was following her.

Scud closed the door behind him.

"Can you explain why you did that back there?"

Not only him, Anthony wanted to know.

"Did what?" Lucy opened the drawers to look for her pajamas.

"You know what. Why did you let her go?"

What he just said caused her to laugh.

"What am I supposed to do? Ask her to stay with me forever. That sounds cruel, don't you think?" Lucy took her pajamas out of the drawers.

"you can ask her to move back in with us…that's what she wants you to ask. Didn't you notice that?"

"….and then what? After she moves back in, then what will happen?" Lucy stood, waiting for Scud to answer her question. She could tell he was thinking when he didn't respond.

"Let me tell you what's going to happen. While she goes to school, we go to work. After she comes home from school, she'd do her homework in her room. I would make her dinner. We say good-night to each other and go back into our own rooms. That's how it's going to be for a few years until she graduates and decides to move out. I'm going to pretend that I love my life. But then I probably won't be able to take it anymore and start drinking and my out of control overactive body wouldn't be able control itself from going into her room. And what do you think it's going to happen after that? Scud."

No words came out of his mouth. Just a silent stare.

"She'd slap me…again because I deserve it and I would apologize and the end result would be exactly the same as the way we are now…and even worse."

Standing still for another moment of silence, they stared at each other without blinking until Lucy couldn't hold in her tears anymore and quickly turned around. It hurts to even think about it. She breathed in and out.

"What's the matter with you? Why are you being so negative?" Scud spoke softly as he stepped closer. "You don't know what's going to happen. Are you forgetting who you are? Use your charm to reel her in. Show her how funny you could be. Do whatever it is that you do to attract all those other girls."

Lucy turned around.

"She's not like other girls. She…hates…Lucy Diamond." All the other girls Alexis, Kristin, Nadia, and Alyson had fallen for Keira. Would they have fallen for the old Lucy Diamond?

Scud had an answer for that. He didn't understand why the brunette couldn't see it.

"Amy, the DEB, hates Lucy Diamond. Look what happened to her."

And with that, Scud left the room, allowing the brunette to think about it herself.

"That's what I don't understand…Scud."

* * *

**Chapter 41: Chapter 41**

* * *

Chapter 41

Next day

Anthony returned to his hometown in the USA. Since Scud and the rest were here in Canada, they might as well enjoy themselves. Scud and Janet suggested a trip to Niagra Falls last night and everyone agreed that it was a good idea. After Alec and Scud came back with a van rental, all grabbed their backpacks except for Ethan who had not seen the blonde since breakfast.

"I'll get Kristin."

"Ethan…she's not going" Janet said as she headed out the door and said good bye to Lucy who suddenly appeared.

"Have fun." Lucy said to everyone and was a little confused when Nadia winked at her while passing by.

"Why isn't she going?" Ethan asked.

Nadia, Ethan and Lucy all turned to the direction of the voice from behind Lucy.

"Have a nice trip." Amy said.

"Kristin, you're not going?" Ethan asked again.

"I have something to do."

"What?…I mean, is it important? Do you have to do it today?"

"She's having her tracker taken out. I have to go with her."

"I can go by myself." Lucy had no idea why she said that and immediately regretted it. She saw Nadia frowning at her, also wondering why she said that.

"You'll need someone to go with you." Amy said in a commanding tone like she wasn't taking a no for an answer. She wondered why the brunette was pushing her away.

"C'mon Ethan, let's go." Nadia said as she pulled her brother towards the door.

Ethan reluctantly left after saying goodbye to the blonde and the brunette, since Ethan couldn't think of a reason to stay.

After everyone left, there was complete silence in the living room. Feeling a little awkward, Lucy cleared her throat as she walked passed the blonde and sat on the leather sofa before turning the tv on.

"So…have you decided what you want yet?" Amy sat down, hanging her left arm on top of the sofa.

"no." Lucy said in a casual tone and changed the channel.

Amy wanted to ask what's taking her so long. _You want me to move back. I know you do. Just ask me_. _You don't want to stay here alone. I know you don't._

"Lucy…"

"Sssshhh…"

Amy turned to see what captured the brunette's attention. She saw the picture on tv but didn't recognize him until she heard the name. "Benjamin Couric is alive and finally captured." Lucy turned the volume on louder. Both remained silent to listen to the news. What they saw was an old picture of him. Lucy could see how different he looked compared to the old picture. If it wasn't for the megastar, they still would be looking for him now. If it wasn't for her fake death, the megastar wouldn't have recognized him. The news didn't say much, just who he was, what he did, and where they found him. They didn't go into detail about the arrest.

"It's over." Amy said in a soft tone as she reached out and held her hand, rubbing it gently. What she wanted to say was that there would be no need for her to stay here anymore. But she knew it wasn't because of that.

Lucy glanced down at the blonde's hand holding onto hers. Letting out a small smile, she slowly looked up. She couldn't believe it's finally over_. _ Her friends will be safe. _She is alive_. What more could she possibly ask for? She can't be too greedy. She had a chance to be with her, a chance to propose to her, a chance to live with her as a married couple. _I should be happy. It's now time to let her go. Let her decide one more time if she still wants to be with me. _

Lucy took her hand away and took her phone out from her back pocket.

"Who are you calling?"

Lucy let out a small smile and remained silent as she waited for the person on the end of the line to pick up.

"Scud, can you put Nadia on?"

Amy understood why she called her. What she couldn't understand was why the brunette's tone of voice always seem to be different when talking to Nadia. Her voice was so much more sweeter, so soft and so gentle. She found that Lucy sometimes talk to her in that same tone but not all the time, unlike talking to Nadia.

"Nadia…"

Hearing that gentle tone again, Amy couldn't resist rolling her eyes.

"They caught him…mhm…yes….I know, but I…you're right…mhm….I know…Okay…okay….okay…"

Frowning in confusion, Amy wondered what Nadia said made the brunette say okay numerous times like a little girl agreeing to everything her mother said. Her father's killer just got captured. Amy expected the brunette to say 'you're welcome' at some point but she never did. When she saw the brunette sighing out loud after hanging up, she wanted to know what happened.

"Did she say she's going to make you dinner tonight to thank you?"

Lucy flopped down on the sofa, slumping her back against it. Amy wanted to know, so she intentionally said something to make the brunette talk.

"…or did she say she wanted to thank you…in other ways?"

Lucy frowned at the blonde. She couldn't believe what the blonde was implying that Nadia would do for getting revenge for her father.

"She seems to like you…a lot."

Lucy ignored her, stared at the ceiling and remained silent, thinking about what Nadia just said.

Not getting a response from the brunette, Amy continued. "…a lot…like….Alexis."

Lucy neither explained nor denied it.

_That didn't work. _ "so…what did she say? She must be thrilled."

Lucy too thought the same thing. But Nadia was neither happy nor sad. She let out a deep breath and turned to look at the blonde.

"She said she let it go a long time ago. She told me that I should've done the same."

Amy noticed that the brunette was disappointed with Nadia's response, so she tried to comfort her, even though she didn't agree with her method.

"You were afraid that they would come after us. You did what you thought was right. Even if you let him go, he wouldn't have." Amy wanted to add another comment again to tell her that she should've at least let them know about her plan but decided not to.

"He would've if I didn't go after him." Lucy mumbled in one quick breath.

"What?"

"Nothing." That's what Benjamin told her. But she had no way of knowing that. He was waiting to die and he wanted to live peacefully for his last few months. If it wasn't for Jean Claude needing his help, he wouldn't have kidnapped her. Not only Benjamin, it was Jean Claude she didn't trust. He was getting more wealthy and more powerful. If he found out that she was still alive, she had no doubt that he will go after her because he knew that she wouldn't just let it go for shooting her. After all, that's what she's known for in the criminal underground. Nobody hurts her and the ones she love and gets away with it. _Besides, he needed to keep my mouth shut so that Lionel wouldn't know the truth_. _Nadia would never understand. Even if I was willing to move one step back, they wouldn't be willing to let me go. They would make sure that step would be the last step of my life._

Lucy pressed a few buttons on the phone and placed it against her ear.

"What did you just say?" Amy tugged on her arm.

"Nothing." Lucy shifted her body a little away from the blonde, not wanting to get distracted from her call.

"no, you said something."

If there was one thing Amy hated, it was being ignored. Amy had no choice but to push her down, pressing her shoulders against the sofa.

Surprised with her actions, Lucy let out a puff of air when she felt a hundred pound of human flesh sitting on top of her. If she didn't have one hand on her phone, she wouldn't be caught in this vulnerable position.

"What did you just say?" Amy asked again.

"I heard you got him." Lucy said to the other person on the phone as she tried to wriggle herself free from the blonde's grasp.

"Now do you believe that we are not as incompetent as you think we are?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. _If she knew what I did, she wouldn't have said that._

"Who is it?" Amy wanted to know who the other person is at the other end of the line.

"So tell me, how did you find…OW!" Lucy yelped when the blonde deliberately sat on her abdomen a little harder, while pressing her right wrist down against the sofa.

While Lucy was gasping for breath, Amy grabbed the phone from her, put the speaker on and placed it on the brunette's chest.

"What was that?" The head of Division 16 said.

"It's your favorite former agent. She's torturing me!"

Lucy cried out again when the blonde pushed herself down on her abdomen and pressed the brunette's other arm against the sofa.

"Oww!"

"Kristin? good girl, I see that you have her under control."

Lucy rolled her eyes again as she tried to loosen both of her arms under the blonde's grasp.

"So how did you find him?" Lucy deduced that it was the blonde flight attendant and she was right.

"We've been tracking him for months. We know Jean Claude had a private plane, so we sent one of our own to work as a flight attendant. On behalf of the French government, I thank you for the hundred thousand dollars. Be assure we'll put it into good use."

"Don't thank me. It's Jean Claude's money.

"Yes, but without you, he wouldn't have offered such a generous amount. I was quite shocked at how much he was willing to pay her to have have sex with you."

Amy dropped her jaws. "You didn't?"

"of course not!" Lucy rolled her eyes again at the blonde. "The room could have hidden cameras." Lucy regretted for saying that when the blonde got up a little and sat back down on her stomach area, causing her to let out another puff of air.

"You didn't?" The older woman said, surprised.

"Of course not! Why? What did your agent say?"

When Lucy learned that her agent told them exactly what happened including the kissing part, Lucy regretted asking. She could tell that Amy didn't like what she heard.

"Although…if you girls didn't, then why would he still give her the hundred grand?"

"yea why?" Amy asked, leaning closer to her face.

"because that bastard interrupted us…OW!" Lucy yelped again as her arm was extended in an awkward position. "That's not what I meant. We were glad that he did."

"Kristin, I was really sad to see you leave this organization. But not anymore…because you just make my day." The older woman laughed loudly, hearing the cries from the brunette. "Can you give her a slap on the face for me for all those times she disrespected me?"

"She already did yesterday."

Hearing the response, the older woman laughed even louder.

"Well, Kristin, if you have time, please come back to visit. When you have a chance, give Kat a call. She doesn't know about your true identity but she knows that you don't remember her. Talking to her might help. And Miss Diamond, I have to say it hasn't been a pleasure working with you. So let's not do it again."

"awww…and I was hoping that you would thank me." Lucy said with sarcasm.

"However, if you find that you need my help someday, please don't hesitate to give me a call. May God bless you both."

Lucy wanted to say something nasty back to her but after hearing the last sentence, she changed her mind. After the older woman hung up, Lucy frowned when the blonde remained in her current position, sitting on top of her.

"ummm…Amy…I know you don't remember, but I told you before, I prefer to be on the top." Lucy expected her to jump off her after that comment but was surprised she didn't move.

"Tell me…what you said before." Amy said in a serious tone as she held down both of her wrists.

When Lucy moved her eyes from left to right, pretending not to remember what she said, Amy lifted her body up to let the brunette know that she's going to do it again.

"I just love it when you do that." Knowing what was coming, Lucy tightened her stomach and held her breath.

"Am I interrupting something?" Lucy internally thanked Uncle Nick for coming at the right time.

Amy quickly jumped off the brunette. Lucy slowly got up and shook off the pain from her wrist. Uncle Nick noticed the blonde was a little bit embarrassed by it.

"Are you ready to go?"

During the entire ride, Uncle Nick was confused why both were so quiet in the back seats, but was happy for the brunette that the blonde came along. Neither spoke a word and both stared outside the window. After arriving to the destination, Amy realized that the destination was Uncle Nick's company, a 5-story building. Inside a large room that had a set up like a surgery room and a viewing room above it, Uncle Nick, Amy and three other people sat in a glass enclosed area in the viewing room where they could see how the operation was being done. While the others were watching the operation being done on a big LCD screen, Amy looked down at the brunette who was lying conscious on her front. Even though, she was told that it was a simple surgery that shouldn't last more than 2 hours, she knew that any type of surgery had risks and she couldn't help but worry about the brunette. When she heard what one of the people said, she looked up at the LCD monitor. The cut was small, but deep next to the shoulder blade. She covered her mouth when she saw blood gushing out of the deep cut. Then a sound of a satisfying 'aaahhhh' came out of everyone in the viewing room except for Amy who was brimming with tears and Uncle Nick who noticed the blonde's reaction when they saw the tiny object being pulled out of the brunette's back. She felt better when the cut was stitched up and the operation didn't have any complications.

Inside another room that had a setup of a patient room, Lucy was sitting on the bed with the blonde sitting next to her. Amy had no idea what they were waiting for since the anesthesia wore off and the nurse already showed them how to take care of the cut.

"Does it hurt?" Amy asked.

_Not as much as my heart hurts._ "No." Lucy replied. It did hurt a little but it was nothing compared to her previous injuries.

"You'll need to take good care of that, otherwise it's going to leave a scar."

"I'll just add it to my collection." She pointed to her bullet wound, then her thigh area, her leg, her back, then intentionally pointed to her heart. _That one hurts the most. _

Amy was a little shocked by the number of scars she has. She shouldn't be since the brunette used to be the leader of a criminal organization and probably was engaged in physical fights.

"I know you're tough, okay?"

"you're tough too, you have a few scars yourself."

"I just have one." That was from the bullet wound Benjamin hit her with.

"No, you have two."

Lucy was surprised that the blonde didn't notice the second scar.

"I think I would know my own body better than anyone else, don't you think?"

"Do you want to make another bet?" Lucy smiled wide.

Just because they slept together doesn't mean she would allow her partner to see her naked. She was sure that they would have done it in the dark.

"It's not possible that I would allow anyone to see me…"

Amy trailed off when she saw the brunette smiling.

"We…did…it…with…lights…on?"

Amy dropped her head down on the bed to hide her face in embarrassment when the brunette nodded. She couldn't imagine herself doing it with lights on, no matter how much she loves that person. _Shoot. I wasn't myself. She saw me naked. _

Lucy chuckled while stroking her blonde hair.

"if it makes you feel any better, you saw me naked too."

Lucy noticed that it didn't when she saw the look on the blonde's face, her eyes narrowing at her.

Amy remained silent trying to think where else she has a scar.

"I don't have another scar."

"So we make another bet then. You owe me 2 already, by the way."

Lucy explained the other one was made by Kristin.

"What did she lose?"

After Lucy wiggled her finger, motioning the blonde to come closer, and whispered into her ear the bet she made with Kristin, Amy immediately jerked back and replied.

"That doesn't count. That wasn't me." There was no way she would agree taking a shower with her.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "Okay." She knew Amy wouldn't have agreed to it since Kristin didn't either.

"So what do you say? If you win, then you don't owe me anything and I'll still owe you one, whatever you want. But if I win, you're going to owe me three including the one Kristin made."

This would be her chance. Amy ran her fingers through her scalp to see if there were any scars she didn't notice. There was none. "I'll be right back. I have to go to the bathroom."

Amy was quite surprised that the brunette didn't stop her. _Maybe she wants to lose? _She stopped at the bathroom door when she realized where the other scar was.

"I know where the other scar is." Amy said as she sat back down on the chair next to the bed.

"You do?"

"…and you're not being fair. Nobody could have noticed it, not even you if you didn't know about my tumor."

Lucy was confused.

"you're talking about the scar in my nose when they had to put that thing in my nose. That wouldn't even count as a scar since nobody could see it."

"You're right. It wouldn't. You lost since that wasn't what I was referring to."

"What!" Amy stood up in shock.

"Check the back of your…um…" Lucy pointed left and right, trying to remember which leg.

"right leg."

Since Amy had jeans on, it would be difficult to roll it up. She immediately walked to bathroom and after a moment, she came out with an angry face. She hated losing more than being ignored. "Where did I get that?"

"I guess they didn't tell you." Lucy was surprised that Scud didn't. "That's where your former boss put the tracker."

Amy gasped inward and hit her own forehead, feeling stupid. _I should have checked first._ Alexis told her that her former boss used her to capture the brunette but never told her how she did it. She herself couldn't believe that she never noticed it while taking showers. It was a small cut in the back of her knee.

"umm… about that bet…" Since she lost fair and square, all she could do was beg the brunette to take that bet back, the one about the shower.

"Deal is a deal."

"okay, fine. If you want me to take a shower with you, then I will."

"You…will?"

"Sure, I'll just shower with all my clothes on. And if you want to let me see you naked, then that's fine too."

"Hey…that's not fair, that's not what I meant."

"Well, you weren't being specific about it, so there…" Amy smiled while crossing her arms, feeling satisfied that she outsmarted her this time.

Lucy wouldn't have forced her into it anyway and let out a sly smile.

"umm…you still owe me 2." She put up her fingers. "…whatever I want, right?" Lucy said as she raised her brows up and down.

_She's right._ Knowing that there was no way she could get out of those two bets, there was only one thing she could do. She learned it when she was a DEB. Psychology. Human behavior. How to get into the mind of others. Amy leaned closer towards the brunette's face and scanned her from top to bottom.

"Is that all you think about…up there?" Amy tapped lightly on the brunette's forehead. "What's the matter with you? Do you have that problem that never existed before and now they even have a screening test for it." She narrowed her eyes and leaned closer. "Do you have… sex…addiction?"

"ha…ha very funny…" Lucy put her hand over the blonde's face and lightly pushed it away from hers.

Amy wasn't going to let her go that easily and took hold of her hand.

"I'm serious. You'll need to go see a doctor for that. It's a serious disease. It could ruin your life. Does Scud know? Does Alexis know? Does Nadia know? You didn't sleep with both of them. Did you? What about porn? Do you watch that? If you do, then you have a serious problem. You're addicted."

Lucy crossed her arms and remained silent, listening to the blonde's silliness.

_The only thing I'm addicted to is you. _Lucy thought to herself.

Amy stopped talking when they heard a knock on the door. Uncle Nick and another man came in. Amy later learned that this was the first time the tracker had been placed inside of a human. Basically, the brunette was a guinea pig. Unlike other trackers that tell you the location, Amy learned that it had more functions, thus it was needed to be placed closed to the heart.

"I heard that it was a success." The old man said to Lucy. He had no idea why the tracker was implanted into her. His main concern was that his creation worked.

"worked like a charm." Lucy congratulated the old man.

"Can you explain to me what's happening here?" The old man handed her a clipboard with a chart on it and pointed to a spike on the chart. The tracker also had a function similar to an EKG. She was told to remember everything that happened down to the minute when something caused her heart to beat rapidly. It was to test to see if it was working like it should.

Lucy looked on the chart and saw the date and time the spike occurred.

"mmm…that's working correctly." That was the day that she woke after being kidnapped. She didn't have the time but that was the first spike, so it should be it.

"…and here?"

"yup….that's working normally too." That was when the flight attendant began unbuttoning her shirt.

"…and here?"

"yup" That was when she saw the naked back of Caitlyn.

There were a few others. "…and this one…spiked higher than the rest…"

That moment caught her by surprise. It was when she found out where to meet with Jacques Mercier. She was afraid that the megastar would be there.

"Everything worked perfectly, doc." Lucy said as she handed the chart back to him.

After the scientist left, Lucy changed into casual clothing. Outside of the bathroom, Lucy wondered why Amy and Uncle Nick were staring at her.

"Let's go."

Besides what she said before, Amy wanted to know something else.

"So what happened at that moment?"

Lucy again pretended not to know what she was referring to. Amy clarified.

"Do you want to know what happened? Uncle Nick?"

Uncle Nick nodded.

"nothing really, it just caught me by surprise…"

"what caught you by surprise?"

"oh…you know…the flight attendant…" Uncle Nick was unaware of the undercover agent, so Lucy explained what happened.

After hearing the good news about Benjamin Couric, Uncle Nick congratulated her on her plan. It was unexpected. He expected Anthony's men to be the one to capture the fraudster.

Since Uncle Nick had something to do, the girls left the building. Feeling a little hungry, they decided to eat first. When the waiter came back with their orders, Lucy got a phone call from Scud.

"Hello. Everything's fine. No problems. Oh…okay. Have fun."

Scud and all of them planned to stay overnight and won't be back until tomorrow.

"So where should we go next?" Amy asked as she took a bite of her vegetable rollup.

"home." Lucy said as she dipped her French fry into the ketchup before putting in her mouth.

"Why? Is your back hurting you?"

"no."

"then…" Amy stopped to pick up a call. "Oh hi Max. I'll be back in a few days."

Lucy didn't like what she just heard, but knew that day would come. After Scud comes back, they will go back to London and she will be all alone. Pretending not to care, pretending that it doesn't hurt, Lucy looked out the window as she took a big bite of the hamburger.

"I want to go somewhere else after this."

"Where?" Lucy looked down at her plate, avoiding eye contact with the blonde.

"I don't know. You know this place better than I do. Is there any place exciting, any place fun, any place famous here?"

Lucy didn't come here for fun. She came here for a few reasons, so she, like Amy, had never been to any tourist attraction places. When Lucy shrugged her shoulders in response, Amy took out her phone and searched the internet for Toronto attractions. After a moment, Amy excused herself to the bathroom. When she came back, she let the brunette know that she made reservations to see the CN tower. Since Lucy had nothing to do, she agreed.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened with the flight attendant? Why it made your heart beat like that?"

Taking a bite of the French Fry, Lucy wondered why the blonde was still talking about that.

"You really want to know?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't ask."

"you know that she's undercover, right?"

Amy nodded.

"…and we don't know if there were bugs or hidden cameras."

Amy nodded in understanding again and choked on the water after hearing the brunette's next comment.

"So…we had to do it for real…"

"I thought…" She coughed some more. It took a short moment to control herself. "I thought you said you didn't do anything." Amy whispered so that others couldn't hear them.

"We didn't. We were pretending."

"Your heartbeat jumped out of the chart! I'm sure you weren't just pretending." Amy whispered in a tone like a jealous girlfriend asking for an explanation.

"At that moment, it caught me by surprise. She unbuttoned her shirt and exposed her…bra." Lucy leaned forward and said the last word in a whisper. "After she told me who she is, then it came back down. You saw the chart."

"That spike lasted more than a minute. So what were you doing? Just looking?" Amy said in a whisper. Lucy could tell that she was upset.

"You've been undercover before. You know how it is when you have a role to play….and don't tell me you could control how your body reacts when you have to kiss someone in your missions."

"For your information, I never had to kiss anyone. I've played seductive roles but never had to lip-lock with anyone….but you…you probably did more than kiss her."

Lucy cleared her throat and looked out the window as she tapped her fingers on the table. She didn't deny it. They had to make it look real. She had to make it look like she wanted the blonde, so of course she had to do more than kissing.

"Maybe you just don't remember." She realized she could use that excuse for everything.

Amy took the last bite of her vegetable roll, her eyes narrowing at the brunette.

Lucy took a quick glance at the blonde and noticed that she was angry with her for some reason. _It's not like we're together. So why would you care who I've kissed?_

"Let's go. It's almost time." Amy said, in a noticeable frustrated tone.

On top of a crowded red double decker, Amy sat at the edge of the seat. She took out her cell phone and snapped a few pictures. Unlike everyone else, Lucy just sat quietly next to the blonde, looking around. Most of the people on board were couples. In front of them sat a man, his hand hung around his girlfriend's shoulder. Sitting next to them on the other side was also a couple, admiring the view.

_Oh geez…do they have to do that?_ Lucy turned her head away, pretending not to notice the couple in front of them, slowly kissing each other. She didn't expect this to happen in Canada, Paris…yes, but not in Canada. _Wait_. _Why do I have to be embarrass about it? They're the ones who should be embarrassed._ Lucy turned her head towards the front, stared at them and counted. 1…2…3…4. She wanted to see how long it would take for them to notice her staring at them and how long it would take for them to stop. When she felt Amy elbowing her, Lucy turned to look at her.

"What?"

No words came out of her mouth. But Lucy understood what she was saying from the movement of her mouth. _What are you doing?_

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Lucy said as she crossed her arms and continued to stare at the couple in front of them who finally stopped when they noticed Lucy.

Lucy smiled at the couple who turned to look at her. She wanted to say 'go get a room' but managed to control herself.

"anything interesting?" She smiled at the blonde. Amy rolled her eyes and went back to sightseeing.

After an hour ride, Lucy was getting pretty bored. It wouldn't be if she was sitting with the Amy who was in love with her. _We would be holding hands. She would be leaning on my shoulder when she's tired. We would be joking and laughing about every silly thing. It would be so different….we would be so happy, so in love. _Lucy thought to herself as she focused on the blonde who was looking at the other side of the bus. Then all of a sudden, without warning, everyone was startled, some screamed when the double decker leaned towards one side, causing riders to press against the ones next to them. Lucy couldn't maintain her own position and slid towards the blonde, her body pressed against hers, her lips accidentally landed on her cheek.

After the bus swerved back into position, Lucy immediately explained as she raised both of her hands. "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It's the bus."

Amy quickly reached out to pull her hands down and whispered. "Would you please stop that and act normally?"

"What?" Lucy wasn't sure what she meant by that.

"Act normal. Friends don't say things like that to each other."

"umm…friends don't…but exes do."

Amy let out a exhausted breath, tired of how the brunette was behaving around her.

"Have we been here before?" Amy asked to change the subject and repeated her question when the brunette didn't respond.

"Lucy?" Amy shook her shoulder out of her deep thought.

"I know what I want." Lucy suddenly spoke and raised her brows up and down.

"No. I am not taking a shower with you or do anything like that." Amy whispered in a frustrated tone.

"hey, that's not what I'm thinking of." Lucy rolled her eyes and wondered what caused the blonde to think of her that way. "Do this and the shower bet is off."

"I wasn't going to take a shower with you, anyway." It was a bet and she broke the promise. She knew that. "Alright, what?"

"Be…my…Amy…"

Amy heard but just couldn't believe what the brunette was asking her to do.

"Think of it as a role play in one of your missions. I want you…to be my Amy, my girlfriend…the one who loves me as much I love her, the one who gave up everything to be with me. You know what I gave up for her. You know what I'm willing to do for her. Just for today, can you… be her?" It felt a bit strange talking about Amy as a third person when she's right in front of her.

Lucy waited for her to respond, there was only a silent stare.

"Pretend we're on vacation here. Pretend that you love me. Can you do that?" Lucy said in a begging tone. _I want to hold you. I want that feeling again. Even if it just pretense, I would be satisfied…before you leave.  
_She thought to herself.

Amy knew how much the brunette missed her, but only realized now just how much. Feeling extremely sorry for the brunette, Amy agreed.

"What is she like?"

Lucy frowned at the question. "She's like…you."

"I mean, when she's with you, what is she like? Does she act any different when she's with her friends? Does she act like she needs your help for everything?…like she needs your help opening a soda can or expect you to open every door for her…Is she the one in charge or are you the one in charge?"

Lucy didn't understand why she had so many questions when all she wanted was her to be herself.

"just pretend that you're in love. How would you behave if you're in love? Just think of me as that person you're in love with. I'm the one you're willing to risk your life for." Lucy let her words sink in. "okay?"

Lucy saw the blonde closing her eyes for a short moment. She prayed internally that Amy would agree. When the blonde opened her eyes and spoke, it was a good sign….sort of.

"No kissing."

"just on the cheek…please?"

Amy rolled her eyes and neither disagreed nor agreed. When Amy closed her eyes again and leaned her head down, Lucy smiled, shifting her body closer to allow the blonde rest on her shoulder. Her arm wrapped around the blonde's shoulder, she placed a kiss on her head. "thank you." Lucy said softly and closed her eyes to savor the moment. Too bad it was just a short moment.

"Lucy"

"hm" Her eyes closed, Lucy gently rubbed the blonde's arm up and down.

"I don't think I would do this…in public."

"You're right. You wouldn't."

Amy immediately lifted her head up and slapped the brunette playfully on the shoulder which caught the attention of passengers sitting on the other side.

"But we would be doing this." Smiling wide, Lucy held her left hand.

She didn't expect this to happen. But she really felt like she had the old Amy back. It was all an act. But the blonde was playing her role perfectly, in fact, so perfectly, Lucy didn't feel she was pretending at all….because…she was taking in charge of everything.

"But honey, I don't want to go on that." Lucy said in a begging tone.

After getting off the 2 hour bus ride, they went up to the CN Tower and spent half an hour looking at the breath taking view of Canada from over 1000 feet high. What she didn't expect was that the blonde made reservation to the Edgewalk, the world's highest full circle hands-free walk on a 5 ft wide ledge encircling the top of the Tower's main pod, 1168ft above the ground. Amy's eyes sparkled with excitement as she waited for her turn to walk with two other tourists on the top of the CN tower.

"It's going to be fun." Amy held onto the brunette's arm to make sure she didn't try to run away.

When Lucy found out what she was waiting in line for, she had been telling her one-day lover that she didn't want to go.

"I have to tell you something."

"After this, okay? babe?" _Did I just called her babe? _Amy shook her head. That's what her ex boyfriend always called her and she hated being called that.

"umm…Amy, you never call me that and you hated being call that."

"Right. Got it. What do I call you?…honey, sweetheart…" What Amy was trying to do was to distract her and it seem to be working until someone asked them to put the uniform on.

_Lucy Diamond, afraid of heights? Who would have thunk?_

After listening to the instructions told by the guide, the door opened to the outside.

"umm…Amy…" Lucy said again as she was being led outside. It looked like the last group had fun but she wasn't sure how her body would react. She thought the Ferris wheel would be fun and looked what happened when it got up to the top. She rode on the London Eye a few times, but that was different. She practiced standing on the edge of the roof of a building but that was only five storeys high.

"Amy…"

When the blonde turned around and cupped her cheeks, it caught her by surprise.

"Listen to me. You're _Lucy Diamond_." Amy whispered her name. "_Lucy Diamond_ is not afraid of anything. This is going to be fun. Just think fun. Okay?" Her hazel green eyes pierced into dark brown ones, the confidence in the brunette that she's used to seeing wasn't there. Amy leaned in and surprised her with a kiss on the lips. It wasn't part of the deal. But at that moment, it just felt right to do so, to give her courage.

Lucy was so stunned, she had to be told three times by the guide to move along.

"Oh…my…God. This is really...really...really high."

Strong cold wind blew into her face. She grabbed onto the rope attached to her harness in the front as tight as she could. All wore a red uniform with a full body harness and followed the guide in the front. Lucy was the last person to step onto the ledge.

"holy shit!" Lucy gasped inward as she stood along the edge. Her heart pounded rapidly, her legs began to tremble, her grip tightened. If she was wearing the tracker now, the spike would be so high, they would think there was something wrong with the device. She wasn't the only one who's in panic mode. There were two others in the front.

"Lucy! Let go!" Amy already let go of her rope, leaning herself backwards as instructed by the the guide. "Try it!" Amy called out again.

Lucy swallowed, looking down on the sky scrapers below.

She turned to look at the blonde who wasn't afraid at all. It was clear to everyone there that she was the bravest one there, enjoying the feeling of being on top of the world. Amy then turned herself around and leaned against the rope. With arms spread apart, her body leaning forward, trusting the harness to hold her, she was like a bird spreading its wings apart, ready to fly off.

_She's free. Max, she's free._

"What are you waiting for?!"

"I…" Lucy swallowed again, unable to get the words out. _God damn it. _

_Why am I acting like this?_ _I'm not afraid to die. So why?_

"Amy!" Lucy called loudly to get her attention. "I…LOVE…YOU!" She didn't wait for the guide to tell her what to do. She took two steps forward, leaned against the rope in front of her, spread her arms apart and looked down without a drop of fear in her body. If her harness chose to break at this moment, then so be it. If the Lord chose to strike at her with a lightning bolt, then so be it. If this is the last time she could be with her lover, then so be it. With eyes wide opened, she saw miniature sized cars down below. Looking up at the blue clear sky, it felt like she was flying. She turned towards the blonde who grabbed hold of her hand. They were like two lovebirds flying next to each other. All realized what their relationship is when they heard the shouting from the brunette. Enjoying themselves in that moment and ignoring everyone around them, they didn't realize that time was up until the guide tapped on the blonde's back.

Both went back inside the CN Tower to walk around the Lookout and the Glass Floor. Nothing got her adrenaline pumping like the Edgewalk. After seeing everything, Lucy suggested to go home. What she had in mind was a romantic dinner for two and a little dancing afterwards. _Wait…Uncle Nick's there. That's not going to work._ She didn't realize that the blonde had everything planned out until she was led to the 360 restaurant on the 115th floor of the CN Tower.

Lights were dimmed inside the restaurant to bring out the magnificent night view of Toronto at night. Once seated, both could feel the restaurant moving at a slow speed in a circle. Both could see how beautiful it was as the sun begins to set. But Lucy preferred to eat at home where it would be just the two of them, away from the noises of tourists and children.

Lucy frowned after hearing what the blonde ordered for herself. Handing the menu back to the waitress, Lucy waited for her to leave before asking. Even before she spoke, it seem that Amy could read her mind.

"First time for everything, right?" Amy took a sip of water with a slice of lemon.

"I hate to break it to you, but you've eaten that before." A smile spread across her face.

"Kristin?"

When Lucy shook her head, Amy realized how much effect the brunette had on her. Even when Max or Janet asked her to try any kind of meat, she didn't even have to think about it and would just respond 'No thank you.'

"Did I like it?"

"Sure…she…you tried a little bit of everything…but only when we ate out. My cooking skills weren't that great then." Lucy smiled and looked out the window to admire the view.

Even without her explanation, Amy knew why. She heard it from Scud that Lucy occupied herself by taking cooking lessons and martial arts lessons, training at the gym,and others to take her mind off her 'deceased' lover. At that moment when she heard her story, she couldn't control herself from letting out a few tears. At this moment, being reminded of what she's gone through, Amy reached out across the table and held her hand to comfort her.

"Hey, do you want to tell me what happened up there?" Amy said in a gentle tone.

Lucy cleared her throat, unsure which part she was referring to.

"I seem to recall that…someone was involved in …_a diamond_ _heist…" _Amy whispered. "…a long time ago…and she had to glide down from the rooftop of one building to another to escape…now I could be wrong…but I don't think so…someone who has acrophobia wouldn't be able to do that…and don't tell me that's not you."

"which building?" Since she escaped a few times with that method, she wasn't sure which heist she was referring to. But she knew that wasn't what Amy wanted to know. "Do you remember our first date?"

"the time you kidnapped me and Janet?" Amy heard the story from Janet.

Lucy continued to tell her the story of her first panic attack on the Ferris wheel.

As expected, Amy didn't believe her. When Lucy told her what happened after that, Amy had another thought.

"You did that on purpose, you wanted her…" She leaned forward and whispered. "you wanted me…to kiss you."

"What?! Of course not. Don't you think you would be smart enough to notice it if I was pretending?"

When Amy didn't respond, Lucy knew that didn't convince her. "I was sweating. I can't make that happen."

Amy leaned back against the chair. "Then why?"

_I wish I knew. _"Maybe I haven't done it for a long time."

"…or maybe it's because you're with me."

"what?" Lucy responded in a soft tone, confusion on her face.

All of a sudden, a little boy about 4 years old tripped and fell a feet away from the blonde.

Amy immediately got off the chair and helped him up. "Are you okay?"

His mother then worriedly ran towards them and thanked her for her help. Seeing the blonde still standing there and waving to the little boy, Lucy could tell how much the blonde loves kids…just like Kristin.

"So…now do you know why?" Amy spoke after sitting back down.

Seeing her clueless look on her face, Amy continued.

"Did you see how worried that little boy's mother was? I'm certain she wasn't like that before she gave birth to him. If you…were by yourself, if you never met me, you would have no problem going up there by yourself…"

Lucy remained silent to think about it. She didn't have anyone…except for Scud…. She had nothing to lose. She wasn't afraid of anything…until…she met Amy. At that moment up on the Edgewalk, when she decided to let her go, she was no longer afraid. _She is my weakness. _

There was nothing to be happy about, but Lucy put on a fake smile and nodded in agreement. "Food's here."

Amy ordered herself a plate of pan seared Atlantic salmon with Matane shrimp. On Lucy's plate was lobster tail and shrimp on a bed of linguini. Lucy dug her fork into a bed of linguini and twirled it around.

"Try some." Smiling, Lucy extended the fork in front of her mouth, expecting her to continue playing the role of her lover.

It was unexpected, but Amy ate it anyway. Amy did the same and offered her a piece of salmon. It wasn't that bad. She thought it would be embarrassing, feeding each other in the crowd of people. But no one was watching them.

"I think your cooking is better." Amy said in a whisper which brought a smile to Lucy's face. She was trying to make a conversation when she noticed the silence as they were eating. She was asked to act like her lover and was surprised that the brunette wasn't playing along or didn't have anything to say. So she asked herself what she would do if she was in fact sitting here with the one she loves. They would have a lot to talk about, their future together. But she couldn't talk about that, knowing that they wouldn't have a future together. After she goes back to London, they probably won't see each other again. _How can I get her to go back?_

Then all of a sudden there was a loud sound of 'wowwww!' inside the restaurant.

"Amy, look!"

Amy gasped when she saw a shooting star in the dark sky. Then another.

"make a wish." Lucy closed her eyes for a quick second. She turned to look at Amy who had her eyes closed and hands clasped together as if she was praying.

Amy had never seen a shooting star nor believed in those kind of things. But what the heck, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try since she ran out of ideas.

After a moment, Lucy returned back to eating dinner. If she was her Amy, she would have a lot to say. She previously thought this role playing was a good idea but now she wasn't so sure. There were things she would want to talk about but not in front of the one who doesn't love her.

"So what did you wish for?" Amy asked, even though she knows the brunette wouldn't tell her, even though she knows what the brunette wants.

Finished with her dinner, Lucy looked up and wiped her mouth. "I didn't." She smiled. "What about you?"

Amy frowned in confusion. The response caught her by surprise.

"You don't believe in it?" That would be the only explanation.

"I do." Lucy just left it at that and continued smiling at the blonde.

"Then…don't you want…anything?"

"I do. I have that covered. You still owe me 2 things, anything I want, right?" Smiling wide, Lucy put up two fingers.

Seeing her smile, Amy had an idea of what the brunette was thinking of. Amy narrowed her eyes at her and reminded her.

"When I said 'anything', it doesn't mean…" She stopped when the waiter placed the plates of dessert in front of them.

When Lucy saw the crème brulee on Amy's plate, she couldn't help being reminded of the time Kristin slept with her.

"Do you want some?" Amy said as she scooped up a spoonful of crème brulee.

"I can't. I can't eat that." Lucy reminded her. For a moment, in her mind, she wondered what Amy would do if she did eat that and have a stomach ache afterwards. Would she, like Kristin, take care of her the whole night? "mmm…This…" Lucy chewed on the mixed fruit tart. "this is definitely not as good as Nadia's….here try some…" Lucy extended her spoonful of tart towards the blonde who jerked back reflexively but later took the bite when she remembered who she was supposed to be.

"am I right? Not as good as Nadia's, right?"

"I wouldn't know. " Amy said in an uncaring tone.

"right. You don't remember." Then suddenly a thought occur to her. "Amy, if you decide to go back to school in Paris, you can stay with Nadia. She wouldn't mind." _Shoot_. She chastised herself for making the suggestion and not thinking it through. _Ethan lives with Nadia. If she lives with them, they would have more chances of seeing each other. No, that won't work. I'll ask Nadia to move out. That will work….What the hell am I'm doing? _Lucy was so deep in thought. She didn't hear the blonde calling her.

"Lucy"

Lucy looked up.

"What is your relationship with Nadia?"

"My…relationship?"

Amy crossed her arms as she slumped back against the chair. The crème brulee wasn't that good either. She only took one bite and didn't want to eat the rest. "She seems to like you."

Lucy cleared her throat and took another bite of the tart. She wasn't sure what to tell her since Nadia's plan was to make her jealous. _Should I tell her the truth or should I lie? Why would she be jealous? _

"Didn't Scud tell you?"

"All I know is that you saved her whole family. Do you like her?"

"Sure." Lucy responded in a casual tone. Not putting too much thought into it, she described what Nadia was like…all the good things, nothing bad.

While Lucy was talking about Nadia, Amy raised her hand to tell the waiter to get their bill ready.

"Do you love her?" Amy said in a casual tone, unsure of why she would even ask the question when she knows how much the brunette loved her.

"I do."

Surprised with her response, Amy frowned.

"…but not in that way…" Lucy didn't see the point in lying to her.

Amy wasn't sure why she asked either. But she was curious.

"So Alexis and Nadia loves you...and you don't like either of them?"

Lucy frowned, unsure of why the blonde asked.

"maybe...you can..." Amy stopped herself from continuing her thought. There was a moment when she thought that it would be a good idea for the brunette to give Alexis or Nadia a chance. But she knew she had no right to say that. She just didn't want the brunette to be all alone. Besides, there was another reason she couldn't explain. Picturing the brunette with Nadia gets her so...

"Maybe I can what?"

At this moment, the waiter came with the bill and interrupted her thought.

After dinner, neither spoke a word while taking the taxi home. The night was about to end. It didn't come out the way she expected. At the Edgewalk, she did feel something, like Amy was back with her. But after that, reality set in. There was nothing she could talk to her about. _Role play. What a stupid idea._

"Stop here, please." Lucy asked the taxi driver.

They were almost at Uncle Nick's house, just one more street. Amy wondered why the brunette stopped the taxi. Lucy paid the taxi driver and exited the door. Amy exited on the other side. Confused, she was about to ask why but when she saw the brunette extending her hand out, she understands. Lucy smiled when Amy took the offered hand. Knowing this would be the last time she could hold the soft hands of her lover, Lucy held it tight, gently swung it back and forth while walking slowly up the road towards Uncle Nick's house in the chilly dark night with a bright moon following them. Her heart was aching, but she held in her tears that were forming, inhaling loudly to soothe her aching heart, pretending to take in breaths of fresh air. _Everything is going to be back the way it used to be before she met her. _ _I should be happy. She's alive and well. _Lucy repeated to herself, smiling softly as she took glances at the blonde who smiled back. Memories of them taking a romantic stroll along the sandy beaches of Barcelona flowed into her mind. It was absolutely perfect at that time, so perfect she didn't think that they would ever be apart. But now she came to believe that the Lord had it all planned out from the beginning. Like what she said to the megastar, things happen for a reason. It was a silly thought. But she couldn't help thinking that Amy was sent by the Lord to get her to leave the criminal organization, her father never wanted her to be part of it, and now that she did, Amy had to go back to where she belongs. She looked up at the shimmering stars that seem to be looking down on her. The stars that looked so much like the ones she saw at the island. It wasn't Amy. She realized it could be her parents, looking down at her. "I understand now." She said in a whisper looking up at the stars.

Both stopped in front of the double doors of Uncle Nick's house. A genuine smile appeared on her face. Lucy stepped closer and slowly leaned towards the blonde, letting her know what she was about to do, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek, for the last time.

"Thank you." She spoke softly and released her hand. The role play ended. Another night has ended. Lucy opened the doors and went upstairs to her bedroom, saying good night without turning back as she walked rapidly up the stairs.

Amy stood still as she watched the brunette. _There is nothing between her and Nadia_. _Nadia is like Alexis_. She wasn't sure why she was feeling that way when she saw them together, getting so close. Whatever it is, she didn't like it.

"It's not like I want to be with her….in that way…at least…not yet." Amy immediately covered her face, surprised at what she just said. "What am I saying?" She found at each different moment, she felt something different. At one moment, sympathy filled her heart, she was willing to try to get to know her. At another, a tinge of jealousy mixed with anger and disgust filled her mind when she saw her with Nadia. Then at another, the thought of being with the brunette was as impossible as being with her ex-boyfriend Bobby. Confusion crowded her mind.

"Stop it. Stop it. I'm not gay. I'm not gay." She said to herself repeatedly as she stomped up the stairs.

After taking a shower, Lucy stood with her back facing the mirror, trying to take off the bandage from her back. Bending herself to reach the bandage, Lucy winced in pain. It was a small cut, a little more than an inch, but the cut was deep.

"damn it." Lucy gasped inward, quickly straightening her back to ease the pain.

"It's just a little pain, you've been through worse." She looked at herself in the mirror, her upper body naked. Taking a few quick breaths, she then tried again and pulled the bandage off while clenching her teeth. The wet bandage was no longer white.

"Shit!" She turned her back around facing the mirror and saw blood oozing from the stitches. Quickly grabbing a few tissues from the box, as she bent her right elbow to reach the back, she heard two knocks.

"Who is it?" Lucy said but there was no response. She put on the robe before opening the door.

"Amy." The role play ended. Lucy was a little surprised to see her at this time of the night in her pajamas.

When Amy was about to slid into her own bed, she suddenly remembered what happened this morning before Uncle Nick interrupted her.

"What did you say earlier?" Her eyes spontaneously scanned the brunette from top to bottom and stopped at her chest. From the opening of the robe, she noticed that the brunette wasn't wearing anything underneath it.

"Excuse me?" Lucy didn't feel like talking at this moment, feeling a drop of blood sliding down her back.

"You said something this morning. What did you say?"

Feeling itchy and a tinge of pain, Lucy tried to scratch her back. "What?" She pretended not to know what she was talking about.

"You know what." Amy led herself in, pushing the door open. Nothing was going to stop her from finding out this time. She closed the door behind her.

"I'm a little tired. I want to go to sleep now. Do you mind?" Lucy said, while scratching her back and wincing with discomfort.

"What's wrong?" Without waiting for the brunette's response, Amy stepped behind her and gasped when she saw a faint reddish spot on the back of her robe. "you're bleeding."

When Lucy felt her robe being pulled down, she gripped the front of her robe tight and turned around. "What are you doing?"

"Let me see."

Lucy was never shy being naked in front of Amy. But this is different. She's not the same Amy.

"Take it off. You're bleeding."

"It's okay. I can take care of it myself."

Amy frowned, wondering why the brunette was embarrassed about taking it off. She's the one who brought up the bet about the shower. She's the one who was talking dirty this morning.

"No you can't." Not taking a no for an answer, Amy grabbed her forearm and pulled her towards the bed, pressing her down to sit on the bed.

"Amy…I…" Lucy gasped in pain when she tried to sit up and was immediately pushed back down.

"Where's the stuff?" Amy looked around and walked over to the dresser where she found the bottle and gauze pad. After placing them on the table next to the bed, she headed to the bathroom to get a warm wet towel. Lucy kept repeating what she said earlier, but Amy wasn't listening.

"Take it off." Holding a warm towel in one hand, Amy said in a commanding tone.

Lucy froze. That was the first time she heard her ex-lover said that to her. She had dreams of Amy saying that but for a totally different reason. Lucy turned around, untied her robe, slowly taking one arm out, then the next. Taking the robe to cover her front, she then lay down on the bed with her back facing up. What she could have done and what she thought of doing was take it off in front of the blonde, then see what her reaction would be like. Would she be embarrassed by it? Would it help bring her memory back? She wished. It was a crazy thought. She knew that.

"Is it bad?" Lucy turned her head to the left when she couldn't feel the blonde's hand on her back. She wasn't sure what she saw and she could be wrong since her right side of the face was leaning against the bed in an uncomfortable way.

Amy cleared her throat. Keeping her eyes on the warm wet towel, she poured a small amount of hot water on it. She blinked a few times before wiping the dried blood on the brunette's back.

Not hearing a response, Lucy asked again. "is it bad?"

"Does this hurt?" Amy pressed the red swollen area around the cut, causing Lucy to gasp in pain. "You're going to get an infection if you don't take good care of it."

Lucy remained silent.

"Well, are you going to tell me what you said this morning?" Amy asked as she placed some ointment on the cut.

Lucy closed her eyes, not wanting to give her any more information. It's over. There's no need to explain.

Knowing that she was being ignored again, Amy was about to press hard on her cut after putting the gauze pad on since the brunette wasn't responding to her question again but didn't think that was a good idea.

"OW!" Lucy opened her eyes wide, rubbing her butt where the blonde slapped her.

"Are you going to tell me?!"

"Tell you what?" Lucy lifted herself up. When she saw the stunned look on Amy's face, her eyes locked on her chest and her jaws dropped, she realized that she had totally forgotten that she didn't have the top on. _Oh shoot_. Lucy quickly turned to the other side, put the robe on and got off the bed.

What Amy just saw caused her to gasp inward and spontaneously held her breath. She wasn't sure why, but heart skipped a beat at the sight of the brunette's naked front. It's not like she hasn't seen another female's private parts before. She has. A lot of times, when she was in the DEBS organization. After workout and training, she and her classmates hit the showers. Some didn't bother to hide their private areas and walked around naked. It didn't bother her. But she herself doesn't like to do that. Her eyes, on its own, followed the brunette's every movement.

"Thank you." Lucy said as she opened the door, expecting the blonde to leave. What she didn't expect was Amy hitting her butt earlier.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me." Amy closed the door and crossed her arms.

"Okay, fine. Stay here if you want." Lucy let out a smirk that the blonde couldn't see. As she was about to walk away, she jerked back when the blonde pulled her hand.

"I'm not going to let you sleep if you don't tell me." Gripping her shoulders tight, Amy looked deep into her dark brown eyes to let her know she was serious. Seeing the brunette's unwillingness to share the information, she realized it must be extremely important.

"Amy, it doesn't matter anymore."

"Then tell me."

Both stared at each other in silence for a long moment. Lucy debated whether to tell her. _If I told her, what would she think of me?_ _Would she agree with me? Nadia definitely would not._

Amy ran out of patience. She was quite tired herself. "Lucy!"

"Sleep with me."

"What!" Amy heard but couldn't believe what the brunette just asked her to do.

"I want you to…stay with me…tonight."

"No!" Amy pushed the brunette's shoulder away while stepping back herself. Maybe she should have clarified the bet. "I told you before. 'Anything' doesn't mean…."

"That's not what I meant either." Lucy rolled her eyes as she walked towards the bed. Lifting the blanket up, she took the two large pillows and placed them in the middle of the king size bed.

"We can just…talk. I'll tell you what you want to know.." She said as she extended her hand towards the other side of the bed. It was a thought that just popped into her head. She never planned on using the bet. Since nobody was in the house besides Uncle Nick and she was the one who wouldn't leave the bedroom, so why not get her to 'sleep' with her one last time. Lucy took two new pillows from the closet, put it on the bed, changed into her pajamas with the back facing the blonde, and slid underneath the blanket. Resting comfortably on the plush mattress, Lucy closed her eyes. She had no doubt in her mind that Amy would 'sleep' with her. _It's not like we haven't done it before. It's not like I'm going to do anything. She doesn't really think I'm a sex addict. Does she? _Lucy opened her eyes, heard a clicking sound of the door being locked, and saw nothing but darkness. Hearing the soft footsteps, Lucy smiled.

"Okay, now tell me." Amy leaned on her side, grabbing the pillow in the middle.

"tell you what?"

Extremely frustrated with the brunette, Amy let out a deep breath and turned on the lamp on the table. She turned towards the brunette and saw her lying on the bed with her eyes closed.

"mm…Lucy…" Amy said in a sweet voice.

Lucy knew she couldn't continue ignoring her but didn't expect the blonde to hit her with a pillow.

"OW! OW!"

Amy then pressed the pillow over her chest, her forearm pressing against it.

"Now are you going to tell me?"

"I…can't…breeeathe."

"Then tell me." Amy said in gentle voice, applying more pressure on the pillow.

"Okay, okay." Lucy stopped pretending to have difficulty breathing. But the pressure on her chest did cause a little pain on her back.

Looking up at the blonde who was running out of patience, she spoke in low voice.

"What?" Unable to hear what the brunette said, Amy leaned closer.

"We…set…him…up."

Seeing the frown on her face, Lucy could tell she needed to explain in more detail. If Thomas wasn't greedy, he wouldn't have fallen into her trap. It was Lucy's idea to set him up. It was her idea to have someone introduce him to a building material that has the same quality as the brand that he was supposed to use, but at a cheaper price. It was her plan to get Thomas in trouble.

Amy was shocked to hear that it was a setup from the beginning. _That's why she was so sure that her life wouldn't be in danger. She was expecting it.  
_

"But how did you know that he would look for you? How did you know he would need your help?"

What Anthony told them wasn't very clear.

"Because nobody else can."

"But how can you be so sure?"

"Because it's a huge project, nobody can help him except Jacques Mercier."

Lucy said in a serious tone, letting her know that she had this planned in detail and it wasn't like what Ethan said. There were no risks. The only surprise was Caitlyn. It still wasn't clear to Amy until she heard how Jacques owed her a favor. Lucy was hoping that Jean Claude would remember the deal Anthony offered before the fight in the arena. If he didn't, her plan would never have worked.

Lucy wasn't surprised when Amy asked the same question as Scud.

"How did you know he was in that hospital?"

"by accident" If she didn't learn about Benjamin's whereabouts from the megastar, her plan was to go to Paris and show up on purpose to let Jean Claude know that she is still alive.

"accident?"

"mhm" Lucy put on a straight face and hoped Amy couldn't tell she was lying.

"accident."

"Yes, accident."

"Then you could've inform my former boss and they…." Amy trailed off when she remembered that she had said this before on the day she came back. _Her goal was not only to capture the fraudster, but also to make sure Jean Claude stay away._

"What if he found out that you set this up? He will want revenge. Then he would go after you and…"

"he's not going to find out. Even if he does, he's not going to do anything."

Lucy continued to tell her the deal at the boxing arena and assured her that Jean Claude wouldn't think about getting revenge.

"But how can you be so sure?" Amy said in a worried tone.

"Because there are rules. If he breaks that agreement, he knows Anthony and the others will go after him."

"but he broke his promise once before, he tricked all of you."

"that's why he's not going to do that again."

Lucy could see concern in her eyes.

"Trust me. I know how he thinks. I used to be one of them. Remember?"

Lucy didn't intentionally said the last sentence. She just wanted to assure her that nobody will be bothering her from now on.

When Amy heard the last sentence, the events of that night flowed into her mind. Her words hurt her that night. _You were pretending to be drunk that night. You heard every word. _

"You…are…nothing like them."

Lucy remained still when she felt warm hands cupping her cheeks. Her heart suddenly began to beat a little faster. She was unsure what caused it. It's not like it's the first time she's been touched that way. Looking deeply into her hazel green eyes, she could feel as though jolts of electricity were zapping from the blonde's pupil to her own. Remaining still, Lucy closed her eyes when she saw Amy's face moving closer to hers. She wasn't expecting anything from her. With or without her approval, with or without her understanding, she would have done it anyway and she would do it again without letting anyone know. She was unsure what the blonde was thinking. But what she was doing, gently rubbing her cheek with her thumb, was driving her crazy. If there weren't a pillow placed between them, she wasn't sure if she could control herself.

It was a plan carefully thought out. What Amy learned from Anthony at the billiard room while they were waiting for the brunette to come up to finish the game was that Anthony's men had been protecting them in London. _Her plan already started before that time. Was she planning to go to Canada that day or was it because she heard what she said that night? _Amy thought to herself.

"Lucy…" Amy said in a soft gentle voice and stopped rubbing her cheek. Both of her hands pulled back and placed on the pillow, sandwiched in between their upper bodies.

Lucy opened her eyes slowly and saw hesitation in the blonde. "hm?"

"mm…" Amy wanted to ask about that night. She really wanted to know if she was pretending that night. _Should she bring it up again? Is there a point? She knows how I feel already. Should I tell her I'm willing to go back to the apartment to live with them, like how it used to be…until I graduate…until I couldn't take it anymore…until something happens_….? She was indecisive. She's not sure what she wants. Her tired body took control, she lowered her head and rested comfortably on the pillow and thought for a moment. Her tired eyelids drooped. She didn't realize how long she was in deep thought until she felt a hand on her back, gently stroking up and down. Her eyes opened wide when she felt a hand lightly swiping the side of her breast. She lifted her head up so fast, the movement startled the brunette. Lucy opened her eyes.

"You do have a sex addiction problem. Don't you?"

"What!"

Lucy was unsure what happened. She could see that the blonde was frustrated and upset, but she had no idea why. Amy placed the pillow back into the center of the bed and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders. She lost the bet so she had no intention of leaving. A few moments ago, she was feeling something for the brunette. Everything the former criminal mastermind did for her, she felt it and was touched by it. She wanted to ask her to move back to London with her. But when the brunette touched her in that way, that interrupted her thought.

"Amy?" Lucy frowned, thinking of what could have elicited such a reaction from the blonde. When she realized what she did, she let out a deep breath.

"I'm...sorry. I didn't...mean...to...I...just...miss...us." Lucy said while staring at the ceiling.

She didn't do it on purpose. Her hands spontaneously stroked the blonde's back. She wasn't having any dirty thoughts. Her mind and body were too tired.

"We...lived together for seven months in Barcelona...we slept on the same bed, everyday...except the days when you have to study late. You didn't want to disturb me. So you slept in the other room. We..." Lucy closed her eyes. "...never did it...because you didn't want to...until we get married. That's what you believed in and I respected that...There were times when we couldn't control ourselves but in the end, we didn't. Each time, you apologized." Lucy let out a smile as the memory of the past flowed into her mind. "...and I said for what?...We would then burst out laughing and sleep in separate beds."

"So why didn't we get married?" If she was willing to give up everything for the brunette, she found it strange that she wouldn't want to marry her.

"You were in school. I wanted to wait until after you graduate."

Lucy paused for a moment before continuing.

"I want to surprise you...carve a big heart in the middle of the beach with 3 words in it...surrounded by candles...not sure if that would work with the breeze...if it doesn't, then maybe lights." The image appeared in her mind. "...then I would call you to come out at night time or sunset. There would be nobody else around except you and me and James and Scud...they would make sure we wouldn't be disturbed. I would have a dozen roses ready, a cushion cut three stone pave diamond ring in platinum, get down on my knee. Then we can go to our honeymoon...in Paris, then Venice, ride the gondola with the gondolier serenading in Italian."

She didn't plan on telling her. It just came out. She just told her lover her plan to propose to her, a proposal that she thought about for months but never took place and will never happen. Lucy couldn't control her tears from dropping at the corner of her eye. She shifted and leaned on her side, her back facing the pillows. Her eyes shut tight as tears continued to flow down. She controlled herself from sniffing to prevent the blonde from noticing.

"Good night. Amy."

* * *

**Chapter 42: Chapter 42**

* * *

Chapter 42

It wasn't because of the sunlight shining through the curtains. It wasn't because she couldn't sleep. In fact, Lucy slept very well last night despite what happened. It was the stitches in her back. Lucy gasped inward and slowly opened her eyes. As she was about to reach down her back, she frowned when she saw an extra hand resting over her abdomen. She slowly turned her head to the back without moving her body and found the blonde lying very close in the back of her. Lucy let out a big smile. If it wasn't for the itch in her back, she would have stayed in that position until the blonde wakes up.

Lucy carefully lifted the blonde's arm and slid out of bed. Once off the bed, she quickly scratched her back. After letting out a quiet sigh of relief, she bent down to look at the sleeping blonde. She wondered what happened in the middle of the night, for the blonde to decide to take away the pillows, snuggling close to her. She leaned in to place a light kiss on her cheek, barely touching it.

"I'll make you breakfast." She said in a whisper. It will be the last time she will be cooking for her ex-lover. She wanted to make it memorable.

* * *

1-1/2 hours later

Yawning loudly, Amy groggily woke up and stretched her arms and legs, awakened by the need to go to the bathroom.

"What time is it?" She asked as if expecting someone to respond to her. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned again and exhaled loudly. Her body relaxed on the most comfortable bed she felt she had ever slept on. A smile appeared on her face, feeling that she just had the most relaxing, longest sleep she had ever had. She blinked a few times and when she finally could see the ceiling clearly, her smile disappeared. Quickly sitting up, she looked to the right. What she was expecting wasn't there.

"What?…How?" The two pillows that were in the middle of the bed were nowhere in sight. She found herself lying in the middle of the bed, closer to the side where the brunette was sleeping.

"Oh…god.." Amy slapped her forehead as she slumped back down on the bed, trying to think of what happened last night. "What did I do?" No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember how she ended up on that side of the bed. But she remembered what the brunette told her last night. It was very touching. Tears spontaneously formed just listening to her plan to propose…to her. She heard it before from Janet but not in so much detail. She could picture it in her mind. It sounded very romantic. If, one day, the one she loves proposes to her in that way, there was no doubt in her mind that she would have said yes. Amy would have said yes. She wanted to say 'sorry' but knew that wasn't what the brunette wanted to hear. After hearing her story, she turned off the lamp and wiped away the tears brimming her eyes.

"I'm going to ask her to go back. That's what I'm going to do." Amy decided. Whatever will happen after they move back, she can't think about that right now. All she knows is that she can't let the brunette live here, alone. Amy let out a deep breath and quickly ran towards the bathroom. After taking care of business, she made the bed. It wasn't her bed, but that's what she's used to doing every morning. There on the floor at the end of the bed were two large pillows. She still had no idea how it happened. She didn't know what time it was until she walked out and closed the bedroom door.

"Kristin?"

Amy looked up. Her whole body froze. There in front of her stood Janet and Nadia. Knowing what they would ask, her eyes remained unmoved for a few seconds.

"Hi, how's the trip?" Amy said in a casual tone.

Both Janet and Nadia had the same confused look.

"Have you seen Lucy? I want to ask her something." She is after all the perfect liar. So having to come up with that lie was a piece of cake.

"She's downstairs…in the kitchen." Nadia said.

"Oh…okay." Amy said while walking towards them, heading to her own room down the hallway. She stopped at the door to her room and shut her eyes when she heard Nadia asking another question.

"Did you just wake up?"

_Now I have to come up with another lie. _"mhm…I just thought of something I have to ask her." _Damn it_. From the look on their faces, she could tell the girls don't believe her. At least Nadia doesn't.

"It's 10 o'clock."

_What! _She slept really well last night but didn't think it would be that late.

"We came back late last night and I couldn't sleep…you know…it's difficult to fall asleep in someone's else's bed." _Damn it! Why did I say that?_

"Kristin!" Amy turned and saw Ethan quickly approaching her. Alec and Scud were walking behind him. Amy quickly opened the door, not wanting to let anyone especially Alec and Ethan to see her in her pajamas and her morning look. She hasn't even washed her face yet.

"I'll see you guys downstairs." Amy said before closing the door.

After taking a shower, Amy didn't expect everyone to be sitting there, eating in the dining room. She looked at her watch and realized it was 10:30. Too late for breakfast and too early for lunch.

"Kristin, sit here." Ethan said as he pulled the chair for her, the first seat next to the end of the table.

On the table is a plate of small cupcake-like quiche with ham and vegetables. On another plate is ham and egg crescent ring. Everything looked delicious except that all the dishes had meat in it.

_Oh well. A little meat won't kill me_. Besides she had some yesterday. What she needed right now is anything to stop her stomach from growling. As she was about to take one of the small cupcake-like quiche, she stopped when Lucy put a plate down in front of her.

"This has no meat in it." Lucy smiled as she sat down at the end of the table next to the blonde.

What's in front of her was a slice of quiche with asparagus, broccoli, chopped carrots, and cherry tomatoes on top with slices of strawberries and honey dew melon on the side.

"Thanks."

"There's more in the kitchen."

When Amy noticed that Nadia and Janet were looking at her, she knew what they wanted to ask so she asked them about the trip. Ethan was the first one to talk about it. After Ethan finished talking, Janet couldn't resist.

"So what did you girls do yesterday?" Janet said as she took a bite of the ham and egg crescent.

"We went to take out the tracker." Amy said in an obvious tone to remind her.

"How did it go?" Scud asked out of concern.

"Fine. It's still a little itchy though." Lucy said as she tried to scratch her back.

Amy dropped her fork and reached out to scratch it for her. "Maybe we should go back today. It did look kind of swollen last night." She was aware that 6 pairs of eyes were staring at her; Scud's, Nadia's, and Janet's. Pretending that nothing unusual happened last night, she continued to scratch the brunette's back.

Knowing how Janet is, Amy isn't surprised that she wanted to know more.

"After you take the tracker out, then where did you girls go?"

The way she asked caught Lucy's attention. She frowned at the shorter blonde.

Amy told them about the Edgewalk and the 360 restaurant and left out the brunette's fear of heights.

"That sounds fun." Nadia said.

"That sounds scary." Scud said as he looked at the brunette. He didn't have to say it, Lucy knew what he was thinking and he wanted to know.

All turned to the direction of Alec when he spoke.

"Now that it's all over, we can go back to Paris tomorrow." Alec looked at the brunette as if asking her if it's okay to do so.

Everyone including Ethan wasn't happy about it, knowing that he wouldn't be able to see the blonde again. Alec was the only one who was anxious to go back since he missed his girlfriend. Lucy knew this day would come and put on a fake smile.

"You can go back." Lucy said as her eyes landed on each one for a short moment to remember them as if it's the last time she will ever see them again.

"Kristin, are you busy? If not, would you like to go to Paris with us? I can show you around the places where we've been to. Maybe that will help get your memory back."

Lucy didn't like what she just heard and knew Ethan's intention. But it was a good idea.

"That's a great idea. Ethan." Janet, Scud, Nadia and Amy were all surprised with her response. "you can continue to go to school there." She mentioned this before and felt that this was the chance to tell all of them. "You can visit your former boss and Kat. And Nadia, would it be okay if she stay with you?"

All remained silent as they frowned at the brunette. The only person who agreed in excitement was Ethan.

"um…I would love too but we don't have enough bedrooms in our apartment. Besides, it wouldn't be right to live with these 2 guys." Nadia reasoned, wondering what the brunette was thinking.

"Alec and I can move into another apartment. Right, Alec?" Ethan said, smiling wide.

"Sure…I'm going to look to see if there are any tickets." Alec wasn't really interested in the conversation and left the dining room.

Lucy continued to tell Nadia that money isn't an issue. Scud can take care of it.

Amy hated being ignored. She hated being lied to. What she hated even more was someone planning her life for her.

"Did you even ask if I want to go to Paris?" Amy said in an upset tone which all noticed.

Lucy turned and asked in a gentle voice. "Do you want to go to Paris?"

Lucy could tell that she does but didn't want to admit it. _It's your dream…Barcelona and Paris._

"They can help with your memory. Kat can help. You can go back to art school." Lucy continued to list the benefits of staying there instead of London. She told her all of this before. The more she explained, the more she felt that it was the right thing to do.

Without a word, Kristin got up so fast, everyone noticed that she was upset but only Lucy knows why.

"Janet, let's go back tomorrow." Kristin said as she stared at the brunette and left the dining room without finishing the quiche on her plate.

There was a short moment of silence and all focused on the brunette who had his eyes locked on the blonde.

"Did something happened last night?" Janet couldn't help herself, unsure of how the mood suddenly changed.

Lucy heard and ignored her question. She gasped and winced in pain. It wasn't that painful, just itchy. "Nadia, can you help me?"

Up in Lucy's bedroom, lying on the bed, face front with her top off, Lucy winced in pain when she felt a stinging sensation on the cut.

"Is it bad?"

"So what happened last night?" Nadia said as she put some ointment on to the cut.

"Nothing happened."

Seeing that the brunette won't tell her, she told the brunette what she and Janet saw this morning.

"She said she has something to tell you."

"Nadia, can you persuade her to stay with you? I know she wants to go to Paris." If anyone can, she felt that Nadia could.

"You're ignoring my question."

"Nothing happened."

"She came out of your room in her pajamas. She didn't even know what time it was." She continued to tell her what she noticed, the facial expression, the odd behavior, and the things that the blonde said.

Lucy remained silent.

"You slept with her, didn't you?"

"NO!" Lucy sat up and put her top on.

"it's okay if you did." Nadia said in a gentle tone.

"Nadia, we didn't. She hates me. She can't remember me. And…she's not gay."

She grabbed her jacket and as she headed out the door, Nadia stopped her.

"You have to go to the doctor."

"Is it that bad?"

On their way down the hall, both heard noises coming from the billiard room. Standing at the double doors, Lucy saw Ethan and Kristin playing a game of pool. She could see that the blonde was no longer angry. In fact, she wondered what Ethan said that caused the blonde to laugh out loud.

"She's going to be okay." Lucy said in a whisper, not intending for anyone to be listening to her.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"As long as she's okay." Lucy said as she watched the blonde about to make her shot.

Amy noticed. Her smile disappeared as she locked her eyes at the brunette.

"Kristin, we're going to the doctor." Nadia deliberately said to see her reaction.

Amy immediately dropped her stick on the pool table and walked towards them. "What's wrong?"

She expected the brunette to answer her but it was Nadia who responded.

"It's infected."

Nadia hoped that the blonde would volunteer to go with the brunette but all she heard was the sound of birds chirping outside the balcony in the billiard room and saw hazel green eyes gazing at dark brown ones.

Lucy took out her phone to call the doctor and walked down the hall. If the blonde wants to go with her, it's up to her.

* * *

Lucy's plan was to go to the doctor, get her cut taken care of and head back home. But Nadia had something else in mind.

Lucy didn't mind. It's only her second time. Sitting on top of the tourist red double decker bus in the back, it reminded her of what happened yesterday. The bus had a lot of empty seats. She was however surprised that Nadia was leaning her head on her shoulders, her hand clinging her arm. She thought they had an understanding.

"mm…Nadia…"

"…just for today." Those were almost the same words spoken by her to Amy.

From what Alec said, she learned that Nadia never got over her, even after her 'death'. She chastised herself for not thinking about her feelings, especially how she tried to help her by making Kristin jealous.

"Are you…going to be okay?"

"As long as you're okay."

Hearing that response, Lucy smiled and placed a kiss on her head. _Sorry._

After a long moment of silence, Lucy thought of something. She debated whether to say it but what the heck, it won't hurt.

"Have you met Alexis?"

"Yes"

"What do you think of her?"

"We haven't really talked." Nadia told her about the time where they met at the hospital where Alexis apologized for her father's death numerous times. "She seems nice."

"She is."

Remaining in her current position, her head leaning against the brunette's shoulder, Nadia intertwined her fingers with hers.

"I want to tell you something. I just don't know if he's telling the truth."

Frowning in confusion, Nadia lifted her head up, wondering why the subject suddenly changed.

When Lucy told her what she learned from Benjamin Couric, there was no reaction from Nadia.

"Do you believe him?" Lucy asked.

In the beginning, Nadia never wanted revenge. It was Alec who couldn't let it go. If Alec heard, she wondered how he would react. Everything he did was a mistake. If he had listened to her, none of this would happen and she would never have met the one sitting next to her, whom she fell in love with.

"Why would he lie about that?"

"I don't know. He's a very smart man. I can't tell if he's telling the truth."

"Didn't you say he was dying?"

Lucy nodded.

"Then I think he's telling the truth."

"Nadia, you're too trusting. He conned thousands of people. He tricked all of us. He…"

She stopped when Nadia cupped her cheeks.

"Keira, people can change. We didn't have any proof. He could have killed us, but yet he gave us a lot of chances. Why would he do that?"

"his conscience got to him." She said with her lips squished together.

"maybe or maybe he really didn't do it." She looked deeply into the brunette's mesmerizing eyes. "You've changed."

Lucy didn't like how she just compared her to the bastard. "Hey, I'm…mmphh…" Lucy was surprised by the kiss and was surprised that Nadia wasn't as shy as she used to be. There were a few passengers in the front who noticed.

"I know. You're nothing like him." Nadia smiled.

"You've...changed too." Her eyes moved towards the front, hinting that someone was watching them.

Nadia didn't care and placed a short kiss on her cheek before leaning her head back against the brunette's shoulder. Knowing that this would be the last time she would be have with the brunette, she was able to put all that fear aside, the fear that everybody else was watching them, two women kissing.

"So continue…" Nadia said, knowing that the brunette brought it up for a reason.

"So…you believe him?"

"I do. But I know Alec won't. So don't tell him."

"But he will believe it if you believe it." Lucy has to tell him. That includes Ethan.

Nadia again lifted her head up to look directly at the brunette, waiting for her to get to the point.

"Maybe when I have time, I can introduce you to Alexis."

"Keiraaaa…." Realizing that the brunette was trying to play matchmaker, Nadia rolled her eyes and placed her head back against the brunette's shoulder.

"Nadia, she's very nice, very confident, smart, caring...I think…"

"She loves **you**."

"But that's going to change, if you two could just get together."

Nadia ignored her.

"Do you find her attractive?"

Not getting a response, Lucy knew that she does. "I'm not saying it's going to happen. But I just want you to give her a chance if you two do meet someday. Alec might not approve. Ethan, he might. That's why I need you to tell them what you believe. Then maybe…."

"Keira, can we not talk about that? I just want to be with you, just for today."

"Nadia, I don't want you to be alone."

"…and I don't want you to be alone." Nadia hung her arm around her waist.

After the bus ride and after eating lunch, Nadia was in the mood to walk around the park where it's much quieter. There were other couples nearby. Her hand clung on to the brunette's. After a long walk, both decided to sit on the bench to rest for a moment while looking at a pond with a few ducks. Nadia again shifted closer and rested her head on the brunette's.

"Keira…"

"hm"

"Let me stay with you." Lucy was surprised with her request. She thought it was clear to her that she only loves the blonde.

"Let me take care of you…as friends, nothing more. I could…" Nadia continued to tell the brunette her plan of making the blonde jealous. "I can feel it. She's jealous. If I stay with you, then it might bring her memory back. She might not want to leave."

As she continued talking, Lucy smiled at the most innocent, kindhearted person with the angelic face. She felt that she could trust Nadia with her secret. It wouldn't make a difference if she knows or not.

"I…want…to…let her go." With each word spoken, her heart ached.

Nadia's brows furrowed in confusion as she looked at the brunette and waited for her to continue. After listening to her story from the beginning of how she met the DEBS agent, Nadia couldn't control her tears from flowing. She covered her mouth in shock when she found out who Kristin really is.

"Then you can't let her go." Nadia wiped her tears from her cheek.

"She lost her freedom because she met me. Now that she can't remember, she can have her own life back."

Lucy could see that she didn't agree when she shook her head.

"I'm not going to let anyone take her away from you…not Ethan…anyone who tries to get near her, I'll make sure they stay away."

Lucy couldn't help but smile.

" I don't want you to do that."

"But…someday she might remember you…and she's going to regret being with someone else." She gasped loudly at another thought. "She's going to hate you for not trying."

Lucy nodded in agreement. "She's going to hate me…for awhile...but she's not going to regret being with someone else. I know her. She has to love that person before marrying him." A sharp pain shot through her heart for just saying that. "She's not going to marry someone just because she's getting old. She wants true love."

"But she found true love, she just can't remember it now." She gasped when an idea hit her. "She can try hypnosis. That might work."

Holding her hands, Lucy reiterated why she had to let the blonde go.

"I don't understand." Nadia said, wiping another tear from her eyes.

"I am very thankful that I get to spend time with her." Lucy told her the time in London where they got married. As expected, Nadia was shocked.

"Then you can't let her go!" Nadia said as she stood up. Now that she knows that they were married, whatever the brunette said didn't make any sense to her.

Lucy stood up and explained why hypnosis wouldn't be a good idea. "I will wait for her to remember me. I will wait for her until the day she gets married."

"Keira, no…" Nadia held her in a tight embrace, feeling sorry for the brunette.

"Promise me, if she decides to go back to Paris to live with you, don't interfere with her life…well, only do it if you think the guy is a jerk."

* * *

It's 6 o'clock. They came back just in time for dinner. Lucy and Nadia were both surprised that Amy was the one who opened the door for them.

"Where did you go?" Amy said in a frustrated tone.

Lucy wondered what pissed her off.

Looking at the blonde at a whole new light, Nadia stepped closer and gazed at the blonde for such a long moment in silence, Amy found it strange.

"What's wrong with her?" Amy said when Nadia walked up the stairs to her bedroom without saying anything.

Lucy shrugged and walked up the stairs to her bedroom.

* * *

Three days passed. Nadia went back to Paris with her siblings.

Standing in front of the bedroom, Amy let out a deep breath. Today is the last night she will be staying in Canada. This would be a good time to persuade the brunette to go back with her.

"Hey" Lucy said, surprised.

"umm…" Amy hesitated. She didn't have a plan before knocking on the door. She was just going to say it. But knowing that if she just blurted out, she knew what the response would be.

"Do you need help changing the bandage?"

"Oh…um…I didn't take a shower yet. I'll…" Lucy jerked back when the blonde led herself in.

"Go take a shower. I'll wait here." Amy said as she sat on the bed.

"Is everything okay?"

"Fine." Looking around, Amy found the brunette's pajamas, gave it to her and pushed her towards the bathroom.

Lucy had to wash her hair so it took longer than usual. She was even more confused to find the blonde sleeping on her side of the bed.

"Amy…" Lucy shook the blonde's shoulder. She herself can't believe she's doing this. A part of her mind was telling her not to wake her up. The other part, the good part, was telling her to do the right thing.

"Hey, go back to sleep." Lucy said in a soft gentle voice.

With her mind not fully awake, Amy did as told and closed her eyes.

"…no…I mean…go back to your own room." Lucy slapped the blonde a few times.

Then after a short moment, her eyes opened wide after blinking a few times. She sat up. Rubbing her eyes, she wondered how long she had been sleeping.

"Go back to your room."

Staring at the brunette for a short moment, she finally remembered why she came.

"Let me help you." Not taking a no for a answer, Amy told her to lie down in a commanding tone and walked over to the dresser to get the ointment.

Lucy did as told and took off her top.

Amy contorted her face in disgust and gasped inward when she saw the inflamed area. "What did the doctor say?"

"he said...ow!..ow!..ow!" Lucy yelped when the blonde washed the wound with the liquid. "Not so hard."

"Sorry, I'm not as gentle as Nadia." Amy stopped and shook her head, wondering where that came from. That other night, she was hoping that the brunette would try to learn to love Alexis or Nadia so she wouldn't be alone. But this afternoon, when she saw Nadia giving her a kiss on the cheek and a long hug at the airport, she didn't like what she saw.

Lucy rolled her eyes and didn't respond to that comment. "It's going to be fine. I just can't do any strenuous exercises for awhile, keep it dry and put the ointment on twice a day."

"...and how are you going to do that yourself?"

"mm...Sophia." Uncle Nick has a few other female workers.

There was a moment when Amy thought that this would be a good excuse for her to stay for a few more days. She shook her head again to clear that thought and focused on the reason she came.

"Go back with me." Amy blurted out.

With one side of her face leaning against the bed, Lucy couldn't hear too well especially when the blonde spoke so fast. "What?"

Amy let out a deep breath, spoke again in a slower speed as she put the ointment on her cut with a q-tip.

"Go...back...with...me and I'll move back."

Lucy heard but didn't like it. It took her a lot of thought to let her go. Hearing what the blonde just said, a part of her wanted to say yes. She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth.

Amy was certain that the brunette heard. She taped the bandage on and put everything back on the dresser. Standing at the dresser, she gave her a moment to get dressed, but more importantly, to think about what she just said. It was a longer moment than she expected. She turned around and saw the brunette standing at the door.

"Go get some sleep." Lucy opened the door.

Both stood rooted in their position 15 feet away, looking at each other. Amy knew it wouldn't work but she had to try. Keeping her eyes locked on the brunette, she walked slowly towards her.

"It would be like before. I go to school and you can do...whatever you want. The four of us." Amy tried hard to put on a smile. _This is all I can promise you...now. I know you want to. I know you do._

In a way, Lucy was happy to hear her words. _But those were words of sympathy, what a friend would say.  
_

When she saw a smile from the brunette, she thought it worked.

"I'm going to stay here to help Uncle Nick...and you...can do...whatever you want." Lucy said in a genuine tone.

"Lucy..."

"Amy, it's late." Lucy pushed her gently out the door. "Good night." After closing the door, she let out a deep breath. _Damn, that hurts_.

On the other side, Amy raised her hand and stopped as she was about to knock on the door, realizing there was nothing she could do or say to persuade her to go back.

Lying on the bed for an hour, Amy had her eyes closed. She's tired but just couldn't seem to fall asleep. Her mind spontaneously thought of the first day she came. Her plan was to persuade the brunette to go back somehow but she had no plans of moving back with them. It would be awkward, knowing that she can't give the brunette what she wants. But all of that changed after spending a few days with her. She got to know her better. She could see herself continuing to live with the brunette, Janet and Scud like the way it used to be without any awkwardness.

Her mind thought about what Alexis said to her. "I fell in love with the criminal. Kristin fell in love with the person she is now." Her mind thought about what Janet said. "I let her kiss me..." When she first heard about it, she thought it was impossible. Janet must have mistaken. Janet needed her eyes checked. There must be a good reason why she did it. _We were kidnapped. Maybe I was thinking of a way out. _None of it made sense when she found that she gave up her career, her life, her freedom to be with a criminal. The only thing that did make sense was that she was 'brainwashed' or the brunette drugged her...if there is such a drug. That was only a thought, a thought so ludicrous, it doesn't make sense. _If I was brainwashed, then why did she gave up her life to be with me?_ Having been a DEBS agent for a couple of years, she heard about similar cases where the ones that were kidnapped ended up staying with their kidnappers without thinking of escape. Most of them were young when they were kidnapped. Some of them were afraid of being caught if they tried to escape. Their minds became numb as they stayed longer with the ones who kidnapped them.

_I wasn't young. Afraid? I can't picture myself not trying to escape_. From what Janet said, they never suspected anything wrong with her. Janet knew what was happening and she didn't tell anyone. _If she thought there was something wrong with me, she would have told Max._ _She gave everything up to be with me...__Brainwash?_ She let out a small laugh. _Sounds like I brainwashed her..._

Amy let out a big sigh, turned on her side, and tried not to think of anything. Five minutes flew by, then 10 minutes, then 30.

"Damn it!" She sat up, bent her knees, wrapped her arms around it, and leaned her forehead on her knees. Then after a moment, she snapped her head up. "Hypnosis. Why didn't I think of this before?" She knew why. It's because she knows who she is. Kristin was the one that was brainwashed, not her. She got her memory back and she had no intention to stay with the brunette at that time. But now, she is curious to know everything about Kristin, everything that she was feeling and about herself, the one who fell in love with the brunette.

Feeling satisfied, she slid her legs down and lay back on the bed. Another 10 minutes went by, her eyes opened wide. She quickly got off her bed and walked softly down the hall. She stopped, looked left and right before knocking lightly on the door. There was no response. She knocked again. Same thing.

"Did she go to sleep already?"

She wasn't even sure why she's doing this but since she couldn't sleep, she wanted to tell the brunette what she plans to do. Turning the doorknob, it surprised her the door wasn't locked. Slowly opening the door, she walked in and could see that the room wasn't completely dark. Seeing the lights in the bathroom with the door slightly opened and hearing the ventilator on, she realized that the brunette is in the bathroom. Amy planned on standing near the door to wait for her to come out. But she was getting a little tired after standing for a few minutes. Letting out a deep breath, she walked towards the bathroom. She was anxious to tell the brunette what was on her mind. But since Lucy was taking care of business inside the bathroom, she decided to wait for her to come out.

After a long moment, Lucy walked out of the bathroom. Having spent a whole day out with Scud, Janet, and Amy walking around Toronto, she was quite tired. The food she ate outside didn't quite agree with her stomach. It was too oily. Walking tiredly towards the bed, she slid underneath the blanket. This is her bedroom. She has been sleeping here for over a month. If her mind wasn't that tired, she would have known immediately that someone else was sleeping on the other side. It took her a long moment, a moment that would have gotten her killed if someone were to kill her, to notice the sound of breathing other than her own. It wasn't the sound of another person's breathing that woke her up, it was the sound of mumbling. She didn't need to turn the lamp on to see who it was on the other side of the bed. From the mumbling, she knew it was the blonde. What she didn't know was why she's there on her bed.

"Amy" Lucy said softly. It took her a few tries before finally getting an indistinct response from the blonde.

"hmm..." Amy struggled to lift her eyes open.

"Amy, what are you doing here?"

"hmm..I...want...t..tell.y.. .." She mumbled, her eyes closed.

It was unclear, but Lucy understood. "What?"

Without hearing a response, just heavy breathing, Lucy asked again.

"Amy, what do you want to tell me?" Thinking that it must be important, Lucy shook her shoulders lightly. But all she got was another low indistinct utterance.

"Amy, go back to your bed." When she didn't hear a response, she turned on the lamp on her side. Lucy didn't want the blonde to blame her in the morning so she needed to wake her up.

"Amy, you're sleeping in my bed." Hovering over the blonde's face, Lucy tapped her lightly on her cheek. After tapping a few more times on her face, it finally got the blonde's attention.

Amy's eyes fluttered open.

"you're sleeping in my bed." Lucy repeated. What she heard surprised her.

There was no way Lucy could have heard that incorrectly. There were only two words. When Amy turned on her side, away from the light, Lucy knew for sure that the blonde knows where she is because she heard something else.

Lucy smiled, did as told and turned off the lights before returning to her side of the bed. There were no pillows between them. The room was dark but she could still see the body sleeping next to her. _What did she want to tell me? Does she remember me?_ She wished. _Of course she doesn't, otherwise she wouldn't be sleeping right now_. _It's probably something that's important to her, not to me._ But it didn't matter. She felt completely satisfied to have her ex-lover spend their last night together, willingly.

"Good night, Amy."

* * *

It wasn't the sunlight nor was it the need to go to the bathroom that woke her up. It was the continuous knocks on the door.

"Lucy, time to wake up!" Scud called loudly.

They had an early flight to catch. No matter what Scud and Janet said last night, they couldn't persuade the brunette to go back with them. After having a long talk with them, they came to understand why. It was the same talk Lucy had with Nadia. Like Nadia, Janet couldn't hold in her tears. She came to understand the brunette's intention. It's not something you can force anyone into. "But you two were meant to be together." That's what Janet kept saying.

"Then let 'him' bring us together again." That was Lucy's response. She told them the same thing she told Nadia about not interfering with the blonde's relationships. It took her awhile to persuade Scud not to do that. But knowing Scud, he probably would do a thorough background check on any guy who tries to date the blonde.

"Okay, Scud!" Lucy shouted in frustration. That's how she is when she has to wake up early.

She turned and it surprised her that Amy was still sleeping thru all that noise.

"Amy" Lucy called out. If this was any regular day, she would have let her sleep a little longer. Lucy continued to shake her until she wakes up. Startled, she jerked back when Amy reacted in a way like...like...Kristin. The time when Kristin won't allow her to sleep on the same bed, that's how Amy reacted.

"What are you doing here!"

"umm...this is my bed."

Frowning in confusion, Amy looked around and said in an embarrassing tone. "Oh..." She neither apologized nor explained why she was there and just headed to the bathroom. When she came out, she wanted to tell the brunette what was on her mind.

"did you pack up yet? You better hurry." Without waiting for a response, Lucy went to the bathroom and closed the door.

"I want to talk to you."

"Later, go get dressed."

Amy let out a big sigh. She turned around, looked at the bed, and wondered how she fell asleep again. That wasn't her plan. But she knew how it happened. It seem that the brunette's bed is more comfortable than hers.

There weren't enough time to eat breakfast. So they decided to grab a quick bite at the airport after checking in.

Janet glanced at the blonde who took a bite of the sandwich, then at the brunette who took a sip of the coffee. The area was crowded with people but silence filled the table. Noticing the silence, Janet couldn't help being nosy.

"So Amy, where did you go this morning?" This morning, when she knocked on her door, she found her bedroom door unlocked and bedroom empty.

Surprised with the question, Amy looked at her with a blank expression. _Think of something. Don't look at Lucy._

"out for a walk" Amy said without any emotion.

"Oh..." Janet nodded.

Amy wasn't sure if she believed her but she didn't care. It's not like they did anything. Just 2 girls sleeping on the same bed. She took a look at her watch and realized it was almost time. _How should I say this? Should I blurted out to let everyone know? or should I just let her know?_ After quickly taking a bite of the last sandwich, she decided to tell everyone.

All eyes focused on the blonde. Amy glanced at each one of them. Janet was the happiest. She expected the same emotion to come from the brunette but was confused that she saw a frown on her face instead.

_Did Nadia tell her to do that? What did she say to her?_ They were just talking about that a few days ago. _Is that what she wanted to tell me last night?_

Amy remained silent to hear the brunette's opinion, but was surprised at Scud's response.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?" Janet and Amy asked in unison. They've learned about hypnosis when they were DEBS and they've witnessed how it was done.

"because it's not safe..." Scud expected them know this.

"Scud, we've seen it done. It works. We were able to solve some cases because of it."

"I know. Sometimes it works and most of the time it doesn't...and..."

"...and because you had it done once before.." Lucy reminded her that Kristin was probably brainwashed using that method. "Amy, hypnosis...it might 'recover' lost memories, but those memories might not be true. It might also bring out painful memories, memories you don't want to remember. It will only confuse you."

Scud nodded in agreement and Janet understood. The moment Amy was reminded that she had been brainwashed before, she realized that her idea wouldn't work. It would be very confusing. Kristin's life, Kristin's fake parents, her fake childhood, her real parents, her real childhood etc.

When it was time to leave, Lucy gave both Janet and Scud a hug. Standing in front of the brunette, Amy wrapped her arms around her.

"Why can't you just go back with me?" That was her last attempt to persuade her.

"Take care of yourself."

That wasn't the response Amy was expecting. She expected her to say what she said before. 'I'll go back until you can remember me.' It sounded to her like...

"You still owe me one more thing." It just came to her. Lucy didn't plan on using it.

Amy pulled back. _If she asked for a kiss, I could do that. _But there are a lot of people watching. It's not that she's afraid, she just didn't want to put a show on for others to see.

"I...want...you...to use my money for anything you need, anything, just ask Scud, but **don't **donate it to charity."

_Oh_. Amy wasn't expecting that.

"I do that every year, depending on how much I make each year from my investments. So don't think of my money as 'dirty' money. Okay?"

"Is that what I asked you to do?"

Lucy smiled and nodded. Amy was surprised that she was still doing that even after her 'death'.

Lucy looked at her watch and both knew it was time. When the brunette leaned forward, Amy closed her eyes, expecting the former criminal mastermind to give her one last kiss. But what she thought was wrong. Her eyes opened when she felt warm lips on her cheek.

"Amy, you're free now. Take care of yourself."

* * *

**Chapter 43: Chapter 43**

* * *

Chapter 43

It's two hours until landing. Seats were soft, private, roomy, comfy, could be lay out flat like a bed. It was so comfortable, there was no reason why she wouldn't be able to get some sleep on the 8 hour flight. But she just couldn't. Each time she closed her eyes, her mind spontaneously thought of the last words spoken by the brunette. _You're free now._ _What did she mean by that? I'm not wanted by the FBI. Kristin Smith is not a criminal. _She has a new identity but that's okay. She's fine with that. She turned to her right and saw Janet sleeping peacefully. She let out a smile as the thought of what happened several hours earlier appeared in her mind. After they boarded the plane, when she and Janet found out that Scud bought business class seats, both stared at the clueless guy with the goatee.

"What?"

"Scud, I know you have a lot of money, but don't you think it's kind of a waste? It's only an 8 hour flight." Janet whispered.

He frowned at his girlfriend, then at the taller blonde. That's how he and Lucy always traveled, business class or first class. So when he booked it, he didn't think anything of it. With the amount of money that Lucy has, it would be nuts not to use it. _It's not like I'm spending $4 million on a Lamborghini_. He understood why the former DEBS agents felt that way so he promised not to do that again. Amy couldn't help wonder if that's how the brunette was when she's with 'her', agreeing to everything 'she' says. _The notorious criminal mastermind turned good because of me. Who would have thunk?_

Amy let out a big sigh before closing her tired eyes.

* * *

Before heading to his apartment, Scud told the taxi driver to drop the blonde off at Max's apartment first. After taking a shower, it was already 11PM. Sitting on the black leather sofa, Max lowered the tv volume as the blonde walked towards her. She was anxious to find out what happened to the former criminal. All Amy told her was that she had to go to Canada because they had not heard from the brunette.

"Well, what happened?"

"Nothing. Everything's fine now."

"Nothing? You went for more than 2 weeks."

So much has happened, Amy didn't know where to begin and she wasn't sure if she should tell Max everything including the part where the brunette set Jean Claude up.

"Amy, I don't work for the government anymore and I'm not going to go after her. I'm just curious."

After a short moment of thinking to herself, Amy felt that she should tell her since Max never liked the former criminal. She doesn't blame her former DEBS captain because she felt the same way once. But spending a few weeks with her changed her perception of the former notorious criminal. And she hoped Max could do the same.

"No way! Is she out of her mind?" Max was shocked as all of them were when they heard what the brunette did. Amy didn't tell her about the part about how Lucy set Thomas up so she knew Max would have the same questions she did.

"How does she know they needed her help? How does she know he was there?"

There were a lot of things that didn't make sense to Max. She knew why the brunette was after the fraudster. It was to get revenge for Amy. But Amy's not dead. So why did she still go after him? After hearing Amy's explanation, she understood. It was to get revenge for her friends, to make sure her friends could continue to live peacefully, and most importantly, for Amy.

"She won't tell me." She let out a big sigh, pretending to be as frustrated as Max was for not knowing how the brunette did it. "She said sometimes you have to take risks and decide whether the risk is worth taking." Those were the same words spoken by the brunette to Ethan. She remembered the way she reacted afterwards, calling her irresponsible and inconsiderate fool in front of everyone. Even after knowing the truth, she didn't regret saying that. _She should have told me._

"So you see, Max, she's changed. Without her, they would have never been able to capture him."

"She has changed. But that doesn't mean she didn't commit all of those other activities."

"Max..."

"I know. I know. I'm just saying. I promised you that I won't go after her 5 years ago and I'm not going to go back on my word. So...where is she now?"

"Canada."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Amy let out another big sigh as she slumped against the sofa.

"When is she coming back?"

Amy frowned at her friend, thinking that Max still wants to beat the brunette up. "Max..."

"I'm just asking." Max said as she held her hands up.

"I don't know." Amy said in a frustrated tone. "She...doesn't sound like she wants to come back."

"Oh...good...then, you can concentrate on your schoolwork and continue on with your life."

Everything that Max said was exactly what she wanted but for some reason, she didn't feel as happy as she thought she would be.

Max noticed but didn't want to continue the conversation. Yawning loudly, Max excused herself and after walking a few steps, she turned around.

"Amy, as of this moment, you can continue with the life you left 5 years ago. You're free now. Welcome back."

Amy let out a small smile as she watched her friend head towards the bedroom. Her smile slowly disappeared as she stared into blank space, all alone inside the living room, without a sound. Her body slid sideways on the sofa and her eyelids drooped spontaneously. After a short moment, her eyes opened wide.

"Max!" Amy stomped towards Max's room and turned the doorknob, but the door was locked. "Max!"

"What's wrong?" Hearing her loud voice, seeing her look of frustration, Max could tell there was something wrong.

Amy glanced around and saw that the computer was on and a manila folder on the desk.

"Have you seen Lucy?" Her voice changed into a gentle tone.

"No."

"You haven't?"

"Nnnno..." Max said in a frustrated tone. She then walked to her computer and turned it off.

"I would like to meet with her though." She said as she placed the manila folder back into the desk drawer and returned to stand in front of the blonde. "I just want a fair fight." She smiled as she punched her fist into her palm, then rubbed her upper chest. "I'm not going to kill her. I just want to give her a few punches here and there and we'll call it even...for all those years of pain she put me through."

"Sorry, Max." Amy wrapped her arms around her. "I'm sorry." She said in a genuine tone and held her friend tighter for a moment.

"I need to get some sleep. One of us has to work tomorrow." Max smiled as she patted the blonde on her back. Her smile disappeared, her heart began to pound a little faster after hearing the blonde's next comment.

"You're still not very good at lying, Max." Amy pulled back and saw her tough former captain frowning in confusion.

"Excuse me?"

"You...met Lucy, didn't you?"

"No." Max responded quickly.

"Then does this still hurt?" Amy pressed two fingers into her upper chest.

"No"

"Well, I'm glad she didn't hit you that hard."

"What are you talking about?"

"Stop pretending, Max! The day you showed up in the restaurant, you knew I was there. You met her that day. You fought with her. That's how you got hurt. That's how she got bruises on her arm, **the same day**." She said the last three words a little louder to let her know how she figured it out.

Max remained silent for a moment. It didn't matter if she found out. Everything worked out perfectly. That night, after she found out that Amy is still alive, she and the former criminal went to a restaurant with a bar area to talk. She learned everything that happened to the blonde that night and it shocked her. She was even more shocked to learn what Amy could and couldn't remember. So she took the opportunity to persuade the brunette to leave her. How? Well, she knew she couldn't threaten the criminal mastermind to stay away. There was only one way and she hoped that it would work.

Many years ago, when she found out how Amy died in the plane accident, she blamed herself for being partly responsible. When she heard other DEBS talking about the Perfect Score in a bad way, she couldn't control herself from giving them a piece of her mind. It happened so many times. It not only caused her to get demoted, she was ordered to see a councilor who recommended or rather insisted that she meets with her in a special place every Sunday...not in an office...but in a church. Max had always believed in the Lord but she's not one of those people who would go to a church every Sunday. During those 'sessions' inside the church, she came to understand why. There were people who talked about losing loved ones and how they cope with it by knowing that their deceased loved ones are with the Lord. There were others who are handicapped and they were able to live happily because they trusted the Lord.

_"The Lord works in mysterious ways. Have faith in the plan that the Lord has laid out for you. Trust the Lord and a new future will lead you where you have never been before."_

After the DEBS disbanded, she met someone in the church who recommended her to work with juvenile delinquents. It was a job that she loves because she made a difference. When she learned about Amy, she became even more convinced that '_The Lord has plans for all of us.'_

_"Do you believe there is a God?" Max asked after taking a sip of her drink. It was a quiet night. There were a lot of empty seats in the restaurant, only a few people sitting in the bar area.  
_

_"Yes...I do." Lucy finished the drink and asked for another._

_Max noticed that the brunette was upset but didn't know why._

_"Do you believe everyone should have a second chance?"_

_Lucy didn't respond, knowing that she was referring to her._

_"I do. You had a second chance. Now it's Amy's turn."_

_Lucy frowned at the dark woman when she realized what she was trying to say. "You may not believe me. But I love her, Max. I am willing to do anything..."_

_"...then let her go." Max interrupted. "I know you love her." She spoke in a her most sweetest voice because she learned that others tend not to listen to you when you speak in an angry tone.  
_

_After downing another drink, Lucy placed the drink down and asked for another. "She...hates me."_

_"She hates you?" Max expected the brunette to tell her more but all she got was the same 3 words repeatedly. Unsure of what happened between the blonde and her, she felt that this was a good time to persuade the brunette to leave the blonde.  
_

_"God works in mysterious ways. He brought you two together for a reason. Whatever that reason is, only you and she would know."_

_Those words...Lucy once said that to the megastar. It made sense at that situation but she didn't want to believe it ...not with her and Amy. "We are meant to be together." She took another big gulp of the drink.  
_

_"She can't remember you. She hates you. If you stay with her, how is she going to continue on with her life?" She continued to give her the same reasons she gave Janet, the possibility that Amy might never get her memory back, that it would be awkward for the blonde to bring home a boyfriend, that Amy may eventually move out. _

_"If someday she gets her memory back, then she will go back to you." That wasn't just to persuade the brunette. Max meant it. If the Lord wanted them to be together, she wouldn't try to break them apart. It didn't work the first time and she was certain that it won't work again, if that's not what the Lord wants.  
_

_When Lucy reached out to grab another drink, Max held onto her wrist. "Lucy..." That was the first time she called her by her first name. Usually she referred to her as 'criminal' or 'bitch'. "...the Lord has plans for all of us. She's back to the way she used to be. Don't you see what's happening? Can you let her go? Can you let her be free?" Max said in the same gentle tone.  
_

_Lucy didn't like where the conversation was leading to and definitely didn't like the way Max said it. Frustrated, Lucy got up._

_"I want to see her. ___Where is she? _"  
_

_Lucy had planned on taking the blonde to the place where she proposed to her, but it didn't turn out the way she wanted.  
_

_"Cupid Capsule"_

* * *

Not hearing a response from Max, Amy continued with her thoughts, telling her how she found out.

"Do you know what she said to me at the airport?"

Max remained unmoved.

"She said the same thing you did. 'You're free now.'"

Max was surprised that those three words gave it away. There was no need to hide it anymore.

"Yes, you're right. I saw her. We fought and after she told me that you were still alive, we talked."

"You threatened her to leave me?"

"NO!" Max rolled her eyes. She can't blame her. She and the criminal talking is hard to believe. "She's Lucy Diamond. What can I...threaten her with?"

"You can threaten her with..." Amy stopped and froze when she felt a moment of deja vu, hearing her own voice. _"Now I know what to threaten you with. Sex." _She closed her eyes as more memories of what happened afterwards flowed into her mind. "_I could always get it from someone else_..._.OW!...I'm kidding_!" But those short memories were interrupted when she heard Max's voice_.  
_

"All I said was...to let you go. And I'm sure, no matter how good I am in persuasion, if she didn't agree with me, she wouldn't have made the choice to stay in Canada."

Max reached out to hold both of her hands. "God works in mysterious ways. There was a reason for everything that has happened. Look at me. I've changed. I'm happier than I have ever been. And those kids that I've worked with, they've changed because of me. And you, Amy, because of you, Lucy Diamond changed. Now, you can do whatever you want. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Amy neither nodded nor shook her head, just a blank stare at her friend whom she noticed did change in a big way, the way she talked about God.

That night, Amy thought about what Max said and came to understand why Lucy chose to leave her. No matter how many chances she gave her, the brunette still decided to leave her. Max said she's not that persuasive. Well, Amy disagreed. She was certain that if Max never showed up, there could be a chance that the brunette might not have made that decision, at least, not so soon.

* * *

**3 months passed**

Both were panting heavily side by side as they jogged along the sidewalk.

"C'mon Kato" Running next to her owner, a small Lakeland Terrier with brownish white hair barked twice.

Every weekday, Lucy would take her dog for a run for about 45 minutes before heading back home. She had planned on getting a dog and a house and go to work in one of Uncle Nick's companies. She got the dog like she said she would. But the house, Uncle Nick insisted that she stays with him since he lives alone and it's such a big house, it would be a waste for one person. Nathan has his own place and comes by on occasions to visit his father with his girlfriend. Lucy still plans on buying a small house, though, somewhere near a park where she could take Kato for a run every morning. But she just couldn't seem to find the right house. Apartment is out of the question since it doesn't allow pets.

It's a Sunday. On weekends, Lucy would take Kato and Oscar to the park. But Oscar isn't feeling too well, so she decided to let her get some rest at home.

Sitting on the bench to rest, Lucy took a bowl and a water bottle from her bag and poured water in it before taking a drink herself. It was a beautiful sunny day in the summer. There were other joggers enjoying the tranquil atmosphere inside the park. Older folks sat on the benches to relax, watching birds and squirrels running around. Parents came to spend the day with their kids before school starts in a few days. This is how she spent the last few months and how her life would be going forward. Thinking about the future ruins her mood, so she tried not to think about it, take it one day at a time, occupied herself with work. But she couldn't help thinking about the blonde when she saw a woman with blonde hair jogging past by her.

For the first week after Amy left, it was difficult. Every night, Lucy would think about her, what she's doing now, what she's thinking now. What kept her awake was the promise that she made to the blonde, to Kristin, that she will make her fall in love with her again, no matter what. She broke that promise. But she didn't regret the decision because of what she learned afterwards.

She heard from Scud that Amy decided to move back in with them because Max had to travel frequently outside of the country due to her job. It was Max's idea. Since she didn't want her friend to be all alone inside the apartment, it would be a good idea to move back with Janet. Amy didn't listen to her regarding her education. Instead of going back to the same school in Paris, Amy enrolled in an art school in London. Was it because she didn't want to stay with Nadia? Was it because it's a better school than the one she went in Paris? What she found after having a short conversation with the blonde was that she wanted to stay with her friends, Janet, Max, and Scud whom she considered as her family. Lucy was happy to hear that. It didn't matter whom she stayed with as long as there's somebody watching over her. She kept the conversation short and told Scud to only call her when there's an emergency. Scud couldn't understand why but did as told. He did text her frequently, though, just to make sure she's alive and well.

"C'mon Kato, let's go." Lucy placed the bowl back into her small sports bag. While walking around the park, Lucy was surprised to get an unexpected call, not because of the person who's on the other line. It's because of the reason that the person called.

* * *

France

Inside a midsize restaurant serving French and American cuisine, all seats were filled with guests happily enjoying their meal. Every night, the restaurant is packed with tourists, businessman, and people who came to love the place after having their first meal there. Not only for the superb dishes and courteous service, people came for the beautifully decorated, natural and relaxing atmosphere.

In the corner table sat two men in business suits. It was night time. Everyone there were dressed in their casual clothing except for them and a few others.

"How is he?"

"Not good." A man in his 50's put a piece of fillet mignon in his mouth.

"What did he say? Will I be able to see him?"

"He told you not to come...which I agree. They don't have anything on you but it doesn't mean that they're going to stop digging. He said it's been nice working with you. He wants to thank you for everything you did."

The man, in his 30's, dressed in an expensive dark blue suit nodded in agreement and frowned in confusion when the other man asked him to extend his hand out.

"He asks me to do this. Please give me your hand."

The man in the blue suit did as told and extended his right hand on the table.

The older man wrapped his fingers around his forearm just above the wrist. "I...trust you to carry out my last wishes. My friend will be looking for you for help. Help him." He gave one gentle squeeze on his forearm and pulled back.

"Do you understand?" The older man asked in a serious tone.

He nodded.

After the older man said what he needed to say, he focused on eating his dinner.

"So what do you think?" The older man took a sip of his wine. "A friend recommended this place. He's right. The food is one of the best I have ever tasted and it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg." He laughed at his own comment.

It was a busy night as usual. Not wanting to offend anyone, the chef took a few minutes to visit her clients. When she came out, she didn't recognize him at first. It took a short moment. Nadia was shocked and tried hard not to show it. The man in the blue suit was Jehan. She could tell that he also recognized her because of the way he looked at her. _Why is he here?_ She had no idea. Jehan remained silent as he listens to the older man complimenting on her cooking skills. That night, the minute she went home, Nadia told her brothers. They too had no idea what to do. The only thing to do was to call the brunette.

* * *

Lucy understood why they would be afraid but assured them that they would be safe. Jehan is a nobody. He was just following orders. He had no reason to harm them. After hanging up the call with Nadia, Lucy immediately called Anthony to see if he could send some guys to see what the situation is, to see if Jehan had anyone following them. After one week of surveillance, Anthony's men didn't find anything strange but what they did notice was that Jehan frequently visits the restaurant. Not only him, Jean Claude came by once too. Out of all the high class restaurants, why pick this one?

Unlike all the other nights, the restaurant had a lot of empty seats. In the middle of the restaurant sat two men on a round table. In the opposite corners, 4 men sat in each table. There was one bartender, two waitresses, the manager, Nadia and Ethan who were working in the kitchen and they had no idea who they were cooking for and who reserved the entire restaurant for the night.

"So what do you think?" Jehan asked as he cut a piece of chicken marsala.

Jean Claude understood why he was in such a happy mood. Why wouldn't he be? He inherited a fortune.

"I must say this is better than my own chef."

Both continued with their meal and their casual conversation but each knew what the other is after. Inside the private room, the employees were told not to interrupt them until they were called.

"Have you seen him?" Jehan asked.

Jean Claude chuckled at his question as if he just asked the most stupid question. It wouldn't be wise to have any contact with a captured criminal at this point. "Have you?"

"He told me not to."

"He...is a brilliant man, but unfortunately age has caught up to him." He said as he thought about his own problems.

"Did he tell you what I need?"

"Not in detail. But I will do whatever I can."

"You are a very lucky man. There are people who worked their whole lives to have the fortune that you have now...and there are others who did a lot of things that they didn't want to do to get to your position. You...are...one lucky...fella...Jehan."

"He is not only my boss, he is like a father to me."

Jehan and Jean Claude's goons turned to look at the one who suddenly laughed out loud. Sitting far away on opposite corners, they couldn't hear what their boss' said.

"Cut the bullshit, Jehan." Jean Claude was no longer the same cool man he used to be. If he didn't have so many problems, he would have brought a young sexy bimbo with him. But he wasn't in the mood. In fact, he hadn't been with anyone longer than a night. When he needed it, he would contact someone to have a girl sent over. Before he wakes up, that girl would be gone. He was so occupied with his problems, not only the people around him, he, himself, noticed the change in his behavior. It was a big business that involved a lot of money. If everything went well and he couldn't think of any reason that it wouldn't at that time, it would increase his wealth and power in such magnitude that he never even dreamed of. What he did not foresee was that it could also be the beginning of the downfall of his empire.

"I have been in this business longer than you have. I have seen the many sides of people to know that you...are not...as loyal...to him as other people might think you are...and I am certain that he has a reason to let you in charge of his fortune." The only reason that Jean Claude could come up with was that Benjamin knew that Jehan would never have the guts to take his money and run. It would be suicide because Jehan knows about his relationship with Benjamin and he knows who he is and what he could do.

Jehan put another piece of chicken into his mouth. "I know you don't know me too well, but you'll see that I am not who you think I am. I...will carry out his last wishes. That's why I called you."

Another burst of laughter echoed through the room. "That's because you knew I would be looking for you. You made the right choice to stay in Paris."

"I have nothing to hide."

Jean Claude no longer wanted to continue with the conversation. Deep inside, he knew what kind of man Jehan is. He took out a note from his pocket and slid it towards him.

Jehan took the note and didn't like what he saw. All he could do was frown at one of the most powerful man in France.

"This is too much. If I give you this, there would be nothing left for his family."

"You mean there would be nothing left for you." Jean Claude took a sip of his wine.

"It was very sudden. He couldn't get it all out in time." He continued to explain why Benjamin wouldn't have that much assets.

"Do I need to ask him?"

"I think you should." Jehan quickly responded and slid the note back to him.

Jean Claude remained silent for a moment as he stared at Benjamin's assistant. He wanted to see if he was telling the truth. What he could do is send his lawyers to see Benjamin but that would take time. He heard that Benjamin was so sick, he wouldn't last more than a week. Not only that, time is what he doesn't have. He needed the money to fix the problem at the construction site as soon as possible. The longer it takes, the more money he has to pay out.

He wasn't surprised that Jehan took out a note from his own pocket and slid it across the table to him.

"This is all I can do. I can give you this within a week."

Jean Claude took the note and scruntched it up after reading it. Slowly tapping his fingers on the table, he took the glass of wine with his right hand, while staring at Jehan. It wasn't even close to the amount that he asked for. Did he overestimated Benjamin's net worth or is Jehan lying?

He stood up. His hands pressed against the table. "If I find out you're lying to me, you know what's going to happen."

"I have nothing to hide. That's all I can do without raising suspicion." Jehan repeated in a calm voice. "A lot of it are in trusts to his family. Nobody can touch that. If you want, you can ask his son. I'm sure he wouldn't want any of it after he finds out about it." Jehan wondered if the powerful businessman/criminal leader would ask Michel for money. _Would he threaten his friend's son...for money?_

After a moment, Jehan raised his hand and one of his goons called the manager to come in.

"We're ready for dessert. Can you ask the chefs to come out?"

What Jehan said confused Jean Claude.

As soon as the chefs saw who were waiting for them, both were stunned. Nadia and Ethan recognized both of them. It wasn't until the manager spoke did they start to walk slowly towards them. After the manager introduced them, Jean Claude complimented on their food. He even gave them each a card and told them to call him if they ever decide to leave the restaurant. Ethan and Nadia thanked him and pretended not to know who he is. From the way Jean Claude was acting, Nadia didn't think he was pretending. There was no need for him to pretend.

Jehan raised his hand, motioning the manager to leave them.

"I don't think they would want to work for you." Jehan put a scoop of chocolate cake into his mouth.

"And why not? You'll make more money. It would be in a high class restaurant."

"because they know who you are..." He looked at Nadia, then at Ethan. "...and you know who I am. Don't you? Nadia and Ethan Thoreaux..."

It was the last name that caught Jean Claude's attention. He had never seen their faces but he knew who they are and why they were after Benjamin. What he couldn't figure out is why Jehan chose this place. It's over now. Benjamin has been captured. They got their revenge. They are none of his or Jehan's concern. He has no intention of doing any harm to them because he and the brunette had an agreement.

"What are you doing, Jehan?" Jean Claude said in a casual tone as he swirl the glass of wine.

After Jehan helped faked Benjamin's death, he didn't keep in touch with his boss. He knew who he's with but that's about it. Benjamin didn't tell him where he would be because he was afraid that the police and his enemies would force him to give up his location. And he was right. That time, when he was beaten up by a bunch of guys outside of his mother's house, he would have given them the location if he knew where he was. He thought he was going to die. He thought they were going to kill his mother. After that day, he hired more men to protect himself and his sick mother. His mother passed away last year. He has no one else to worry about. Nobody can use his mother to threaten him again.

"They know who I am. They know what I did. I just want to make sure that they know who you are."

Jean Claude couldn't help but let out a small laugh as he shook his head, realizing how clueless the one sitting across from him is. He had been in this situation before many times. Those who knew him are afraid of him. Jehan is using him to instill fear into the two chefs. _He has no clue._

"I know you have people protecting you." Jehan scooped up another piece of cake. "mmmm...this is really good by the way."

"If you go to the police, it's not going to do you any good. You have no proof... Even if you find the guy who kidnapped you, what do you think it's going to happen?"

Nadia and Ethan remained silent and still. The only thing on their mind was that they were not as safe as the brunette thought they would be.

"That was a nice trick. I really thought that they kidnapped you and your brother. But you...let them know who they're dealing with." Jehan said as he pointed his silver spoon towards Nadia, then Ethan.

"I'm going to leave you alone if you keep your mouths shut. If not, then don't blame me for protecting myself...and if you get your friends involved...then I will get my friend involve."

"Whoa..wait a minute...Jehan...last time I checked, I'm not your friend." He placed his hand up, motioning Jehan to stop talking. "I'm not your enemy either...and I assure you, you..**do not...**want to mess with their friends."

All could see the man dressed in Armani shirt was confused. Even Nadia and Ethan were surprised with Jean Claude's response.

"You have no idea who their friends are, do you?" Jean Claude took a sip of the white wine.

"Well, let me tell you. It's better to be their friends than their enemies." Jehan advised him. He still had no idea that the brunette set him up. But after everything that has happened, he learned that the brunette is what they say..a mastermind, she will always get her revenge.

"And in your position now, I advise you not to bother them again and not to come here...ever again...because...you...never know who's..watching..." He spoke in a soft voice.

This is not how Jehan planned it. He chose this place for a reason. He's not afraid that the Thoreaux siblings would tell the police about the kidnapping. All he wanted to do is make sure that they wouldn't even think about going to the police because he can't be bothered with that now. Knowing how stubborn and hot headed their older brother is, he probably would go to the police without thinking of the consequences. Everyone who knows Benjamin are being investigated. Luckily, he worked for Michel for many years and they wouldn't be able to find anything that could prove that he was involved with the scam. But what Jean Claude said shocked him. _He knows who their friends are. Even he is afraid of them. _

_"_Who are they?" Jehan was curious to know.

"You see...you don't even know who they are...but I'm sure they know who are you." Jean Claude took the last sip of the wine and stood up.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Jean Claude advised before leaving.

* * *

After hearing what happened in the restaurant from Nadia, Lucy was certain that they wouldn't be bothered again. But that didn't convince Nadia and his siblings. Jehan knows where they work. He knows where they live. They felt like they're being watched where ever they go. Then after another week, what Lucy heard surprised her.

"We don't want to live here." Nadia said.

"Nadia, he's not going to bother you."

Not only did Jehan not stop going to the restaurant, it surprised all of them why he went looking for them. Jehan wanted to know who has been protecting them. He didn't threaten them. In fact, he asked them very nicely. What he told them was he wanted to explain that it wasn't his idea, that he had nothing against them, it was all Benjamin's idea, and if he didn't do as he said, he and his mother would have been harmed. He had no choice, just like them.

"He's a coward. Nadia. All he wants is to make sure that I won't go after him." Lucy was quite surprised that Jehan was that kind of person.

"Is it really that simple? I told him that we just wanted to be left alone. I told him that it's over. But he insists that he wants to meet with you."

What Nadia said made Lucy think twice. _ It's not that simple. She's right. _"The next time you see him, tell him exactly the same thing he told you. Have Ethan tell him." _They know who you are and they know where you live. We just want to be left alone._

That worked. Jehan stopped bothering them from that day on. But no matter what Lucy said, she couldn't convince Nadia. It didn't surprise her that Nadia wanted to leave France, but what did surprise her was where she wanted to go. There wasn't anything Lucy could do except help them get settled in...London, Scud's place...temporarily. That was what they had planned on doing until something changed their minds...whatever it was.

It was Lucy's idea to have Amy stay with Nadia in Paris, but somehow, things never turn out the way she wants it.

Nadia, Janet and Amy had been living together for 2 months in a duplex (2 townhouses attached together). Ethan and Scud lived on the other side. Alec moved out to live with his girlfriend. Each duplex had 4 bedrooms, one master bedroom on the third floor, one on the first floor and 2 bedrooms on the second floor. It was Janet's idea to get a duplex since they've talked about it when Kristin and Lucy were together. She could still remember why Lucy wanted a bedroom on the first floor. Even though Lucy and Amy aren't together now, she hopes that one day, the blonde could remember her and when that day comes, there would be more than enough bedrooms than they would ever need. Besides, they would need a bedroom for Lucy if she decides to visit them...someday.

* * *

"Kristin, are you ready?" Standing at the door, Nadia called out.

"Ready." With a gym bag hung over her left arm, Kristin walked quickly towards the door. "Sorry, I just called Alexis."

"Oh...um...is she coming?"

"she said she has something to do."

At first, Amy felt awkward when she heard that Nadia was staying with them temporarily. But it didn't take long for the blonde to understand why Lucy always spoke in that gentle tone towards the fitness instructor/chef. She found Nadia to be extremely considerate and understanding. During the first week, Nadia explained to her about her relationship with the brunette. Amy didn't even have to ask and Nadia, as if she could read her mind, knew something was bothering her, said bluntly that she knows who she really is and she and the brunette are friends and that's all they will ever be. It was an awkward conversation but Amy was glad that they got that over with. Nadia also explained that her brothers don't know about her true identity. They decided that it's best to continue calling her Kristin. It took a while for Janet to get use to it. As far as being understanding, Nadia didn't talk about her past as Kristin. The only time Nadia would bring that up is when she asked about it. What's there not to like about Nadia? She couldn't think of any. Her patience, her gentleness, her tranquility of temper...She could see why Lucy always use that gentle tone with her because she had never seen Nadia raise her voice over anything. But there is this one flaw Amy noticed about her though, not really a flaw, a weakness, at least that's how she sees it. Others might not think so.

"Janet!" Both called out in unison.

"Sorry...sorry...sorry.." Holding a large duffle bag in one hand, Janet walked rapidly towards the door.

It's a Saturday. Janet didn't have to go to work. She got a job in a financial company doing IT work. Amy is a full time student. She didn't get a part time job like she said she would since she promised the brunette that she would use her money for education. Since she wanted to get her degree as soon as possible, she took some courses in the summer time as well. Nadia kept herself busy by working as a chef in a restaurant and as a fitness instructor in the YMCA teaching aerobics, yoga, spinning and sometimes as one-on-one instructor.

Inside the locker room, Nadia hurriedly locked up her bag after changing into her yoga pants and tank top.

"I'll see you girls later."

It's her turn to teach yoga class today and class is about to start in 10 minutes.

"Is Alexis coming?" Janet asked.

For the past six months, Amy would go the Courics and visits Ashley on her spare time. It wasn't because Ashley could help her remember her past. Amy decided to let her memory come back naturally. Each time she visits Ashley, she would either take her out to the park, teach her how to draw and do things like a big sister would do. She felt she had some kind of a connection with the smart adorable blonde. If she had to do it again, risk her life to save the cute little girl, she would.

The first time Amy saw Alexis after coming back from London, there was another awkward moment. Alexis and Michel had no idea what happened to the brunette during those 2 weeks. They had no idea what Benjamin did to the brunette. Amy had no intention of telling them. What she did do was apologize to Alexis for her behavior that other time and told her that she came to understand the brunette more. Alexis was surprised that Lucy didn't want to come back. Amy didn't have an explanation for that. Her response was if she wanted to know why, she should give the brunette a call. To this day, she's not sure if Alexis did or not.

"She has something to do." Amy closed the locker.

"Doesn't she know Nadia doesn't blame her?"

"She does."

Both knew the excuse Alexis made was a lie. There was a time when Nadia and Amy accidentally ran into Alexis and Ashley. When Amy suggested to eat lunch together, Alexis immediately said they had to go home. If it wasn't for Ashley who complained about being hungry, Alexis wouldn't have agreed. Alexis was like a totally a different person when they sat together for lunch. Amy doesn't know her too well, but knows enough that Alexis isn't the quiet or the shy type. It surprised Amy that Nadia was the one who tried to make a conversation by asking Alexis what she does. Alexis responded and asked Nadia the same thing. Amy was shocked again when Nadia invited her to her house for dinner. That was the first time Amy saw both of them together. She wasn't sure how Nadia felt about the Courics. Does she hate them because their grandfather was responsible for her father's death? They've never talked about that. Amy's intention was to break the ice, make Nadia see that it wasn't Alexis or Ashley's fault. But she found out she didn't have to do that. It's Alexis who couldn't get pass that. Alexis agreed to the invitation but ended up with an excuse to not attend. That happened a few times.

"Is she going avoid them forever?"

"probably" Amy said as she bent down to touch her feet, keeping her knees straight, inside the yoga class.

Janet greeted and waved to other participants in the class.

"Here he comes..." Janet warned when she saw a young man with dark brown hair walking towards them.

"Hi Kristin. Hi Janet" A 6 foot 3 inches tall man with defined muscles on his upper arms, wearing a white tank top and black shorts stood in front of the blonde.

"Hi" Wearing a tight dark blue sleeveless shirt and black shorts, Amy bent her upper body to the side, then repeated on the other side.

Before he could say anything, Nadia walked in. After the one hour yoga class, it didn't surprise Amy when Zach, the young man who had been talking to her since day 1, asked her out to watch a movie. He made it known that he was interested in her that first day. How? Very simple. He asked if she's married. If Amy had said yes, that would be his cue that she wasn't interested. But Amy said no. He took it as a sign to keep trying even though she rejected him the first time. Amy rejected him several times and thought that he would take the hint, but not only did he not stop trying, he acted like a gentleman and would get a conversation going about other things. After the yoga class and spending some time on the treadmill, all decided to take a rest in the sauna. It was a Saturday, so the sauna room was packed. Luckily they were all able to get a seat. There were a a few girls standing against the wall. Since they didn't want other people to hear their conversation, they kept quiet. It wasn't that they want to listen to other people's private conversation, it's just that it's impossible to ignore them because everyone else were so quiet.

"Do you like it?" Girl #1 said, holding up her hand.

"He proposed?"

"Yup."

"Wow! It's beautiful."

Nadia and Amy had their eyes closed. Janet, however, and the rest of the girls turned to look at the girl with the diamond ring.

"is this platinum?"

"Yup."

"I have never seen anything this big. Must cost a fortune."

Janet could see the rock from where she's sitting. She couldn't help herself and whispered into Amy's ear.

Amy opened her eyes and narrowed at the shorter blonde for being so noisy.

"It's true. Yours is bigger."

When Amy moved in to live with Scud and Janet, she told them upfront that she wanted her memory to come back naturally which means she didn't want them to talk about her past anymore unless she asks about it. The reason, how is she going to continue on with her life if she is constantly being reminded of how she used to be. There is another reason. She's not sure why but it seems to be working. If she doesn't force herself to remember, images of the past seem to appear on their own at any time, anywhere, at the strangest places like here and now...

Before Janet whispered into her ear, she remembered something, something that the girl# 2 said reminded her that she had said something similar to the brunette. But her memory was interrupted when she heard Janet's voice.

When Amy was about to remind her not to talk about her past, she stopped when someone called her name.

"Kristin, is that you? It's been so long since I last saw you. Where's that gorgeous friend of yours?"

All had no idea who that woman was. From the look on Kristin's face, Nadia understands what the situation is. She's as confused as they are. Nadia stood up and allowed the elderly to sit in her place.

"Thank you, dear." Marion took the seat next to the blonde.

"She's busy." Amy played along. She made a guess that the gorgeous friend of hers had to be Lucy. "How are you?"

"good...good..." Marion noticed that Amy was talking to Janet a while ago. "Is she your friend?"

"Yes, she is." Since she doesn't know the woman's name, she winked at Janet, hinting that she should introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Janet."

"Hi, I'm Marion."

Janet found it strange when Marion looked at her hand and asked if she was married.

"me? no." Janet answered truthfully.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

All chuckled including the other girls inside the sauna when Marion responded in a funny way after Janet responded. "Darn it. Why are all the ones that I meet have a boyfriend or husband?"

She turned her attention towards Amy's finger. "Kristin, you should really wear a wedding band. I know it's uncomfortable in here, but it's bad luck to take it off. You should never take off a wedding band unless it's absolutely necessary..."

Amy realized what she was referring to. If she told the woman that she's no longer married, then there would a lot of questions. So she remained silent to let the elderly woman talk. Not wanting to be the center of attention, Amy politely excused herself after spending 5 more minutes in the sauna.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After taking a shower, all decided to eat lunch and go shopping afterwards. That's how it has been for the past months. They usually had a lot to talk about but today after what happened at the sauna, all remained silent as they ate their lunch until Janet couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Do you want me to ask her who Marion is?"

"No, Janet."

"Okay." Janet stuffed her mouth with a big bite of her hamburger.

Realizing that she had overreacted, Amy spoke in a gentle tone. "I told you. I want it to let it come back naturally."

"mhm, mhm..." Janet nodded. "I understand...I do."

Nadia noticed that something was wrong when Amy let out a deep breath.

"what's wrong?"

"nothing..." Amy said softly as she shook her head.

"okay...if you want to talk about it, you know we're here for you." Nadia said in understanding tone.

"I know." Amy let out a smile to let them that she will when she's ready. It has been 6 months. The last conversation she had with the brunette was several months ago when she explained why she wanted to move in with Janet. The conversation was very short. After that, she heard from Scud that the brunette got a dog and was living with Uncle Nick's house temporarily until she finds a house. That was the last thing she heard about the brunette. Not hearing anything about her meant that she's doing fine. It was like hearing Max's voice. She and Max were becoming distant as well. The last time they've talked was a month ago. She didn't ask where she's going to since it would be a violation to give out the location of the client she's protecting. But Max did say she likes her job because she got to see a lot of places.

Leave it to Janet, she always comes through and knows exactly what to say to break the silence.

"Can you believe what that guy said in the yoga class?"

Both Janet and Amy let out a chuckle.

"That was great...by the way." Amy said to Nadia. After the yoga class ended, there was one guy whom they've never seen, asked Nadia if the YMCA offered naked yoga class. What he said caused everyone to stop packing their stuff and stare at him. Nadia kept her cool and responded in a professional manner. When the guy continued to ask the difference between the regular and the naked yoga methods, everyone was surprised that their fitness instructor gave them a background of the naked yoga method, why it was practiced and the difference.

"It's a great way to connect with yourself and the world around you."

"Have you done it?" Janet asked out of curiosity.

"Sure."

The response shocked both the former DEBS. "You have?"

"...by myself...in my own room." Nadia said, causing another burst of laughter from the girls.

"But seriously, if you are able to do that in front of a group of strangers, you will come out feeling like there's nothing you can't do."

"Nadia, I'm sure there are other ways to build self confidence besides baring it all to strangers." Amy reasoned. What she noticed about Nadia in the past few months was that she could be very shy when it comes to talking with certain people. One would not be able to tell from the way she teaches the yoga class. She showed a lot of confidence because she knows what she's doing and she knows what she's talking about. It's a job that she loves.

"I can't imagine myself being in a room with naked men...or women...stretching." When Janet shook her head and shivered, Amy let out another laugh and stopped when she noticed Nadia was deep in thought as she drank her smoothie through a straw.

"You're not seriously thinking about it, are you?" Amy asked.

Her eyes looked up at the blonde. Nadia let out a small smile. "Do you girls want to try it?"

"NNOO!" Janet and Amy said loudly in unison as if that's the most ridiculous thing they have ever been asked to do.

"If I could just try it out with people I know, then maybe I could get myself to do in front of a group of strangers. It's not just about confidence. It's about connecting with your mind, your body, spirit, the world...it's like the ultimate level in yoga, like getting the black belt"

"Nnnoooo!" Both repeated and contorted their face in disgust.

"I promise...I don't see you girls in that way. I just want to see if I could do it in front of you girls first and if I could do that, then..."

"Okay, then you can do it in front of us and we'll keep our clothes on." Amy suggested.

Janet snapped her head at the blonde, frowning in confusion. She wasn't sure if Amy said it as a joke. Looking at Nadia or any girl naked for an hour is not something she wants to do. _Is she serious?_

"That's not the same." Nadia said, rolling her eyes. "If I don't see other people in their naked form, how will I know how my body reacts? How will I know if I would be able to continue teaching?"

"You want to teach naked yoga?" Janet was shocked.

"Well...no..." Nadia wasn't sure why she said that either. She never thought about teaching naked yoga whether it's co-ed or with only females. But she did think about what it would be like to be in a class. "I just want to feel what those people felt. They say it can free your mind..you can feel differently about yourself, about the world."

She glanced at the shorter blonde, then at the taller blonde who suddenly had her eyes closed. When she noticed that Janet was about to speak, she raised her hand and placed a finger in front of her mouth, motioning her to keep quiet. She had seen the taller blonde in that state a few times. She wondered if she's right.

After a moment, Amy opened her eyes and wondered why 2 pairs of eyes were focusing on her. She cleared her throat and sipped her non dairy smoothie.

Nadia needed to know. "Did you remember something?" Janet gasped, realizing why Nadia stopped her from talking.

Amy glanced at the girls and let out a small smile, wondering if she should tell them. "mhm" Amy nodded.

"What?" Janet asked out of curiosity.

"umm...it's...mmm...nothing..." Amy decided not to since she didn't think they need to know about it.

Both girls frowned at each other before turning their attention towards the taller blonde.

"Kristin.."

Before Nadia could complete her sentence, Amy stood up. "I'm going to go shopping. Let's meet back her in an hour."

When Amy was about to leave, Nadia took hold of her hand and stood up.

"you didn't answer my question..."

"Nadia, it's nothing...it's...personal..." Amy didn't want to tell them because it's private.

"I don't mean that. I mean...the...yoga..."

"That is definitely a NO. No matter what you say, I am not doing it."

"Me neither." Janet said.

"Why not? We're all females...we have the same body parts. There would be no touching."

Shaking her head, Amy ignored her and tried to leave but Nadia wouldn't let her go.

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are...but I don't feel comfortable letting my friends see all of me..."

Nadia released her hand and clasped her palms together. "This is really important to me. If I can just get pass that, it would help me a great deal..." She said in a begging tone.

"Nadia..." Amy wiggled her fingers, motioning her to come closer. "Do you want to know what I just remembered?"

Nadia nodded vigorously. Janet heard and stood closer to both of them but couldn't hear what the blonde said when she whispered into Nadia's ear.

"oh..." Nadia was a little shocked to hear it and understood why the blonde would deny her request.

"okay?"

Nadia nodded in understanding. Amy left, feeling a little embarrassed about what she just told her. Janet desperately wanted to know what she said. It's very very personal so she had to whisper into Janet's ear.

"Oh..." Having lived with the blonde 'Kristin' for several months, Janet never thought 'Kristin' was that shy. She had seen Kristin giving the brunette a kiss. She had seen them getting cozy together. She had seen them sleeping together on the same bed when they're not married that time when the brunette was sick.

What Amy remembered was the time she and the brunette made love in the dark. She wouldn't even let Lucy, her wife at that time, see her in all her glory. So why would she allow Nadia who's just a friend to see her naked?

* * *

In the front of a large clothing store inside the mall, some people stopped to look at two security guards surrounding a young woman. As people walked by, they could hear the woman asking the guards 'what are you doing?' when they started searching her bags. They weren't loud. It was the security guards' behavior that caught their attention. One of the security guards grabbed the bag from her. Another held on to her upper arm to prevent her from running away.

"Hey, don't touch me." When she stepped back a few steps to avoid being touched, the security guard moved forward and held her shoulder tighter than before. More people crowded the area to see what was going on.

"Can you tell me what it's going on?" She said to the guard who is searching her bag.

"Can you get your hands off me or else I'm going to call the police." She said to the guard who was grasping her firmly by the shoulder.

Seeing that the security guard was ignoring her, she took her cell phone out of the back of her pants. As she was about to call the police, the security guard took her phone away.

"Hey!"

That was what she wanted to say, but someone beat her to it. The loud voice caught everyone's attention.

"Get your dirty hands off of her! If you don't, you're not only going to lose your job, I'm going to sue you for sexual assault." The young woman with brownish hair stepped closer to the security guard. "...and don't think I am joking..." The attention that she created caused the security guard to pull his hand back when he noticed everyone staring at him and the words that were being said. Those words did not make him look good.

"And you...did you find what you're looking for?"

When the security guard shook his head towards his partner, everyone understood what was happening.

"Did he ask if he can search your bag?" Alexis said to Nadia.

Nadia shook her head.

"What you did just now is against the law." Alexis said in a tone, letting them know that they are in a lot of trouble.

"Miss, our surveillance cameras showed that she stole something from this store."

"What you should have done was ask her to show you her bag. You did not do that."

She turned to the other guard.

"She asked you to get your hands off and you did not do that. There was no need to touch her. Do you see all these people surrounding us?" She pointed to the people. "Do you think she was going to get away inside this huge mall?" Strangers nodded in agreement.

"You two are in a lot of trouble. I want to see your manager, right now!" Everyone could tell that Alexis was mad. Surprisingly, a lot of people took her side.

After a very short moment, the manager came. He tried to disperse the crowd but Alexis was unwilling to follow them to the office.

"You...go take a look at the cameras and prove to all of us that she stole something."

"We will do that. But let's go to the office now and we can take a look." He said in a professional manner.

"NO! You go take a look right now!" Everyone understood her intention. Some even clapped their hands.

The crowd was getting bigger and bigger. The noise was getting louder. Nadia wanted to follow the manager to the office so it could be resolved without attracting more attention. "Alexis..."

Alexis heard the soft voice and turned to Nadia.

"Sometimes things have to be done this way. They need to know what they did wrong so they don't make the same mistake again." Lucy once told her what type of person Nadia is so she knew what Nadia was going to say even before she said it. "These people think you did it." She pointed her finger towards the crowd.

Alexis thought her explanation would make her understand, but instead her response surprised her.

"I don't know them. I don't care what they think."

Alexis frowned at her response.

"There's nothing to see here. Everything's fine. Go on with your shopping." The manager tried to disperse the crowd again. Some people did step away but waited to see the outcome. Many others stood in their current position.

The manager had no choice but to call someone to take a look at the footage. After a long moment, when he finally got a call, he explained what happened and apologized.

The manager and the security guards apologized, but Alexis wanted more.

"Can you speak a little louder?" Alexis asked the manager politely.

The manager didn't want to but understood why.

"It was someone else. Everything is fine now. It's just a misunderstanding." Shoppers began to walk away.

"A misunderstanding?" Alexis didn't like what he said. She wanted him to admit that they screwed up.

Nadia reached out to hold Alexis's forearm, letting her know that she didn't want this to continue.

"It won't happen again. Miss." The manager apologized again.

Everyone left after Nadia accepted their apology. Standing in their current location, both remained silent for a moment. It was back to that awkward moment again and both realized it.

"Thank you." Nadia said in her gentle voice.

"Sorry, I was being too nosy. I couldn't help myself when I saw him..."

"You weren't."

Alexis saw what was happening when the crowd started to form. She knew it would eventually be resolved since Nadia didn't do it. But when she saw the security guard snatching the innocent girl's phone away, that did it. She couldn't control herself from not doing anything. There was another moment of awkward silence. Nadia looked away when she saw Alexis scanning her from top to bottom.

"Are you here alone?" Alexis said.

"Kristin and Janet...they're here too..."

Alexis nodded. She usually had a lot to say. But in front of Nadia, she couldn't get herself to speak what's on her mind. There is something on her mind, something important she wanted to say. It's important to her but it wouldn't make a difference even if she told her. She took a look at her watch.

"I have to go."

Nadia knew this was another one of Alexis' excuses but she couldn't think of anything else to say, so she just nodded.

After saying good bye and walking a few steps away, Alexis blew out a deep breath. _How? Keira? How can I be friends with her? _She wanted to. She understood that Nadia doesn't blame her for what her grandfather did. But she just couldn't get pass that feeling, that feeling of being responsible...because that's her grandfather.

"Alexis" Nadia called out and walked rapidly towards her.

Putting on a small smile, Alexis turned around.

"I want to thank you for what happened earlier. Can you come over tonight...for dinner?" Knowing what Alexis would say, she quickly added. "Bring Ashley, I haven't seen her for awhile...and your father too..."

"oh..um..."

"Have you talked to Keira lately?"

Alexis didn't understand why she suddenly brought Keira up. She shook her head.

Nadia knew the answer to that already since the brunette told them to call only if it's an emergency. She sensed that the brunette told her the same thing.

"We're going to call her tonight."

"How is she?"

Since the last time Amy told her that the brunette went to Canada, she had not heard anything about her since. When she asked Amy about it, it surprised her that Amy had no idea either. All she said was the brunette wanted to be left alone. Her heart ached when she heard that. _Alone...is she living alone? Why? _She did try to call Keira but she didn't pick up. She texted her and all she got was: 'I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Take care of yourself.' That was her way of saying she doesn't want to talk to anyone. She remembered that night when they were together. Keira told her to forget about her, pretend that she never met her so that she could move on with her life. She wondered if that was the reason why she kept herself distant from everyone else...so Amy, Nadia, including herself could move on.

"She's fine. Come tonight and we'll find out what she's up to. Okay?" Not waiting for a response, Nadia left.

After meeting up with Janet and Amy, Nadia didn't talk about what happened until they got home. Inside the kitchen, Amy and Janet helped put the meat and produce back into the refrigerator and cabinets.

It's still early. When Amy saw the fitness instructor taking out the pots and pans as if preparing for dinner, she wanted to know what she's cooking. Even though Nadia lives with them, Janet and Amy didn't get to eat her cooking that often since Nadia had to work nights. Amy is usually responsible for dinner since she doesn't have to work and comes home early from school. Sometimes Nadia cooks on days when she doesn't have to work. Sometimes Ethan volunteers to cook for all of them on his day off. So every week, she ends up cooking 3-4 days. Scud and Janet took turns too. That's what Amy missed about the brunette, her cooking.

"Do you need help?" Amy said as she placed cans of vegetables up on the kitchen cabinets.

"Can you call Ethan that I'll be cooking tonight? Have Alec come too." Nadia busily took out the boneless chicken breasts from the package.

After calling Ethan, Amy continued unpacking the food. It took a while before she noticed how many pieces of chicken she was preparing. Scud, Alec, his girlfriend, Ethan, Janet, and Nadia. There should only be 6. But there's more than 6 skinless chicken breast halves on the aluminum foil.

"Nadia, Alec's girlfriend is not coming...and I'll just have some pasta."

"Can you help me roll those up?...just like this." She scooped a spoonful of stuffing that she prepared earlier and placed in the middle of the chicken breast, then added a thin rectangular slice of butter in it before rolling it up.

"Sure."

"And Janet...can you peel the potatoes and carrots? I want to make mash potato."

"Got it..." Janet quickly walked towards the cabinet where the peeler knife is located. She's not sure why she's hurrying but the way Nadia is acting, it looked there's not enough time. It's only 4 o'clock.

"I want to make pasta primavera with bow ties, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, carrots and broccoli. How's that sound, Kristin?"

"Sounds...delicious..." Amy and Janet glanced at each other and knew what each other is thinking. They've noticed something odd about Nadia when they were are the supermarket. She was indecisive on what to buy and that rarely happens to her. Whatever Nadia makes, they would eat...without complaints.

After following the instructions from the head chef, Amy and Janet stood sat around the small table in the kitchen and watched the chef at work. There was nothing they could do except watch. Whatever they could do was done. The main part, the most important part was left to the professional.

"Okay" Nadia let out an exhausted breath as she turned around. "Now we just have to wait." She looked around and saw that everything on the table and the counter had been cleaned up. The clean plates were neatly stacked on the table, ready to be filled with the main course and side dishes.

"Okay, now can you tell us what's going on?" Amy said.

"Alexis is coming."

Surprised, both former DEBS blinked a few times.

"...and Ashley and her father..."

When she saw the confused look on their faces, she explained what happened at the mall. Both nodded in understanding and Janet beat the taller blonde to ask the most obvious question.

"What makes you think she will show up this time?" Ashley and Michel would but Alexis, it wouldn't surprised them that she would make up an excuse at the last minute.

"She will." Nadia turned to look at the chicken to make sure she didn't over bake it.

"...and why are you so sure?" The question came from Amy.

The response was very unclear.

"Excuse me?" Amy asked again. All she heard was a low mumble of her voice.

Nadia turned and let out a smile. "Because I said we would call Keira tonight to see how she's doing."

Both girls turned to the direction of Janet when she clapped her hands once loudly. "That would do it. She's definitely going to come this time."

The only one who was frowning in confusion was Amy.

"Did you girls forget something?" Amy noticed that both of them didn't seem to understand what she meant. "How are you going to get her to pick up your phone call?" She said to Nadia. Lucy hasn't talked to anyone for a few months. Scud said she doesn't want to be bothered. She didn't even pick up his call. But they know she's alive and well from the short text messages he received back.

"Amy, I mean...Kristin, it's just a lie to get her to come." Janet said in a obvious tone while rolling her eyes.

"No, Janet. I wasn't lying."

Both remained silent and waited to hear what she had in mind.

It was the way Nadia looked at her. It was the way Nadia cleared her throat. It was what Nadia said that made Amy realize what the pretty, fit, smart, sometimes shy, young woman standing in front of her was thinking off.

"I made your favorite dessert."

"NO."

* * *

**Chapter 44: Chapter 44**

* * *

Chapter 44

"Kristin, wait." Nadia followed the taller blonde into the dining room.

"She said very clearly not to call her unless it's an emergency." Amy took the plate mats and placed each one neatly on the long dining table with 8 seats.

"...and this...is not an emergency..."

"Don't you want to know how she's doing?"

Amy does but she's not going to admit it. There was a reason why the brunette chose to distance herself. She understands her intention. Max understands and so does everyone else. If she calls her, what could they possibly talk about? Can she tell her about the guy at yoga class? Can she tell her that she went out on a date with a classmate? Can she tell her that she went out with Ethan a few times and enjoyed his company? Telling her that would let her know that she's moving on with her life and she should do the same. But how can she tell the one who saved her numerous times, who used to be lover, who would do anything for her, what's happening in her life without hurting her. It hurts just imagining how the brunette might feel if she heard about it.

"Kristin, we all want to know how she's doing." Nadia said as she watched the taller blonde walked around the table, placing the utensils on each mat.

"I want to know how she's doing." Janet raised her hand.

All remained silent and still when they saw the blonde suddenly froze standing with her eyes closed.

_You said to treat this as a 9 to 5 job...It's 6 now...Can't you see he's ruining your life!..._

_I have to get him...I told you this before...I have to get revenge for Amy...I can't just let him go!..._

_I understand that...but can't you stop for a moment?...can't you see what's happening...to you...to us..." _

_Kristin!...there's no time..._

_Look at yourself...this is all you've been doing...you don't cook...you don't clean...you don't do anything else...you don't even talk to me anymore, you don't...Lucy!  
_

Nobody interrupted her this time. She was the who wanted to stop. The brunette's behavior shocked her. The argument happened at dinner time, just the two of them. Lucy angrily slammed the door behind her and left the apartment without saying a word after that. Amy had never seen that side of her; the anger, the frustration, the attitude towards her, towards Kristin. Bits and bits of memory that she has been getting were sweet moments that they shared together. But this time was different. This is the first memory of them having an argument.

Amy opened her eyes, blinked a few times and shook her head.

"What did you remember?" Janet couldn't resist.

"Nothing...it's not important..." Amy continued to place the utensils on the mat.

"oh...it's one of those again..huh..."

Amy looked up at the shorter blonde, then ignored her. She wished it was. She would rather remember the happy or intimate moments than the arguments.

"Did we ever have an argument after we got married?" Amy wanted to know if the argument happened before after they got married. But after she asked the question, she realized it was a dumb question.

"Of course not...you were sick..."

Amy didn't expect that as the reason.

"Did she know I was sick before we got married?"

"We found out you were sick that day. She proposed to you that same night." Janet only realized what she said sounded really bad when she heard the blonde's next question.

"She proposed to me because I was sick?"

Not only Janet, even Nadia was confused. "What?" Janet said, not understanding her question.

"Kristin, if you want to know, you can always give her a call." Nadia suggested.

That's really smart of her, but Amy knows better.

"Nice try. But I don't need to call her to know the answer to that. She planned to propose even before she knew I was sick." She remembered the proposal speech that Janet told her about.

"She was afraid that something might happen to Kristin. She wanted to marry her, so she proposed. It's as simple as that. Isn't that right, Janet?"

Janet nodded in agreement. "It's also because you wanted to marry her too."

"You mean, Kristin wanted to marry her." Amy corrected her.

"right...Kristin..."

"but if **Kristin** wasn't sick, she might not have propose so soon..."

"right...she didn't want to get married until after she got revenge for you, that's why she rejected your proposal...I mean...Kristin's proposal..." Janet thought about what she just said to make sure she got it right...the words 'she' and 'you' got her confused.

"What?" Amy said softly in confusion. She heard what Janet said but wanted to make sure she heard her correctly. "I proposed to her first?"

"No"

It shocked her for a moment that she was the one who proposed.

"not you...Kristin proposed to her first, she rejected her proposal."

"Why?"

"I just told you, she wanted to get revenge for you..."

"No, I mean...why did I propose to her? Proposing is not something that I would do, no matter how much I love that person."

"But that's not you...it's Kristin." It was getting too confusing. Janet had to sit down.

Surprised with the new information, Amy pulled the chair out and sat down herself. Brainwash. Even though she had been brainwashed, she noticed that Kristin's personality didn't change much besides no longer being a vegetarian. From what she heard from Janet and Lucy, Kristin loves kids, art, martial arts just like her and they believed in no sex before marriage. Hearing the information about her being the one who proposed surprised her. She thought about marriage but never thought about proposing. It's just something that she wouldn't do, like having sex before marriage.

"Janet, do you know why I proposed to her?"

Janet noticed that she used the word 'I' instead of Kristin, but didn't correct her. "You wanted her to stop looking for him."

Amy nodded in understanding. Now everything made sense. She knew there had to be a good reason. It had to be more than just wanting to get married.

"She was...not herself." Janet didn't want to say too much about what happened. She too was shocked at Lucy's behavior at that time.

It was obvious how she would feel after getting rejected by the one she loves. However, she would like to know how she proposed to the brunette. "how...did...I...?..."

"How...did...you...what?"

She glanced at Janet, then at Nadia. _Janet might not know. Nadia, she would ask me to call Lucy to find out._

"Never mind...What happened after...she got rejected?"

"Lucy wanted to leave the apartment but Scud stopped her and you told us that you came to London for another reason, you told us that you could be Amy."

The information captured Nadia's attention. She sat down to listen as Janet continued with the story.

"...and that's how we found out you were sick." Janet glanced at Nadia, then at the taller blonde to see their reaction. What she was hoping was everything made sense to them because she left out some parts of it, parts that weren't important.

Amy glanced at Nadia who had the same confused look. Both directed their attention to the shorter blonde.

"Did that make sense to you, Nadia?" Amy said while looking at Janet.

"nope." Nadia responded while looking at Janet.

What Janet told them was that after the brunette left the apartment for a few days, Amy went to the hotel to look for her but she never came back and they found out later that she was at the hospital.

"Who told you that I was at the hospital?"

"Michel." Janet quickly responded and swallowed.

"Michel doesn't know your number."

"Maybe you told him."

"Then why wouldn't I call you? Why would I want Michel to call you?"

Janet couldn't think of a good answer. "I don't know."

"She's lying." Nadia said to the blonde.

"obviously"

Both narrowed at the shorter blonde and waited for her to tell the truth.

"Well.." Amy said, tired of waiting.

"Well what?" Janet swallowed again.

"Janet, if you keep telling me something that isn't true, do you realize what it's doing to my brain? My memory comes back in bits and pieces. I'm not going to know if what I remember is real or not...because it doesn't make sense. Do you understand why I need to know the truth?" She had no idea why Janet would be lying to her.

What Amy just said made Janet regret lying. _She's right. It would confuse her even more._

"Sorry...I just...don't want you to get upset...over...nothing."

Nadia and Amy glanced at each other in confusion.

"From the moment I went to look for her...please continue..." Amy said in understanding tone.

"Right..." Janet took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "We don't know what exactly happened in the hotel. But Lucy said..."

Janet continued with the story.

"...and that's what happened..."

Janet let out a deep breath when she saw both girls nodded in agreement. She felt like she was being interrogated on the stand in a court room.

"Well, that was interesting." Nadia said as she stood up and took a look at her watch. When she heard how the blonde slapped the brunette, it shocked her.

Amy realized that was when it happened, when she slapped her.

"Was that the first time I hit her?"

"first?" Nadia and Janet asked in unison. They didn't expect the blonde to be so violent. But they understood why she did it.

Janet shrugged. "They didn't do anything." Janet wanted to make sure the blonde understands the most important part. That's why she didn't want to tell her because she's not sure if she would believe it.

"Does it really matter?" Amy stood up and walked back into the kitchen to grab the wine glasses.

Nadia went into the kitchen to check on the chicken kiev.

"of course it does."

"Why?" Amy handed 4 wine glasses to Janet and took 4 herself.

"because...they didn't. I believe her. Kristin believes her." Janet realized that she's not answering the question. But that's all she could think of.

"It doesn't matter if they did or not. It doesn't matter if she and Nadia did it or not."

Janet turned her eyes to look at the busy woman with brownish hair to see her reaction. She was surprised that Nadia was ignoring them. _If someone accused me of doing something that I didn't do, I would let them know right away. She didn't? Did she? _Janet thought to herself.

"My point is if I was Kristin, then it would matter. But I'm not."

Janet ignored the blonde because what she really wanted to know is if Lucy and Nadia were ever together.

"Nadia, did you and Lucy..."

Nadia lay the the dough neatly on the pan and placed the pan in another oven. She then grabbed a bowl, flour, sugar, butter, and milk. "Can you get me 8 eggs and 2 lemons?" Nadia said, not directing the question to anyone as she began to put the ingredients into the bowl.

Surprisingly, nobody moved not even Amy who isn't curious before but is now when she noticed Nadia ignoring them.

"Kristin, eggs and lemon..." Without looking at the taller blonde, Nadia poured the milk into the measuring cup.

"Did you and her...?"

After pouring the milk into the bowl, Nadia looked at the taller blonde. "Does it matter?"

Janet gasped, covering her mouth. Her eyes opened wide and stared at the taller blonde to see her reaction, but all she saw was Amy frowning at the young woman whom Janet had always thought that she was like her, innocent and pure.

There was a short moment of silence before Amy responded. "It doesn't" Amy turned around to get the eggs and lemon from the refrigerator.

Janet was shocked at the new information.

"When did it happened?" Janet really wanted to know. "...not that it matters...I'm just curious..."

"Help me separate the yolk from the whites." Nadia cracked one egg.

Both blondes remained still for a short moment. Amy then reached out to take one egg. Janet followed suit. Both waited for her to respond, but when she didn't, Janet asked again.

"Does Kristin know?" It felt strange talking about Kristin as if she's dead when the person is sitting right next to her.

Amy thought back to the moment where Lucy went to take out the tracker. She had asked the brunette if she had a sex addiction problem. She had asked her if she slept with Nadia and Alexis. At that time, there was a reason why she said that. The brunette never answered her question and she didn't think the brunette did...but now..._maybe they did, that's why she didn't answer the question._

"Did she cheat on Kristin?" Janet asked out of curiosity, not that it matters anymore.

Silence suddenly filled the room. Everyone stopped moving. Janet tried hard not to move, holding a cracked egg. With one hand holding a bowl of egg yolks, Nadia stood as still as she could as she looked down at the taller blonde who suddenly stopped moving, her eyes closed. They knew what was happening. This is the second time Nadia saw her in that state. Her memory is slowly coming back. It's a good sign. That's what she thought until the sound of the timer went off moments later, causing the blonde to come back into reality.

It wasn't just what she said, it was the loud angry voice, the way Amy stood up that startled both of them.

**"DID SHE CHEAT ON ME?!"**

"What?" Janet moved one step back. She had seen Amy when she's angry and she knows enough that it's not a good idea to be so close to her at this moment. She glanced at Nadia. If anyone would know the answer, it would be her and Lucy.

Usually, when Amy remembers something, she would shake her head and then tried to put the pieces of memory together. But this time was different. She just remembered the first time she slapped the brunette. It was on a bridge. She was sure it was the first time because her hand trembled after she did it. The brunette confessed. If anything she hate more than being ignored, more than being lied to, it's being cheated on.

Huffing angrily, Amy repeated the question. "Janet, did she cheat on me?!"

"I...I...don't...know..." Janet stuttered as she glanced at Nadia. If she had not heard what Nadia just said, she would have told her no. She's not sure why the blonde was asking her when that person her lover cheated with is standing next to her. Janet wiggled her finger, pointing to Nadia.

Nadia was trying to make a point when she deliberately made the girls think that she and Lucy were together at some point. Seeing how angry the taller blonde is, she felt she succeeded in making her point, part of it anyways.

"Kristin, we didn't. I was just trying to get you to call her." Nadia explained.

Amy was surprised to hear that. For a moment, she thought that they did. But that's not what the brunette confessed to.

"Not you, Alexis!"

"Alexis!" Both said in unison. Janet quickly defended the brunette and reexplained what Lucy told them, why she didn't go after Kristin when she saw her with Alexis at the hotel.

"Not that time. It was before that. She confessed that she cheated...it was on the bridge." Amy paused to see if Janet could tell her more about that.

"I slapped her." Her voice changed into a calmer tone. She slowly raised her hand and looked at her palm.

"I...slapped her...so...hard, my hand was shaking." She could feel what it was like. It was like the time she slapped her in Canada, but it was harder than that. "...she said...she was with Alexis...after we broke up."

"If it's after you broke up, then she didn't cheat on you." Janet realized that she said the wrong thing when she saw the blonde narrowing her eyes at her. She moved another step back.

"Do you remember anything else?" Nadia said in a gentle voice.

Amy shook her head slowly as her eyes kept looking at her right palm. "She...cheated...on me. She...broke my heart." She remembered how Kristin felt at that time. She was devastated. None of it made sense to her. Amy knew the brunette loved her. She knew Kristin loved her. That's why she married her. What Amy couldn't understand is why Kristin married her even after finding out that the brunette cheated on her. _If I find out my lover cheated on me, there is no way I would forgive him...no way...it's just not possible...but Kristin did..._

Both Nadia and Janet could tell that Amy wasn't herself. She was more like Kristin at this moment.

"Kristin, I don't know what happened. But I'm sure she didn't." Nadia had a reason to believe that Lucy and Alexis were never together because Lucy wanted to introduce Alexis to her. Introducing someone whom she slept with to her..._she wouldn't do that... _ She then thought a moment...would_ she?  
_

"Why are you so sure?"

_What if I told her? Would she believe it? In the state she's in now, she's not going to believe anything that anyone says...unless.._

"Why don't you ask her?" That's what Nadia had been trying to get her to do.

Realizing what Nadia was doing, Amy rolled her eyes. "I...am...not..." She stopped when she heard the ringing of the doorbell.

"It's Alexis." Nadia said in excitement and looked at her watch. "Oh...shoot...Amy, open the door...Janet, beat this up." She handed the bowl of egg whites to Janet. "Get Ethan over here." She said to Amy.

Before Amy was about to open the kitchen door, she stopped when Nadia called her.

"Kristin...does it matter?"

Without responding, Amy left the kitchen. As she walked towards the main door, she couldn't control herself from thinking of the memory and what Nadia said.

"Does it matter? Does it matter?...well...it does...kind of...maybe...maybe not...but I still want to know. How could she cheat on me?"

Amy opened the door wide and put on a big smile, so big...it looks fake...at the one whom her ex-lover cheated with.

"Hi...Alexis...how are you?" Even the tone of her voice sounded fake. She leaned in to hug the young woman wearing a short sleeve beige pink dress showing her long legs. _Why is she dressed like that? It's just a casual dinner._ She couldn't help wondering if that's how she attracted the brunette. It's a beautiful dress, she had to admit.

Ashley hugged the blonde and led herself inside. She's been there many times, so she knows where everything is.

To this day, Alexis still couldn't get used to seeing her father hugging the blonde. A handshake would be more appropriate.

"You look good. Kristin." Michel said.

"You too. Michel."

After inviting them in, Amy called Ethan over to help out. All came but Alec who couldn't make it. It's Alexis' first time inside the duplex, so Amy showed her around. As they walked up to the third floor where the master bedroom is, Amy wondered if she should ask Alexis. It happened a long time ago. Would she be bothered by it? What if they did? Not that it matters anymore. But what if she said yes, they were together, she will have a lot of questions. The situation would turn awkward. Knowing Alexis, she probably wouldn't want to stay for dinner. Amy let out a sigh. She decided not to ask. Nadia spent alot of time in preparing this dinner. Nadia had been waiting for this day for a long time. Amy didn't want to ruin it. This dinner had a purpose...and it's not to find out if her ex-lover cheated on her.

"Who sleeps here?" The master bedroom is so big, it could fit 2 pool tables and a king size bed.

"Nobody."

"Why?" The master bedroom has a king size bed, a desk, dressers, a tv, and more. It looked like it's currently being used.

"the stairs, we don't want to keep going up and down...it gets pretty hot up here in the summer."

"oh" The first thing that came to mind is if the brunette was here, this would be her bedroom. "Did she come back to visit?"

What Amy heard made her realize that the brunette also kept her distance from Alexis.

"Did she say when she'll come back...to visit?" Alexis added the last two words, knowing that the brunette probably wouldn't come back to live. She could see how awkward it could be living with someone whom you love but doesn't love you back. Alexis understood why she moved in with Janet. But Nadia? _Why did she leave Paris?_

Amy shook her head.

"We can ask her later." Alexis said in excitement as she looked around inside the master bedroom.

Amy could tell how happy she is. _Nadia...you have some explaining to do. _

"You know what would be nicer. You can color this beige...it's a warmer color...and you can put some long light brown curtains, some dark brown sofas, a light brown or beige or silver satin duvet, a few cushions here..."

As she listens to the fashion designer talk about how to decorate the room, Amy wonders what she's thinking of. She realized afterwards.

"Keira will love it." Alexis said with so much enthusiasm and love, she sounded like she was expecting Keira to come visit tomorrow.

_They did it. She cheated on me._

"Dinner's ready!" came the loud voice of Janet from downstairs.

Inside the dining room, all were seated except for Nadia and Ethan. Ethan came in holding a bowl of pasta primavera.

"Alexis, sit here." Michel said.

"Let me wash my hands first." The atmosphere was not as awkward with her father and Ashley around. Being the oldest, Michel sat at the end of the table while he chatted with Scud who sat on the first seat next to him. Ashley sat next to his father on the other side and waited patiently for dinner to start as she licked her lips at the plate in front of her; golden brown baked chicken kiev with mash potatoes, carrots and asparagus on the side. Alexis went inside the kitchen to wash her hands since it's closer.

There in front of her standing at the sink, washing her hands, was Nadia dressed casually in jeans and a shirt with an apron on. When Nadia turned around, she gasped out loud and jerked her head back.

"Sorry, did I scare you?"

It wasn't because of her presence that scared her, Nadia gasped because of what she saw in front of her, a pretty young woman in a beautiful dress perfectly fitted for her body with the right length above her knee...way above the knee.

"No...no...it's...your dress...wow!...that's a beautiful dress." It's true but she chastised herself internally for saying that. _Now she knows I'm looking at her body._

"Thank you." Alexis walked towards her. What she was expecting was for the young woman with brown hair tied in a pony tail to move so she can wash her hands at the sink, but could see that the chef was still looking at her dress, either that or her body.

"I just want to wash my hands."

"Oh...sure..." Nadia moved aside and untied her apron.

"If you like the dress, I can you make you one."

"Really?"

"Sure..." Alexis said as she wiped her hands on a towel. "mm...what's your size?" She said as she walked around Nadia in a circle.

"2"

"I mean...the actual measurements."

"Oh...right...mm..I don't know. I never measured myself." She's not sure why but the way Alexis is looking at her is making her uncomfortable. That's what a designer does. That's what she has to do.

"34-24-33? Do you have a measuring tape?" Alexis noticed how the awkwardness was no longer there. She patted herself on the back for wearing this dress.

"Hey, are you girls ready? Ashley is getting hungry." Ethan said, peeking inside the door.

As Nadia was about to go outside, she stopped at the door when she heard her name being called. Smiling, Alexis walked towards her. Nadia frowned and remained still when Alexis stepped into her private space.

"Don't move."

Nadia did as told. She even held her breath because Alexis who's about 2 inches taller than her was moving her face closer and closer.

"Close your eyes." Like a robot under complete control, Nadia immediately closed her eyes. She realized why when she felt a wet towel rubbing her forehead, the area under her eyes and her cheek.

"All set"

Nadia opened her eyes.

"Beautiful" Alexis smiled and left the kitchen.

Nadia exhaled loudly. She's a great swimmer, but she's not sure how long she could hold her breath. She's not even sure why she's holding it.

Dinner wasn't as quiet as Alexis expected. Each person had something to say. Ashley was the center of attention which it's a good thing. Nobody talked about the brunette since Ashley doesn't know about her being alive. Alexis complimented on Nadia's cooking and continued with that topic. Michel was talking to Scud about business. What Scud is planning to do and in the process of doing is opening a restaurant where Nadia and Ethan would be working. If that goes well, he also plans on opening a bakery shop. It's not a big business as what he used to do, but it's a peaceful, normal life. Everyone was having a great time. Seeing the mood, Alexis should be happy but her smile disappeared when she saw the couple sitting across from her. They're not a couple but they're acting like one. What she saw was Kristin laughing and joking around with Ethan. _Keira, this is why you don't want to come back. _She could just imagine how painful it would be if the brunette saw them right now. She turned to her father to see his reaction. Knowing that her father is also in love with the blonde, he must be hurt as well. But she didn't notice anything different about her father. Michel noticed them. Heck, everybody noticed them.

During the meal, Nadia excused herself to go back in the kitchen. She had something cooking in the oven and had to take it out.

"Dessert is done. Who wants lemon souffle?"

Janet and Ashley both raised their hands.

"Kristin, do you want lemon souffle?" Nadia asked.

Lemon souffle is one of the blonde's favorite dishes. That was a hint to tell her that if she wants it, she has to call the brunette. Amy understood the meaning behind it.

"I'm a little too full right now. Maybe later." That was to tell Nadia that she's still thinking about it...but more likely, the answer is a No. She raised her eyebrows up and down.

_Shoot. Now what am I'm going to do? _Nadia hate to start off the friendship with a lie. _Maybe Scud can help_.

After dinner was over, all the dishes were placed in the sink for later. Nadia, Janet, and Amy all thought that Alexis agreed to come for dinner because she wanted to talk to the brunette. They found out there was another reason why they came. When Michel sent Ashley to play with Janet for awhile in the living room, all realized it was serious.

All sat in the dining room in their current seats. Amy, Ethan, and Scud sat on one side. Nadia and Alexis sat across from them. Michel sat at the end.

"A month ago, I learned that my father..." He closed his eyes for a second when he said the last word. All noticed how difficult it was for him. "...he left these for us..." He took some documents from his bag and handed one folder to Nadia and one to Ethan. After quickly scanning the documents, both realized what they were.

"I know these won't..."

Before he could continue, Nadia interrupted him. "We don't want it." Nadia slid the documents back to him and Ethan did the same.

"May I?" Scud was curious to know what it is. He took a look after Michel approved. His jaws dropped when he saw how much money Benjamin left them or rather hidden so that the government can't get to it. Amy, sitting next to Ethan, took the other folder and she too was shocked at how much the fraudster stashed away, millions.

"I understand...Can you call your brother, maybe..."

"He wouldn't want it either." Ethan quickly replied.

Michel turned to Alexis. They knew this would happen. When they found out, they too felt the same way. They didn't want it either. The first thing that came to mind was to give it to the Thoreaux's. Then if they don't want it, they planned to donate all of it. Michel nodded to Alexis. Alexis shifted her body to look at Nadia.

"There is something else." She spoke in her most gentle voice. "We know it won't make a difference but we...want you to know...what happened. On the day that he passed way, he told us..." She glanced at Ethan, then at Nadia. "...that he didn't do it..." Everyone knew what that meant and all were shocked except for Nadia who displayed no reaction.

Seeing no reaction from the girl sitting next to her, Alexis reached out to hold both of her hands and looked deeply into her eyes. Her intention isn't to ask for forgiveness. They already forgave them. Her intention is to tell them the truth. Telling them the truth will break the barrier, this invisible barrier that she felt between her and Nadia and her siblings, this barrier that kept her from fulfilling her promise to the one she loves.

"Nadia..." "I know it's hard to believe. But we believe him because...he said...he..."

"He swore on my mother's grave." Michel interrupted. "he loves my mother, he loves his wife, he wouldn't..."

"I know that already."

All, especially Ethan was surprised and confused.

"Nadia?" Ethan wanted to know when she knew about it, why she didn't say anything and why she believes the one who he thought killed their father, was innocent.

Nadia glanced at each one of them before nodding to her brother.

"You knew?" Amy was as curious as everyone else.

Nadia continued to explain how she knew.

"Keira?" Michel, Amy, and Alexis said in unison.

"Did she believe that he didn't do it?" Alexis wanted to know what the brunette thought.

"She...doesn't...but I do...I believe that there is no reason for him to lie about that." She didn't want to say too much since she doesn't want them to know about the kidnapping. But of course, anyone who heard would want to know what happened in more detail.

"When did she talk to him?" It didn't make sense to Alexis. Keira and her grandfather, talking? That's very unlikely, unless...

"I don't know. All she wanted to know is if he's telling the truth...and I believe that he was..." Nadia held her hands firmly to let her know that she understood, there was no reason for Alexis to feel sorry for what her grandfather did.

All could see that Ethan was having a hard time with the new information when he held his head with both hands. His elbows propped on the table. Amy understood what he was feeling at this moment. Everything that they went through, everything that they did was because of a misunderstanding. "It was an accident." Ethan said to himself, shutting his eyes tight as the memory of what happened inside Benjamin's house flowed into his mind. He, Benjamin, had given them so many chances but Alec wouldn't listen. There was no doubt in their minds that he killed their father because Alec believed it was true...even when there's no proof. Thinking back to that moment now, Ethan believed that Benjamin would have kept his word and let them go if he left the house. Even with a knife pointed at his granddaughter, he denied killing all those people on the plane. Ethan now knows why...because he...didn't do it.

Amy rubbed her left hand up and down Ethan's back to comfort him. "Ethan, nobody got hurt."

Ethan looked at the blonde. His eyes teared up. Amy could see a tear at the corner of his eyes. Ethan is very different from the other men she met, very different from Bobby. There are others sitting on the table, but he's not afraid to show his weakness, his soft side to the people whom he hardly knows. Others would be making excuses of why he did what he did, others would be blaming the fraudster even though he wasn't responsible for the plane explosion. If it wasn't for his scam, this would never have happened. He could blame his brother Alec because that's what he told them. There were so many excuses that he could have given himself but instead Ethan blamed himself for his actions.

"Kristin, you got hurt...you almost died...because of me." He said as a tear flowed down the side of his face. Thinking of how he could be responsible for killing the one whom he has fallen in love with, he couldn't control his own emotions. He had fallen for her in Paris. It wasn't because of the way she looks, it was her kindness, the way she comforted his sister during that time when they found out that their savior died, the way Nadia felt so comfortable with talking to the blonde, he hadn't seen his sister being so close to anyone else except for Alec's ex-girlfriend. There was a moment when he thought that his sister was interested in the blonde. If she was, he wouldn't have interfere or even tried to get close to Kristin. He felt extremely happy that it wasn't what he thought, but it didn't work out regardless because Kristin wasn't interested in him.

Amy knew what happened to Kristin, but not in detail. She's not the only one who got hurt. It was part of the job. She used to be a DEB so she knew there are risks. If there's anybody to blame, it should be the fraudster. That was his bullet that hit the side of her abdomen.

"Heyyyy..." She reached up to wipe the tear on his face. "you're right...and for that, you can make it up to me...from now on, on your day off, you do the cooking..." Amy said as a joke and saw that she was able to put a smile on Ethan's face.

That's what Ethan loves about her. She could be so understanding and know just what to say at the right moment. _God. I want to marry you. _He was so absorbed in that moment, looking deeply into her loving green eyes, that he didn't realize everyone was staring at them until he heard Michel clearing his throat.

Alexis didn't like what she saw and what she heard. What she wanted to know is how long have they been dating?_ Does Keira know? _She noticed that Nadia too was staring at the 'couple's' actions and not in a good way.

_When did this happen? _ Nadia thought to herself. She has been living with Amy a little over 2 months. She knew that her brother was interested in the blonde. There were days when she saw them together, but never alone. She was there and so was Scud and Janet when they stayed in to watch a movie. There were times when they went to the movies, all five of them together. She noticed that Amy was comfortable talking to Ethan but not in that sort of way, nothing special, just a casual conversation like her talking to Scud and Janet. Where ever Amy sat, Ethan would sit next to her, at the dining table, at the sofa. She didn't think anything of it because that's how he was when he's with 'Kristin'. After Kristin rejected him, he stopped doing that. So she thought, eventually, Amy would do the same...because she and Kristin, after all, are the same person. But now, she's not so sure. She and Ethan worked in different restaurants. Because of that, they don't see each other that often. _Did I miss something? _Keira told her not to interfere with Amy's life, but she never made that promise to her. This is one of the reasons why she wanted to move to London, so she could look after Amy. Look after...meaning, she would do whatever it takes to make the blonde remember who she was. Kristin, after all, did spend a year with her. So Nadia believed that if anyone can make her remember what she used to be like, it would be her. If the time comes when she felt that Amy was getting too close to someone, she would do something, she's not sure what, but she would think of something...to make her see that he's not right for her...in this case, make him see that she's not right for her brother.

"Kristin, it was a miracle." Michel remembered that day when he went completely nuts when he found out that the blonde died.

"What's a miracle?"

"They didn't tell you?" Michel looked at Scud who shrugged his shoulders. _That's right. He wasn't there._ If Keira didn't tell him, he wouldn't have known about it.

Michel continued to tell her what happened that day she got shot.

"45 minutes?" Amy said in disbelief. "Do they know what happened?" Usually when someone is pronounced dead, that person won't come back to life.

"They don't know either. One of the nurse was cleaning up, she found you..." Michel continued with the story. "Then you went into a coma..."

That was the first time Ethan heard about the blonde being in a coma. "Who woke you up?"

"Who...woke me up?" Amy frowned in confusion. She heard that she was kidnapped while she was in a coma and Anthony and Lucy had to rescue her. She has no idea who woke her up.

"When I was in a coma, it felt so strange. I can't move but I can hear everyone else talking. I wanted to tell you..." He looked at his sister. "...that I'm okay...I wanted to open my eyes...but no matter how hard I try, I just couldn't...then..." He stopped when he saw Nadia put her finger on her mouth. She extended her hand towards everyone, then at the blonde, motioning them not to say a word. He pointed at Ethan, motioning him not to touch the blonde. Amy...somehow...has fallen into that frozen state again...while Ethan was talking. It was a long moment, longer than usual because nobody interrupted her. There were no loud noises, just the faint noise coming from the tv in the living room. Nadia is the only one who knows what was happening. Nobody except Nadia liked what they saw because it frightened them. It has been a long time since Amy had her eyes closed. They could see that she's breathing. They could see her head swaying, just a little, back and forth, back and forth. What scared all of them is when the blonde suddenly fell into the arms of the one who had fallen in love with her, Ethan.

"Kristin!" All called out.

Amy heard the loud noise, her eyes opened wide. It took a short moment for her to realize what had happened. Everyone was standing up. Even Nadia became frightened from what she just witnessed. Nadia quickly went to her side.

"Do we need to get her to the doctor?" Michel said in a worried tone. For a moment there, he thought her aneurysm had ruptured. It scared the heck out of him. One minute he was talking about a miracle. The next...something else happens.

"Kristin, are you okay?" Scud realized what Michel was thinking.

"Fine." Amy closed for a few seconds and shook her head.

"What happened?" Alexis said, her heart beat still pounding rapidly.

"Is it..." Nadia smiled and let out deep breath when she saw Amy nodding her head. "I'll get you some water."

"I'm fine. I just...fell asleep." Amy said in an embarrassing tone as she glanced at Ethan who was still holding her hand. His right arm wrapped around her shoulder firmly.

"you fell asleep?" Alexis said, confused as everyone else.

"Does this happen often? Did you tell the doctor?" Michel asked.

Seeing how worried Michel was, Amy quickly explained what happened.

"So what did you remember this time?" Scud was anxious to know. All sat down to listen intently.

"...my coma...Keira woke me up..." All then realized what triggered her memory.

"That's right. It was Keira. She woke you up." Michel said happily. When he saw her with Ethan, he sensed something was going on between them. He could tell that Ethan likes her and hoped that what he saw about the blonde isn't true.

"What else do you remember?" Alexis said. She was hoping that the blonde could remember what the brunette did for her.

"umm..." Amy wasn't sure if she should say. "...she was helping me wash my hair..."

That's all she could say because if she said anymore, Ethan will know what type of relationship she had with the brunette. What she remembered was the moment she heard Keira's voice while she was in a coma, how the brunette helped her to the bathroom, how the brunette fed her, how Kristin promised to go where ever Keira wants to go, and how they both drifted off to sleep, together holding hands, in the same bed.

Alexis knew when it happened, but didn't know what happened after she said good night to the brunette. That was the day she found out about Kristin and Keira's relationship. That was the night Keira got captured..._while sleeping...with her._

"But does it always happen like this?" Michel became concerned that she could be having one of these moments at any time, anywhere, while she was walking and worse, while driving a car.

Kristin understood his concern and explained why she fell asleep this time without saying too much. It was peaceful, it was a happy moment, she could feel what Kristin was feeling at that moment, full of regret that she broke up with the brunette, yet at the same time, feeling blessed because she had another chance to be with the one she loves, once more. She felt so at peace, so calm without worries like everything else doesn't matter anymore because she has Keira back. She, herself, felt at peace and drifted off to sleep.

"I've had memories that weren't...pleasant...that were...painful..." She looked up at Alexis sitting across from her. "..that I didn't want to remember...and I could stop it...I can control it."

Everyone understood what the blonde said. Everyone have painful memories. Ethan understood completely. He could still remember that day when he went to look for Benjamin. After he woke up from the coma, he got nightmares about it and it would woke him up. He could see that the blonde was looking at Alexis, the way she was looking at her told him that something unpleasant happened between them and she remembered what it was. Seeing how the mood suddenly changed, Ethan thought of something to say, something he wants to know.

"Do you remember what Keira said that woke you up?" Ethan remembered how he woke up.

Amy was afraid he would ask that. She couldn't tell him that the brunette confessed her love. "She said I...**cheated**." Amy said the last word a little louder as she looked at Alexis.

Nadia noticed and knew what Amy was thinking. _She said it doesn't matter, but it does. _

"She lost once to me on a shooting game. So she said I cheated and wanted a rematch."

"That's it?" Ethan expected something more shocking.

"mhm..." Amy glanced at Michel, then at Alexis and knew that they knew she wasn't telling the whole truth.

"Nadia, do you remember what you said to me when I woke up?"

Nadia shook her head. She said a lot of things. All she remembered was that she was so shocked, so happy, she couldn't stop crying.

"You called me a lazy bum."

All heard and when everyone laughed, Amy understood why Ethan asked the question. _He is very, very different from Bobby._

"But what really did it was when you said...there was a reason why you never had a boyfriend...and it's not because you're picky." Ethan said in an understanding tone. "It shocked me! How could I have missed that...all those years...my little sis...I'm sorry...I should have paid more attention to you."

_And there it is again_...Amy couldn't control her mind from comparing her ex to the one in front of him...so understanding. He put the blame on himself for not caring for her little sister. If Nadia had told him, she wouldn't have kept it to herself all these years about her sexuality. It would have changed her.

_oh..Ethan..._Nadia couldn't help feeling sorry for her brother. She's always more connected to him than Alec. Maybe it's because of the age difference, being 2 years younger than him. Maybe it's because of their profession, they had a lot to talk about. Ethan is more gentle and more understanding than Alec. She had no idea why he never had a girlfriend. _Sorry, Ethan. She's not meant to be yours._

"It's okay. Ethan. I chose to hide it. If it wasn't for Keira, I would still be in hiding. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Ethan understood and he's not the only one. Alexis understood. As if there was a button that controlled the invisible wall between her and Nadia, someone just pressed that button and the invisible barrier just poofed, vanished. What Nadia wanted Ethan to understand, wanted Alexis and Michel to understand is not to blame themselves for everything that has happened, that things happened for a reason.

"I do." Ethan said as he took a quick glance at the blonde. "But will Alec?"

"He's going to blame himself...for awhile...but he will...eventually." Nadia could see Alexis looking at her; her eyes full of sympathy.

Alexis remembered what Lucy told her about Nadia. She said her family doesn't know. Nadia has been hiding it all her life. _How could she hid it for so many years? _As for herself, she never told her father, not because he wouldn't understand, it's because she didn't feel the need to. If she wanted to bring a girlfriend home, she would. But she was never able to find someone whom she loves. She wasn't hiding it from anyone. It's just that the topic never popped up. She never talked about her love life with her father and he never asked. But her grandmother knows about her. When her grandmother asked about her love life, she told her without trying to hide it. Whether her grandmother understands or not, it wouldn't matter to her. But she knew that her grandmother would.

All then turned to the direction of the person who apologized a thousand times already. "I'm sorry." Michel said in a genuine tone.

"Okay, I think I heard enough apologies for one day." Scud said, causing everyone to laugh.

Nadia was glad that everything was out in the open, but what she heard later caused her smile to disappear.

"Can we call Keira now?" Alexis had been waiting anxiously since she was invited for dinner. Michel was the one who thought it would be a good opportunity to tell the Thoreaux's what they know. Even if her father and Ashley weren't invited, Alexis would have still came by herself. It would be awkward but she desperately wanted to talk to Keira, just to hear her voice. It would take more than a moment of awkwardness to prevent her from getting a chance to talk to the one she loves.

"Talk to Keira?" Scud said in confusion.

"Yea...Nadia, why don't you give Keira a call? It's about 2:30 over there now." Amy gave her a quick smile while crossing her arms.

Nadia glanced at Scud, then at Kristin. "mm...yea...okay...let's go upstairs" All understood why because they don't want Ashley to know. She still has no idea how to get out of this, knowing that Keira won't pick up her call.

As they were about to leave the dining room, Nadia noticed that the most important person isn't moving.

"Kristin, are you coming?"

"No, that's okay. You guys go ahead." Amy said.

"Kristin, you don't want to talk to Keira?" It surprised Alexis that she doesn't want to. Last time they met, she heard that the brunette doesn't want anyone to call her unless it's an emergency...anybody including the blonde. When she heard from Nadia that they were going to call her, she thought that they must have a good reason to call her, an important reason.

"Don't you want to know how Keira's doing? We haven't talked to her for months." Nadia said that intentionally, hoping that it would persuade the blonde to come up with her because she believed that Amy is the only one who can make the brunette pick up the phone.

Scud stood, leaning his back against the wall while crossing his arms, turning his focus towards the girls, like a ping ping ball from one side to the other, back and forth. He had no idea what's going on but sensed that something was up with the girls. They all know that Keira won't pick up the phone. Even when he called, she won't pick up.

Seeing that she couldn't get out of this one, Amy followed them. It would sound strange if she said she doesn't want to talk to the former criminal. There would be more questions if she said that. Scud, on the hand, decided not to play along, knowing that they won't be able to get Lucy to pick up the phone, so he told them that he forgot to do something and went back to his side of the duplex.

It wasn't appropriate to go into Nadia's or Kristin's room on the second floor, so they headed to the master bedroom on the third floor.

Nadia took her phone and glanced the blonde who was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed. Michel, Ethan, and Alexis stood, waiting for Nadia. Ethan also knew that the brunette didn't want to be bothered, so he's not sure what his sister could do to have the brunette pick up her call.

One ring...two ring...then 3 rings..."She must be busy." Nadia said. "Let me try again." Nadia tried again, but the brunette didn't pick up.

Alexis was very confused. She previously thought that they had set up a time to talk to the brunette. That's what she thought Nadia meant, but quickly realized that it was only a lie to get her to come.

"Well, she must be busy." Michel said in an understanding tone. "Alexis, do you want to go?"

"I'll be right down." Alexis said. What she wanted to do was ask Nadia if she lied to her. But all of that became unimportant when she heard what Ethan said. Nadia and Amy snapped their heads at Ethan who was standing next to Kristin.

"Kristin, it's still early. Do you want to go watch a movie?"

"Sure." Amy lifted her back from the wall. It was a good idea to get away from the mess that Nadia made. _She shouldn't have lied to her._

"Wait!"

That's what Nadia wanted to say, but Alexis once again beat her to it.

"Kristin, can I talk to you for a moment...privately?"

Ethan took the hint and left the girls alone.

Alexis walked towards the door and locked it. She then turned around and glanced at each one.

_Oh shoot. She knows. _ Nadia thought to herself. She could tell from the look on Alexis' face that she didn't like being lied to.

Amy turned to face Nadia and raised her brows. _I told you._

_Help. She won't trust me again. _Nadia begged in silence. The expression on her face said it all.

_You shouldn't have lied to her. _Amy said in her mind as she raised her brows.

_I know. I know. Do something. _

_Alright...alright...I'm thinking. _Amy blew her bangs up and looked up, thinking of what to do.

While they were having their conversation in silence, Alexis noticed what they were doing. Just because they weren't talking, she could tell from their facial expression.

Alexis took her phone out to call the brunette. Not only did she want to hear how she's doing, there is one more reason she wanted to talk to Keira. After 3 tries, Alexis was again disappointed.

"Nadia..."

Nadia stiffened when she heard her name being called.

"She probably forgot that we were going to call today. Let me try." Amy said as she took her phone out. Holding the phone against her ear, Amy paced back and forth. After two tries, no one pick up the phone.

"Kristin..." When Alexis was about to tell them to stop pretending, Amy extended her hand.

"Wait...let me leave a mesage..." Amy called again. "...you know who this is, give me a call when you get this message" She hung up. "Let's just wait, okay?"

Amy lay on the bed with her legs dangling on the edge. She put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes. What she's doing right now is not what she just said. She knows that the brunette won't call her back. It's not urgent. She is certainly not going to make up a lie about it. That would definitely piss the brunette off. What she is doing now is thinking of a way to get the brunette to call her back. _How? In what situation will Lucy call us back?_ _Alexis wants to talk to you. _ _That's not urgent_. _I'm going out with Ethan_. _That will hurt her. Did you cheat on me? Why will she call me back about that? It doesn't matter anymore. Although, I still want to know. We're worried about you. She knows that already._

Having waited for 5 minutes, Alexis had enough. "Kristin, she's not going to call. Is she?"

"Sure she will. She just forgot." Amy sat up. "I'll text her." She pressed on her phone and glanced at Nadia who regretted for making up the lie.

After sending the text, Amy put the phone down on the bed. "Did I tell you that she bought a dog?"

Alexis shook her head.

"She named it Kato. The dog is a female."

"Where is she living now?"

"with Uncle Nick. He has a really big house. He has maids, cooks, chauffer, gardener, butler...so you don't have to worry about her."

"What is she doing?"

"...working in one of his companies...I'm not sure...doing what...but I'm sure she would be able to handle anything..."

Nadia had no clue what Kristin is doing. It sounded like she's buying time. And the way she's telling Alexis, does she realize she sounded like she doesn't give a damn about the brunette? Nadia is not the only who noticed her attitude.

"What are you doing, Kristin?"

"What?"

"What...are...you...doing...**Amy**?"

Amy frowned in confusion, unsure of what she meant. Alexis walked closer to the blonde.

"Do you still..." As Alexis was about to ask her if she still cares for the brunette, Nadia's phone rang.

"That's her. Nadia." Amy interrupted while still looking at Alexis to let her know that she was telling the truth that the brunette forgot to call.

"Keira?" Nadia said in excitement.

"Nadia, is this true?"

"What? What's true?" Nadia frowned in confusion as she looked at the blonde.

Alexis was surprised that the brunette called. She turned to look at Amy who shrugged her shoulders while still sitting on the king size bed.

"You want to teach naked yoga?!"

Realizing how the blonde got the brunette to call her, Nadia's jaws dropped. _Naked yoga? That's not urgent. _What she heard afterwards, she understood the reason_. She's worried about me._

"Nadia, don't believe everything you read. The connection to your mind, your body, your spirit...that's all bs. There will be a lot of perverts there. Those perverts go there for one thing and one thing only...and that is to connect their mind to their..." Lucy stopped when she realized who she's talking to. She cleared her throat. She could just imagine how those perverts would react if they see Nadia in her nude form. Knowing Nadia, if she sees 'them' sticking up and out, she would either faint or throw up or both. It's not going to be a pretty sight.

"Keira, it's not co-ed." That's not what Nadia wanted to say since she never thought about teaching naked yoga. All she wants to do is join a class to see how it is.

"Oh..." Lucy paused for a moment. When she got the message from the blonde, she couldn't believe what the innocent young woman wanted to do. The message didn't say she wanted to teach **co-ed** naked yoga. She automatically thought that it was.

"Well, it doesn't matter, whether it's co-ed or not...we're not animals...we're human...clothes are created for a purpose...and that is to prevent our privates to be seen by strangers and everyone else." She remembered the time when the megastar told her something similar to that.

"everyone?"

"Well...maybe not your lover."

Nadia let out a smile as she glanced at the blonde and remembered when she told her that she didn't let the brunette see her naked, even after making love.

"Ha-chu!"

"Are you sick?" She heard her sniffling before. Her voice sounded different. And now the sneeze...

"If you want to free your mind and boost your self-confidence, there are other ways to do that. Taking it all off is not one of them."

"Keira, what do you think of when you see someone naked?"

"mm...Sex."

"Exactly...and that's not how it should be..all of us..are the same. It's a good way to free our minds from the world around us, from negative thoughts, from the way we see ourselves, from the way we were taught."

There was a moment of silence. She waited for the brunette to respond but there was no response.

"Hello? Keira?...Hello?"

"What happened?" Alexis asked. She found it strange hearing what they were talking about.

"She hung up." Nadia frowned in confusion.

"Call her again." Amy said.

Before Nadia could press the button, her phone vibrated.

"video chat" Nadia said in excitement. Alexis quickly stepped closer, standing behind her, so close, their bodies touched. There was no more awkwardness. The only thing on her mind is to see the brunette.

"Why would you want to do that?" Seeing that she's not getting her point across, Lucy felt the need to do a video chat.

"Hold on."

Alexis was standing right behind her. Nadia didn't feel comfortable talking about the topic in front of her since she doesn't know her that well.

"I'll let you talk to her later."

Alexis understood. It was a private conversation. Nadia walked quickly inside the bathroom and locked the door.

Inside the bathroom, Nadia continued to explain the benefits of naked yoga and why she wanted to try it. When she told her how she asked Amy and Janet, Lucy couldn't control herself from laughing out loud. It has been a long time since she laughed that hard.

"Ha-chu!" Lucy continued to laugh after sneezing a few times. She understood why Amy wouldn't do it. She blew her nose hard into the tissue. Nadia felt extremely happy that she was able to make the brunette laugh.

"Nadia, if I was there, I would gladly volunteer myself." Lucy said, jokingly.

"Keiraaa..." Nadia rolled her eyes. If anyone would be bold enough to do it, it would be the former criminal mastermind. Picturing herself in a room with the brunette, naked, alone..._oh god...I don't think I can..._

"But you know why...I can't...and it's not because I'm not there...and it's not because I'm afraid to bare it all in front of you..." Lucy would do it just to convince her how ridiculous it would be. _If she sees me naked, she's not going to be able to control her mind from having impure thoughts. _

"I know." It's because of Amy. She wondered how Amy will react. "I'll let her know what you said."

"uh...whyyy?" That wasn't Lucy's intention.

"Alexis wants to talk to you."

"Nadia...promise me you're not going to do it."

"I just want to see how she will react."

"No, I mean...naked yoga..." What Lucy is concerned about is if Nadia was able to get pass that stage, if she succeeds in seeing that everybody is the same, 'freeing' her mind, she will not be able to have a normal life, a life without love, without desire. She'll be alone and that's not what Lucy wants for her. It'll be like living as a monk. _Is that what she wants? I hope not. _What's worse is that she might teach co-ed naked yoga...eventually_...oh god.  
_

"I'll let you know how it goes."

Lucy wasn't sure if she's talking about Amy or if she's actually going to do naked yoga. "Wait...Nadia...wait...Nadia!"

Ignoring the brunette, Nadia opened the bathroom door. Her brows furrowed when she saw the blonde lying on the bed as if she's 'sleeping'.

When Alexis saw Nadia, motioning her to keep quiet, she understood why the blonde was ignoring her questions earlier. She had asked her a couple of questions and gave up when Amy didn't respond, just lying on the bed with her eyes closed.

Alexis quickly and quietly walked inside the bathroom. When she saw the brunette, her heart dropped to the floor. She can't remember the last time she saw her. It was that long ago. Her tired puffy eyes, her red nose, her messy hair.

"Keiraaa..."

"Hi Alexis...say hi to Alexis, Kato..." Lucy moved the phone towards Kato who barked twice.

"Are you sick?"

"just a flu..."

"Is someone taking care of you?"

"I'm fine."

"Where are you?" What Alexis wanted to know is the exact address so that she could go visit her, but she knew that the brunette wouldn't give her that. What she learned made her eyes teared up. She's not sure if the brunette could see it. Lucy...no longer lives with Uncle Nick. She moved out into her own house near the park, living alone. _Oh Keiraaa_...

"What are you doing here?"

When Lucy was talking with Nadia earlier, she could see the surroundings. It was in a bathroom. She doesn't know where they are but deduced that it could be Nadia's house. What she doesn't know is why Alexis is there. She hasn't heard anything about Alexis. Scud never told her. That's because she didn't ask or wanted to know. She only wanted to know about things that are important...and Nadia teaching naked yoga is, in her mind, an urgent issue. That's like posing nude. She didn't want the megastar to do that and she is certainly not going to let Nadia let a bunch of perverts see her naked while doing all kinds of stretching. That's worse than posing nude. Who knows if they have hidden cameras in those rooms?

Alexis told her why they were here and what Nadia and Ethan decided. There is another reason that she came and that is to relay the message from her deceased grandfather.

"He said he didn't do it." When someone came to inform them that Benjamin wanted to see them, Michel denied his father's request. It was Alexis who persuaded her father. _If you don't go, you'll regretted_. Michel was glad that he went. It was the last time that he saw his father. Not only did Benjamin apologized to them, he apologized to the brunette.

"He said thank you." Lucy heard that before and didn't doubt that it could be anything but sincere. What she did have doubts on was confirmed that she was wrong. _I'll believe him if he swore on his wife's grave._ That's what he said to Jean Claude. She was surprised that Benjamin said that. Did Jean Claude tell him what I said? Whether he did or not, it wouldn't have made a difference. Whether she believed him or not, it wouldn't have made a difference.

"Those were his last words." Alexis said.

"I understand." Lucy said.

"Keira, do you believe him?" What Alexis wanted was for the brunette to believe him. It's important to her that she does.

"I do."

Alexis nodded in understanding, feeling as though a rock has lifted from her heart. Not only will she able to fulfill her promise to the brunette by becoming friends with Nadia, she fulfilled her grandfather's last wish, to let them all know and make them believe that he wasn't responsible for the plane explosion.

After talking what seem to be more than 10 minutes, Lucy was feeling tired. The medicine is taking affect.

"Keira, do you want to talk to Kristin?"

Lucy does, but wasn't sure what she could say. Not having heard anything about her meant that she's doing fine. "umm...does...she want to talk to me?"

"Let me ask her."

Alexis opened the door and was shocked to see that the blonde was still 'sleeping'.

_What is she doing?_ Alexis moved her lips and pointed to the phone.

Nadia shrugged her shoulders.

When Alexis gestured with her hands that they should wake her up, Nadia waved her hands side by side. She didn't think it was a good idea. This is the longest she has ever seen the blonde in that frozen state. Amy said before. She could control it. If it was something that she didn't want to remember, she would put a stop to it.

"Keira, she's sleeping right now." Alexis whispered into the phone and moved the phone towards Kristin to show her that she wasn't lying. She moved the phone closer towards the blonde's face to allow the brunette take a closer look.

Lucy's heart softened as she saw her 'sleeping' beauty sleeping peacefully. She placed her finger on the phone screen as if she could touch her.

"Don't wake her up. I need to take a nap myself."

After hanging up, both Nadia and Alexis stepped away from the bed and stood at the door, 20 feet away. Alexis told Nadia that the brunette is living alone. When she saw her reaction, she realized that Nadia had no idea.

"What she we do?" Nadia whispered.

"What can we do?" Alexis responded back in a whisper.

If there was something that they could do, Scud would have done it a long time ago. There was something else bothering Alexis. She felt that it's the right time to ask Nadia. He is, after all, her brother.

"Do you know..." Before she could complete her question, there were 2 loud knocks on the door. As if on cue, the one she was going to talk about suddenly appeared behind the door.

"Is Kristin ready?"

"Oh...um..." Alexis turned her attention towards Nadia. Both looked at each other for a moment. Since they can't bring the brunette back, there is something that they could do here. Alexis raised her eyebrows up and down 2 times. As if Nadia could read her mind, she responded by doing the same. That could mean two things. One. Nadia had no clue what she's thinking. Two. Nadia agreed. Alexis realized that the fitness instructor was thinking of the same she was.

"She's sleeping."

"Oh..." Ethan frowned and extended his neck inside to take a look. "No, she's not."

Both girls snapped their heads to the direction of the bed. There they saw, the blonde sitting on the bed, shaking her head. Ethan led himself inside.

"Kristin, are you ready?"

After taking a short moment, Amy realized what he was referring to.  
"okay...I'll meet you downstairs. I just have to get some things." Ethan exited the bedroom, Amy followed from behind. Before she stepped outside, she was curious to know what happened.

"How's Lucy?"

Without any hesitation and as if rehearsed, Nadia spoke first, then Alexis.

"She's sick."

"She moved out."

"She's living alone."

"Nobody is taking care of her."

Amy moved her eyes from left to right as they spoke.

"Oh..." That was a surprise. "well...that's what she wanted to do." Amy said and walked out of the room.

Both girl's stood, their jaws dropped. They couldn't believe what they heard. Those were uncaring, heartless words. Even Nadia was shocked.

"That's what she wanted to do?" Alexis whispered and contorted her face in confusion. When she saw Lucy on the phone, she wanted to fly there right away to take care of her. She expected the blonde to say something else like...Let me call her or how sick is she or something...but not that. Lucy stayed away for a reason. "Bitch"

Nadia gasped when she heard what Alexis called her. She quickly grasped her hand to prevent her from doing what she thought she was going to do. Alexis had her fists clenched.

"Alexis...she's not herself."

Alexis immediately apologized for her over-reaction. "Right...sorry...sorry..." She quickly explained. "I usually don't say things like that...she just got to me...seeing Keira like that...and her...not caring..." She apologized over and over again. She didn't want to leave a bad impression of herself since she wanted to be friends with the gentle and understanding soul in front of her. First impression is very important and she realized that she might have ruined it by swearing...and she never use that word on anyone unless that person deserved to be called that.

"It's okay. Let's follow them."

Alexis' eyes opened wide. _What a great idea! She's not only understanding, she's smart. _There isn't much that she could do to separate the blonde from Ethan since they live next to each other. But she can't think of that right now. Right now, she could do something and that's what she plans to focus on._  
_

Inside the car, there is one disappointed driver. Ethan planned to spend time alone with the blonde. He hasn't been able to do that since Amy was busy with homework on his off-days. He thought that this would be a great opportunity but what he thought was wrong. The one sitting next to him on the passenger seat is his sister. Amy and Alexis sat in the back.

Michel was happy to see that his daughter is finally doing something a normal girl at her age should be doing. For the past years, with everything that has happened, he hasn't seen his daughter going out with anybody. When Alexis is not working, she's at home with Ashley or with her mother. Knowing how she has fallen so deeply in love with the brunette and not having her love returned, he was starting to worry about her. He had that conversation with her before and believed, at that time, that she will be fine. That was the time she found out about Kristin's and Keira's relationship. He realized what his ex-wife said was right. She will be fine only if she falls in love again. That's why his ex-wife suggested for her to go on blind-dates. But it's harder said than done. When his ex-wife suggested that she should go to a gay-bar, her suggestion was immediately rejected. It's not because Alexis hadn't been into one, she has. It's because she's not ready. Her heart still holds the former diamond thief.

Alexis didn't plan on going to a movie theater. If she knew, she would've have worn a pair of jeans instead of the dress.

Nadia couldn't help herself from looking at the girl standing next to her. The lights on the ceiling brought out the magnificent color of her silky smooth brown hair with a tinge of red. The color of her dress, the unique design of the fabric that wrapped around her so perfectly, it captured the attention of all the guys that passed by and it's not just the guys. It's not only the dress, it's the legs and the curves of her body that puts her in the center of attention. Nadia herself doesn't look too bad. She has the body of a fitness instructor, but not with eye-catchy clothing. She moved a few steps away from Alexis and looked around. _ Yup, they're all looking at her._

"What do you want to watch, Kristin?" Ethan asked. All stood in front of the counter, looking up at the board.

"Scud, do you want to watch that one?" Janet asked. When she heard that Amy was going out to watch a movie, she thought it was a great idea.

"okay."

There aren't that many selections since some already started. After choosing the movie, Ethan stood in line to buy the tickets. All chose to watch the same movie. After buying drinks and popcorn, all headed into the room. It was a weekend, so there were a lot of people. Most of the seats were filled.

"I see two there." Scud said.

"Kristin, this way." Ethan led the way to the other side, Kristin followed. Behind her were Nadia and Alexis. Both noticed that there were only 2 seats in that row.

After Ethan let the blonde in first, Nadia tried to cut Ethan off but was blocked by someone coming out.

"Damn it." Nadia said to Alexis.

"Nadia, we can't make it too obvious."

"Right..."

"Over there." Alexis pointed to the row behind them. The seats were not close to Ethan. The ones behind them were already taken by two guys. The empty seats were on the other end.

"What do we do?"

"Allow me." Alexis said.

Nadia stood where she was and watched the girl whom she admired more and more, especially after she was able to persuade the two guys to move.

"What did you say to them?" Nadia said as she sat comfortably behind Ethan.

"I just asked them politely to move."

"Oh..." It didn't make sense to Nadia. Why would 2 guys just move when she told them too? "you didn't?"

"Didn't what?" Alexis said as she put some popcorn into her mouth.

"You...didn't...touch..."

"No!"

Alexis said it so loud, it caught the attention of everyone sitting around them.

Ethan turned around and realized her sister was sitting in the back of them. "Is there a problem?" Ethan said.

"No...no problem." Nadia said as she shrunk her body lower into the seat. There were a lot of people looking at them. She could see that Alexis was still upset at what she was implying.

"How could you think that of me?" Alexis said in as low a voice as she could.

"Sorry...I just...thought..."

"All I said was I want to sit with my friends." She pointed to Ethan and Kristin.

"Okay..." Nadia said with an apologetic look. She could see that Alexis was still mad by the way she threw the box of the popcorn on her lap. It wasn't in a gentle way. Some of the popcorn fell out. They were here for a purpose. It seem that Alexis no longer cared for it.

On the way back home, Nadia realized how dumb of an idea it was. Her brother and the blonde were just watching a movie. There were no touching, no hand holding, no sipping a drink through the same straw. _Is it because they know we're behind them?_

Before going home, Ethan dropped Alexis off at her house. Nadia noticed that she was still pissed because she didn't say anything after the incident. After saying good night, Alexis got off the car.

"Wait a minute..." Nadia felt that she should apologize again and quickly stepped out of the car.

"Alexis, wait."

Alexis heard but ignored her. Standing at the door, she got her keys out.

"Alexis, I'm sorry." Nadia said as she held on to her forearm to prevent her from opening the door. From what happened tonight, she learned that Alexis has a tendency to over-react and she doesn't forgive one easily. The lights near the door turned on. She looked up and could see that she was still upset. "I..." Nadia wasn't sure what to say since she apologized many times.

"I usually don't act this way." This is the second time today Alexis had to explain herself. Alexis is not one of those people who would get upset over little misunderstandings. She, like Nadia, has a lot of patience and is very understanding and very forgiving. She, herself, isn't sure why she reacted the way she did.

"Then why...?"

"Do you remember what you said at the mall? You said you don't care what they think because you don't know them."

Nadia nodded in silence.

"Well...I care...how you think of me. I know we don't know each other that well and I should...give you time to see who I am, to judge me for who I really am...but you didn't even...you automatically assumed...that I am that type of girl who would use her looks and her body for..."

"no...no..."Nadia felt the need to stop her and clarify the misunderstanding. "What I see...is a girl who is kind and full of heart and soul, who would do anything for the people she loves, even if her love isn't returned...what I see is a girl who is willing to sacrifice herself...to help her friends...even if she has to sacrifice...her looks, her body."

Nadia paused for a moment to let her words sink in. "I...am so lucky...to have someone like you...as my friend." Nadia said, holding her forearm more firmly.

Alexis understood. What she doesn't understand is why Keira said Nadia would need her help. _She's very smart. Keira. She can take care of herself._

"...I wouldn't make those types of sacrifices for just any friend, you know?"

"I know...just for the one you love." Nadia let out a gentle smile when she saw a smile from the girl who's more beautiful than the main actress in the movie. "What I see...is a very intelligent young woman who knows her limit...who knows that the one she loves wouldn't want her to make those types of sacrifices."

Both stood still, looking deeply into each others' eyes. No words need to be said to know what each other is thinking.

When Nadia saw Alexis taking her hand away from her forearm, stepping closer into her private space, wrapping her arms around her, there is only one thought in her mind. Alexis once again beat her to it.

"What I see...is the beginning of a very...very...long friendship."

* * *

**Chapter 45: Chapter 45**

* * *

**Chapter 45**

"What was that about?" Amy was curious to know. She and Ethan waited for a long time inside the car. They even rolled down the car window to hear what they were arguing about, but couldn't make it out. Both could tell that something was wrong when no words were exchanged between Nadia and Alexis after the movie.

"Nothing. Everything's fine." Nadia smiled to both of them. "Let's go home." Nadia said as she buckled her seat belt.

Sitting at the passenger side next to her brother, Nadia looked at the night sky with shining stars outside of the passenger window. For a moment there, she thought she screwed it up again. For a moment there, she thought it was back to the way it was, a barrier between them, but a different kind of barrier. _Keira, she and I are completely different. _When the brunette told her that she wanted to introduce Alexis to her, the first thing that came to mind was 'you've gotta be kidding me.' That moment wasn't the right time to say such things. At that moment all she wanted to do was spend time together with the one she loves. It was difficult enough to know that the brunette doesn't feel the same way about her. It was even more painful when she learned the brunette's intention. _It felt like she was trying to push me away to someone else, like she doesn't want to see me anymore, like she doesn't want anything to do with me._ That's what it felt like...but only for a second. _I know you care for me, Keira. But I don't think it's going to work out. The only thing we have in common is...we both love you._

The lights were on inside the duplex on both sides. Janet and Scud were inside. Standing at the door, Nadia inserted the key into the lock. At the corner of her eyes, she could still see Ethan standing next to them. It was late. It was time to go to sleep.

"Ethan, do you need something?" Nadia asked.

"umm...no..."

Nadia turned the key and opened the door. She expected Ethan to go back home, but Ethan didn't move, standing next to the blonde.

Once she stepped inside, she understood what Ethan wanted.

"Kristin, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure." Amy was expecting him to talk inside until he held her hand and said good night to Nadia. Ethan closed the door.

"Shoot...what do I do? What do I do? What can I do?" Nadia said nervously. There is nothing that she could do except one thing and that is...press her ear as close to the door as she possibly could to hear what they're saying. It's a stupid idea but like Alexis said, she can't make it too obvious. If the blonde finds out what she's doing, she might move out...and if she does, Nadia won't be able to do anything to help the brunette.

After a long moment, Amy opened the door and found Nadia sitting on the couch watching tv. She was expecting her to be taking a shower.

"Alexis asked if we have anything planned for tomorrow, she wanted to join us...and...I gave her your number." Amy said.

"Oh...great!" Nadia turned the tv off. "Kristin, thanks for...earlier...but what exactly did you tell Keira?" Nadia asked as she followed the blonde upstairs to the bedroom. She wondered if the blonde lied to the brunette to get her to call back.

"I just told her that you were thinking about teaching naked yoga...and we can't convince you not to do it."

"You lied? I never said that. I said I was thinking of joining naked yoga."

"I don't think that matters to her." Amy said as she headed towards her room.

_She's right_. After talking to the brunette, Nadia learned that Keira thinks that any kind of activities that involves baring it all to strangers is ludicrous.

Before going into her bedroom, Amy wanted to know the outcome of her conversation with the brunette. If anyone can convince her, she believed the only one who can is the one Nadia fell in love with.

"are you still thinking of doing it?"

"mhm..." Nadia nodded.

Amy was surprised that Lucy wasn't able to talk her out of it.

"Kristin...how...would you feel if I..." Nadia looked down in embarrassment. "...do it with her?"

Nadia's voice was so low, Amy couldn't hear her clearly. "Excuse me?"

"Keira said she would do it...if she's here."

Amy was a little surprised but not shocked. "She did, huh..." Amy turned towards the door, rolled her eyes as she walked inside her bedroom. From what she can remember from the pieces of her past, the brunette isn't afraid to show herself to her. She was walking around naked inside the bedroom, looking for her clothes. She's the one who wanted to do it with lights on.

"Well?"

"Well, what? She's not here."

"But if she is, would that be okay?"

Amy took her socks off and threw it in the laundry basket.

"It's her body. She can show it to whoever she wants to." Amy said as she opened the dresser.

Nadia could tell that Amy didn't like the idea because of the way her eyes were fixated at the same spot inside the dresser, not searching for anything. _It does matter. Kristin._

"But she later said she can't..."

That caught Amy's attention. "Why?"

"She said it's not because she's not here and it's not because she's afraid."

That response didn't answer Amy's question.

"You know why."

"You're confusing me. You said she would do it if she's here, then you said she can't and it's not because she's not here."

Anyone who heard would be confused. But Nadia expected the blonde to understand.

"It's because of you." Nadia said in an obvious tone.

That didn't make sense to Amy.

"She would do it with me...to convince me that it's a bad idea. She can't do it with me...because she cares how you feel..."

Nadia remained silent for a short moment to see her reaction. ._..please...don't say it doesn't matter..._

Amy didn't say that. What Amy said, Nadia was touched by it. Amy took her pajamas out of the dresser and walked towards her.

"Nadia, if she could convince you not to expose yourself to strangers, then I'm fine with that. That's why I told her...and I'm sorry...I just can't."

Nadia stood still, as she watched the blonde leave the bedroom. Friendship. Sacrifice. That's what she was talking to Alexis about earlier. There are cultures where husbands share their wives with their friends. It sounds absurd but it's true. What Amy just did is not that...but it's similar to that. Keira was her ex-wife. Nadia could tell that it bothered her, the thought of her ex-wife being seen naked by her friend. Even though they're not going to do anything, there could be touching of various parts of the body, just not the private parts. It would be like letting your 'girl' friend see your husband naked or vice versa. That would bother anyone, even though Keira is no longer her partner. Nadia was surprised that Amy would agree, that she is willing to ignore all of that to help a friend.

_It's because we are friends, that's why I have to do this. Kristin._

Earlier, Nadia couldn't stand by the door anymore. She couldn't hear anything. So what she did was call Alexis and told her what was happening. What they needed was interruption and that's what Alexis did. She called Kristin. Nadia had no idea what she would say to Kristin but she knew Alexis would be able to think of something. Leave it to Alexis, she always comes thru.

Standing inside the shower with her head tilted, her eyes closed, Amy stood still, letting heavy droplets of hot relaxing water massage her face. Fog filled the bathroom. It's not because she's having one of those episodes. What she was thinking of is everything that happened today. She had no idea what it was that made memories of her past come back, not all of it, but a lot of it, today. In the past 6 months, there would be weeks where she would get nothing, just living a normal day. Then there were days where she could remember a short piece of her past. But today is different from all of those other days. What she remembered is not just the events or the words spoken, what she remembered is what Kristin was feeling, the anger, the frustration, the jealousy, the pain, and the love she felt for the brunette. It was like watching a powerful realistic movie. Her heart pounded rapidly when she remembered yelling at the brunette, her heart ached hearing the brunette's confession that she cheated on her, the tingling sensation filled her palm when she slapped her, her core was throbbing and wet when she remembered making love to the brunette, that happened at the mall, that's why she left in a hurry...to the bathroom without waiting for the girls. It felt so real. _But will I be able to do it for real?_

What is real is what she felt when Ethan held her hand outside the door, his soft gentle touch. What is real is what she felt when Ethan confessed his love for her, she was touched by his loving words. What is real is what she felt when she wiped the tears off Ethan's face, his clean shaven face. And Amy would have been able to feel what it's like to have his lips on hers if it weren't for the interruption.

* * *

Previously, outside on the porch  


"Hello, oh hi Michel." Amy was surprised why he would call so late. The only time Amy would call Michel is when she wants to take Ashley out.

"Kristin...I...want to talk to you about something...it's important."

Amy wondered what it could be so urgent that he couldn't talk about it until tomorrow. He sounded serious. She walked a few steps away from Ethan.

"What is it?"

"The money...that I want to give to Nadia, Ethan, and Alec, I want you to take it, all of it."

"Me? Why?"

"you got hurt because of me..."

"Michel..."

"Kristin, hear me out...If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have lost your memory. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have got hurt. If it wasn't for me...you would be living happily with the one you love...now."

"Michel, it's not your fault. I chose to save Ashley and I would do it again if I have to."

He never doubted that she would. Hearing those words, he blamed himself even more.

"But I was the one who didn't make sure you were alright. I should have done that. But I didn't..."

Kristin remained silent as she stepped farther away from Ethan. She wasn't sure what Michel was trying to say. He apologized a zillion times before.

"There is...something else." Michel paused for a moment and nodded to Alexis, standing next to him inside his bedroom. It's what he wanted to say that night before he left, but he couldn't get Amy alone to tell her.

"what is it?"

"Ethan...I know he's a good man...but Kristin, please...please...don't rush into things...please give yourself some time...to...see...the world...to...meet other people..."

She understood what Michel was trying to say. It was what he saw tonight that made him make this call. And it's not because he's jealous. It's because he's afraid that I would fall for Ethan. He's afraid that I would be making the biggest mistake of my life...and there would be no turning back. It's because he believes that I...should be...with the one who saved his whole family.

"I will have the documents ready. I know you'll know what to do with it."

Michel didn't even give her a chance to respond and hung up. Ethan was curious to know what he said when he saw the blonde in deep thought.

"He said he wants me to take all the money."

Ethan was a little surprised but he understood why. Michel felt responsible for getting Kristin hurt, just like him.

"Are you going to take it?"

"Should I?"

Ethan didn't want it because he didn't want anything to do with Benjamin. That money came from the scam. He didn't want anything to do with it. "It would be up to you."

Without a doubt, Bobby would have told her to take it. He would say that I deserved it. It would be crazy not too. Once again, she found herself comparing Ethan to her ex.

"How would you feel if I take it?"

"Whatever you decide, I'll support you. I'm sure you're going to put it into good use and not use it to buy a multi million dollar mansion, luxury cars, or...diamonds..."

"Are you sure about that? I do love diamonds." What she said surprised herself. She never cared for diamonds or gold or any kind of expensive stones. It was the word diamond that made her think of the diamond thief, the crime boss, the ki...

Her thoughts were broken when she felt warm fingers wrapping around hers. "Because I know who you are...and that's what I like about you."

_You don't. Ethan. You have no idea who I am._

Her eyes could see warm dark brown ones filled with love more clearly as they come closer and closer towards her, inch by inch. _Should I let him?_ Her question was answered by the ringing of the phone which interrupted what Ethan was about to do, his first kiss.

"Hello...oh hi Alexis..." Amy said as she walked a few steps away. "..mhm...okay...I'll let you know."

Ethan smiled when he heard the dull tone of her voice, thinking that the blonde must be as disappointed with the interruption as he was. If it wasn't for the interruption, Amy would have stopped it from happening. She couldn't remember what she said to the brunette on their first kidnapped date, but remembered what Lucy told her. _Love should be irresistible, like a drug._ _When it happens, you shouldn't be able to control yourself_. She still believes in that. She realized, after hearing her own question, what she is looking for is not in front of her. Ethan is an attractive guy, but by no means did she see him as 'irresistible', not the first time she met him, not even now. After hanging up, Amy made an excuse not to continue with where they left off._  
_

* * *

It's a Saturday, a weekend, a day off. What she expected on her day off is to clear her mind from school work, from everything, to relax. But what she got was far from that, a load of information from her past dumped into her brain. What she needed now is rest. That's what she thought she was going to get after finished taking a shower, until she saw Nadia waiting for her in front of her room.

Amy cocked an eyebrow at her. Showing how tired she was and ignoring her didn't work. Nadia led herself in, following from behind.

"Let me help you."

Amy didn't resist. She sat on the chair in front of the dresser and waited for Nadia to get the blow dryer. At least, she got 5 minutes of silence except for the sound of dryer. Amy then sat at the foot of the bed and waited for Nadia to speak. She should have known what was on her mind but was too tired to even think about it.

"Are you and Ethan...dating?"

There was no need to lie so she just answered truthfully. "no."

Nadia was happy to hear her one word response, but only for a split second.

"...not right now...but maybe later, down the road...who knows?" That's the truth. Nobody knows, not even herself. She doesn't find him irresistible now, but maybe, in the future. Maybe down the road, something happens and she would find him 'irresistible'. Maybe down the road, she, herself, would be looking for something else. People change as time goes by. That happens all the time. Those who are young wants true love. Those who are older wants a partner so they don't have to go thru life alone. As for her, her mind is not where her age should be, her mind is still at that age where she wants 'more'.

"Oh...are you attracted to him?"

"mm...sure...he's a good looking guy, he's very sweet, very considerate, understanding...he can be very funny at times." Amy let out a smile, remembering those moments when Ethan made her laugh.

_Oh no..._This is not what Nadia had in mind when she decided to move here. There was no doubt in her mind that Amy wouldn't be interested in Ethan because Kristin wasn't, not even after she thought that the brunette was dead. It's not because Kristin is gay. Having spent a year with Kristin, Nadia learned that the blonde never thought about women the same way she does.

_"Are you bisexual?"_ That's what Nadia asked Kristin once and that question elicited a very loud response, so loud she felt that she offended the blonde. It's not because Kristin had something against bisexuals or think that bisexuals are weird, it's because she never thought of herself as one. Kristin said she just happens to fall in love with someone who's a female. From that day, Nadia understood what she meant. Kristin isn't a lesbian, like her. There is a possibility that Kristin could fall in love with someone who's a man.

Nadia just realized that time could change how a person feels. Kristin wasn't interested in Ethan then, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't be in the future...and that future could be now or very close to now...

"But don't tell Ethan that...okay? I just want to take it slow...let things happen naturally." That's what she said to Ethan outside in the porch. Hearing his confession of love for her, she felt that he was moving too fast and she's not ready for that. She didn't want to reject him at that moment because that's not what she wanted to do. She enjoyed the time they were together. She didn't want to commit to anything since they've only known each other for less than 3 months. 3 months seemed to be a short time and it is. But she eloped with the diamond thief after knowing each other for less than a month. She, at that time, must have found that person to be 'irresistible'. That would be the only explanation for her to sacrifice everything.

Amy shook her head out of her thoughts. "Does Ethan ever have a girlfriend?"

Nadia shook her head, still thinking about what to do to prevent them from getting together. She never once saw Ethan with anyone that made him act the way he's acting towards the blonde.

Amy couldn't see anything wrong with him that would be a turnoff. Maybe he hasn't found the right girl. She couldn't imagine him never dating anyone with his good looks, his good heart and especially his superb cooking skills. But she did find something about him that could be the reason why she is feeling the way she is now.

Amy walked over to the side and pulled the blanket, getting ready for bed. She was hoping that Nadia would get the hint but she didn't.

"Is there something else you want to talk about?" Amy asked.

"There is. What did you remember today?"

Amy's brows furrowed. "I told you what I remembered. The coma, how she **cheated** on me, and the part about..." Amy cleared throat in embarrassment. "...you know..."

"What about when we were upstairs in the master bedroom? You were in that state for a long time...a very long time."

Amy let out a smile. "That's because I was taking a nap."

"You were sleeping?"

Amy walked towards the girl with the incredibly toned tan body, held her forearm and led her towards the door.

"Yes, I was tired. I got tired waiting for you...now if you will excuse me, I'm really really tired right now and I need some zzz's"

After saying good night, Amy locked the door and turned off the room light. Lying on the comfortable full size bed, she was tired but knew it would be difficult for her to get some sleep tonight. Her eyes looked up at the ceiling. All she could see is mostly darkness with a soft shade of light from the night lights. Napping. She wished she was taking a nap at that moment because what she remembered wasn't the happy moments Kristin shared with the brunette. She could have stopped those memories of her past from flowing into her mind but she didn't want to. Those weren't memories of Kristin or the one who eloped with the brunette. Those were memories before she met the criminal mastermind, memories that were buried so deep, she, herself, had forgotten about it, somehow.

Amy turned on her side and noticed that it's almost midnight. "Did you do it?"

* * *

~ 11 years ago

Amy Bradshaw, the Perfect Score, wasn't always popular. Not everyone in the DEBS organization know who she is, not the first year when she joined. Only her roommates and her classmates knew. Her roommates weren't Max, Dominique, or Janet. She was living with a different group of girls in her first year. She, like the rest of her roommates, didn't have any experience with guns, espionage, or anything that she learned later which she became good at...except for one thing, making people believe what she was telling them is the truth...simply put...lying. She is a natural at it, even before she joined the DEBS.

Amy's parents died in a car accident the same year she joined the DEBS. It was the most painful year of her life. Her parents never got the chance to find out what it was that she was accepted to. When the DEBS found out about her parents, they sent a DEBS recruiter to visit her. It was a special case. None of the other girls had to be interviewed. What the DEBS was concerned with is if Amy would be able to continue on with the long journey that's ahead of her. Would she be able to overcome the loss of her parents and how long would it take? What they wanted to see is how she is handling the situation. Will it affect her training? All of their questions were answered when the recruiter saw and heard what the blonde had to say. If the recruiter didn't know about her parents' death beforehand, she wouldn't be able to tell that there was anything different between young blonde and the other girls. Amy let the recruiter believe that she was ecstatic and eager to begin her training. When she was asked about her parents, she showed no signs of emotion, no urge to cry, no hesitation, just one sentence spoken as if it was true.

"God is taking care of them now. Ma'am."

For someone that young to be able to express that type of behavior after having lost her only family several months earlier, the DEBS recruiter knew that Amy was no ordinary girl. The recruiter even tried to get her to talk about her loss, not because she wanted to comfort the young girl, but because she wanted to break into that wall that Amy was holding up, to see how tough she is, how long she could hold it up. What the DEBS recruiter saw was that the one with the Perfect Score sitting across from her was more ready than others to be in the secret world of espionage.

It was very unusual for any new members to take part on a mission, especially on their first year in the DEBS organization, but it does happen. Amy was one of them and there was another girl, Hannah, who's one of Amy's classmates, not roommate. They're not very close but do greet each other politely whenever they meet. Amy wasn't sure why they never hang out together because Hannah, like her, was a good student but much more quieter. Hannah had her own group of friends and Amy had hers. They were in a lot of the same classes. On their first year, they didn't have a choice. Everyone had to take the same subjects.

It was two weeks before the end of the first year of training, before vacation starts. All the girls couldn't wait because they get to go home to visit their family, to rest, to play for two months. No one saw it coming. Only the ones who were chosen knew, Amy and Hannah. It was only then, inside the office with two other superiors, that Amy found out that Hannah, like her, didn't have anywhere else to go on their vacation break. Hannah, like her, didn't have parents to go home to. Amy didn't know what happened to her parents and didn't bother to ask, because she knew, that once she asks the question, she would get the same question and she didn't want to be reminded of the painful memories. Besides, that wasn't important. What was important was why they were requested to be there. After learning about their very first mission, Amy let out a gasp of surprise and so did Hannah. It was to be kept secretive. Nobody can know about it even their closest DEBS friends and roommates. It was a test. Their superiors deliberately told them 2 weeks before vacation break to see if they would be able to hold it in, keep it from their friends, keep their mouths shut and act as if nothing unusual happen. There was no mission. That's what they found out the second week after the first year of training ended. Amy was disappointed but it was okay because she and Hannah passed the test. No information was leaked out. She always wondered how their superiors knew about that. Did they send someone to spy on them?

Although it was a test, Amy and Hannah found out later that it was a test for the real mission. There were a lot of others involved in this mission. Their mission wasn't to infiltrate criminal organizations, because they were new and they were inexperienced. Their first mission was to follow instructions from the one in charge. They had no idea what that was until a few days later. Their job was to follow and report the whereabouts of a well known leader of a criminal organization. The reason they were chosen was because the mission began a long time ago and they needed new faces. They were afraid that they would be spotted if they keep having the same people following the crime boss.

It was her first mission and Amy found it to be exciting for the first few days but that excitement rapidly turned to extreme boredom, especially when she had to stay outside and wait for her target to come out of the house or restaurant.

Then one day, after following the target for almost a month, 2 weeks before vacation break ends, something unexpected happened. The one in charge of the mission changed their shifts. It was a good idea. 1. It would train their body and mind to get accustomed to working different shifts. 2. They wouldn't be spotted with the same familiar faces.

That night was very dark. It happened around midnight. The only lights they saw were headlights from 1 car, the full moon and the stars shining from above on the dark night sky. That night was hotter and more humid than usual. Not even wearing antiperspirant or deodorant would help prevent body odor emitting from their sweaty bodies lying on the pebbled ground. Both Amy and Hannah were not sure of the exact location. All they know was that they were in an area surrounded by trees.

A moment ago when Amy found out that the target was heading into a wooded area, she didn't think it was a good idea to follow the target since there was nobody else around.

"What if they found out that we're following them?" Amy asked.

"We'll just pretend we got lost." Hannah said.

It was a reasonable excuse. They're both blonde. They could act as two dumb blonde bimbos.

After they saw that the target made a left turn, Hannah knew better and drove straight ahead and stopped. It wasn't safe to follow them anymore. There were no open roads where the target turned to. After informing their head of the mission what they planned to do, their request was approved. They ran on foot to where their target could be. What they saw surprised them. It wasn't only 1 car. There were at least 3. They couldn't tell. All the engines were off. There were no light posts. They had to stay down, pressing their toned bodies against the hard ground. No words were spoken between them, just glances at each other. This was the first time Amy got to see a deal being made, whatever they're selling, drugs or guns. That's what she thought until she saw someone pointing a gun at her target. It was dark, but she could tell that it was him after following him for several weeks. Angry words were exchanged. There were cries of pain as the target was beaten not only by one man, but by several others kicking and stomping on him. It wasn't the first time that Amy saw this kind of situation, so she wasn't horrified by it. In her first year of training, the classes she took prepared her to see similar situations. What they didn't prepare her for was what happened afterwards. The men stopped kicking after they saw someone approaching. All of them moved back a few steps. Amy wasn't able to make out the face, but she was shocked at what she saw. It's a woman. She could tell that she was no ordinary woman because there were a few men walking behind her as if she was the one in charge. While keeping her eyes at what's in front of her, far away, her mind was thinking of how her target, the powerful leader of a criminal organization could be captured and beaten like this. Where are his men? It's unlikely that he wouldn't have his own men protecting him. Amy wished she could hear what they were saying. She then let out a low gasp when she saw the woman taking out her gun. _No._ She wasn't sure if what she said caused the events to happen afterwards because she had no idea what happened afterwards, even to this day. When she woke up, she realized someone hit her from behind, knocking her out. She was surrounded by familiar faces. The questions that she had were the same questions asked by her colleagues. She later learned that the target and Hannah had the same fate that night. Both were shot to death.

* * *

"Did you do it, Lucy?" She desperately wanted to know. She couldn't tell if the woman that she saw a decade ago was the notorious criminal mastermind. But she knew who the target was and learned about the blood feud between the Schaffers and the Reynolds a few years later after her first mission. It could be none other than Lucy Reynolds because she had a reason to kill him.

_Does it matter?_ That's what Nadia would have said if she knew about it. At this point, does it matter if she knows the truth or not? Does it matter if Lucy killed them or not? Lucy's changed. She's not like that anymore. _You said you never killed anyone.  
_

Amy shut her eyes tight, regretting that she allowed herself to remember that part of her past. It was forgotten, buried in the base of her skull for a reason because those were painful memories.

Suppressing bad memories was something that she learned as a child when her childhood friend died of cancer. It was difficult for a young girl to understand at that time. She was only 10 years old. Her parents tried to comfort her and explained that her deceased friend is with God. But she didn't understand that. That incident affected her so badly in a way that her parents became concerned. They sent her to speak with someone whom she later learned that that person was a psychiatrist. It was that psychiatrist who made her see what was happening around her, how her behavior had affected everyone around her, especially her parents. It was that incident where she learned that the only way to overcome her loss, the only way to make her parents stop worrying about her, the only way to stop her parents from sending her to the shrink, was to lie that she was fine. In the process of doing that, lying to everyone around her, she was able to put away, to forget those painful memories.

Her eyes opened wide. She sat up straight and turned the lights on. She waited long enough. When that memory came back to her several hours ago, it was unclear. At the movies, she wasn't paying attention to what was showing in front of her. Her mind was trying to release those memories that was locked up for more than a decade.

"I have to know." She's not sure how she would feel after finding out the truth. All that's in her mind is that she has to know the truth.

Amy took the phone and pressed the speed dial. There was no answer. She expected that. So she tried again. Knowing that Lucy wouldn't pick up unless it's an emergency, she didn't try to leave a message. Instead, she texted her. As if one word didn't sound important, she typed it 3 times. URGENT! URGENT! URGENT!" After a few more minutes, she came to realize why the brunette didn't pick up. _She's sick. It's 8PM over there. She's probably sleeping. _Letting out a big sigh, she placed the phone back on the table and turned off the lights while knowing that her mind will not let her rest no matter how tired she felt.

* * *

**Chapter 46: Chapter 46**

* * *

**Chapter 46**

Her hands wrapped around her neck, her thighs lightly touching the abdomen lying underneath her, both knees pressing against the blue mat on both sides of her hips. She was in control. But with one quick upward push from the body she was straddling, her whole body uncontrollably jerked forward. Then in a split second, her body somehow involuntary lost control, flipped over and landed on her back. "OW!"

Wearing a black tight tank top, Nadia thrust her fists forward a few times, aiming at the position of the groin, and stopped at 2 inches from it. Then extending her 2 fingers, she pretended to insert them into the eye of the attacker underneath her.

"You know, this is not what I had in mind when I said I will join you girls." Alexis said with a smile as her eyes followed the outline of the defined muscles of Nadia's arm and especially what's hanging on top of her. It makes her wonder if Nadia had them done.

"35?"

"What?" Nadia said, still straddling the young woman whom she noticed caught a lot of attention the moment she walked in with her tight black yoga pants and blue sports bra like top showing two inches of her midriff.

"Your size...I still need to get your measurements for the dress."

Nadia frowned, wondering why she would be talking about that now. They were in the middle of self-defense training class. Her brows knitted even closer together when she realized what Alexis was looking at.

"Are those real?"

"What?!" That wasn't Nadia's intention, attracting attention with her loud response. Feeling embarrassed, she cleared her throat and apologized to the instructors.

"Okay, that was good...any questions?" The instructor waited for a short moment. "...good...now ladies, please sit against the wall...we're going to do another demonstration."

Everyone walked towards the wall. Alexis took the offered hand and without much effort, she got up easily with one strong pull from the fitness instructor. Her eyes widened at the sight of her biceps. She didn't think it was a big deal and couldn't resist reaching out and squeezing it with her fingers.

"what are you doing?" Nadia whispered before walking towards the wall. It wasn't the first time people did that to her, get a feel of her biceps. But all of them asked for permission first.

"Sorry." Alexis said after sitting down next to her friend. "I was just curious."

"well, you should ask first."

"May I?"

"No." Nadia responded in a frustrated tone and noticed the woman next to Alexis was staring at them. "People are watching."

Alexis turned to her left and smiled at the girl who then minded her own business. She wasn't quite sure why Nadia wouldn't let her. It's not like she's touching her private parts. She turned back to look at Nadia. "So...are those real?" She glanced down at her bosom before looking up, letting her know what she's referring to.

Nadia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, not believing what Alexis was asking her when there are other people around. She focused on what's in front of her and hoped that Alexis would stop talking.

Alexis took the hint and held her curiosity in for later. She usually doesn't talk that way with someone whom she doesn't know that well. But after last night, she felt that they had a connection and that they could be friends, not just friends that hang out once in a while, really good friends. And what do good friends do? They talk...about anything...and everything.

"Today, we have something very special to show you." The female instructor said. "Now I know some of you, especially those who are new here today, have doubts on whether the techniques you just learned will actually work in a real situation. What we want to show you in this demonstration is that it does. It doesn't matter whether the attacker is twice as big or twice as strong as you are. All you need to know is the techniques and...a lot of practice. Now we are very fortunate to have a volunteer." She extended her hand to her left side. A 200 pound man about 6' 5'' stood on the mat. When she announced the other volunteer. All gasped loudly as she walked across the mat. "Now you can see that there is a big difference." The female instructor said, causing everyone to laugh. What they saw was a blonde woman with a ponytail, about 5ft 9 inches tall and 120 pounds wearing a black short sleeve shirt tucked into a pair of black loose pants with a belt tied at the waist. "This is a demonstration, but we'll need you to give it all you've got. For your safety, please put on the protective gear." She said to the volunteer.

"That's not necessary." Everyone laughed when he rejected the request.

Another burst of laughter filled the room after the instructor responded. "Oh...I think it is. " She extended her hand pointing to his private part. "She's not going hit you there, but accidents can happen."

As the man put on the protective gear for his groin, the blonde put on the protective gear for her chest as well as her private part.

"What we want you to do is try to pin her down on the mat and if she can't move, then you succeeded." The instructor turned to the ladies. "Usually an attacker comes from behind while you're walking, that's what we're going to demonstrate." She turned to face the volunteer and the blonde. "Ready?" Both nodded and the blonde started walking casually from the end of the mat.

Silence filled the room for only a few seconds. Some shrieked, some yelped, some gasped out loud when they saw how hard the volunteer wrapped his arms around the blonde, then lifted her up. In a split second, all the ladies dropped their jaws at what happened afterwards. Before the 200 pound man had a chance to throw the blonde down on the mat, Amy used her heels to back kicked his leg, causing him let go of his arms, then instead of running away, she swept his leg, causing him to fall flat on the mat on his back. With her right foot and shouting extremely loud, she lifted it up and as she was about to stomp on his face, the volunteer shouted in fear and blocked his face. "Stop!"

Amy did it so fast, it surprised everyone. "Now ladies, I could have kicked his knee which be more effective, then what you should is run away. But if this happened inside a room, you would stomped on his groin or his weak spots before running away. That will give you more time." She said as she looked at the girls who were all stunned silent including Nadia and Alexis.

"Do you want to see something else?"

Alexis was the first one to clap and shouted in approval. The other ladies then joined in. But all were disappointed when the volunteer refused loudly.

"Well, ladies, I think that's enough for today. Please give a hand for our volunteer." The instructor said and all the ladies then clapped their hands.

"Are there any questions?"

There was a short moment of silence until someone slowly raised her hand. Her voice was so low, the only ones who could hear her were the ones sitting near her. The instructor walked towards her and asked again.

"We're going to do another demonstration. But we will need a volunteer." Each woman looked to their left and then to their right. Amy wasn't surprised when Alexis raised her hand. Everyone clapped when Alexis walked towards the center of the mat. Those who didn't notice her before now did. What they saw was a very attractive young woman who looked the like type who would attract a lot of perverts. Not only from her look, all could tell that she had a lot of confidence by the way she walks.

After the instructor told Amy what she wants her to demonstrate, Amy lay on the mat and directed Alexis to position herself between her legs and pin her wrists down against the mat.

"Like you're doing it for real, Alexis."

Alexis pondered for a moment. She was in a very awkward position. What she was thinking was that she had been in this same situation before, just with a different woman.

"Ready? Now!"

Alexis pinned Amy's wrists down as hard as she could and pressed her body against hers. It caught her by surprise when Amy extended her left hand upwards, causing her to lose control of her right hand and right side of the body. She had no idea how it happened when Amy pushed her own hips upward and flipped her body over. "OW!"

Some gasped, some shrieked, and some dropped their jaws at what they saw. It happened so fast, all were amazed and confused at the same time.

Alexis expected an apology from the blonde but was surprised she didn't get one. She also noticed that the blonde was in a serious mood.

"Now let's say the attacker is much bigger and you couldn't flip him over." The instructor nodded to Amy and Amy understood.

Alexis returned to her previous position, in between the blonde's legs.

On the instructor's signal, Alexis pressed hard on both of Amy's wrists, trying to prevent her from moving. Amy did as before, but this time extended both of hands upward, one at a time. Alexis expected that but didn't expect her to move the other hand. Her hands lost control once again. Her body then shifted forward as Amy pushed herself backwards using her feet, but Alexis couldn't hang on and Amy was able to run away.

Everyone was again amazed how quickly Amy was able to get herself free.

"Let's do one more in a different position." The instructor said.

Alexis flung her wrists. That hurt a little. Again she expected Amy to say sorry or 'are you okay?' but she didn't hear neither.

Alexis knelt between the blonde's legs.

"Closer." Amy said.

"um…Kristin, I think that's close enough." She glanced down at Amy's private area. Their thighs were already touching. If she was a man, her body part would be touching the blonde's private area. And Amy didn't have protective gears on.

Amy rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what Alexis was thinking at that moment.

"The attacker would want to get closer." What she really wanted to say is 'you and I have been in this position before…with the same woman.' She wanted to see her reaction but resisted the urge to say it. It wasn't the right thing to say nor was it the right time or location.

Alexis did as told, held onto the blonde's thighs and moved herself closer to the blonde's crotch. Instead of pinning down her wrists, she grabbed her throat. This time, Amy did it slowly because if she didn't, she could hurt Alexis. "Hold his hands here and pull it down. Now I'm going to use my hips and my feet to kick him here." Amy pretended to be kicking Alexis's hips, then groin, then stomach, all the way up to the chin. "If you kick his chin like this, no matter how big he is, you will knock him out." Amy repeated the same demonstration once more.

After the demonstration, some ladies continued on practicing the techniques, others worked on strengthening by punching bags.

"What's wrong with her?" Standing next to Nadia, Alexis asked, while staring at the blonde on the other side.

Nadia turned and noticed how hard Amy was throwing her fists into the punching bag. If that were someone's face, it would definitely be messed up. Nadia gasped, covering her mouth when a thought came to her. She then told Alexis what happened last night.

"Wait, you want to join naked yoga?"

That wasn't the point Nadia was trying to make.

"She's upset because Keira volunteered to do it with me."

Alexis was a little surprise that Keira would but after learning why, she understood. _That's her. She would do anything to help a friend out. _She was however shocked that Nadia would. Even she doesn't have the courage to bare it all in front of strangers.

"Alexis!…" Nadia crossed her arms when she saw Alexis looking at her body up and down like a pervert.

"You see…you can't do it…you have clothes on…and you already feel uncomfortable."

"That's exactly why I want to do…to open my mind…to free my mind from negative thoughts, thoughts that you were just thinking of."

"Hey, I wasn't thinking of that." Alexis didn't like what she was implying. _Did Keira told her that I'm gay?_

"I was just curious to know how you get these…." She squeezed her biceps again without permission. "…and these…they're so tight." She pointed to her buttocks. "…and these…" She couldn't see Nadia's six packs but knew she had them. She reached out and tried to touch them, but couldn't when Nadia moved one step back.

"Alexis!.." Nadia said in a frustrated tone.

"Sorry, may I?"

"No. If you want these…" Nadia flexed her biceps twice. "…then you have to do this." She grabbed Alexis's hand and pulled her towards the punching bag. "Now, start punching."

Nadia turned around and rolled her eyes. She just realized how touchy Alexis could be. As she walked towards the blonde, she turned her head to take a look at Alexis. "She's not into me, is she?" She erased that thought when she saw Alexis flexing her arm.

The closer she walked towards the blonde, she could tell that Amy was frustrated with something, the way she punched and kicked the bag. She then stopped when she saw the blonde's fierce eyes looking her way. _She's not mad at me. Is she?_ She followed her line of sight and turned to look at the one who tried to touch her a moment ago, then turned back and saw that Amy was again throwing punches into the 80 pound red bag hanging from the ceiling.

"Kristin, are you okay?"

"Fine." Amy said without looking at Nadia.

"You know, if you want to know. The answer is right over there." Nadia tilted her head towards Alexis.

Ignoring Nadia, Amy continued to throw punches.

"Kristin…"

"What are you talking about?" Amy threw one strong punch into the bag.

"if it bothers you that much, then…."

"Nadia, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if she slept with her or not. It doesn't matter if she's with her now. It doesn't matter if you want to be with her." She turned to punching her bag. "In fact, next time when you talk to her, tell her to move on….because that's what I'm doing…move...ON!" Amy jumped and did a front kick. The kick was so powerful, it caused the punching bag to swing back a few feet, hitting the person behind it.

"OW!"

"Oh my god!" Amy and Nadia quickly ran over to the woman on the floor. This caught everyone's attention. The instructor and Alexis both approached the young petite brunette in her older 20's.

Amy assisted the young brunette to sit against the wall away.

"Are you okay?" Amy said to the brunette wearing a long sleeve black sports shirt and long pants.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" The brunette said, causing everyone around her to let out a laugh. Seeing that she's okay, the instructor returned to what she was doing before.

"Sure…that needs a lot of practice." Amy introduced herself and let her know that she's a volunteer there. After making sure that she's okay, Amy wanted to continue with the punching bag.

"Wait, can I ask you a question?"

Both Nadia and Alexis were confused. Not because of what they heard, but because they could sense that something else was wrong with the brunette. They're not sure what but they could tell from the eye contact, it looked like the brunette only wants to talk to Amy and nobody else.

"Can you show me what you did earlier?" Her voice was even more gentle and softer than Nadia's. Both Nadia and Alexis took the hint and went back to what they were doing before.

Standing next to Alexis who was practicing her punches, Nadia focused on the blonde on the mat where she was showing the young brunette. At first, she thought her plan was working, getting Amy jealous. But now it seemed that Amy was so upset, she doesn't want anything to do with the brunette in Canada.

She turned to look at Alexis and wondered if she should ask her the question. _Did she and Lucy? But what if she did? That would piss Kristin off even more. What if she didn't? I didn't. She said it doesn't matter if I want to be with her. _ Nadia came to the conclusion that Amy was upset with something else.

"Alexis, it's not working."

Alexis was so concentrated in her punches, she didn't understand what Nadia was referring to. "What's not working?"

"**Alexis**…" Nadia said in a frustrated tone.

"Ow…ow…ow…" Alexis rubbed her right calf, realizing what the blonde just did, kicking the punching bag, wasn't as easy as it looked. She could barely get it to swing back a few inches.

Nadia continued to tell her what Kristin just told her.

"She said that?"

"mhm…" Nadia crossed her arms, expecting the touchy woman to tell her if she did or not.

"She said it doesn't matter if I want to be with Keira?" Alexis asked in confusion.

"mhm…." Nadia nodded, waiting for her to continue. But when she didn't, she wondered what she was thinking of.

"Alexis, did you?"

"Did I what?"

Nadia wasn't sure if she was pretending or really clueless.

"Did you and Keira….you know..." She expected a one-word response but instead she got the same response she gave to the blonde.

"Does it matter? That's not what's bothering her. It's…something else." Both stared at the blonde who seemed to be ignoring her own problems and completely focused on teaching the young brunette.

After the workout, all headed home to take a shower except for Alexis who went along to Nadia and Kristin's house.

Nobody had the energy to cook, so they ordered take-out for lunch. While eating their lunch on the dining table, Alexis raised her eyebrows at Nadia and tilted her head towards the blonde. Both noticed Amy hadn't talked much during the ride home. What they did notice was that Amy was looking at her phone while eating her lunch as if she was expecting something to pop out of it and she was afraid she would miss it if she didn't keep her eyes on it.

"are you expecting a call?" Nadia said in her gentle voice.

Amy wanted to know. But at the same time, she was afraid of knowing the truth. It happened a long time ago. _It doesn't matter. She's changed_. She risked her life for you. That's what one side of her mind kept saying. Then there's the other side. If she did do it, Amy wasn't sure if she could …forgive her. Hannah was her partner. She was a DEB.

"Kristin?" Alexis said.

"I'm…waiting for…Lucy…to call me back."

Alexis and Nadia glanced at each other, knowing what each other is thinking. Alexis beat her to it.

"Why?"

_It's lunch time. She should be awake by now. Why hasn't she call me back? _Amy quickly picked up the phone, pressed a few buttons to make sure the message last night was sent successfully. It was.

"What do you want to ask her?" Nadia said, knowing that it must be important because the blonde hasn't been herself the whole day and Keira only calls if she thinks it's important.

Amy glanced at Nadia, then at Alexis. _Should I tell them_? She closed her eyes for a few seconds, thinking if she should. They wouldn't understand. They would forgive her because they don't know Hannah. She opened her eyes and looked at Alexis. She remembered how Alexis reacted that time she told her about the brunette's criminal activities. _Alexis will forgive her. _Amy turned to look at Nadia. Nadia is more understanding and more forgiving. There was no doubt in her mind that Nadia would forgive Lucy.

"It's personal." Amy decided to leave it at that. It is personal.

Alexis frowned. Nadia felt the same way. What could it be that is so important that caused Amy to quickly pick up the phone without even looking to see who it is first.

"Lucy?" The moment she heard her phone ring, her heart pounded rapidly. Alexis and Nadia stopped moving until they heard the dull tone of her voice.

"Oh…hi Ethan…..um…" Amy glanced at Nadia for a moment. "…tonight…umm…okay…sure…sounds good…see you tonight."

After hanging up, Amy put the phone down and continued eating her vegetable wrap.

"You're going out with Ethan?" Alexis didn't like what she heard.

"Sure…why not?" Amy shrugged her shoulders. Her face showed no emotion, no excitement. Amy wasn't really in the mood to go anywhere but Ethan said it was his birthday.

"It's his birthday." Nadia said, unsure if the blonde knew, but realized that she does because there was no reaction.

"Oh…then we should give him a surprise party." Alexis said in excitement as she raised her brows up and down at Nadia, hoping that she would get the hint.

Nadia did and was beginning to realize just how smart Alexis really is.

"Good idea. We haven't done that for years. We'll need to get ready." Nadia took a look at her watch.

"Let's go." Alexis said in excitement.

Both stood up and noticed that Amy was in her own world again, deep in thought, staring at the phone.

"Kristin?"

Amy blinked a few times before looking at Nadia. "You girls go ahead. I'm…a little tired. I'm going to take a nap." She said in a tired tone, took the cell phone, and walked slowly out of the dining room.

Nadia could tell that whatever was bothering the blonde had to be extremely important because she had never seen Amy not picking up after herself. Amy left the unfinished lunch on the table.

"Well, at least she's not interested in Ethan." Alexis smiled. If Amy was, she would be thinking of what to get for him.

"…Not yet…"

"not ever…"

Nadia frowned at the woman with quick thinking and wondered what she was thinking of.

* * *

It's 8PM. Amy was surprised that she was able to finally get a few hours of sleep. Her mind was too exhausted to think of anything, not Lucy, not Ethan, not anything. She lifted herself up, sat up against the headboard, and rubbed her eyes. The moment all her senses came back, the moment reality came back, the first thing that came back into her mind was Lucy. She quickly took her phone to see if there were any voice messages, text messages, or any calls. There were none. Toronto time is five hours behind London. It's 3PM over there. _Why hasn't she called?_ _She's not that sick. Is she?_ After saying that, other thoughts appeared in her head. _ She's living alone. Nobody is taking care of her._ Shit! Amy quickly got up and ran down the stairs without a care of how she looked. Running down the stairs, noises got louder. Standing at the last step of the stairs, she realized that they started Ethan's surprise party without her. Birthday balloons were tied along the stairs and in various places. Alec, his girlfriend, Ashley and Janet were playing card games on the coffee table. Scud and Michel were talking. Alexis was sitting next to Ethan in another couch, chatting and laughing. The tv was on. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Everyone was happy. If strangers were watching, they would think that these people have been friends for a long time. If they knew what happened to them, they wouldn't think it would be possible for these people to get together. Who made it possible was the notorious criminal mastermind. She brought these people together. She's the reason that they're living a peaceful happy life. She's the reason they're enjoying life without worries. _Lucy…_ What she saw made her think twice about wanting to know what happened over a decade ago.

"Kristin!" Alexis said.

Ethan immediately walked towards her. All turned to her direction. Amy didn't want to talk to Ethan at this moment. She came down for a reason.

"Kristin, are you feeling okay?" Ethan asked in a concerned tone. He could tell that she just woke up by her messy hair.

"fine." She noticed what Ethan was looking at. She's not concerned with her hair, her makeup, or how crappy she looked at this moment

"Sam!" Amy is used to calling him Scud. But since Alec's girlfriend is around, it wasn't appropriate to call him that. She waved to Scud, motioning him to come over. "I'll talk to you later. Ethan."

Scud quickly followed her up the stairs, wondering what the emergency is. Everybody else was also thinking of the same thing.

"What's wrong?" Scud asked, standing a few feet away from the top of the stairs

"Is Lucy okay?"

"Are you okay?"

Amy frowned in confusion. She expected him to answer her first. "I'm fine."

"Oh good…"

Amy remained in her confusion state and waited for him to continue.

"She's fine. She's just sick."

What happened was instead of calling the blonde, Lucy called Scud instead to find out what the emergency is. Scud had no clue either and asked Janet to see if she noticed anything wrong with the blonde since she lives with her. Since it wasn't life-threatening, Lucy decided not to call her back.

Scud could tell that Amy didn't like how Lucy handled the situation when he saw her brows knitted together and her nostrils flaring it.

"Is it important? I can tell her…"

"Don't bother…." Amy said in an upset tone and snapped her body around and stomped towards the bathroom. Before closing the bathroom door, she just had one more thing to say.

"Scud, tell her from now on, my life is none of her business, tell her to move on!…because I have…." Amy slammed the door so hard, the people downstairs might have heard it.

"Lucy…you did it…that's what you want…that's what you got…" Scud said to himself.

Inside the bathroom, she stood in front of the sink, in front of the vanity mirror.

"I can't believe you. Here I am worrying about you, thinking something might have happened to you. You're ignoring me. I told you it was urgent. You called Scud instead." Amy shook her head in disbelief. "You don't even want to talk to me. You are **unbelievable**. Well, you know what. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of you. " She pointed at herself in the mirror.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Downstairs in the living room, everyone turned their attention again towards the blonde coming down the stairs. All stood still in stunned silence because what they saw was a totally different person from the one who just walked down 30 minutes ago. In fact, Ethan had never seen Amy dressed in such an elegant and sexy dress; short black dress with wide v neck showing a lot of skin, fitted perfectly showing her curves. Her hair was not straight, not flat. It was full, wavy with little curls. Not just him, everyone dropped their jaws except for Janet who wasn't as shocked as everyone else because she had seen the blonde wearing much more sexier clothing. That's when she's on a mission.

"Kristin, you…you..look…stunning." Ethan couldn't control his eyes from scanning her body.

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." Ethan had on a white shirt under a dark gray military fashion styled blazer with matching colored khakis.

"Ready?" His heart skipped a beat when he saw that dazzling smile, that glossy beige lips and those wide gorgeous hazel eyes staring back at him. Just last night, he was told that he was moving too fast. He knew that but he couldn't stop himself from letting the blonde how he felt. He thought for a moment there after confessing his love, he would once again get rejected. But it wasn't a rejection nor was a promise. It was a chance. There could be a chance that he could get her to love him the same way he does. He was happy with that. He planned on taking it slow, start out as friends first. So he invited her to celebrate his birthday with him…alone and he was ecstatic that she agreed. But when he entered the house, he was disappointed that it wasn't what he thought. He was surprised, surprised that everyone was there, the balloons, the confetti, the streamers, the birthday hats, waiting for him. Everyone was there except for Kristin. _She's sleeping_? It made him wonder if what she said yesterday was her way of politely rejecting him. But he quickly realized what he thought was wrong when he saw her standing in front of him, all dressed up.

"Kristin, where are you going?" Nadia was also in awe of the sight. She knew what Ethan was thinking at that moment because she herself couldn't help thinking of the same thing. _She's beautiful. _The whole idea of this party was to prevent them from going out alone. She didn't think Ethan would still want to go when they have so many people here celebrating his birthday. It's just impolite to do so.

"Ethan, you didn't cut the cake yet." Nadia glanced at Alexis to see if she could come up with something to prevent them from leaving. She was quite surprised what Alexis did afterwards.

Alexis ran forward, took his arm, and dragged him to the dining room. "Let's cut the cake." All could tell that he didn't want to when he extended his hand out to the blonde as if asking her for help.

Inside the dining room, Alexis forcefully pushed his shoulders down to have him sit in the end of the table. All, especially Ashley who took her seat next to the birthday boy, quickly surrounded the long dining table. All gasped loudly when they saw the large round 2 layer chocolate cake covered with strawberries and lit candles around the edge of the cake. Alexis deliberately took the other seat next to Ethan. After the lights were dimmed, after the song was sung, all could see how Ethan was when he took a moment to glance at each one of them. His eyes fixated for a longer moment at the blonde who was standing behind Ashley. He extended his left hand out hoping she would hold on to his. But was a little disappointed when someone else did instead.

"Blow the candles, Ethan." Ashley said in excitement as she took his hand.

Amy noticed and couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, let's do it together….1..2…"

"Wait…make a wish." Ashley said.

"Make…a…wish?"

Ashley nodded vigorously.

His eyes glanced at the blonde for a moment before closing his eyes and reopening them.

"Okay…1…2…3" It took 2 tries to blow out all the candles. All clapped and Ashley quickly took all the candles out.

Ethan stood up and was pushed back down by Alexis.

"Cut the cake." Alexis took the knife and handed it to him. After cutting the first piece, he took a look at his watch. He made reservations to a restaurant and was afraid that they wouldn't make it. He handed the knife to Janet and pushed the cake towards her.

As he was about to stand up again, he was again prevented from doing so by none other than Alexis.

"Open the presents." Alexis waved to Nadia who immediately understood.

"That's okay. I'll open it later."

Nobody expected Ashley to steal the show. "I'm sorry. I didn't get you a present. I didn't know."

"That's okay…I'm just really happy you're here…to celebrate my birthday…with me." Ethan said softly and patted lightly on Ashley's head.

It surprised everyone not only him when Ashley got off the seat and gave him a hug and a peck on his cheek before returning to her seat.

"Ashley!" Alexis was a little shocked. She knew her sister was like her, bold and not afraid of anything, but what she did was a little too much.

"What? It's his birthday. He's quite handsome. Don't you think?"

And it was at that moment, Alexis realized that her sister isn't like her. Everybody burst out laughing except for Alexis who froze after her sister's next comment.

Ashley slapped her head hard. "I forgot. You wouldn't understand."

The only people who knows that Alexis is not into men is her father, Ashley, Kristin, Scud, Janet and Nadia. Alexis wasn't sure if anybody else understood what Ashley meant. And she definitely didn't appreciate how Ashley just blurted that out.

"Isn't he handsome, Kristin?"

Alexis realized that everything she was trying to do just ain't working when Kristin walked closer to the birthday boy and took a napkin from the table.

Amy looked down at Ethan who kept his eyes on her the moment she walked towards him. "yes…he…is." She reached out to hold his chin and wiped the chocolate off his cheek that Ashley left behind. His heart pounded so fast and so hard, he couldn't hear anything else because there were no other sound. All stood still watching the blonde's movement as she bent down, moving her face closer to Ethan's.

"I didn't get you a present either."

_That's okay._ That's what Ethan wanted to say but the words didn't come out or rather he couldn't get the words out when he saw the blonde's face moving closer to his. His whole body froze except for the beating of his heart which was beating twice as fast. _Oh god. _What he was expecting didn't happen, but what he didn't expect was when she kissed his cheek. "Happy birthday." Amy said softly. He saw her lips moved but couldn't hear what she said. All he heard was the sound of his heartbeat pounding out of control.

"oh shit. You're going to regret this. Lucy." Scud said in his mind.

_No. _That's what Nadia was thinking. _What are we going to do?_ She said as she glanced at Alexis. As if Alexis could read her mind, she reacted but what she did got Nadia extremely confused.

"Happy birthday, Ethan." Alexis leaned forward and placed a long kiss on his cheek.

Ethan immediately came out of his frozen state and jerked back. Everyone's jaws dropped. Amy was confused as everyone else. Alexis raised her brows as she stared at Nadia. It took a moment for Nadia to understand what Alexis was expecting her to do, but she's still not quite sure how it would help the situation.

"Happy birthday, Ethan." A sound of 'awww' filled the room when Nadia walked over and gave her brother a kiss on the cheek.

All frowned in confusion again when Alexis spoke again. "Janet, did you get Ethan a present?"

"no…I just found out…" Janet frowned when she saw Alexis staring at her, then to Ethan. "Oh…" Janet finally understood and walked over to Ethan to give him a kiss on the cheek. Then Alec's girlfriend got the idea and did the same. What happened later caused Ethan to jump out of his chair, causing everyone to laugh uncontrollably. Scud followed suit and ran after Ethan to give him a kiss.

"It's okay if you didn't get me a present!" Ethan shouted as he ran towards the living room.

"Come here…" Scud said.

Ashley covered her mouth, laughing hysterically. Amy was the same way. Her mind on its own thought about the brunette again when she saw each and everyone in the room laughing hard. What stopped her thought was when she saw Alexis whom she noticed was looking at her a moment ago. Years of DEBS training told her that Alexis was up to something. _Why did she kiss him? She doesn't like men. What's her purpose?_ _What was she talking to him about?_ Her thoughts were then broken by the loud scream from Ethan.

"Kristin! HELP!" Ethan ran around the couches to avoid the man with the goatee to get a taste of him.

Amy hate to interrupt the silly moment but her stomach was starting to growl. She headed towards the main door and opened it. Ethan took the hint and quickly ran towards it.

"I'm sorry. But I made reservations. We're going to be late." Ethan apologized to everyone.

And that's when Nadia realized what Alexis was thinking of.

"How did you know? " Nadia whispered.

"He told me….now we have to think of something else." Both knew there was nothing that either one could do.

Both sighed out loudly after the door closed. Then 5 minutes later as they were taking down the balloons, as if the Lord was on their side, Amy slammed the door opened.

"Michel!"

All snapped their at her direction. Sensing that it was urgent, Michel quickly walked towards her. Nadia and Alexis stood in confusion. After a moment, they saw Michel calling someone on the phone.

"I'm sorry. Ethan."

"It's okay. I'll go with you."

Amy shook her head and told him it wasn't a good idea.

"Nadia! Come with me." Amy felt that it was more appropriate to have his sister go with her instead.

"I'll explain later." She said to Ethan.

Nadia was shocked when she found out what happened while driving to the destination.

Inside a small room, a young petite brunette waited nervously. Her hands bound in handcuffs, her legs and her body trembled as she thought about what happened. Nobody could help her. There was nobody else she can call except the blonde whom she met at the self-defense class. She had been there for half an hour without talking to anyone. It's not that she didn't want to, it's because she was still shaken up by what happened. She never thought it would come to this. All she was trying to do was escape, run for her life. But there was nowhere to run to. There was nowhere else she could go to. She had no choice.

"Annie!"

"Kristin!"

When she was a DEB, Amy read about these cases, heard about it, and seen it happened but she never really completely understand how those people could let it happen not once but over and over again because if it was her, she would never allowed it to happen to herself.

"Are you okay?" Amy said in a comforting voice as she hugged the brunette who broke down sobbing on her shoulder.

The questioning took half an hour. That's the reason Amy called Michel so he could contact his lawyer. All sat inside the car in silence. Michel who was driving glanced at the blonde in the rear view mirror from to time. There was something that he wanted to say but couldn't say it in front of Annie. During the ride, Amy held onto Annie's hand to comfort her. She didn't notice Michel had turned into a different direction until much later. Amy wondered why he stopped in front of a hotel and not her house.

"Wait here, Annie" Amy said in a soft gentle voice.

Without saying a word, Michel stepped out of the car. Nadia and Amy did the same. It was a quiet night.

"Michel, what are we doing here?" Amy had previously told him to drive back home since Annie had nowhere else to go and she didn't want to go home.

"Kristin, she can't stay in your house."

Out of all the people, Amy didn't expect him to say that. But she understood why. She doesn't know Annie. She saw Annie before in the classes but never talked to her until this morning. Now that she knows what the petite brunette was going thru, she understood why Annie wanted her to teach her those moves.

"She can stay here, in this hotel." In the back of him is a luxurious 4-star 5-storey hotel.

"Michel, you heard what happened. She almost got raped by her own husband!" Amy said in a frustrated tone, louder than she wanted to. She wasn't upset at Michel who was worrying about her safety. She was upset at that son of a bitch, Annie's husband. She was upset at Annie, how she could have let this happen to herself. Annie didn't tell her her life story. But she sensed that something awful must have happened before, otherwise Annie wouldn't have join that class. That class was for women to defend themselves against attackers, strangers, not their husbands.

"We can't leave her alone right now."

"I understand that. But you don't know anything about her. What if …" He lowered his volume. "What if she's a spy…you know…what if she was sent by them?"

That wasn't what Amy was thinking of. "Who?"

"I don't know. But you know better than I do. Anything can happen. Kristin, I just think that you should bring her somewhere else, not your place."

Amy glanced at Nadia to see if she agree. She was a little surprised when Nadia nodded.

"He's right. We don't know her that well. What we can do is have her stay here and in the meantime, we can have Scud check her background." Nadia stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you want to help her. I do too. But before we do that, we just have to be very careful. You know what happened to Keira." Nadia reminded her how Keira was kidnapped in Canada but luckily, she expected that.

"What happened to Keira?" Michel asked in a concerned tone.

"…everything's fine…she's fine." Nadia quickly responded.

"I understand what you're worrying about." Amy glanced at both of them. " But don't you think you two are getting a bit paranoid." Nadia and Michel glanced at each other for a short moment before shaking their heads.

"I can feel it. She's not one of them. Did you see her wrists, her bruises? Those are real. If she wants to know where we live, that's not hard to find out." Amy remained silent to let her words sink in. She wanted them to know that there was no reason for Annie to pretend that she was beaten by her husband. But it seemed that whatever she says can't convince them.

"Okay, Michel, get 2 rooms. Nadia, call Scud and let him know. Then go home, pack my clothing, my pajamas and see if you can get her some clothes too."

Amy expected them to agree but they still didn't like her idea.

"It's too dangerous for you to stay here alone with her. I'll stay with you." Nadia said.

"Nadia, you do know what I used to do. Don't you?" Amy said in a confident tone as she placed her hands on her shoulders.

Nadia nodded.

"…and you do know what I'm capable of…"

"…but…"

"…and do you remember what she said…we're safe now…nobody is after us…" Those were the words from the former criminal mastermind.

"…I just think that it would be safer if you have someone else here with you…"

"I'll stay with you." Michel said.

"No, you're not. Michel. Last thing she wants to see is a man. What she needs now is someone to understand her, to help her, to…"

"Is…there…a…problem?" Annie spoke in a low trembling tone. "Maybe…I…should..just…go…home…"

All could tell that she didn't want to. Her husband won't be there. But she wasn't sure when and if the police will let him out after he wakes up from his drunken state. She also doesn't want to be reminded of what happened in the bedroom.

Amy quickly walked towards her. "No, you're not. We're going to stay here tonight. Okay?"

She turned to Michel, motioning him to reserve 2 rooms. Michel did as told.

"...but I don't have any money…"

"Don't worry about. I'll take care of it." Amy held her hand firmly.

"Kristin…I…"

When Amy saw tears rolling down her eyes, she stepped closer to hug her.

"I'm sorry. I don't know who to call. I don't have any family here..and…"

Nadia covered her mouth, letting out a few drops of tears when she heard Annie's sad story. Everything that she thought before, the doubts were gone. What she saw and heard, she believed that Amy was correct about Annie. Nadia couldn't resist and stepped closer, wrapping her arms around both of them. "It's going to be okay. You have us. We'll help you get through this."

All it took was Nadia's gentle angelic voice and comforting touch to stop the brunette from crying.

Inside the hotel room, all three sat around the small round table as they ate their dinner. It was decided that Michel go back home alone. Amy called Scud and had him check out Annie's and her husband's background. Janet will be coming soon to bring both of Nadia's and Amy's clothing. Amy hadn't eaten so she was as hungry as Annie. Amy and Nadia wanted to know more about what happened but didn't ask. They wanted Annie to tell them herself whenever she's ready. Halfway through dinner, Annie finally spoke.

"That's a very beautiful dress." Annie said.

Amy didn't expect Annie to compliment on her dress at this moment.

"Thank you. But I usually don't like to wear dresses like these. These are quite uncomfortable." Amy contorted her face in discomfort as she stretched the parts where she didn't feel comfortable. Amy smiled when she succeeded in making the petite brunette let out a very small but noticeable smile.

"Sorry, did I ruin your special night?"

"No…it's nothing special. Don't worry about it." Amy said as she patted her hand lightly.

Annie nodded and took a small bite of the chicken.

"I…have a dress…just like that."

Both Nadia and Amy remained silent to hear her story. They could tell that she had a difficult time telling her story especially the beginning parts of it. "It was a special occasion. I had no idea until that night…he proposed to me. He was so sweet. He got me roses and…he got down on his knee. We got married after dating for 2 years."

Amy put her utensils down and listened with full attention. Nadia propped her forearms on the table and did the same.

"It was what everyone said it would be…we were happy…after we got married."

Both could tell the sad part of the story was about to come.

"He owned a small business and he told me that I don't have to work anymore. He wanted me to have a life that every woman dreams off…do whatever I want. So…I quit."

The obvious question would be to ask her what she used to do but Nadia and Amy didn't think that was important so they allowed Annie to continue.

"Everything was going well. Sometimes, I would cook and wait for him to come back from work. Then sometimes, we would go out to eat and talk about the future. We…were…happy…until…"

There was a moment of silence. Annie reached for the napkin and looked down as her eyes began to brim. Knowing how difficult it was for her, both waited in silence.

"His business wasn't doing well. I asked him what was wrong. But he won't tell me. He said I can't help him. His...behavior began to change. Then one night…he came home…drunk."

Amy glanced at Nadia and both knew what happened next even if Annie didn't tell them.

"he…" Annie brushed her flowing tears and sniffed loudly.

Nadia reached out and covered her hand, hoping to give her strength. "Did you go to the police?"

Amy knew the answer. It happened to many couples.

Annie shook her head as she wiped her tears with the napkin. "He said he's sorry. He was drunk. He said it won't happen again."

There was nothing Nadia could do except held her hand firmly and nodded.

"Then why didn't you?" Nadia was surprised at Amy's question. She understood why Annie didn't.

Amy never understood how and why these women would allow their partner continue to abuse them. If there's the first time, there will be a next time. It doesn't matter what their excuse is. In her mind, no excuse is acceptable for that type of behavior.

"he's my husband…I thought…he would change."

"but he didn't." Amy said in a harsh tone.

"Kristin…" Nadia didn't like the tone of her voice. It sounded like Amy was blaming Annie, that it was her fault for not calling the police the first time. "Didn't you hear what she said? She thought he would change. She's the victim."

"I know that." Amy didn't want to sound too harsh. Whatever happened cannot be changed now. What she wanted to know is if Annie would allow this continue. With the skills she taught her that morning, Annie was able to escape from her husband's grasp and she was able to do more than that. She kicked on his chin so hard, it knocked him out.

" What I want to know is, Annie, are you going to believe that he will change?"

Amy wasn't sure what Annie meant when she shook her head vigorously.

"They're going to charge him with sexual assault. He will be sentenced to…."

"I don't know." Her palms pressed against her teary eyes. She shook her head again. "He…was good…to me. It's just….his business was having problems…so he started drinking…and.." Annie sniffed in loudly. "I…just don't want…to see him in jail."

"But if you don't put him in jail, he will continue…"

"Kristin. This is not the right time."

Amy knew that Nadia wouldn't understand. She had seen too many of these cases. The victim somehow always find reasons to forgive those who hurt them and they always end up being abused again or even worse, dead.

"Annie, I want to help you. But I need to know what your plans are."

"I…I…" Annie turned to Nadia whom she could tell understands her more. "I don't want to see him in prison."

Nadia nodded in understanding as she rubbed her hand.

Annie turned to Amy. "I can't let him do this to me again." What Annie just said confused her. The only way to do that is by setting him free and move to some place where she won't be found.

"Why would you set him free?" Amy believes that people like her husband wouldn't change no matter what. If he did it to her, he'd do it again to somebody else and people like her husband would not let her go. There is no doubt in her mind that Annie's husband would beg for forgiveness, beg her not to put him in jail, crawl on his knees and tell her how much he loves her, and tell her that he will change. The thought of Annie falling into that trap once more sickens her.

"He wasn't like that before. He just lost a lot of money in his investments…so he…"

_And there it is.. the excuses…_"Do you still love him?" _Please don't say yes._ _After everything he did to you, how could you still…_

"Are you...married?"

That question surprised her and Amy wasn't sure why she asked. _What does marriage have anything to do with this?_

"If you are, then you might know how I feel right now."

Amy was getting more confused. She cleared her throat before responding.

"I…wasss." Amy said and saw that Nadia was a little surprised by her response. Amy didn't want to say it but she had no choice because she could feel that Annie was in her own world, confused.

"You were?"

"Yes…we…broke up."

"Why?"

"It's…complicated." Amy cleared her throat.

"Did you love him?"

Nadia was paying full attention to her. "I did." That was the truth. Kristin did love her.

"Do you still love him?"

"I…" Amy glanced at Nadia before responding. "…don't…hate him."

"Does he still love you?"

"He does."

The quick response told Annie that Amy was the one who called it quits.

"Then would you forgive him if he…"

Knowing what Annie was going to say, Amy stopped her from continuing.

"Annie…no, I wouldn't because what he did is inexcusable. It doesn't matter if he's your husband, he has no right to do that."

Amy needed to make it clear because there are a lot of people who believes that husbands have the right to have sex with their wives even if they don't want to. It shocked her when she heard some women agree. They said it's a necessity. What those women need to understand is that nobody has the permission to touch their body unless they give it. That's what separates humans from animals.

"If he loves you, then he should respect you. If he loves you, then he would risk his own life to save yours because yours is more important than his."

Amy held both of her hands firmly. "When they say 'for better and for worse', this is not what they meant."

Amy remained silent to let her words sink in. She could tell she's getting thru to her. Annie's eyes were red but no longer teary. "If he loves you, then he would do anything to make your life happy, even if it means letting you go."

"Is that what your ex-husband did? He let you go."

That was Amy's intention, to let Annie know what the brunette was willing to do for her. "Yes."

"Do you miss him?" Annie asked as she looked deeply into her eyes.

"I…think about him…from time to time." She glanced at Nadia and wondered what she was thinking of at this moment.

"Then why?"

"hmm?…"

"Why did you leave him?"

Both could tell that Annie was feeling much better than before.

"It's…complicated." Amy glanced at Nadia as she spoke.

"Yes…it's really, really complicated." Nadia said.

Thank goodness for the phone ringing just at the right moment because Amy doesn't really want to talk about the brunette. It was Janet. After assuring Annie that they will help her get thru this, both Nadia and Amy headed back to their room next door.

"Thanks…Janet" Amy flopped down the bed after taking a shower and changing into her comfortable pajamas.

While she was taking a shower, Nadia told her what happened.

"Is she going to be okay, alone?" Janet asked.

"I think so." Nadia said, laying on the other bed. "It seems she's very interested to know more about your ex-husband."

Amy snapped her head towards her, grabbed a pillow and threw it at her.

Sitting on the edge of Nadia's bed, Janet had no idea what they're talking about but found it funny seeing two grown women throwing pillows at each other from one bed to another.

Janet left a moment later. Nadia and Amy laid in their own beds. It was difficult for Nadia to fall asleep because this was the first time she met someone who experienced those type of situations. But she came to realize that it wasn't Amy's first time. The way she talked to Annie, it was her way to get thru to her.

"Kristin…" Nadia wasn't sure if she was asleep.

"hmmm"

"about earlier…I'm sorry."

Amy exhaled loudly and responded in a tired tone. "mhm"

Nadia turned on her side, facing the blonde. "I can't sleep."

Amy had her eyes closed. She knew Nadia wouldn't be able to. "Just know that you're helping someone, then you'll be able to sleep." Amy breathed in and out normally. "Annie will get thru it. It will take some time. She'll be fine." What happened didn't bother her. She had seen worse situations when she was a DEB. Amy then opened her eyes, looking up the ceiling, when she realized that wasn't the only thing that was keeping Nadia awake.

"I don't want Ethan to get hurt." Nadia was afraid if she doesn't say what's on her mind, it would be too late. She was afraid that Ethan would fall too deep, it would be difficult for him to get over it, so deep, he would be discouraged from starting a new relationship.

"If you're not interested in him, don't give him hope."

"we're just friends…now…and if…down the road…"

That's what Nadia was afraid of…down the road…Nadia felt the need to tell her the truth since she can't remember.

"I have to tell you something." She told Amy about the time Kristin rejected Ethan.

Amy wasn't surprised by it. "Of course Kristin would reject him. She doesn't like men."

"…you know that's not why. "

"Then it's because she couldn't get over Lucy yet. It's not right to start a new relationship when your lover passed away less than year."

"That could be…but I don't think that's the real reason. She rejected him twice. She didn't even give him a chance."

"Did she tell you why?"

"no…but I think you would know…"

It didn't surprise her to learn that Kristin rejected him. She was deeply in love with the criminal mastermind. But even without her, she understood why Kristin wouldn't fall for Ethan. She didn't find him 'irresistable' or 'interesting'. _He's a good looking guy, considerate and understanding, but he's not that type that I would fall in love with at first sight…because…because…well…maybe because 'we' found him to be…normal…maybe it's because we were once government agents, we expect…more…not someone who has a 9 to 5 job and live a normal life. But isn't that what I want? Isn't that what Kristin wants, to live a normal civilian life?_

"Like I said before, I just want to let things happen naturally."

Amy understood her concern for her brother.

"Nadia, nobody knows what's going to happen if they don't try. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it won't. He knows that and I know that. One of us might end up getting hurt if it doesn't work out. But that's how all relationships are. If you don't try, then you won't know."

"You sound like Keira." That was a similar speech made by the brunette that caused her to react. She gave the brunette a kiss after hearing that speech.

"You should know better than anyone." Amy said, knowing that her love wasn't returned. "Did you regret trying?"

"Did you feel anything when you kissed him?"

Nadia won't admit it. But Amy knew that she didn't regret it. She also knows what Nadia was trying to do.

"It's just a kiss on the cheek." Amy said as she locked her hands behind her head.

"But did you feel anything?"

_Absolutely nothing._

"Did you feel the urge to kiss him…on the lips?"

Amy again didn't respond.

"He felt it….and he wanted you to…and don't tell me that you didn't notice."

"I noticed but your point izzzz….."

"If you don't feel it, then why continue?"

"I told you…it might not happen now…but maybe down the road, I might feel something."

There was a long moment of silence. Amy thought that would cleared it up. Amy thought Nadia would understand that sometimes it takes time to get those kinds of feelings. Amy never expected Nadia to tell her…her first time.

"She said even if it doesn't work out, you at least could tell yourself, that you've tried."

Nadia turned on the lights to see Amy's reaction. "So I…kissed…her." But all she saw was her eyes closed. Her fingers locked behind her head as if it didn't affect her.

"That was my first kiss." There was no reaction from the blonde until later. "I...scared her and she left the room."

Amy opened her eyes and turned to look at Nadia. As she was listening, she was trying to figure out the point of the conversation, why Nadia confessed in kissing her ex-lover. She still has no clue, but realized how embarrassing it could be.

"She left?" Amy said.

"not right away…we talked, I thought we had an understanding, then she left…she was afraid that I…" Nadia slumped her back against the headboard and let out a deep breath. "At that moment, I regretted telling her how I feel…it was a bad idea… maybe I shouldn't have told her…then…for some reason, she came back, she gave me the most ridiculous excuse…we both felt really awkward…but then somehow, she made it all better like it never happened…"

Amy was still listening to her.

"and you're right, I didn't regret trying…"

"Nadia, I'm confused." Usually people tell a story to prove their point, not someone else's.

"I…kissed her…again…because she made me…feel…that way. Do you understand my point?"

"no, I don't."

"Ethan doesn't make you feel that way, not now…and I can tell you…you're not going to feel that way about him…not ever…"

"you don't know that…people change…"

"yes, people do change. Ethan has a lot of good qualities, but if you don't feel that away about him now, I don't see how you can fall for him when he gets older. But...you might choose him only if you can't find what you're looking for….and that's not the kind of love you're looking for. That's not the kind of love I'm looking for either."

Nadia let out a big sigh. "I found what I'm looking for, but she doesn't love me. But that's okay, because I'm going to keep trying and if I can't find it, I rather be single."

"Nadiaaa…"

"It's okay. I'm fine being single. If I get to that age, I'll just adopt…a dog or cat…or a little girl…and if Keira is still single, maybe I can convince her to let me stay me with her…you know…just as friends…." Nadia continued ranting about what her life would be like if she couldn't find the person of her dreams. Her point wasn't to get Amy and Lucy back together, at least not at this moment. Her intention was to get Amy away from Ethan.

* * *

**Chapter 47: Chapter 47**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own DEBS or any of the characters used from the movie. They belong to Angela Robinson. This disclaimer applies to all chapters in this story.**

**Chapter 47**

Amy was quite disappointed to find that she wasn't able to get thru to Annie after all. Annie chose to hide the fact that it wasn't the first time that she was abused by her husband, meaning she just gave him another chance to do it to her again.

"Damn it!" Amy shouted, standing outside of her school after hanging up the phone with Michel's lawyer. She had art classes today, so she couldn't go with Annie. Nadia took a day off and went with Annie to her house to get her things. Scud found that Annie used to work as a waitress and her husband lost a large portion of his assets during the downfall of the stock market and at the same time his insurance business wasn't doing well.

Amy wanted to find out why Annie changed her mind, why set him free again. Once she got to the small apartment, her eyes twitched when she found the door unlocked. Standing near the door, Amy was surprised to see Ethan, standing in front of Annie and Nadia as if preventing the man from getting near them.

"Annie, please don't leave me…"

And there it is, exactly what Amy expected her husband to say.

"You hurt me, Charles! This is the last time. I'm not going to let you do this to me again." Annie said as tears brimmed her eyes.

"You are violating the law, right now. Just leave this area for 15 minutes and we'll leave." Ethan said calmly.

Standing about 5 ft from Annie was a man in his 30's. His head was messy, wrapped with a bandage. His eyes were red. His face looked like he had not shaved for weeks. His shirt was untucked. All could tell that Charles must have drank a lot from last night because all could smell the alcohol from several feet away.

"Be quiet! I'm talking to my wife!" Charles huffed angrily.

"just go." Looking at the floor, Annie did not want to see the man who almost raped her last night.

Amy didn't like the situation in front of her. Charles was standing too close to Annie, Nadia, and Ethan. _Now it's not the time to threaten him with calling the police. Ethan._ Amy stepped closer and hoped that Ethan doesn't say anything else. Amy looked around the small apartment, but couldn't find anything she could hit him with in case he attacks. What Amy didn't expect out of this situation was that he accused his wife of cheating on him because she didn't expect Ethan to be there.

"Who is he?" Charles pointed at Ethan. "While I'm working my ass off, you go behind my back…with him! Are you cheating on me!" All could tell he was either not sober yet from last night or went drinking some more after he got let out.

"How can you do this to me?! I love you. I gave you everything!"

Annie shook her head in disbelief. She was hoping he could understand that she was giving him a chance, but realized that he was out of control. Cheating. Knowing her husband, he would never believe her. In his emotional state right now, it is best to remain silent.

"is that why you don't want to do it with me? Because you're fucking…**him**!"

That was too much. Even Nadia couldn't stand it.

"We're her friends. We're here to help her. You said you love her. Why can't you see you're hurting her?" Nadia spoke in a gentle voice, hoping to calm him down.

Amy shook her head, knowing that even with Nadia's calm soothing voice wouldn't be able to help the situation because no man, and definitely not herself, can stand being cheated on and it would take more than that to convince him. She should know. She still thinks the brunette cheated on her at some point.

"Is it because I'm broke? Is it because I look like this? I did it all for you…for us." Charles said in lower tone. As he stepped forward, everyone else took one step back.

"You're my wife. You're supposed to help me. How can you cheat on me!" He shouted at the top of his lungs so loud, people next door might have heard.

_Excuses, accusation, denial, delirious…hopeless..._Amy shook her head.

"Charles, I didn't tell the police what happened before. I'm giving you a chance to start over. Please…if you love me…just let me go." Annie said, tears streaming down her face.

"You want to go with him. Is that it? Is this what it's all about? You want to leave me for him!" He pointed again at Ethan and saw that suitcases were packed and placed next to him.

"Look, I'm only a friend."

_Bad move. Ethan_. Amy thought to herself.

"Shut up!"

"I'm just here to…."

"I said Shut up!" Charles shouted in anger, startling Nadia and Annie.

_Ethan, just shut up_. Amy thought of a plan but was too late when she saw how angry Charles became. _Uh oh_…

"Look, if you…"

"Ethan!" Amy called out and quickly ran towards him when she saw Charles throwing his fist at him. Nadia immediately grabbed the petite brunette away, thinking that he might want to hurt her as well. Surprised by the sudden attack, Ethan was able to block the first punch but tripped on the suitcase. Falling on the floor, with the man on top of him, he wasn't able to block the strong punches that followed. Charles then screamed in pain when Amy threw one powerful kick to his ribs, forcing him to roll off Ethan. She can't stop there. She needed to teach him a lesson he will never forget.

"You said you love her!" Amy said as she kicked his leg. She could break it if she wanted to but she didn't want him to faint, not yet. "You don't even know what love…**is**!"

"OW!" Charles screamed in pain after Amy stepped on his groin. Holding his penis, he curled up in pain.

"How can you say you love her after what you did to her?"

Amy kicked him in the leg again and again.

"You bastard!" Amy kicked his hand, covering his groin.

"Stop!…stop!…stop!…" Charles begged.

"That's what she asked you to do…but did you?!" Clenching her fists, ignoring everyone around her, Amy thrust her foot into his stomach, causing another loud scream to escape his mouth.

"Stop…" Holding his stomach with one hand and waving the other, he begged, coughing and gasping for air.

"Then you should have stopped when she asked you to." Amy lifted her feet up high and as she was about to step on him, she stopped.

"I love her. I love her!" He shouted so loud, with so much strength, veins popped out of his neck. His neck and face turned red. Tears out of anger and pain ran from his eyes. His red-rimmed eyes glared at the blonde with such fierce that if one didn't know what he did, that person might actually believe that he was the victim.

"You love her?" Amy shook her head and contorted her face in disgust. "If you love her, are you willing to die for her?"

Amy saw his eye twitched as if she just asked the most ridiculous question. There was no response, just loud sounds of his heavy breathing.

"You don't love her."

"I do." Charles said as he glanced at Annie. "Annie, I love you…please."

_Begging. _Amy expected that as well. A lot of victims fall for that.

Amy kicked him again in the stomach, causing him to cry out. She wasn't surprised to hear Annie asking her to stop.

"If you love her, then you should leave her."

His voice was full of sadness and regret. "Annie, please…don't leave me…I can't live without you."

This isn't going so well. Amy is afraid that Annie would give in.

"If you love her, then prove it!"

Charles looked up in confusion at the blonde. "What?"

"You heard me, prove that you are willing to sacrifice your life for hers. Prove that you are willing to give up everything for her. You said you love her. Then prove that nothing else matters, the only thing that matters is for her to be happy…" Amy glared down at the pathetic man looking up at her. "Isn't that what love is?" Amy thought he was going to beg for forgiveness again, but was surprised that he didn't. "It's very simple. Admit everything you did, spend a few years in prison, then she'll believe that you love her."

Amy was surprised that he was actually listening. If he continued to act like before, Amy planned on doing something else to make him stay away from his wife.

"I…don't…want to go to prison. Annie…I don't want to go…" Tears flowed down his red face.

Amy could hear Annie, sobbing and sniffling several feet away.

"She's giving you a chance. Do you understand why? " Her voice was no longer as loud as before.

No words came from the man lying on the floor. Seeing his face full of tears and regret, Amy wondered if that was why Annie forgave him the first time he assaulted her.

"Charles, pleeeaasse….I can't…I can't stay with you…"

* * *

Sitting in the back seat, Nadia hung her arm behind the quiet petite brunette. Next to her, Amy was rubbing her hand gently back and forth with her thumb. It was quiet, just like last night, but what the brunette was feeling was completely different. Annie felt at peace, free, alone but safe.

"Thank you…all of you." Annie said, lifting her head up from Nadia's shoulder.

She turned to look at Amy who let out a small smile and patted her hand lightly. Amy was planning to persuade her to put her husband in jail because that's the only way to keep her safe. But she saw something in her husband and she hoped that she's right, that maybe he did have regrets.

Inside the hotel room, Amy assisted Annie with getting her clothes out of the suitcases and into the dressers. Nadia held an ice pack against Ethan's bare chest while he held onto another one on his jaw.

"Annie, this is only temporary. So don't take it all out. We'll get you another apartment and a job." Amy said as she handed her her undergarments.

Annie froze for a second before turning towards the blonde.

"Apartment? "

"Kristin, don't you think it's too soon for her to start working." Nadia felt that Annie should rest more due to her bruises.

Amy grabbed both of her hands and had her sit on the edge of the bed.

"Trust me, the sooner you go back to work, the better it would be. Now I know you haven't worked for awhile, you can do something simple or work part time. Once you get used to it, you can work more hours."

"I…want to go home…go back…to my parents." Annie said, looking down on the bed.

Amy had no idea where her parents live but didn't like her idea.

"You can. But do you really want them to see you like this?"

Annie looked up, surprised at what she said. She expected that everyone who knows about her situation would agree that she should be with family members.

Amy could see in her eyes that she's not ready to go back home. She may be free, but her memories will haunt her.

"We are going to help you. But more importantly, you need to help yourself. You need to be strong. You need to forget and lock those painful memories up. It's going to be hard the first few weeks." She held her hands firmly. "But I know you can do it..that's the only way you can move on. Do you understand?" Amy said softly.

When she saw tears brimming the brunette's eyes once again, Amy reached out to hold her chin. "Take a deep breath. Hold it…as long as you can…."

Annie had no idea why but did as told.

"Don't let it out until you feel like you're going to die."

Not only Annie, Nadia and Ethan was confused at what they heard. After a long moment, Annie exhaled loudly and quickly breathed in and out to get air into her lungs.

"Feel better?"

Annie neither nodded or shook her head. What she did feel was that she no longer wanted to cry. Her eyes fixated at the blonde who continued to put her clothes inside the dresser.

It's a method that Amy found to be useful. She wanted Annie to feel what it's like to die. At that instant where she can no longer hold it in anymore, it would force her to breathe and at the same time, it would give her the feeling of taking control of her own life. And that's what Amy wanted her to do, to be in control.

"Kristin" Annie said after her breathing normalized.

"hmmm?" Amy was focusing her attention on neatly placing Annie's clothing into the dresser.

"Did he do something wrong? Is that why you left him?"

"Who?"

"Your ex-husband."

If Ethan wasn't in the room, Amy wouldn't have been as shocked as she is right now. She blinked a few times before slowly turning to her right side to see if Ethan heard. Yup, he heard. Not only Ethan, Nadia heard as well and both had the same look she has.

"If he's willing to die for you, then why can't you forgive him?"

"It's complicated." Amy cleared her throat. That's the only response she could think of.

"Did he cheat on you?"

_That's what I want to know._

"That would be the only reason why you can't forgive him. I understand. But Kristin, finding someone who can sacrifice his life for you, who loves you that much is not easy. Most of us may never find someone like that. "

"umm…Annie…It's…complicated."

Amy thought that would stop her from asking and it did but it didn't stop Ethan.

"You're married, Kristin?" Ethan said as he slowly stood up. His chest hurts. His jaws hurt. But what hurts the most is his heart.

"I was." Amy had no intention of lying to him. It wasn't time to tell him the truth yet. Since their relationship was nowhere near that point, she didn't feel the need to tell him.

"Who is he? Where is he? Why?"

"We're not together, anymore." Amy said in a casual tone and continued to put Annie's clothes in the dresser.

What Ethan wanted to know is why she didn't tell him. What Ethan wanted to know is why she left him. What Ethan wanted to know is why he let her go. He came to realize what she was talking about earlier, she was referring to her husband.

"Did you know, Nadia?"

Nadia frowned. What difference does it make if she knew or not. "Does it matter?"

Hearing those three words, Amy let out a small smile to herself.

"No…I…I…just..I was just…a little surprised by it…that's all." Ethan said as he slowly sat down. His eyes never left the blonde.

_It doesn't?_ Amy wondered if that was true. If it does, then Nadia doesn't have to worry about him. Some men don't like to be involved with women who had been married before. She wonders if Ethan is one of them.

After eating dinner early with Annie, all decided it was time to head home after making sure that she was comfortable being alone in the hotel room by herself.

* * *

Amy's apartment

Scud and Janet learned about what happened. All sat inside the living room to discuss what to do next. Scud understood what he needed to do. He needed to find Annie an apartment.

"I was thinking of letting her help in the restaurant." Amy suggested.

"That's a good idea. We can keep an eye on her. She'll be back on her feet in no time." Scud nodded in agreement. There is still a lot of work to do before the grand opening. In the meantime, they thought it would be a good idea to get Annie a part time job.

Janet, however, was worried that Annie's husband would be bothering her again.

"I don't think he will. I think he understood, after that speech that Kristin gave."

Amy snapped her head at Nadia and wondered why she brought that up. There was no need.

"What speech? What did you say?" Janet sat straight up and looked at Amy.

Nadia repeated the words Amy said to Charles.

"Really…interesting…" Scud nodded while scratching his goatee. He knew who the blonde was thinking of at that moment.

All noticed how quiet Ethan was. He hasn't spoken a word since he entered the house.

"Is everything okay?" Scud said. He had to say it twice to bring Ethan out of his thoughts.

Amy wasn't paying attention. She was deep in thought thinking about her own plans, something she just thought of, until she heard her name being called. That's when she realized that it did bother Ethan.

"Kristin, do they know?" Ethan touched his ring finger to let her know what he was referring to.

"yes, they know I was married before." Amy deliberately said it out loud to Scud and Janet.

Scud wasn't sure how he found out. "umm…yes…we know." Scud said, giving a glance and a wink to Janet.

"mhm…" Janet nodded.

"Have you met him?" Ethan couldn't resist the urge to know more about the guy.

Scud wasn't sure how to respond. He looked at Amy for instructions and didn't get any types of signal from her. So he decided to tell him the truth, just not the whole truth.

"he's a very nice guy…he always wants to help people, he's very good looking too…isn't he, pumpkin?" He looked at Janet.

"oh yeah…gorgeous…" Janet quickly added another word. "…really handsome…very smart, and …"

Amy rolled her eyes as Janet continued to tell Ethan about the good qualities of the brunette. She crossed her arms and legs, flinging her leg back and forth, wondering when Janet would tell him about the negative qualities of the brunette. She didn't.

"…he's so good looking, all the girls…just seem to fall for him…isn't that right, Scud?"

"mm…not all the girls…pumpkin…" Scud wasn't sure why Janet said that. That would give people the wrong idea and …it did.

"So is that why you left him? He cheated on you." Ethan directed the question back to the blonde.

Amy was about to answer but Janet and Scud had their own answers.

"NO!...of course not!" Scud said.

"no…he didn't…he didn't cheat on her." Janet added, glancing at both Ethan and Amy.

"he didn't." Amy said it in a way that they weren't sure if it was a question or statement.

Scud repeated what he said before. "He didn't. That's not why she left him."

"Then why?" Ethan asked again, a little louder than before.

All stared at the blonde and waited for her to respond. If this bothered him that much, Amy wondered how he would feel if he found out that 'he' is actually a girl.

"Why is it important?" Amy said as she stood up.

"I…I'm just curious why you would leave someone like that." Ethan lowered his tone. "You must have loved him at some point, otherwise you wouldn't have married him. If he cheated on you, then I can understand why…but he didn't."

Scud again repeated what he said before to make sure that Amy heard.

There was a moment of silence. All paid close attention to the blonde.

"It's very simple…Ethan…it's because I can't remember him…" Amy said, looking straight into Ethan's eyes and noticed that he was surprised by her response. She could tell that he had more questions. But she wasn't in the mood to answer them.

_When did she marry him? Is that why she rejected me? Did they already separated at that time? _

"Kristin…" Ethan called out.

Amy stopped, standing at the first step of the stairs.

"If one day, if you can remember him, are you going to go back to him?"

Amy expected that. _He's afraid that I would go back to her._ She glanced at each one and noticed that they were all very curious to know. She didn't have the answer before. But she does now.

"No. It's not possible." Amy said in a casual tone and walked up the stairs leaving Ethan even more confused. He had more questions but noticed that the blonde doesn't want to talk about her ex.

"Is he dead?" That's the only thing he could think of. If he is, he wouldn't have to worry about the possibility that she would go back to him.

The way Scud reacted startled him. "What! No!"

"Then why did she say that? Does he still love her?" It got him even more confused when she saw Janet and Scud nodding their heads vigorously.

"Then why did he let her go?" If it was him, he wouldn't, he would try to get her to remember him. "If he loves her so much, how can he just let her go? He should've tried to get her to remember him. Did he even try?"

Scud and Janet both nodded multiple times.

"Then he should have tried harder!"

All could tell that Ethan was getting a little upset. "If it was me, I wouldn't give up." He turned to look at the stairs. "I would never give up." He said to himself. "He doesn't love her."

Scud didn't like what he just said. As he was about to defend the brunette, Nadia interrupted him.

"Ethan, she can't remember him now, but when she does…." She trailed off, giving him a moment to think about what it would be like if Amy gets her memory back. "I know you're falling for her, but are you willing to continue this….someday, she will leave you." She stepped closer to her brother. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"But she said it's not possible. She said she won't go back to him."

Scud deliberately let out a laugh, causing everyone to stare at him. It was a serious moment, Ethan didn't find anything funny about it. Scud promised that he wouldn't interfere, but he didn't think what he is about to say would be considered as interfering.

"She broke up with him a few times, she just can't remember. But she **always**…**always**... went back to him." Scud stressed the word always, hoping Ethan gets the hint.

Janet nodded in agreement.

"Where is he?"

Scud wasn't sure why he would want to know. He can't tell him, so he shrugged his shoulders.

"Then how do you know if he's not already married?" Ethan looked at Janet. "You said he has a lot of women interested in him…then how do you know if he's not with one of them right now. If Kristin knows he's with someone else, she won't go back to him." He thought about what he just said. "Is he with someone else? Is that why she said it's not possible?"

Scud understood what Ethan was doing and feeling at this moment. He's making all kinds of excuses to make himself feel better, to give himself a reason to continue pursuing the blonde.

"Ethan, didn't you hear what she said earlier? She said he let her go so she can be happy. He loves her so much, he's willing to let her go. Will you be able to do that?"

"Nadia, I can do what he did. I can sacrifice my life for her. I can give up everything to be with her…" Ethan held his sister's hands. "You…should have tried harder…you should have tried harder to get **her**…to love you back." Ethan hate to say this to his sister but it was for her own good. He learned about her relationship with the brunette from Alec. He knew that Nadia had always been shy when it comes to relationships and believed that Nadia could have done more.

"I can't let her go. I haven't even tried yet. I'm going to try to get her to love me ….whatever it takes."

"Ethan"

"You shouldn't have let her go…so easily…You should have stayed with her in Canada."

Nadia didn't appreciated that, but understood why. Ethan didn't feel like talking anymore since everyone was trying to persuade him to stop wasting time on the blonde. As Ethan was about to leave, Nadia grabbed his forearm.

"Ethan…I know…when to let go…" She wanted to let him know that it wasn't like what he said. It's not like she didn't try. "I hope you will too."

* * *

**About 2 months later**

Amy decided to take all of the money that Michel inherited from his father. After that night she rescued Annie from her husband, who's now her ex, she realized what she could do with the money…help people like Annie. She even helped her ex-husband to get back on his feet. The terms…first quit drinking. If Annie found the heart to forgive him, then Amy believed that he deserves a second chance. Everyone goes thru a tough time at least once in their lifetime. It's that moment of weakness, that moment when they felt that everything was crashing down on them, that moment when they think everybody was against them, that moment when they felt there was no other way out, it's that moment that forces them into doing something that they never thought that they would do. Annie's ex would have continued going down that path, that path of no return if Amy didn't offer to help him.

It's the grand opening day of their restaurant, Scud's family restaurant, serving French and American cuisine. Janet took a day off to help out. Ethan and Nadia were busy in the kitchen. Amy came as soon as her classes were over. Annie was busily serving customers. All the seats were filled.

"Let's hope every night would be like this." Scud said, sitting at the bar stool next to Janet who was taking a sip of her pina colada cocktail. He wasn't concerned with the money because money, he has lots of. But he also didn't want to see his restaurant without business. It's a place for Nadia, Ethan and Annie, so they can continue to live a normal life without worries.

"Table 5." The bartender slid a drink over to Janet.

As Janet was about to take the drink, Amy stopped her.

"It's okay. I got it." Knowing how clumsy Janet could be, Amy took the drink and walked over to table 5.

Scud took a look at his watch and saw that it was almost 9:30PM. His eyes then focused at the table near the window where Ethan, wearing a chef hat, was standing next to the blonde and both were chatting with customers. He wondered what they said that made him so happy.

"Did you tell her that he's pursuing her?" Janet said, taking another sip of her drink and looking at the blonde and the chef.

"yes, but she told me to stop sending her those types of messages." Scud turned around to face the bar area. Janet did the same.

"How is she?"

"Fine." Scud let out a big sigh, his elbow propped on the table, his chin leaning on his palm.

It was the first day of the restaurant. He has his girlfriend sitting next to him. He's living a carefree life. He's supposed to be happy. But without the brunette, his friend, his boss, with him, he felt that his life was…incomplete. Even though he has been sending her messages and she has been responding, it seems that their relationship was getting more and more distant as the words in the messages became less and less.

"Is this what you really want? Lucy…alone?" Scud said to himself.

"Don't worry, Scud…we're going to convince her to stay with us…if we have to tie her up, handcuff her to the bed, then that's what we're going to do."

The image of the brunette being handcuffed to the bed caused both to chuckle at the same time. Both were startled when they realized someone else heard their conversation.

"Handcuff who to the bed?" Amy said as she gave an order to the bartender.

"Oh…um…" Janet glanced at Scud and wondered if she should tell the blonde. It was supposed to be a surprise. He glanced at his watch.

"I guess we can tell her."

"Tell me what?" Amy frowned in confusion.

"She's coming…tonight." Janet said.

"Who?" Looking at their faces, it took a moment for her to realize who they were referring to. "She's…coming?"

Both focused on the blonde to see her reaction, but they couldn't tell what she was thinking. There was no smile, no excitement, just a blank expression. In deep thought, she didn't noticed the bartender was all set with the drink until Scud shook her shoulder.

"Is everything okay?" Scud said.

"Fine." Amy now realized why Janet washed the bedsheets, comforter, and duvet in the master bedroom last week.

"we're not going to let her go back to Canada this time." Scud wanted to tell her his intention ahead of time.

"I don't think handcuffing her to the bed will work." Amy said. Deep inside, she's not sure what to think of the whole situation. Will she be able to live with her like they used to? If she didn't remember Hannah, things would be different.

"She should be here by now."

Amy snapped her head towards the door and waited to see the next person coming in. The door opened. She stood up. Her heart began to pound faster and faster as the door opened one inch wider, then another and another. She wasn't sure what caused it. Her heartbeat then stopped. She let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding. It wasn't Lucy.

"maybe the flight's delayed…" Janet said.

"She didn't tell me what flight she's taking." Scud pressed a few buttons into his cell phone to see if he could check the flights from Toronto to London.

"or…maybe she just wants to go to the hotel first." Janet guessed.

"Hotel? Why?" Scud asked.

"I'm…just…guessing." Janet shrugged, taking a quick glance at Amy, letting Scud know that it is possible that the brunette chose to stay in a hotel rather than their house to avoid the blonde.

Amy didn't like what she just heard. She believed that it could be possible as well. She hasn't spoken to her for half a year and noticed that Lucy has been avoiding her. The way she's avoiding her indicated that it would be impossible for them to be just friends, even if she didn't kill Hannah.

"Let me send her a message." Scud said.

* * *

It was five minutes before closing time. Scud let the last customer out and locked the door. After cleaning up and getting ready to leave, Amy was anxious to know when the brunette was coming, but tried not to show it. When Nadia and Ethan heard, they were all surprised by it.

"She's coming tonight?" Nadia said in excitement.

Scud glanced at each one of them and let out an apologetic smile.

"She sent a message earlier…she can't make it." He could see that everyone was disappointed and was quite surprised that even Amy was as disappointed…more like…upset…when she pushed hard on the door, almost slamming it against the wall.

"Let's go." Amy said in an upset tone.

It was supposed to be a happy day, celebration of the grand opening, but Ethan could tell that nobody was in the mood to talk, laugh or even smile after hearing the news about the brunette. Standing at the porch, Ethan said good night to the blonde and everybody else as he put his key into the lock. He wanted to talk to the blonde but seeing how tired she was, he changed his mind.

As Janet looked for her keys under the porch light, Amy was the only one who noticed that something was different.

"Janet, did you forget to turn off the lights in the living room?"

It could happen but she could see that the hallway lights were also on.

"mm…I don't think so…there's no reason why I would turn the lights on this morning."

"Nadia?"

"No."

Amy pressed her ear against the door and could hear a very faint noise coming from inside.

"Stand back." All did as told except for Ethan who was unwilling to let the blonde go in first.

"We should call the police." Ethan said.

"Not a good idea." All said in unison. Not that they're wanted by the police, but they tried to stay away from them if they can.

"Wait…" While everyone was talking, Scud had been checking something out in a device he was holding. "hmmm…that's odd…"

"What's odd?" Janet said.

"The alarm system didn't go off. Who could have known the password?" He glanced at each one of them to see if they gave the password to someone else. Besides the key, a password needs to be entered to unlock the door.

All shook their heads and glanced each other.

"Damn it…"

"What?" All said in unison and was confused more than ever when Scud totally ignored the possible danger inside and just entered the password and unlocked the door.

"Scud! What are you…" Amy trailed off when she saw who was inside.

"Ha…ha…you got us…very funny!"

Sitting in the center of the couch watching tv was none other than the former criminal mastermind.

"You are really something, you know that? Ethan wanted to call the police." Scud gave his friend a tight hug. "How did you get in here?"

"Santa's method." Lucy shrugged her shoulders.

There are a couple of ways that she could get in if she has the right equipment. Scud was just wondering which method she used, climbing up the house to open one of the windows or use a device to unlock the door.

"Lucy…Lucy…!" Janet shouted in excitement and ran towards her.

"Skye…Janet.." She reminded her as she held her in a tight embrace.

Nadia did the same and hugged her for a longer moment. "How are you?" Nadia said in a gentle voice. She didn't want to let go until she felt the brunette pulling back.

"See for yourself…no bullet holes." Lucy flashed her a million dollar smile, extending her arms wide to show her.

Dressed in a pair of blue bootcut jeans, a black sweater, hair tied in a ponytail, dark brown hair with a tinge of red, eyes sparkled with energy and enthusiasm, Lucy made a full turn in front of her.

"You look…fabulous…_gorgeous_…" She leaned in to say the last word into her ear. That's the truth. Nadia didn't expect her to look like this. She's as beautiful as the first time she saw her, if not more. That confidence, that strength, that magnetism were all there.

"Keira…nice to see you again." Ethan hugged her gently.

"Skye…" Lucy reminded him.

"Right…Skye…"

Lucy noticed that Amy didn't move and expected her to. Unlike the last time, Lucy walked towards her and gave her a short gentle hug, patting once on her back.

"You look good." She stepped back and scanned her from top to bottom.

"Is everything okay?" She was referring to her aneurysm. "No changes." She pointed to her own head. Lucy expected her to respond but was confused when all she got was a silent stare.

"She's fine." Scud responded for her and walked towards her to block her view from Ethan. He's not sure what the blonde was thinking right now. _Does she want him to know?_

"Kristin, what did the doctor say last time?" Scud said as she shook her out of her thoughts.

"Fine." Amy said, keeping her eyes at the brunette.

"Good…that's good." Lucy said, smiling wide.

"where are you bags?" Nadia said, wondering if she already figured out that the master bedroom was for her.

"In the car…"

"Where's your car?" Scud didn't notice there were any cars in the driveway. If there was one, he would have known that someone was inside the house.

"Why? Aren't you staying here?" Janet wondered if she was right.

"…no… …I got a hotel room…I just want to surprise you guys first." Lucy noticed that all of them didn't like what she said with the exception of Amy who's standing behind her.

"Don't be silly. I washed the sheets, the blankets, everything. It's a master bedroom. It's more comfortable than the hotel. Isn't that right, Kristin?" Janet deliberately said to her to see if she wanted the brunette to stay.

"that's your bedroom. It's the biggest one in the house. It has a bathroom inside. Have you seen it yet?" Amy said in a casual tone, acting as if nothing ever happened between them. _There will be time later to talk._

"I don't think it's a good idea."

_She's pretending._ _She's trying to avoid me_. _She's not happy. She still misses me._

"Lucy, where's your car?" Everybody seemed to be so focused on where she's staying, only Scud found it odd that her car isn't outside.

"It's coming…and Scud, my name is Skye..now…and you're Sam."

It made them wonder why the brunette kept saying that.

Lucy took a look at her watch. "It's getting late. You guys must be tired. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

_Tomorrow?_ Amy wants to talk to her. She quickly grabbed her hand, preventing her from leaving. "Just stay here…I…we want to talk to you."

Nadia quickly held on to her other arm to prevent her from leaving.

"We missed you. Stay here. I want to hear what you've been up to."

Seeing that Lucy was still trying to leave, Janet walked behind her and pushed her gently forward. "umm…girls…I don't think it's appropriate…I really really don't think..this is a good idea."

"Scud, get the handcuffs." Janet called out.

"What?" Scud thought she was only joking about the handcuffs part. "Where am I going to get the handcuffs?"

"It's in my room. Last drawer on the left."

"Are you serious?" Scud contorted his face in confusion.

"Go!"

There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask. Why does she have handcuffs? She used to be a DEB but that's a long time ago. Does she really think Lucy would allow them to handcuff her on a bed.

"Wait…wait…" All remained silent when the brunette called out. Lucy's phone was ringing.

"Can I get my phone?" Lucy said and glanced at each one of them as if asking for permission. Amy was holding her left arm. Nadia was holding her right arm and Janet was grabbing her shoulders from behind.

Scud came running with a pair of handcuffs. Ethan was standing still, several feet away, confusion all over his face.

Amy tilted her head towards Nadia, signaling her to let go of her right arm.

"Yes…oh…is it bad?...oh shoot…"

All could see that the brunette was no longer in the mood to goof around. Amy let go of her arm. Janet remained unmoved, still standing behind her.

"well…it's dark out…there's nothing we can do…c'mon in…leave the bags…" Her tone of voice was so sweet, all wondered who she was talking to.

Lucy cleared her throat. "umm…hey guys…um…this is not what I had planned…but someone is going to come in any minute now…so don't forget…call me Skye…not Lucy…not Keira…and try not to say anything about my past..okay?"

All nodded once in unison.

As Lucy was about to walk towards the door, Janet called out.

"Scud! " She clapped, motioning him to throw the handcuffs towards her and he did, but had no idea what she wanted for.

All were shocked when Janet handcuffed herself to the brunette as she was about to open the door.

"What are you doing?" Lucy said as she lifted up her hand. Silver handcuffs connected her left wrist with Janet's left.

"C'mon…Lucy, do you really think I would fall for that?"

Janet was about to explain but realized that she had it all wrong when the doorbell rang.

"Everyone, please remember, my name is Skye." Lucy said in a low tone and opened the door.

Janet gasped. Her jaws dropped. Her eyes opened wide. All blinked a few times to make sure what they're seeing is actually in front of them. Standing there is a very beautiful young woman with blondish hair about the same height as Lucy, 5ft 7in. Her hair may be simple, straight, layered, with length up to the shoulder, but it looked like she just had it done coming out of the salon. Her face was flawless, with a light touch of makeup, with light beige color lips. Her big ocean blue eyes could capture the attention of all those who saw her. She looks like one of the models in the fashion magazine, but not skinny, even more beautiful than the most famous models. There was something else they saw in the blonde beauty.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet…Grace." Lucy extended her hand out and the blonde beauty, about 28, held her hand firmly.

"Hi…" Grace waved as she stepped inside. She glanced at each one and what captured her attention was the shorter blonde who was handcuffed to the brunette. "umm..why do you have handcuffs on?"

"Oh…we were…umm..just testing them out." Lucy said, motioning Janet to take it off.

Lucy had to call her twice before finally getting Janet's attention. "Scud…can you get the keys?"

"Janet!" Lucy rolled her eyes, walked forward to prevent the blonde behind her from seeing what she was about to say. Sam. She mouthed.

Janet nodded in understanding.

"Where is it?"

"Next to it."

"I didn't see anything next to it."

"You don't have the keys." Lucy didn't like what she heard.

"Let me look." Janet forgot she was handcuffed to the brunette. As she began to walk away, she got pulled back by the brunette.

"Sam, can you look? If you can't find it, can you just get me something." Lucy said. Scud understood what she meant and what she needed to open it. Unlocking handcuffs is a piece of cake for her. Knowing the brunette, she probably has something hidden in her shoes or somewhere that she could use to unlock the handcuffs with.

Ethan was the first one to introduce himself. Then Nadia, then Janet.

"This is Kristin." Lucy said.

"Nice to meet you." Grace said.

"Nice…to..meet you too." Amy said as she kept her eyes on the blonde. Her eyebrows spontaneously twitched when she noticed the brunette's hand still holding onto the blonde's.

Everyone sat inside the living room. Even though they were all quite tired, they were very interested to find out who exactly Grace is. What they learned is that the brunette met the blonde beauty while taking Kato for a run at the park. Grace also lives alone and worked as a secretary for a financial company.

"How did you do that?" Grace was surprised when the brunette unlocked the handcuffs with a hairpin.

"I'll show you later." Lucy said in a sweet voice and Grace nodded in excitement.

Not only Nadia, everyone could tell there was something going on between them. Nadia wasn't sure what to think of it. _I guess it could be a good thing._

"Hey Sam, can you call a taxi? We've got 2 flat tires."

Janet again rejected the idea of her leaving. "It's really late, you girls don't want to jump into a taxi…who knows where he'll take you…"

Lucy frowned, unsure of why Janet would say such things. "Janet, you're scaring her."

"It's true…it's not safe…stay here…there's a master bedroom upstairs and you…" She looked at the blonde beauty sitting next to the brunette. "You can stay in my room. I'll sleep with Kristin."

Nadia smiled at Janet for her quick thinking.

Grace turned to look at the brunette for a short moment. Lucy shrugged her shoulders, indicating that it would be up to her if she wants to stay.

"Can I see the master bedroom?" Grace said in a gentle voice.

"Sure, c'mon."

Janet led the way followed by Grace, Lucy, and Nadia. Scud also followed because he wanted to know what the hell is going on. They didn't talk much in the last several months and was surprised that the brunette didn't tell him about the blonde beauty. Something tells him that she is up to something.

Ethan decided to head back to his place. But before he leaves, he wants to talk to the blonde but was unable to when she followed everyone up the stairs.

"Here it is. What do you think?"

"Wow!" Grace and Lucy said in unison as they walked around to admire the relaxing color of the walls, the long brown curtains, the silver silk duvet, the combination of everything brought peace and tranquility to the room.

"Alexis decorated...for you…" Nadia wanted Lucy to know why she did it.

"It's beautiful."

"I love it." Grace said as she slid her hand over the silver silk duvet, back and forth. What she said next caused all the girls, Nadia, Janet and Amy to look at her simultaneously.

"We'll sleep here."

All snapped their heads towards the brunette who was admiring the pictures on the wall. They weren't sure if the blonde beauty meant they were going to share the kingsize bed or 'sleep sleep'.

"Did you draw these, Kristin?"

Not getting a response, she turned and saw what captured their attention. Grace was lying on the bed, spreading her arms and legs wide.

"umm…Lu…" Janet stopped herself in time. "Skye, you can stay in my room."

Ignoring Janet, Lucy asked Kristin the same question.

"Yes. I…did."

"It's beautiful." Lucy complimented and walked over towards the bathroom to take a look. "Really nice."

"I'm so tired and…hungry." Grace said in a sexy tone and stood up, holding her stomach. She explained that the plane food wasn't that good. So she drove to a nearby restaurant to order 2 sets of dinner while Lucy stayed behind in the house because she wanted to surprise them.

"Well, you really surprise us." Scud said, keeping his eyes at the brunette the whole time.

* * *

Outside of the house, Scud assisted Lucy with getting the luggages from the car. Lucy didn't expect anything less from her sidekick. Questions. Lots of them.

"What's going on?"

"Can you be a little be more specific?"

"Grace…who is she?"

"Weren't you listening? She's a friend I met at the park."

"A friend?"

Lucy took one of the luggage from the trunk.

"Lucy, she looks like a mixture of Amy and…" He looked around to make sure no one else is around. "…Alyson."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh at his comment. "Mixture? I guess she's right. I do have a thing for blondes."

Scud closed the trunk after taking the second luggage out.

"So you…and her…are.."

Lucy let out a big sigh. "Scud, do you notice anything about me?"

Scud frowned, took one step back and scanned the brunette from top to bottom. It's dark but from what he noticed before, he saw that she was in perfect shape, much happier than the time he saw her in Canada. "You look great."

"Thank you….and I feel great." She inhaled the cool night air. " She told me to move on…so I did. I didn't think I would be able to let her go…but after the past several months, after meeting Grace, things that didn't seem possible…became possible…." Lucy paused for a moment. "Can you stop speculating and be happy for me?...or would you rather see me, thin and wrinkly, drunk, looking pathetic…"

"Of course not…" Scud stepped closer, placed his hands on the side of her head, and looked deeply into her eyes to see if she was telling the truth. _She looks good._ She looked like the Lucy Diamond he used to know, but a much happier one. "I'm happy for you."

After taking the luggages inside, Lucy wasn't surprised that the girls were doing the same thing to Grace, asking her a lot of questions.

"How long have you known her?" Nadia asked the blonde beauty.

Grace sat at the end of the table with Nadia and Amy sitting next to her. As Lucy took the seat next to Nadia, she noticed that Amy was staring at her.

"About 5 months…"

"5 months?" Nadia said in confusion. It didn't make sense to her because the last time she talked to the brunette was about 3 months ago. Lucy didn't tell her about the blonde and she certainly didn't sound like she was over Amy.

Grace went on to explain that they've seen each other jogging in the park but didn't start talking until a couple of months later. After Lucy moved into her own house, she was able to take Kato to the park more often.

"What did I miss?" Janet said as she came running in after taking a shower.

"So you girls live here and …Sam..…lives on the other side with…Ethan?" Grace asked and put a spoonful of corn into her mouth.

All stared at the brunette and wondered how much she told her.

"Ethan is Nadia's brother. Sam is my best friend. Janet is Sam's girlfriend." Lucy explained.

All wondered why when Grace asked if Ethan was Kristin's boyfriend. Lucy was as curious as Grace. She wondered how far their relationship got to.

Nadia held the brunette's hand and explained. "He's not." She wanted the brunette to know that she still has a chance.

"But he must be interested in you…I could tell from the way he looks at you." Grace said and took the last bite of the grilled chicken.

"We…went out a few times." Amy noticed that it did bother the former criminal mastermind. Lucy turned her eyes away, looking down at her plate to finish her dinner.

While Nadia went to take a shower, Janet couldn't resist and asked all the same questions that Nadia and Amy already did. While Janet was busily finding more about the blonde beauty, Amy kept her eyes at the brunette. There are a lot of questions she wanted to ask besides what happened over 10 years ago. _Why did she bring Grace here? Are they together or are they just friends? Did she bring her here to show me that she's moved on? She said she won't come back until I can remember her. So why?_

"We're just going to stay for one more day, then we're heading to Paris." Lucy said.

"what?...you're leaving so soon." Janet said.

"Grace quit her job a couple of weeks ago. She thought it would be a good idea to take some time off to travel before searching for another job. So I thought I could show her around the places I've been to...that's why we're here."

"So tomorrow, maybe we can go to the Cupid Capsule you told me about." Grace asked.

"That's the plan." Lucy said, taking a glance at the blonde. The memories of that day spontaneously flowed into her mind, the day she proposed to Kristin.

After the blonde beauty left to take a shower, there was a short moment of silence. It was very awkward seeing the brunette and the blonde, looking at each other without any emotion on their faces. Janet remembered the day they used to goof around, talking nonstop, disagreeing with their wedding outfits. She never thought in a million years that it would come to this, just a silent stare between the ex-lovers. Janet cleared her throat to break the awkward silence.

"I'll go clean the bed for you."

Janet took the hint when she didn't hear a response. When she saw Nadia walking towards them, she led her back into her room to give the ex-lovers a moment.

Not a sound could be heard in the dining room. The sound of a fly buzzing could be heard if there is one. Lucy wondered what Amy's first question would be. She waited and waited and waited until she couldn't take it anymore.

"So…how's school?"

There was no response, no movement, not even a blink from the blonde. _What are you thinking of, Amy?  
_

"How's Max?"

There was again no response. Since the blonde didn't want to talk, Lucy decided to go upstairs. That got her talking.

"Why did you bring her here?"  
That wasn't the question Lucy expected from her.

"I wasn't planning to bring her in. I was planning to surprise you guys and then leave, but we had a flat tire, 2 flat tires."

"you're lying." She said in a monotone voice.

"ohhh…kay…"

Amy frowned, wondering why the brunette agreed. She waited for her to give her a good answer but she didn't get one.

There was another long moment of silence.

"If you don't have anything to ask me, I'll just go take a shower." Lucy said as she stood up. What Amy said caused the brunette to sit back down voluntarily.

"I…remember…a lot of things." Amy continued to tell her what she remembered except the part about them making love.

"I remember…waking up from my coma…you…woke me up."

Lucy smiled, remembering that moment.

"I remember…how I beat you at the Buzz Lightyear ride."

"You cheated." Lucy couldn't resist, and noticed the blonde wasn't smiling. "That was our first date, I mean Kristin's."

"...and at the bridge…there were a lot of locks…"

Lucy let out a smile, thinking that she might have remember the time she and Amy were there to put the lock on the bridge. Her smile quickly disappeared when she learned that it wasn't what she thought.

"You…said…you cheated…and I hit you." Amy could tell that the brunette didn't like what she just said.

"I was hoping you remember something else. That wasn't the first time we were there."

"Did you?"

"What?"

"Did you cheat on me?"

Blinking a few times, Lucy was surprised that Amy couldn't remember the rest. It happened on the same day. She was surprised she didn't ask Alexis. She was even more surprised why she wanted to know. It was like what Scud said. Nobody can stand being cheated on even when they don't love that person anymore.

"Does it matter?"

_Why does everyone keep saying that? It's a simple question. _"It doesn't. But I just want to know."

"What did Alexis say?"

"I didn't ask her."

"Why?"

"I want to hear it from you."

Wearing a robe, Grace entered the dining room and interrupted the conversation. "Skye…I'm done."

As Lucy stood up, Amy did the same.

Once Grace left the dining room, Amy asked again.

"whether I did or not, what difference does it make? The result is the same." Lucy said before heading upstairs.

_What difference does it make? _Amy realized that Lucy wasn't just referring to that question. She was referring to everything she did for her. The end result would still be the same. Lucy once said that she will come back when she remembers her. But it seemed that she no longer thinks that way, no longer cares if she remembers her or not, and no longer cares if she's her friend or not.

Amy grabbed hold of her chest, inhaled deeply to soothe the sharp pain that suddenly shot through her heart. "What's the matter with me?"

Inside the master bedroom, Lucy just finished taking a shower. She is tired from the plane ride but isn't sleepy. It's only 6:30PM Toronto time. Lucy thought everyone else had gone to sleep and was surprised by the knock on the door.

Lucy jerked her head back when she saw Janet and Nadia standing at the door.

"It's ready now." Janet said.

"What's ready?" Lucy said

"Your bed…I mean…my bed."

"oh…um… this bed is big enough for both of us."

Nadia and Janet didn't know if they were right about the brunette and the blonde beauty. They didn't ask Grace if they were dating because they weren't sure if Grace knows that the brunette is gay. If they told her that Lucy is gay, how will she react? It's just not appropriate for them to ask. All they saw was that they were holding hands. Friends hold hands. Their questions were confirmed when they heard the blonde beauty calling from the bathroom.

"Honey, can you get me my night facial cream?"

Lucy saw the shocked look on their faces and saw no need to explain why she didn't want to sleep in Janet's room. "Sure." After getting the night cream for the blonde, Lucy thought they would understand and leave, but instead Nadia and Janet let themselves in. Both stared at the bathroom door as if waiting to see what not who would come out of there.

Both gasped inward, Nadia swallowed hard, when they saw the blonde came out dressed in a pink silk pajamas top, long enough to cover the private area. They weren't sure if she was wearing anything underneath it but saw that she wasn't wearing any pants. Friends…don't sleep together without pants on.

"Oh…hi…" Grace said in an embarrassing tone and noticed that they were scanning her from top to bottom.

"It's getting late. You girls must be tired from working all day." Lucy took their arms and pulled them towards the door. "Good night Janet, Nadia." Without waiting for a response, Lucy closed and locked the door.

Both were so stunned, they stood for a minute in front of the door before going downstairs.

"Maybe, she's sleeping on the couch." Janet said.

"umm…Janet, if that was me, I wouldn't want to sleep on the couch." Nadia wanted to let her know that Grace is one hot babe. If she thinks that way of her, there is no doubt Lucy was thinking of the same thing.

"Should we tell her?" Janet said.

"I..think she already knows." Nadia said.

"Janet, I'm tired. Are you coming in?" Amy said, peeking her head out her bedroom door.

"umm…no, I'm going to sleep on my own bed."

"huh? Why? Where is Lucy going to sleep?"

Nadia led herself inside the blonde's room. Janet quickly followed and locked the door. Nadia pushed the blonde down to sit on the edge of the bed while she and Janet stood in front of her.

"What's going on?" She glanced at both in confusion. This is their house. There's no reason to lock the door.

Nadia let out a deep breath, wondering if she should tell her.

"What's going on, Janet?"

"She's sleeping with her."

"Janet!"

"What? I thought you want to tell her."

Nadia did want to tell her but not in that way. "Kristin, we're not sure. But we saw…" Nadia told her in detail.

"Oh…" Her intuition was right. She realized that the brunette has moved on. She just didn't think that they were at that point of the relationship. _She didn't say they were dating. Why didn't she say anything? Why hide it?_ She asked the girls.

"Well, she didn't really hide it. They were holding hands." Janet said.

"But she didn't introduce her as her girlfriend?" Amy said.

"Maybe she didn't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" The response coming from Janet was getting more ridiculous. "I left her. I'm the one who doesn't want to be with her."

"Right." Janet couldn't think of anything else.

"Maybe she didn't see a reason to. Maybe it's still early in their relationship." Nadia reasoned. Amy agreed with that.

Janet cleared her throat and raised her finger as if asking for permission to speak. "She did call her 'honey'."

"Honey?" Amy remembered from her memories that that was what she called the brunette when they were together. Amy suddenly stood up and paced back and forth. There was something that didn't make sense to her.

"I wanted her to move on."

Nadia and Janet nodded. "mhm…and she did."

"Then why didn't she tell us over the phone? Why surprise us?"

"because it's not an emergency…" Janet said.

"She knows we're worried about her, you're worried about her, all of us are worried about her. If she had told us that she has moved on, then we all would be happy for her."

"not all of us" Nadia said and saw that they didn't understand who would be disappointed. "Alexis might not want to know about her new girlfriend." She didn't either. The information shocked her.

"no…it's something else…something's not right" Biting her lip, Amy continued to pace back and forth.

They couldn't understand why the blonde was so in deep thought about this. The brunette has a new girlfriend. Why is it so hard to believe?

"Kristin, maybe you don't want her to move on." Nadia said.

"What!"

"Do you think that's possible? I mean, you've remembered so much…Kristin doesn't want her to move on…and she's part of you."

"Nnnno…Of course I want her to move on. I…" She thought about what Nadia said for a moment. It made sense. Kristin is part of her. The other Amy is part of her. _Is that why my heart hurts? Is that why I want to give her a chance? _She shook her head out of her thoughts.

"No..no…no…that's not it…" She said, staring at the floor and continued pacing. "She brought her here for a reason."

"And that reason is to tell you that she has moved on…" Nadia reiterated. "…and you should to.."

Amy stopped and snapped her head at Nadia. "What did you say?"

"Kristin, tell me why you didn't go out with that guy in yoga class?"

"because I don't like him…"

"how about your classmate? You went out with him a few times."

"No spark."

"What about Ethan? Why didn't you reject him if you're not interested, like the other guys. Why are you holding on to him?"

"I told you before, Nadia. I might not feel that way about him now, but that doesn't mean…"

"No, Kristin, what you're doing now is waiting for that memory to come back…that's why you're afraid of commitment…you don't want Lucy to move on…you want her to wait for you…a part of you wants her to wait for you, you want to wait for that feeling to come back….it's been 7 months now and you still don't have a boyfriend, that's why Lucy brought her here…to show you and not only you, show us that she's moved on, so we could move on."

"That's it!"

Startled, Nadia jerked back.

"What?" Janet said, confused. She was already confused when Nadia started talking.

"exactly what you said, she brought her here to show us she's moved on, so we could move on…she's lying…Grace is not her girlfriend." Amy stomped towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Nadia said.

"to show you that I'm right…she's sleeping on the couch…are you girls coming?"

Janet rolled her eyes, thinking that the blonde must have missed being a DEB. Nadia did the same, thinking that the blonde must be in self-denial.

As they tiptoed up the stairs, Janet was confused of the plan.

"How are we going to find out?" She whispered. If they knock on the door, then it would give Lucy time to get into the bed with the blonde if she is in fact pretending.

Amy had no idea either. "You…look at the couch." She whispered to Janet. "you look at the bed" She whispered to Nadia.

Both nodded but still had no idea what it is they're going to be looking for. Standing about 5 feet from the door, all stopped at the same time. The hallway was dark but there were night lights plugged into the outlet. They could see the shocked expression on each others' faces. What they heard were sounds of moaning, groaning, screaming, rocking and squeaking.

_…not again. _Janet thought to herself.

Nadia had no idea why the blonde continue to walk forward. Isn't it obvious what they are doing inside?

"She's faking it." Amy whispered.

Janet wasn't sure what she meant by that. Did she mean that they were faking it as in faking orgasm or that they were pretending to be enjoying it or that they weren't having sex at all.

Standing at the door, Amy gave a few signals pointing to herself, then the door, then to Nadia and Janet. Surprisingly, both understood what the blonde wanted them to do.

"ahhh…mm…oh goddd…oh…Grace..ahhh…harder…baby…"

Janet couldn't stand the moaning anymore and covered her ears. Neither could Amy.

Amy pounded hard on the door with continuous knocks. Not a word was spoken. The blonde was acting like she was trying to catch her lover having an affair.

They heard Grace's voice calling them to wait.

Once the door was unlocked, Amy pushed the door open, causing Grace to move back a few steps. Nadia and Janet were about to do what they were assigned(searched the couch and the bed). But the sight in front of them was even more shocking than what they saw before. All froze for a moment until they heard Grace's voice.

"What's going on!" She didn't appreciate being pushed back like that. "Is there a fire?"

"No…no fire…I…lost something very valuable to me. I can't sleep without it." Amy thought of the excuse before she knocked on the door. _Oh my god_.

Grace didn't have time to get dressed, so all she did was grabbed a pajamas top and held it in front of her, covering her private areas. She's naked underneath that. _She's faking it._ Amy still believes that. She snapped her head back towards the bed, the scene that captured their attention.

"Search…" Amy said.

Search? Nadia was very confused. The proof is in front of them. They were having sex. What more proof does Amy need?

"Look for my diamond ring." Amy snapped her fingers.

Nadia heard. Janet heard. But their legs took them closer towards the king size bed where Lucy was lying. They're more interested in the view in front of them. They've never seen this before in real life, movies, yes, but not real life and definitely not someone they know.

Janet realized why Grace asked if she has another pair of handcuffs earlier. Earlier in the restaurant, she was joking about handcuffing the brunette to the bed to keep her from leaving. She never thought that her handcuffs would be used in this way.

The comforter covered the brunette's body on the bed, from her upper chest to her knee. Her arms were extended upwards, slanted, like a V. Both of her hands were cuffed to the front of the head board. Her hair was messy. Her cheeks were red not from embarrassment but from what she and Grace were doing a moment ago.

"umm…what are you doing?"

"What does it look like, Janet" Lucy said with sarcasm.

"you…looked like…you're being…tortured.." It wasn't a joke. That's what Janet thinks of when she see something like that.

Grace cleared her throat loudly, trying to bring everyone's attention back to her.

"Can you look for it tomorrow?"

Everyone ignored her. Amy walked over to the other side, keeping her eyes on the brunette. She needed to know the truth. She tilted her head towards Nadia but Nadia didn't notice the signal. She was still dazed by the sight. Janet however got the signal. Amy extended her hand and grabbed one end of the comforter. Janet grabbed the other. Before Lucy noticed what they were about to do, it was too late to tell them to stop.

"AH!" Janet shrieked and quickly covered her eyes, turned around, looked down, and walked towards the door. "Sorry…" She apologized to Grace without looking at her and left in a hurry.

Nadia opened her eyes even wider and swallowed at the sight. Under the comforter laid a naked brunette with hands handcuffed to the headboard. White sheets covered the bottom part, enough to cover her private area. If it was a little lower, she would have been able to see the brunette in all her glory.

Amy also stood, stunned still. Her heart beat out of control. She couldn't seem to move her eyes away from the naked body. Flashes of images of the naked brunette suddenly appeared in her head. She had seen this body before. She had touched this body before. She had kissed and made love to this body before. _Oh god._ She was hoping that it wasn't true. She was hoping that it was all a trick to get her to move on. She was…disappointed that it wasn't.

"umm…Nadia…I know I said I would do naked yoga with you…but not now…okay?"

Nadia then came back to reality and quickly pulled the blanket over the brunette. She wanted to leave the room, but saw that the blonde was still out of it. She was still looking at the brunette. There was nothing to see. _What is she looking at? Oh no_. She had seen that look before but this time was different. This time, her eyes were opened. Nadia walked over to the other side, grabbed the blonde's arm and waist to bring her out of it. Amy blinked a few times, still a little shocked, and walked behind Nadia like a girl being pulled by her mommy.

"Sorry…we'll look for it tomorrow." Nadia apologized to Grace and left quickly, pulling the blonde with her.

Nadia had planned on going back downstairs into her room as quickly as possible but she was held back by the blonde's grip. After the door was closed and locked, Amy signaled her to stay still and be quiet. They were just 2 feet away from the door. They could hear Grace talking. The lights were still on.

"What was that all about?"

"Don't mind them…can you hand me the keys?"

"I'm not done yet, baby."

When Nadia heard the sound of more moaning and rocking, she heard enough.

* * *

Downstairs inside Amy's bedroom, Nadia knew she was right about the blonde. She felt sorry seeing her this way.

Amy laid still on the bed, her forearm covering her eyes, the other hand over her heart.

"What's...the...matter...with me?" Amy said softly.

"it hurts…why does it hurt so much?" Tears began to form under her soft eye lids. She had no idea why she's feeling this way. "I..don't want to be with her…but…I…do" She knew she wasn't making sense. She can't explain it either. She realized Nadia could be right. What Kristin was feeling and what 'Amy' was feeling, she felt it. But she doesn't know how to resolve the situation. "It's too late now." The brunette has moved on. Whether she cheated on her or not, it doesn't matter anymore. She realized that's what the brunette meant. She's with someone else. "It's too..late now." Amy curled up and turned on her side, her back facing Nadia.

* * *

Next morning

All woke up later than usual. Nadia, Janet and Amy sat on the dining table, eating their breakfast in silence. There was nothing they could talk about. All knew what was going to happen this morning and all were waiting for it. Janet immediately looked down when she saw the former criminal mastermind entering the dining room. Nadia noticed and did the same. Lucy glared at each one of them before getting herself a cup of coffee. Dressed in jeans and sweater, Lucy took a sip of the coffee before sitting down at the end of the table. She glanced at Nadia, then Amy, then at Janet whom she could tell felt really sorry about what happened last night.

"Well, can someone tell me what that was about?"

Lucy expected a response, whether the truth or lie, but there was none.

"Janet…" Lucy was rudely cut off.

"Are you going to tell her truth?" Amy said, showing no signs that she was sorry about last night.

Both Janet and Nadia were surprised by her question.

"about what specifically?"

Amy frowned at her response. "everything." She said in an obvious tone.

"Why?"

"You planned on lying to her?"

Ignoring her question, Lucy turned to the shorter blonde. "Janet, what was that about last night?"

"umm…." Janet glanced at the blonde.

"So you plan on lying to her for the rest of her life?" Amy said, a little louder than before.

"Answer my question, Janet."

"..sorry…"

"You said that last night. That's not what I asked you." Seeing that the shorter blonde won't respond, she turned to Nadia.

"Nadia?"

"We…" She glanced at Amy to see if she wants to tell her. All she saw was the blonde glaring at the brunette. After telling her why they were up there, she was a little startled at the brunette's reaction, but understood that she had a right to be upset. Nobody wants others to see how they have sex or interrupted during their intimate moments.

"What!" Lucy stood up. "you girls are unbelievable!"

"Unbelievable! You're unbelievable!" Pointing to the brunette, Amy shouted as she stood up.

Janet covered her mouth, surprised by the blonde's behavior.

"What did I do? You're the one who irrupted into my room, just to make sure I'm actually having sex."

"If you have any consideration for others, if you have any consideration for me, you shouldn't have been screwing your girlfriend in my house!"

Even Nadia was surprised at her words.

"If you weren't so nosy, you wouldn't have known **I was doing that**!" Lucy wanted to say that this isn't her house, it's hers, but resisted the urge to because she's afraid the blonde would move back to Max's apartment.

"If you have any consideration for me, you should have thought about how I would feel. You shouldn't even bring her here!" Amy said, huffing angrily. The thought of them doing it drove her so crazy, she couldn't control her anger. She knows that she's being illogical. She knows that she's not making sense. She's the one who doesn't want to be with her. She expected the brunette to say that but was disappointed that she didn't because it told her that the brunette doesn't feel that way about her, anymore.

Nadia could feel how upset the blonde was. She didn't want to stop the argument because it seemed that the blonde is showing her true feelings. She's jealous.

All turned to the direction of a softer gentle voice from behind them.

"Sorry…am I…interrupting something?" Grace said in a gentle tone.

Lucy quickly walked towards her and held her hand. "No, you didn't…they did…let's go…we're leaving."

"wait…" Grace turned towards the blonde. "I'm sorry…I didn't know you were her ex…I wouldn't have…"

"This isn't your fault. It's hers." Amy angrily stomped out of the house and slammed the door shut so hard, the walls shook.

* * *

Amy hadn't been able to concentrate the whole day after that argument. She sat in her classes, just thinking about why she acted that way. She acted like a jealous girlfriend, ex-girlfriend. A few months ago, she asked herself many times if she could be with the brunette in that way, her answer was no. It was clear to her that she couldn't love her in that way. It was clear to her that she couldn't make love to her, like what Grace did. She's still not sure if she could do that. She's the one who told her to move one. But seeing that the brunette had actually moved on, she realized that that wasn't what she wanted at all. _Maybe I should have told her to wait for me. But I did that. I gave her a chance to come back with me. She's the one who didn't want to. She wanted to let me go so I…can be happy….but I'm not happy…why am I not happy?_

After classes, she went back home. She was surprised to find nobody in the house.

"They should be back now." At least Janet should be. Ethan and Nadia are working at the restaurant. She went upstairs to the master bedroom. Knowing that nobody was going to be inside, she still knocked first. The bed was made, the dressers were cleaned, everything was in perfect order. But she knows that she wouldn't be able to get herself inside this room ever again because it would remind her of what the brunette did there.

After picking up a call, Amy learned that everyone was at the restaurant including Lucy. It was her last day in London. Amy knew she had to go. She's not sure what to say but she knows that she can't leave things unsettled.

At the restaurant, it wasn't a full house. It was still early for dinner. Inside the private room in the restaurant, Amy saw Alexis, Michel, Janet, Scud, Lucy and Grace talking, laughing while eating dinner. She could see that Alexis was staring at the brunette and her girlfriend for a long moment. Nadia was right. There was a reason for her to come with her girlfriend and that is to get Alexis to move on. Amy quietly walked towards the table and sat next to Alexis. Everyone became quiet all of a sudden and everyone noticed.

"So Grace, has anyone ever told you that you look like that singer, that megastar in US…" Alexis said to break the silence.

If Lucy was drinking at that moment, she would have choked on it. She glanced at Scud who raised his brows. _See, I'm not the only one who thinks so._

"yes, actually…" Grace continued to tell them about the time when someone did mistaken her for the megastar. "She thought I was lying."

"So what did you do?"

"I showed her my license, then she believed me."

All turned to the direction of the blonde when she spoke. "I think you did the right thing. Nobody likes being lied to." _Why did I say that? _Amy had no idea. She told herself to fix things not to make it worse.

Sensing that the blonde still wanted to talk about what they said this morning, Lucy responded.

"I think that would depend on the situation. If that person is a big fan of hers and it would make her so happy just to meet her idol, then I think a little lie would be okay."

"So you think it's okay to lie to someone as long as that lie is to make that person happy."

"Yes…isn't that what life is about? Being happy?"

Lucy could feel something was definitely wrong with the former DEB. _She should know, more than anyone, that it depends on the situation, a lie is necessary_. Did she forget who she is?

_Here we go again?_ Janet thought to herself. She tugged Scud's shirt to get his attention but Scud had no idea what was going on between them.

"Would you rather hear the truth and be miserable about it or would you rather hear a lie and be happy?" Lucy directed the question to the blonde beauty sitting next to her.

"I think…we live in a world where sometimes we do have to lie…as long as the purpose of it is to make others, make ourselves happy" She smiled and held on to the brunette's arm which all could see.

"But you're only lying to yourself…because you don't want to know the truth."

"So if the truth hurts, you still want to know the truth?" Grace asked.

Not only Michel, Alexis could tell there was something wrong with the blonde. Alexis wanted to say something to change the mood. But what?

"Dessert is here." Alexis internally thanked Nadia and Ethan for coming in at the right moment, but realized that didn't stop the conversation.

"Yes." Amy responded.

"Let me ask you…if you know something that it's not true…and telling people what you know may destroy the lives of innocent people, hundreds, even thousands, even millions, would you tell them?"

"Like what, can you give me an example or are you talking in hypotheticals?"

Nadia and Ethan were putting the desserts in front of each one and had no idea what they're talking about. Both could tell that the blonde wasn't in a good mood from the tone of her voice, her lack of smile, and her behavior. Amy didn't even say thank you when Ethan put the plate of dessert in front of her. He was completely ignored.

"Millions of people around the world believe that there is a God. It's because of this belief, they are able to live happily. So if you tell them that God doesn't exist, would you tell them? Nobody has ever seen God. So how do we know it really exists? Because someone wrote a book about it? Aren't all of us lying to ourselves that God exists, because the purpose of believing that it does makes us feel…content."

"That's different…"

"I'm just saying that sometimes it's better not knowing the truth."

Amy's anger was building up inside, not only because of what the blonde beauty said, but it's what she saw. Grace was sitting very close to the brunette, holding her arm, both smiling at each other, agreeing with each other…like a happy couple.

Amy stood up and pointed to the blonde and the brunette.

"So are you saying if she killed your friend and she didn't tell you about it or she lied to you, that would be okay? You still don't want to know the truth because knowing the truth will destroy everything between you two."

What the blonde said sounded extremely odd to all of them. She was out of line.

"What's wrong with you?" Lucy said as she stood up.

"You can live like that. But I can't."

"Sorry, did I say something wrong?" Grace apologized to the brunette as Amy angrily stomped out of the room.

"No…it's not you…_it's me, she's upset with me…why are you acting this way? Amy._ She said as she watched the blonde walking out in frustration.

Ethan wanted to go after her, but Nadia was able to stop him.

Amy stood outside nearby the restaurant for awhile to get some fresh air. She had no idea what made her say that. It doesn't matter anymore. She kept telling herself. But a part of her really wants to know. It wouldn't make a difference. _But I want to know._

The sun was beginning to set. More and more people were entering the restaurant. Knowing that the brunette has moved on, she has a feeling that she won't be able to see her for a long long time, maybe never. Because after what happened last night and just a moment ago, she has a feeling that Lucy will try to avoid her. She's not sure when the brunette would be leaving. There is no time. She needed to get her alone, to talk to her privately. Pushing herself off the wall that she was leaning on, she decided to go back in and ask the brunette, the question that was buried in her mind for more than a decade. As she opened the main entrance door to the restaurant, she saw Lucy opening the other side, heading out. She froze for a moment until a customer politely asked her to step aside. Not wanting to attract attention and not wanting to continue the disagreement from before, Lucy walked hand in hand with Grace out of the restaurant. After crossing one street, heading towards their car, she noticed that Amy was following them. Both stopped and turned around and waited for her ex-lover to approach them.

"I want to…talk to you…privately." Amy said in a serious tone, ignoring the blonde beauty standing next to her.

"There's nothing to talk about….Take care of yourself."

Amy could tell that the tone of her voice sounded like it's going to be the last time they're going to see each other.

As Lucy was about to turn around, Amy grabbed her forearm.

"It's important. I need to know."

"it doesn't make any difference."

"it's not about that…it's something else. I have to know the truth."

Lucy saw in her eyes, that she was serious, that something else was bothering her.

"Will knowing the truth make a difference? All I want for you is to be happy. You know that. Will knowing the truth make you happy? If it does, then wait for me at the hotel in 2 hours."

Lucy walked back one step. She's not sure if Amy will show up, so she wanted to give her a final good-bye. "Take care."

* * *

Sitting on the bar stool, Amy wasn't in the mood to help out in the restaurant. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, definitely not Ethan.

"Is everything okay?" Ethan said, sitting on the bar stool next to her.

"Fine." Amy continued eating her dinner in a slow pace. What she was thinking of was what the brunette said to her. Will knowing the truth make her happy? It won't. _Sometimes it's better not knowing the truth. How is it better? Whether I know the truth or not, I still feel miserable._

"Is there something bothering you? You can talk to me. Sometimes it helps just talking about it." Ethan said.

Amy closed her eyes for a few seconds before sliding the plate to the side. "There is something bothering me." Amy spoke truthfully, knowing that nobody would believe her if she said she was fine. "But you can't help me. Nobody can." She made the decision to go to the hotel. What she needed now is time to go by as quickly as possible. She looked at her watch. One and a half hour to go.

"Is it Keira?"

Amy was surprised with his question. _Does he know?_ She thought back to her actions to see what gave it away.

"What about Keira?"

"What were you guys talking about earlier? You seemed to be pretty upset."

"We disagreed on some things."

Amy wasn't in the mood, but seeing that time seemed to go more slowly when she's alone, she told Ethan what they were talking about. "What do you think?"

She could see that Ethan was taking this seriously as he pondered for a long moment.

"Do you remember when I found out that you're married before?.."

Amy didn't understand why he brought that up again.

"At that moment, I wish you didn't tell me."

"Did it change how you feel about me?"

"Yes, it did."

Amy wasn't surprised. However, after that day that he found out, she noticed that Ethan didn't mind at all. He treated her with the same respect, the same way he had always treated her, agreeing to whatever she wants. Wherever Amy wanted to go, he went. Whatever Amy wanted him to do, he did. He tried asking about her ex but Amy didn't want to talk about it, so he stopped asking.

"But I'm glad that you told me, because I learned more about you. Kristin, I wanted to know more about you, I want to know about your past, what you're feeling right now, what you're thinking of…" He wasn't sure if he should but he went for it anyway. He reached out to hold her hand. "Your past will not change the way feel about you."

Amy could see his sincerity, his concern, his love for her in his eyes; the same love that she once saw in Lucy's eyes.

"You might think that right now, but you won't know until you know the truth."

"Then tell me the truth. Tell me about your past. Tell me everything. I want to know."

Nadia was right. She shouldn't have given him hope. She needed to stop this before he falls too deep. She took his hand away from hers.

"Ethan, I…remember…us…you…and…Kristin…" She stopped there to let her words sink in. His reaction, his gasp told her that he understood which Kristin she was referring to.

Ethan thought that he had a chance. His plan was if he could get her to love him before she remembers why she rejected him in Paris, it wouldn't matter anymore. That's the reason he confessed his love for her so quickly, to move their relationship into another level. But it didn't work.

"You…remembered…you rejected me before?"

It was a lie. She can't remember the time she spent with him. Nadia told her. "I'm sorry…"

Ethan was disappointed and tried as best as he could not to show it.

"Did you reject me because you were married at that time or was it because you just got separated from him?"

She realized that Nadia didn't tell him anything.

"I wasn't married at that time."

"But you've met him?" Ethan was trying to remember all the guys he's seen her with.

"Yes."

"I…never had a chance, did I?"

There was nothing she could say to make him feel better so she didn't respond.

"When did you remember?"

"Does it matter?" Those 3 words again.

Ethan shook his head, letting out a small laugh, remembering what Nadia said. "I told Nadia that she didn't try hard enough to get Keira to love her back….Do you know what she said?"

Amy didn't respond.

"She said she knew when to let go…and she hopes that I do too…"

"Ethan…"

"Don't worry about me. I'm going to be fine. It's not the first time you rejected me." Ethan let out a small laugh to lighten the mood. "I don't know what's going on…and I know you won't tell me…but I think you should at least talk to someone…don't put it all in here…" He said as he covered his heart.

Amy nodded in understanding.

Seeing that he couldn't help the blonde and got rejected once again, Ethan stood up and wanted to head back to the kitchen. But there was something he was curious about.

"if...you never met him, would I have a chance?"

"I..." She paused for a moment. "...guess we'll never know." That's another lie. With or without the brunette, she wouldn't have fallen for him.

Ethan understood.

"Do you think I can meet him someday? He sounds like a great guy. I really think I can learn from him."

Amy let out a small smile and just left it at that. _Sorry. You'll know the truth someday._

* * *

Ethan wasn't the only one who tried to find out what was going on with her. There was also Alexis.

Alexis took a sip of her cocktail. She had been sitting next to the blonde without saying a word for a long moment, wondering when Amy would open up to her. When she noticed that the blonde ordered herself a drink and continued to remain silent, she couldn't control herself from wanting to know if she was right about the former DEB.

"It sucks, doesn't it?" She continued when she was unsuccessful in getting the blonde to talk. "You know, in a situation like this, vodka might help."

That didn't work. Alexis saw the blonde looking at the time frequently.

"It's not too late. You can still get her back." That did it. She saw Amy glaring at her, but no sound came from the blonde, a face full of frustration.

"They've only known each other for 3 months. Do you really think she would be able to forget you so easily? Did you notice Grace? Can't you see why she chose her? She still loves you."

"Alexis, I…don't… love… her. What she does, who she's with is none of my business." Amy took a big gulp of the drink and asked for another.

"Why are you still denying your feelings?"

"I'm not" Amy said in a casual tone.

Alexis could tell she was pretending.

"I told you before. Someday your memory will come back and you will regret letting her go. It's not too late. You can still…"

"Are you always like this?" Amy cut her off.

"Like what?"

"Do you always try to get what you want, even if you have to break up other people's relationship?"

Knowing that the blonde was trying to change the subject, Alexis didn't respond to her question.

"Kristin…they're planning to travel the world…"

"What?" Amy heard but needed clarification. Traveling the world takes months. Traveling the world would be like they're going to a long honeymoon. It means they're getting married.

"If you don't stop her now, it's going to be too late."

Kristin took another big gulp of the drink to soothe her aching heart. At this moment, she wished she had ordered something else, something to put her mind to sleep. But she knows that she can't. She wouldn't allow herself to do that. She's a DEB. Besides, she has to meet with the brunette.

"It's…too late." Kristin said in a dull tone, staring into blank space on the bar table. As her mind spontaneously thought about the blonde and her ex-lover in the bedroom, blood began to boil inside of her. She downed another drink and asked for another.

"no…it's not…"

"Yes, it is…they…" She turned to look at the bold fearless woman. "…you…wouldn't mind…but I do…"

"What?"

Amy found it hard to get the words out. She took another gulp of the drink with a tinge of alcohol. "They…slept…together."

"Are you serious? You're willing to give her up…because of that."

Amy didn't respond. She knew Alexis wouldn't understand.

"If she cheated on you, then I can understand why. But she didn't."

Amy snapped her head towards Alexis. That question was on her mind for months. Every time she asks, nobody would give her a straight forward answer. The response…didn't…surprise her. Somehow, deep inside, she knew that the brunette didn't.

"You're not with her…so even if she did sleep with her, it wouldn't be called cheating….and besides, do you really think she hasn't slept with anyone else before she met you?" Alexis let out a small laugh. "I doubt it."

Amy didn't like her last response. It sounded like she knows for a fact that the brunette wasn't a virgin before she slept with her. "Did you…and…her?"

Alexis just realized how big of a deal this is to the blonde. She let out a deep breath. "Look, we didn't. Okay? I'm just guessing...because look at her…look who she used to be…but I know for a fact that she doesn't sleep with every pretty girl who throws herself at her…" Alexis let out a small lopsided embarrassing smile. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" Alexis turned back to the front of the bar. "She only sleeps with the one she loves." She let out another big sigh. Feeling a little down, she asked the bartender for a shot of vodka.

Amy took the last drop of her drink. "Then why do you still want me to go after her?"

Alexis didn't realize what a big mistake she made until hearing the blonde's response.

"She only sleeps with the one she loves." Being the third person in a relationship is not something she would do. Breaking up someone's relationship is not something she would do. How could Alexis understand what she's feeling right now? Even she doesn't understand about herself.

"But this whole thing doesn't make any sense. How can she let you go? She still loves you. I know she does."

It wasn't time yet. But Amy didn't want to continue with the conversation anymore.

* * *

Inside a 5-star hotel, Amy sat on the couch in the lobby, staring at the revolving door as she waited for the brunette. She was half an hour early. Her mind kept thinking about what Alexis said previously. _This whole thing doesn't make sense._ It didn't make sense to her either. At least, that's what a part of her mind wants to believe. She wanted to believe that this whole thing was just an act. She wanted to believe that Lucy's intention was to tell everybody that she's moved on so they could do the same. _But I was the one who told her to move on. I was the one who told her that I've already moved on_. _There is no reason for her to bring Grace here_…_unless…unless…she's trying to make me jealous, to trigger my memory? What about… Were they faking it? _Amy suddenly stood up, attracting the attention of guests sitting nearby. It could be possible that it was all an act. She never saw them kissing, not even a kiss on the cheek. In the restaurant, they looked too 'couple-y'. Only young couples do that. They're not that young. They over-acted. _What else? What else seems wrong?_ She tried to remember the moment she saw the brunette. _Flat tires. 2 flat tires. Possible but unlikely._ Damn it! She stomped on one feet, again causing guests nearby to look at her. It's at times like these she wished she was still a DEB. Then she would have the necessary equipment to open the hotel room. She picked up her phone and called…Janet. She can't tell Scud.

"Janet, where are you?"

"restaurant…"

_Double damn it!_

"Can you get access to a computer? I want you to hack into the Ritz hotel and open room # 508 in…."

"you want me to do what?"

"Janet, it's important. Don't tell Scud."

"Whose room is that?"

"It's umm…." Amy didn't want to tell her but Janet will know eventually. "It's Lucy's."

"What! Why!" Amy expected that.

Standing in the corner in the lobby area, Amy whispered into the phone. "I have to find out something. It's important."

"How much time do I have?"

Amy took a look at her watch. "less than half an hour…"

"you're nuts! That's not enough time. I need at least an hour."

Amy knew it wouldn't be possible, but she was hoping. "alright, forget it…don't tell Scud." She said before hanging up the phone.

"Think…Think…what can I do? What can I do?" She turned to look at the receptionist. _How can I convince her to open it?...I got it._

She thought it would work but it didn't. Without a hotel key, the hotel guard wouldn't even allow her to use the elevator. If this wasn't a 5-star hotel or if there were a lot of people, she would have no problem sneaking in. She sat back down on the couch, tapping her fingers on the couch arm, trying to think of what other reasons the brunette might have in bringing her 'fake' girlfriend here. But the sight in front of her told her that she might be wrong. She stood up when she saw Lucy and Grace, holding hands, smiling and talking as they stepped out of the large revolving door. She could tell that Lucy didn't think she would come.

Lucy froze for a short moment. Her smile slowly disappeared. She wondered what the blonde wants to talk to her about.

It was a very awkward moment inside the elevator. This time, Amy kept her eyes at Grace, scanning her from top to bottom, again and again, paying more attention to her behavior. After they stepped out of the elevator, Amy walked behind them. She was surprised that Lucy allowed her to go inside the room and Grace politely offered her a drink.

"Just water." Amy said as she looked around a good-size room. It had, as expected, one kingsize bed near the bathroom, a round table at the opposite end near the door, two couches, a tv, and a refrigerator. If there were 2 beds, then everything Lucy said was a lie.

Amy was confused when Lucy went to the bathroom without saying a word, leaving her with Grace as if she didn't care if Grace finds out the truth about her. That's what a jealous girlfriend would do, try to break them up. _But you know I wouldn't do that…because I'm not suppose to be jealous. I'm supposed to be happy for you, but I'm…not._

Grace handed her a bottle of water and both sat down around the round table.

"I want to apologize for last night. If she had told me earlier, I wouldn't have agreed to stay there."

_Her apology sounded genuine. She didn't blink._

"what exactly did she tell you…about us?"

"She said you lost your memory...you can't remember her, and you didn't want to be…." Grace trailed off. "I am so so sorry that happened to you."

_It sounded like what a friend would say._ Amy was surprised that Lucy told her the truth. _But how much does she know?_

"I hope everything is going well for you…."

Amy heard and can't seem to find anything wrong with her. Both turned to the direction of the bathroom when Lucy came out.

With her elbow propped on the table, her chin on the palm of her right hand, Grace let out a sigh as she gazed at the brunette who was taking some stuff out of the luggage. "Sometimes I wonder if there is a man inside that gorgeous body, she can be so sweet, so gentle and so considerate, then there are times she can be so clueless…and...so..." Grace stopped, cleared her throat and said in an embarrassing tone. "…you know what I mean."

It took a moment for Amy to understand what she was referring to…_dirty thoughts._

She came here for a purpose but somehow that purpose isn't as important as what she is feeling at this moment.

"Grace…" Amy saw the brunette going back inside the bathroom. "I…remember…her."

Being the third person in the relationship is not something she would do. Breaking up someone's relationship is not something she would do. But somehow, her feelings clouded her mind, her judgement, her sense of right and wrong.

"I…remember…us…" Amy wanted to see her reaction and at the same time, she was hoping for something else to happen, that Grace was only pretending to be the brunette's girlfriend.

It took a moment for Grace to completely understand what she meant. She let out a loud gasp, covering her mouth in shock. Her head snapped to the direction of the brunette who was still in the bathroom. Her eyes darted back at the blonde. She realized that her lover's ex came here for a purpose and that purpose is to get the brunette back. Still covering her mouth, she slowly stood up, keeping her eyes at the blonde whom she noticed looked a little like her the first time she saw her.

Amy could tell that Grace was afraid, afraid that there would be a chance that she could lose her lover.

When the bathroom door opened, Grace quickly ran towards the brunette and hugged her tight as if she was going to leave her.

"What's wrong?" Lucy said, surprised by the sudden embrace.

"Baby…you know I love you." Grace said as a few drops of tears flowed down her face.

"Of course I do…and I love you." Lucy reached out to brush her tears away.

Amy stood up when she saw what Grace did. It confirmed what she thought before was completely wrong. Grace was giving the brunette a long passionate kiss.

_That's what a girlfriend would do…_

Seeing the lovers at the other end speaking softly, Amy wondered if Grace told her what she said. _She knows. _And it didn't look like a good sign. Amy wasn't sure what to expect when she saw the brunette holding her lover's hand firmly as they walked towards her_._

"Grace, can you go downstairs and get me some dessert? I'm a little hungry." Lucy said in her sweet voice. When Grace shook her head, Lucy opened the door and assured her that nothing is going to happen by kissing her on the lips. "please…"

Grace was reluctant to leave them both…in the same room…for a good reason. She glanced at the blonde before returning her eyes at the brunette.

"strawberry shortcake…and…dessert...later?…"

Lucy flashed her diamond smile at the blonde beauty which Amy couldn't see.

But Amy saw the big grin on Grace's face. Her heart again felt like she was stabbed with a knife. _She's using sex to keep her. That's what a girlfriend would do._

After closing the door, Lucy slowly turned around. Both stood, looking at each other, wondering what each other was thinking. Both could tell neither one was happy. Lucy walked towards the table to take a seat. Amy did the same.

"What exactly do you remember? Amy…..or…..Kristin?"

The argument at the house, the disagreement at the restaurant, her behavior, it all made sense to Lucy until she heard the response.

"I…don't…."

Lucy was even more confused. Why did she tell Grace that?

"I…don't know…why I'm feeling this way." Amy said hesitantly as she let her eyes slowly fall on the table. "I can't remember…why she…Amy…fell in love with you…" She took a quick glance at the brunette. Her eyes fell back down on the table. She didn't have the courage to look at the brunette because what she was about to to say would sound selfish to anyone who heard, even to herself. It's not right. She knows that she shouldn't. But she couldn't control herself.

"I…just know…that I…don't want…to…see…you…with someone else." She looked up to see the brunette's reaction. What she saw was the brunette looking up at the ceiling.

There was a moment of silence. Lucy slowly let her face down, facing Amy. "Do you love me, Amy?"

Amy was afraid she would ask that. Love…meaning…what she and Grace did last night. Even she wasn't sure if she could give herself to the brunette, at least not now.

"You don't. You don't remember…the love…that we had."

"but I'm willing to try…" She had no idea what was happening to her. The reason she came here somehow got pushed into the back of her mind, no longer a priority. She's doing exactly what Alexis would have done, what Alexis wanted her to do.

_Amy. Why now?_

Lucy stood up, slowly pushing her chair back. She took two steps forward and extended her hand out. Amy took the offered hand and stood up. She thought the brunette was leading her to the door but was confused when the brunette stopped, backing her against the wall. Lucy scanned her from top to bottom and placed her hands on her hips. Amy has no idea what she's doing but her heart was pounding, her mind was a little blurry. Lucy stepped closer. Their bodies an inch apart. She could see that Amy was nervous. She leaned in, inch by inch. She wasn't surprised when the blonde didn't move away when she placed one gentle kiss on her lips because Amy kissed her before. What she was trying to do, she knows that Amy knows too. She placed a soft kiss on her lips, her cheek, then down her neck and back up again in a slow pace. She could see the blonde's chest heaving. She could see her cheeks turning red. She leaned in to capture her mouth in a deep hot kiss. Her right hand glided up slowly from her hip. _How far will you let me go, Amy? _Her hand stopped underneath her breast for a moment. What surprised her was that Amy allowed her to continue, cupping her breast. _How long, Amy? _She could feel the blonde's body tightening as she kneaded her breast_. What are you feeling, Amy? _She pulled her mouth away and stopped her movement. Their face an inch apart. Both were breathing heavily. Her eyes fall down, letting her know what she was about to do. She leaned in again to give her one kiss on the lips, one on the cheek, then another and another, nipping gently on her neck. Her right hand glided from her thighs to her belly. When she felt the button on her jeans, she stopped there for a moment. _Will you let me, Amy?_ She could feel and hear the blonde's breathing becoming quicker. _Amy. We did this before. _She slowly pulled the zipper down, wondering when the blonde will stop her. _Amy. You don't want to do this. _And she was right.

"I…" She swallowed, breathing heavily against the brunette's face. "…can't…"

"I know."

Lucy stepped back and turned around, allowing the blonde to get herself together. She thought Amy would leave right away. But when Amy didn't, she turned around.

Amy knew exactly what the brunette was trying to prove. She also wanted to know how far she can go. It was a feeling that she had never experienced before. Amy has. Kristin has. But not her. She kissed the brunette before but this time it felt different. It wasn't like kissing Ethan. She didn't allow Ethan to kiss her on the lips or neck, so she wouldn't know if there would be a difference. When she allowed the brunette to touch her breasts, her whole body stiffened. Her eyes shut tight. She said the Lord's name again and again and she wasn't sure if she said it out loud or in her mind. At that moment, it became clear that she could go that far. But when she heard the sound of zippers gliding down and felt warm fingers sliding underneath her waistband, she knew she couldn't allow it to happen.

"If you love me...wait for me."

_Don't do this. Amy. Why now?_

"Is there something…you want to ask me? You said you want to know the truth?"

That wasn't the response Amy was expecting. It should be a yes or no. It's as simple as that. Amy realized that the brunette just answered her question. _She can't. She's involved with someone else.  
_

Like what she said before to Nadia, it's too late. It's not right. It would be too selfish to make her wait since she's not sure she could love her the way Grace loves her.

"There is. Tell me the truth."

Lucy's brows knitted closer together, hearing her serious tone.

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

Lucy turned around, unsure why the blonde asked.

"just tell me the truth."

Not wanting to lie to the blonde, Lucy turned around and moved one step forward, her back facing the blonde.

The silence. Amy took it as a sign that she did.

"No…please tell me you didn't."

_Whether I did or not, why would it matter now? _

"11 years ago, in a secluded area, surrounded by trees…it was midnight…there were men beating up…" She stopped when the brunette suddenly turned around. She didn't have to say anymore. The look on her face said it all. "It…was…you."

Amy stepped closer.

"You killed him."

Everyone who knew about the death of Schaeffer figured that it was her. But they had no proof. Lucy wondered why she suddenly brought this up.

"Did you kill him?"

There was no need to lie to her because she knew Amy wouldn't report her to the police.

"He killed my father and he was after me." Lucy explained in a calm tone.

"Then what about Hannah?" She could see that the brunette had no clue or recollection of that night except for the man he killed. Hannah to her is unimportant. "My partner was with me…that night. She was shot to death."

Lucy remembered that night very clearly. That was the night she got revenge for her father. It surprised all of them when there was someone else in that area. She had no idea, until now, that young woman was a DEB. She had no idea Amy was there. But something didn't make sense? If she was there, then why all the questions? She should know what happened. If she knew what happened, then why would Amy still fall in love with me? She didn't know it was me...until now.

"I didn't know she's a DEB."

Amy could feel her heart skipping a few beats before pounding out of control. Her feet moved back a few steps as she shook her head. She knew that it was possible that Lucy might have killed Hannah. _You won't know how you'll feel until you know the truth. _That's what she told Ethan. Right now, she felt like Lucy had been lying to her all along.

"You said you've never killed anyone!"

Lucy was certain that she never said that. She told Amy on their first date that she didn't kill those agents in Antarctica and Peru. But it doesn't matter. Hannah was a DEB.

It became clear to her that she and the brunette were never meant to be together. _Even if she had said yes, that she would wait for me, how can I be with her?_ _Even if she get that feeling back, how can I be with her?_ _She killed Hannah. Oh God…_

"Then why didn't you kill me too?!" Amy shouted in anger as she stepped away from the brunette. Remembering that moment of how she felt when she found out about Hannah's death, she couldn't control her emotions from pouring out.

Lucy remained still and silent. There was nothing she could say to make it better. She didn't know that Amy was there. But would she have killed her if she knew? Probably not. _It would be better this way. Amy_. _You can forget about me now. _

"**Why?!**!" Amy cried out as tears of sorrow came rolling down.

"Take care of yourself, Amy."

* * *

**Chapter 48: Chapter 48**

* * *

**Chapter 48**

After that night, everyone noticed that Amy's behavior changed drastically. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. When they asked her what was wrong, they would get a one-word response. "Nothing." And after that, Amy would excuse herself to go somewhere else. So they all decided it was best to stop asking. But all knew what was bothering her. Lucy.

"What am I doing here?" Janet said as she looked around. She knew why Alexis wanted to come. She knew why Alexis wanted Nadia to come. But why drag her here?

"Janet, aren't you bored with going to the same places? Have you ever been to a gay bar?"

"No, why would I want to?"

"Because it would open up your mind. See things you've never seen before. It would be like people going to 3rd world countries, see what life is all about. You'll be able to understand more about yourself."

"I know who I am. I'm not a lesbian." Janet continued to sip her drink through a straw.

"That's not what she meant. Janet." Nadia wasn't surprised at what Alexis said. She came to realize what type of person Alexis is, a very open minded one.

Nadia herself never went to a gay bar. This, being her first time, she noticed how all the women were enjoying themselves, some were dancing very closely, some were standing against the wall, displaying their affections without a care of what others think of them, because there, tonight everybody is the same. The bar is filled with women; punk types, types that makes one wonder if she is actually a he and types that one can't tell if she is actually a lesbian like herself and Alexis. The place usually serves both genders but tonight is Lesbian night, so it isn't as crowded as it used to be. Alexis didn't think it would be fun to have guys around.

"look at her…" Alexis said, tilting her head towards the taller blonde walking towards them. "She hasn't been herself lately. What happened that night?"

"I don't know. She didn't come back until very late." Nadia said in a concerned tone. That night, she didn't go to sleep until she made sure the blonde came back. When she learned from Ethan that Amy finally rejected him, she felt relieved that her brother was able to let go and that she was able to get Amy to see what she was doing.

"Do you know?" Alexis asked, noticing that Janet was very quiet.

"No." Janet continued with her drink and turned herself around to face the bar because she really didn't feel comfortable being there. She promised the blonde that she wouldn't tell tell anyone, not even Scud. But she couldn't help wondering what Amy would be looking for if she were able to unlock the hotel room for her.

"Is this your first time here, Kristin?" Alexis asked once the taller blonde took a seat next to Janet.

Nadia and Alexis were surprised that it wasn't.

"mission."

"How did that go?" When Alexis found out who Amy actually worked for, she was really shocked to find that she's not just a babysitter or art student. She had more respect for her….and Janet too.

"Good." Amy glanced around the dance floor.

"What happened?"

Amy wasn't supposed to say anything. But since the DEBS no longer exists, she didn't feel that she was violating any rules if she told anyone. The music was loud and she certainly didn't want anyone else to know. Amy stepped closer and whispered into her ear. What Amy told her was she had to befriend the woman in charge of a sex prostitution ring, a high class one involving models, actresses, and wealthy men.

"Did you have to kiss her?"

"no" Amy took a sip of her drink. "She wanted me to join her group. But before that, she wanted to get me to…you know…but we busted her."

"Would you have done it if…."

"We're agents, we know when to stop."

"What I mean is, would you have kissed her if she wanted you to."

"Sure." Amy said in a casual tone. She never had to and found that it wasn't that big of a deal when she kissed the brunette that night she was drunk.

What Alexis really wanted to know is what happened that night. _Did she go see Keira? Did she tried to get her back? _

Janet heard Amy's response. If it was her, she wouldn't be able to kiss a woman. Luckily, she was never assigned to do those types of mission.

"I wonder who she's interested in." They all turned to Amy's line of sight. What they saw was a brunette dressed in black leather which reminded them of the former criminal mastermind, but nowhere near as beautiful or as captivating. The way she walks showed that she wasn't afraid of anything. The way she's dressed, it looked like she came here by motorcycle.

"you" Nadia and Alexis both said in unison, pointing to the taller blonde.

"I'm going to the ladies' room." All knew Amy wasn't in the mood to talk to strangers. She just came back from the ladies' room.

After Amy left, they expected the black leathered woman to follow but instead what they thought was wrong. The brunette stood in front of Alexis and introduced herself. Nadia wasn't surprised. Alexis was again wearing a very sexy outfit, an outfit suitable for the bar not like last time.

"Can I buy you a drink?"

Alexis politely rejected.

"How about a dance?"

Not wanting to be rude and seeing that she did come here for a purpose, Alexis didn't reject to the idea. But she also didn't want to give the brunette the wrong idea that she was interested in her.

"okay…c'mon…Nadia…" Not waiting for a response, she took Nadia's hand and led her to the dance floor with the brunette following from behind. It was an open dance floor. Everyone were just moving to the beat of the music. Alexis couldn't resist letting out a laugh when she saw how Nadia was moving her body. She may be a yoga instructor. Her body may be flexible. But on the dance floor, she's very stiff. Alexis wondered if this is her first time as well. Nadia knew what she was laughing at and what she was looking at and didn't mind at all. After a moment the music stopped. All waited for the music to come back on but there was none.

"How about that drink?" The brunette said to Alexis.

They've been here for awhile. She figured it wouldn't hurt.

"Sure."

As they stepped down the dance floor, music suddenly came on. But this time it was slow soft music. Not wanting to give the brunette a chance to ask her for a dance, Alexis quickly thought of something.

"maybe later…" She said to the brunette, then took Nadia's hand and pulled her back to the dance floor.

Nadia understood so she played along. This is also her first time in slow dancing. She had no idea where to put her hands but there was only one place to put them since Alexis already had her hands on her shoulders.

"Is she looking at us?" Alexis said as she turned her back facing the brunette.

"mhm. You can just tell her you're not interested."

"I already did when I rejected her drink but she didn't get it….hold me closer…"

"what?"

"hold me closer…" Alexis wrapped her arms around her and placed her chin on her shoulder.

_Oh God_. Nadia thought to herself. It was very difficult not to have dirty thoughts when she's this close with someone. The only person she had been this close to was with the former criminal leader.

"closer"

Knowing how shy Nadia could be, Alexis held her tighter, so tight she could feel her body against hers.

Nadia did as told and held her as they were lovers. At this point, they were only moving their feet but staying in their current position. She's not interested in Alexis but being so close to someone like her caused her heart to beat faster. Nadia swallowed when she felt Alexis's face against her ear, the closeness sent a shiver down her spine. With the romantic music and the sexy body pressed against hers, her eyes spontaneously closed for a short moment until she heard a voice.

"you smell good…what perfume is that?"

"oh…um…it's umm.." _What is it? Why can't I remember?_ "It's…."

"Kiss me."

"What?"

"Kiss me."

Nadia couldn't believe what the bold young woman who's a few years younger than her was asking her to do. It's a joke. Right? She wanted to ask but was too late to get even one word out because Alexis already planted her lips on hers. It was a short kiss. Her eyes remained open the whole time.

"Is she still there?" Alexis noticed her dazed look and tapped her face lightly to bring her out of it. "Is she still there?"

It took a moment for Nadia to understand. "mhm…and she's coming this way…"

_no way!_ Alexis mouthed.

Nadia nodded and could tell that Alexis was thinking of a way out. "Just kidding…"

For the past few months, having spent some time with Nadia, Alexis came to find that she's not as serious as she looks. Nadia is very understanding and caring. Alexis knew that about her from day 1. There was a time when she was sick. Michel was at work and the helper was on vacation. Nadia was so considerate, she took time off from work and cooked for her and Ashley. That wasn't the only thing Alexis found. One time, she found Nadia and Ashley having a fun time and laughing in the kitchen. She couldn't hear what they were talking about but could see that Nadia had a way with kids. She was showing Ashley how to make cookies and they just seem to have this bond, like she and Kristin. _Brat._ Nadia was laughing in a way that she never saw before. Nadia can also be playful and has a sense of humor, just like right now.

Seeing that her plan worked, Alexis stepped off the dance floor with Nadia next to her. They could see not only 2 pairs of eyes staring at them from the bar area, there were a few women looking at them as they walked passed them.

_Uh oh_. Attracting attention was not Alexis' intention.

Nadia cleared her throat when she saw Amy and Janet looking at her and Alexis. After Alexis explained what happened, both former DEBs couldn't resist letting out a laugh. "You know, Alexis. You could actually do what we used to do. Isn't that right, Janet?" Amy complimented on her quick thinking skills.

"mhmm…Oh yea, you'd be really good at it…but she probably wouldn't be able to stand the uniforms we used to wear…"

"Uniforms?" Alexis could tell the taller blonde was in a better mood when she saw the former DEBS laughing.

"ridiculous, isn't it?" Amy said and Janet agreed. They always wondered who designed those. They're not in Catholic school and they served no purpose. If their purpose was to attract attention, then they've succeeded.

As Alexis was about to ask if everyone wanted to head home, the music stopped. All paid attention to the front when the DJ made an announcement.

"Ladies, are you having fun tonight?"

Screams, cheers and whistles were heard.

"Ladies, are you having fun tooooonight?!" The DJ repeated in a louder volume.

The response was so loud, Janet had to cover her ears. Alexis joined in and cheered loudly.

"Tonight, we're going to make it more fun.!" Everyone again shouted in excitement. "What? No, we're not going to have a drinking contest. Watching others puke and killing the cells in our body…that's not fun." The female DJ contorted her face in disgust, causing everyone to burst in laughter. "We're smarter than that, ladies, aren't we?!"

All shouted in agreement and wondered what the DJ had in mind. "Tonight, not only do you get chance to see how strong you are, not only are you going to have fun, you might be lucky enough to walk out of here with one of the girls here tonight! What do you say, ladies?!" The scream wasn't as loud as before because some were very confused at what she meant. "…and we're doing this for a good cause…all proceeds will be donated to help the children!"

People were still confused but clapped their hands.

"Here's how it works, ladies…the owner has agreed to donate 50 pounds for each participant!" Everyone applauded and cheered after hearing the instructions.

"Wow…that's a good idea…" Alexis said and all the girls agreed.

"Now ladies, think fun, think of the cause, the choice is yours. Who wants to go first?" The DJ looked around. Everyone waited to see who had the courage to go first. "Who wants to be the chooser?!"

It sounded like a good idea, but nobody seems to have the courage to participate. "This is for the children, ladies!." All looked at each other. Some tried to encourage their friends to do it. But nobody raised their hands. "She could be your future! This is your chance!"

Alexis would do it but she didn't see anyone she's interested in inside the bar. Then all turned to the direction when a woman walked to the center of the dance floor.

"Ladies, give a hand for our first participant!"

All clapped in excitement. Some women were whispering as they clapped their hands. Some didn't care and continued chatting and drinking with their friends.

"umm…Nadia, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Alexis said as she kept her eyes on the participant talking to the DJ.

"mhm…and I think she wants…" Nadia stopped when she saw everyone in the bar looking her way. "you…"

Being the center of attention never bothered Alexis, but this bothered her. Everyone cleared the path for the DJ as she walked towards Alexis. The participant, the brunette whom Alexis rejected earlier, stayed in her current position.

"Her?" The DJ spoke into the microphone as she pointed to Alexis. "yea?…are you sure?" The way she spoke caused everyone to laugh. The only one who isn't laughing is Alexis.

"Have you been listening to me?" The DJ said.

"Yes." Alexis responded in a polite tone.

"What do you think?"

"I…think…" Alexis said as she glanced at Nadia who was standing behind the DJ. "it's good idea until…I was chosen."

What she said caused everyone in the room to burst in laughter. Even Amy couldn't resist laughing.

"So what do you say?" The DJ pointed the microphone towards Alexis.

When Alexis didn't respond, everyone cheered to encourage her.

"It's only a dance." The DJ said.

"Sure, why not? For the children, right?"

"That's the spirit! Ladies, we have another participant!" The DJ held Alexis' hand and led her towards the center of the room.

"Now…I'm thinking we have to change the rules a little, seeing how shy you ladies are."

Not liking what she heard, Alexis snapped her head towards the DJ. Standing next to the brunette, Alexis let out a small smile at her while thinking that this isn't a good idea. She was quite surprised when the brunette politely thanked her.

"for a good cause, right?" Alexis said.

"Right."

"Now, if we don't have another participant to go against her…" The DJ pointed to the brunette. "She will get to dance with her."

Alexis was afraid she would say that.

"Now, ladies, who wants to go against her?.."

Everyone moved their eyes from the DJ to the brunette when she took her leather jacket off.

"oh…" The DJ said, causing some girls to giggle. What she and everyone saw was that the brunette was wearing a sleeveless black shirt, showing her defined biceps. Not only that, the brunette had tattoos all over her arm. Alexis understood what she was doing and it seemed to work because nobody raised their hands. Nobody had the guts to go against her.

Alexis grabbed onto the microphone the DJ was holding. "Anyone?" She said with a squeal causing everyone to let out another burst of laughter.

"umm…sweetie…that's my job…okay?" The DJ said.

"Sorry…"

The crowd continued to laugh even harder.

"You're funny…and beautiful." The brunette said as she scanned her from top to bottom.

"Thank you…but don't get upset if you lost…okay? This is for the children." Seeing the tattoos on her arms, Alexis wasn't sure how she will react if she did lose. Thoughts of her destroying the place crossed her mind. Thoughts of her throwing punches at the other person, whoever is brave enough to go against her, crossed her mind. But after seeing the smile on her face, she didn't think the brunette would do that. Either that or she's very confident that she would win.

"Alright ladies, I understand why. 50 pounds is just way too little to show us what you got. How about we change it to 200 pounds?"

There was another short moment of silence but when she saw a hand raised, the DJ internally prayed the Lord, realizing that this game was a bad idea.

Nadia? Alexis was very surprised that she would put herself in the center of attention. Another thing she learned about Nadia was that she could surprise you when you least expected. She would put herself in a position that she's not comfortable with just to help a friend.

"Thank you for doing this." The DJ said to Nadia after shutting off the microphone.

Nadia took the seat opposite to the brunette. She held her right hand up and propped her elbow on the table. The brunette did the same and held Nadia's hand firmly. All could see the brunette's biceps and not Nadia's since she had a long sleeve shirt on.

"Two out of three!" The DJ changed the rules again to make it more exciting because she didn't think Nadia had a chance.

"Ready." A woman held onto to both their hands. "Set." All became quiet. "Go!"

The scream from the crowd disappeared as fast as it came. Nadia winced in pain as her hand was pressed down hard on the table. Nobody expected it to be that fast.

_This is a really bad idea_. The DJ thought to herself, then announced who won the first round.

"It's okay. Nadia. Do the best you can."

Nadia saw the wink and the smile that Alexis gave her. For a moment there, she felt like she was the 'guy' trying to save her girlfriend from the gangster-like woman across from her. She was there to save her friend. Winning or losing, she would try her best. But now, a strange feeling just came over her. Losing is not an option. Nadia flung her hand back and forth before holding the brunette's hand again for the second round. She breathed in and out a few times, then pulled her hand away from the brunette's grip, bent her fingers and cracked her knuckles. Okay. She said in her mind.

And there it is again, something Alexis had never seen Nadia do. _Cracking her knuckles?_ _ I didn't know she could do that._

"Ready…" Nadia gripped her hand firmly and held her breath when she heard the DJ said 'Set'.

"Go!"

Everyone started screaming. This time, there was something exciting to see. People were actually rooting for the fitness instructor. Nobody expected her to have a chance after what they saw in the first round. Alexis was quite surprised to see Nadia taking this so seriously. Her face was turning red. Her veins was beginning to show on her neck. Her teeth clenched tight. Her shoulder leaned forward as close to her hand as possible.

"eeeaaahhhHHHH!" Nadia yelled as she slammed her opponent's hand down. Breathing heavily, she surprised herself that she was able to do it. She looked up and saw Alexis smiling at her while clapping her hands. This is the first time that she saw and heard the crowd of strangers clapping and cheering for her. It was a feeling that she had never experienced before. She felt like she could do anything.

"Now, this is getting exciting!" The DJ said to the crowd. "Ladies, this is for the children." She said once more. Even she wasn't sure how the brunette with the tattoos and multiple earrings would feel if she lost, so she thought that it was necessary to reiterate the purpose of this game.

"Ready…set….go!"

* * *

Next morning

Last night was unforgettable. Everyone at the bar had fun. Being her first time in a lesbian bar, not only did Nadia had fun, she found out more about herself. It was strange because after she won the match, there were other girls giving her their phone numbers after the dance with Alexis. The dance felt strange as well. Alexis kept telling her how proud she was. There was no reason for Alexis to dance so close to her. But it was definitely a dance she will never forget. The DJ decided to end the game there since she couldn't get anyone else to participate. That wasn't the first time she arm wrestled, but the pointers that Amy gave her was the reason she was able to win. That's not the only thing she learned. This morning, Amy told them that she wanted to move out.

"Why?" Scud didn't have to work. He hired a manager to manage the restaurant so he could go in anytime he wanted to. Life was great. Everything was going well until he heard what Amy wanted to do. In the dining room, Janet, Nadia, and Scud tried to persuade the blonde from leaving.

"I don't want to stay here anymore."

Amy had been thinking about it after that night. It wasn't just the thought of what the brunette did with her lover in the master bedroom, it was the whole house, the brunette's house that was bothering her. She felt like she's betraying a fellow DEB by staying in the house. Even being there with Scud, she felt like she was doing something wrong. Amy glanced at the shorter blonde, her friend who had fallen for Scud. She wondered how Janet would feel if she knows about it. She can't tell her. _Sometimes it is better not knowing the truth._

"I'm going to move back to Max's apartment."

"I'll move with you." Nadia said.

"What?" All said in unison.

"You'll be all alone. Didn't you say Max is in another country? Nobody is going to take care of you." Nadia had an idea why she wanted to move. Nobody likes to be reminded of their ex having sex with another woman. _Damn it! Keira. Why did you do that?_

"Kristin, can we talk about this?" Janet said.

Ignoring the former DEB, Amy headed to the bedroom.

"Amy, is this about Lucy?" Seeing that nobody else is around, Janet felt it was safe to call her by her real name. After hearing the argument with the brunette that day, it was very clear to her that Amy is jealous. Now that Lucy has moved on, she didn't feel it's appropriate to stay in her house.

Amy took out the luggage from the closet and started packing.

There was nothing they could say to prevent the blonde from leaving. The only thing that Scud could think of was stand in front of the bedroom door.

"you don't understand. Please move." After finished packing, Amy walked angrily towards him, pulling the luggage behind her. "I don't want to hurt you."

Scud immediately stepped out of the way, knowing what Amy could do to him.

It was Janet's idea to buy this house. She had dreams of what it would be like some day. But somehow everything she wished for turned upside down. She held onto Amy's hand firmly to prevent her from exiting the front door. At that moment, she wished she had the handcuffs with her.

Amy closed her eyes for a moment. She didn't want to say it. But there was something that didn't make sense to her. Lucy didn't explain why she killed Hannah. She didn't say why she didn't kill her.

"Were you there when it happened?" There were too many men. She couldn't tell if Scud was one of them.

"what?" Nadia, Janet, and Scud were all confused.

"Were you there when she killed Schaffer?" Amy decided to just say it in front of Nadia because she believed that Nadia would forgive the brunette for whatever she did before.

Scud glanced at Janet and thought about the question. _She knows. _But how? The only person who could have told her was Lucy. "She had no choice, Janet." He hoped that she would understand why he didn't tell her the truth. Janet nodded in understanding. Janet once asked him if Lucy ever killed anyone. He didn't want to lie to her so he didn't respond to her question.

"Then why did she kill the girl?"

"What?" At this moment, Scud's phone rang. He didn't pick up.

"Why did she kill the girl?"

Scud knew the answer, but wasn't sure why the blonde would ask about it. He took his cell phone out to see who was calling non-stop. Scud frowned in confusion and quickly picked up the call. What he heard shocked him. Everything became clear. He understood why the blonde had to leave. He understood why Lucy called. He understood why the former DEB agent was so angry. Without saying a word, he hung up the phone. Lucy had hung up before he did.

All wondered who it was on the other line that could cause that type of reaction on Scud's face. His eyes were fixated at the taller blonde. His mouth was agape. Amy had a clue of who that could be on the other line.

"Amy…" All noticed that Scud's tone of voice had changed.

"Who was it?" Janet said.

"wrong number…" Scud responded without looking at Janet.

"Why? Scud."

He opened his mouth but couldn't get the words out. There was nothing he could say. He glanced at Janet for a moment, wondering if she would leave him if she found out.

"She had no choice, right Scud?"

Not hearing a response, Amy left the house.

After that day, Scud decided to keep on lying to his girlfriend. All he told her was that he had no idea what the taller blonde was talking about. He knew Amy kept that secret for a reason and that reason was to prevent Janet from knowing.

* * *

Some months later

White reclining beach chairs surrounded the large pool. Not all of them were occupied. There were a lot of seats left. Guests, mostly adults, were enjoying the hot sun shining down from above. The weather was beautiful, not humid, a clear blue sky, not as cool as the previous days.

"why did I let you talk me into this?" Breathing heavily, Amy wiped the water away from her face while hanging on the edge of the pool with the other hand.

"because you need to relax, take your mind off things…" Janet said, holding on to the edge of the pool.

After that day Amy moved out, Janet noticed that they weren't as close as before. Maybe it's because they don't see other as often. Amy hadn't been to Scud's restaurant ever since. Her explanation was that seeing Scud reminded her of the brunette. Janet asked her about the girl Lucy killed. Who was that girl? Her response was that she had no idea. Her explanation for moving out of the house was because she could not forgive the brunette for lying to her and living in that house reminded her of the brunette.

"I should be taking classes, right now."

"it's only for a few days...Besides this is the perfect time to come…it's going to get crowded next month." Janet turned around, letting her body float on the warm clear water. Her arms extended along the edge of the pool. Feeling relaxed, she looked up at the perfect weather with sunny sky. "This is really beautiful, Nadia…so peaceful, so relaxing…I don't want to leave…"

It was Janet's idea to get Amy to take a vacation. It was Nadia's idea to come here, the island where she and Alec spent a month living in, the place that costs $2000 a night, the place where Lucy brought them over a year ago to hide from Benjamin Couric.

"I'm missing my naked yoga class."

Amy and Janet snapped their heads to the left.

"You really signed up for that?" Amy said.

"Have you done it yet?" Janet asked out of curiosity.

"starts today."

"Are you sure about this?" Alexis said, moving her legs under the water in the 12 ft section of the humongous size pool.

"You girls won't do it with me…and I really wanted to see if I could do it…." Nadia said as she wiped the pool water away from her eyes.

"I'll do it with you."

Alexis' response caught everyone's attention.

Amy wasn't surprised, knowing how open-minded Alexis could be.

"you will?" Nadia said, a little surprised by it. She never thought of asking Alexis because that thought never occurred to her. Besides, asking Alexis to do it with her feels...weird, for some reason. Maybe it's because they don't know each other that well.

"Sure, I thought it over. I think I can….and I promised her that I would…so…"

It took a moment, but all realized whom Alexis was referring to.

"oops" Alexis realized that she just mentioned the brunette again. She cleared her throat. "So, just let me know when and where and I'll be there. Okay?"

The last time she saw the brunette at the restaurant was when Lucy thanked her for keeping her promise to becoming friends with Nadia. Before she left, she asked for another favor and that is to prevent Nadia from joining naked yoga. Lucy told her that all she had to do was do it with her alone one time and she believed that will change her mind. Why is she so sure? She had no idea. After that day, she pictured Nadia being naked while she was teaching yoga. She actually found it funny imagining that in her head. As for bearing it all in front of Nadia, Alexis didn't find it too difficult to do now that their friendship was closer than before.

All watched Alexis swim away from them. Nadia couldn't help but smile. She couldn't help thinking of that night when she saw the brunette naked. _She said she would do it with me. But she can't, so she asked Alexis._ _Someone that thoughtful, that considerate, that understanding, how could_…Nadia turned to her right and saw Amy staring into blank space. _She's thinking of her too._ Ever since Amy moved out, it hadn't been the same. The only time they got together was on her day off, when the blonde was not busy with school stuff, at yoga class or self defense class. She wants to know what happened. Janet wants to know what happened. But each time they asked the blonde, they would get kicked out of her apartment. So they made an agreement to never ask her about it and never bring the brunette up in the conversation.

"Kristin…"

Amy turned to look at Nadia and knew what she was thinking of. Not wanting to remember, not wanting to talk about it, Amy held her breath and submerged into the bottom of the pool. Sitting on the cold hard floor, she closed her eyes. The only sound she could hear is the beating of her own heart. She once taught Annie this technique to take control of her own life. _Hold it until you feel like you're going to die_. She wanted to forget everything that has happened, everything including Kristin and the other Amy. But being so close to Nadia, Alexis, and Janet, it seemed impossible for her to forget. The only way to forget is to leave…get away from all of them…so she can start anew.

Bubbles escaped through her nose. Her eyes opened wide. She pushed herself off the floor as hard as she could. Her hands gripped on the edge of the pool as she gasped for air. After coughing multiple times, she realized that someone else was coughing as hard as she was. She lifted herself up from the pool and as she walked towards the area surrounded by a few guests, guests started to disperse.

"Alexis?"

Sitting on the wet floor, Janet was patting Alexis' back and Nadia was rubbing Alexis' calf.

"What happened?" It looked like Alexis had leg cramps while she was swimming and from the way she was coughing, she probably almost drowned. Amy looked around and understood why people were still crowding around them. All of them were guys and they were staring at either Nadia or Alexis. Most of them were staring at the one with the colorful bikini …Alexis.

" just leg cramps." Alexis said as she winced in pain.

Janet tried to disperse the crowd of perverts. "She's okay. Everybody."

"Can you walk?" Nadia said.

Alexis had enough of swimming for one day. With the help of Nadia, she decided to go back to the hotel room. After putting a shirt and shorts on over the wet swimming suit, Nadia wrapped her right hand around Alexis' waist and held Alexis' hand that hung over her shoulder. Inside the elevator, as the elevator door was about to close, Nadia thought she recognized someone in the main lobby, from far away. It wasn't very clear. She only caught a glimpse of it.

After both took a shower, both lay side by side on the king size bed to take a rest. What Nadia was thinking of was the person she saw in the lobby. What Alexis was thinking of was this place and mostly the brunette. _Where is she now?_

"So you've been here before?" Alexis asked out of curiosity. From what Janet told her, Nadia was the one who suggested this place. On the first day they were here, she noticed that Nadia knew her way around.

"yes." Nadia locked her hands behind her head. Her eyes closed as the memory of that night when she kissed the brunette flowed into her mind. The room was similar to the one they slept in, the balcony, the French doors with the long drapes, and the king size bed they're lying on.

"with Keira?"

"mhm…"

"Why?" They've known each other for a few months. Alexis knows that Keira saved her and her siblings but the conversation of how she saved them never came up.

"to hide…"

Alexis understood and immediately felt a tinge of guilt over her. After Nadia told her how Keira gave her the courage to tell her brother the truth about herself, she was surprised that Alexis already knew how she let Alec know.

"She told you?"

"mmm...I don't remember how that conversation came up...I think she just wants me to know about you and your brothers." Alexis remembered exactly what happened at that moment, but she didn't want to let Nadia know that she became friends with her because of the promise she made to the brunette. It would sound so strange.

"What else did she say?"

"just how you kissed her in front of Alec and ..."

"and what?" Nadia was very anxious to know if the brunette told her about that night she kissed the brunette. That was her first kiss.

"...and that Alec fell for her too..." Alexis noticed Nadia was expecting her to say something else. "Did something else happened?"

"nothing." Nadia returned her eyes toward the ceiling and noticed that Alexis was still staring at her. Both remained silent for a moment until Nadia thought of something. She really wanted to know if Alexis did or not. Seeing how much Alexis loves the brunette and how open-minded she is, it wouldn't surprise her that Alexis was the one who initiated it. She wanted to know if the brunette was trying to set her up with someone she previously had sex with. To her, that is completely unacceptable especially when that someone still loves her. "Alexis, did you and her?"

That wasn't the first time Nadia asked her. Alexis understood why Amy wanted to know. But Nadia? Keira doesn't love her. _So what if I did or not?_ "Why do you want to know?"

"Just tell me." Nadia had a lot of patience but this is just getting too ridiculous. It's a simple question, why won't she answer it?

"Why do you want to...Stop!…stop!…" As Alexis was about to repeat the same question, she was surprised by the attack of fingers tickling her sides. Giggling out of control, Alexis did the same and extended her fingers to tickle wherever she could reach. It was tough because the fitness instructor was straddling her.

"Not unless you tell…ah!…." Before Nadia knew what happened, Alexis was on top of her.

_It actually works_! Alexis was surprised that it worked.

"Tell me why this is so important to you." Alexis said, pinning Nadia's wrists down against the sheets. The body beneath her suddenly became quiet. Her arms and legs weren't moving. The only parts that moved were her eyes and her throat. What Alexis saw made her wonder if she was right. It wasn't the first time she noticed nor was it the second time. Keeping her eyes on Nadia's, she leaned forward. _Yup. They moved. _What she noticed was that Nadia was looking at her chest. _Now her eyes are shut. She could get away if she wants to._ Alexis looked down and saw that her lower body was pressing against hers. She glanced up the body and noticed Nadia's chest was rising and falling rapidly. She's not sure but she thought she felt one part of Nadia's body jerked up. _She's…_Both then snapped their heads towards the door when they heard a knock. Nadia quickly pushed Alexis off from her and jumped off the bed.

"Hey…" Nadia said after opening the door. Her heart felt like she just came back from a jog. If her face is as white as Kristin's, it would have been red at that moment. Her body reacted spontaneously when she saw Alexis' cleavage hanging above her. She was having a difficult time moving her body away from the soft flesh pressing against hers. Instead her body reacted on its own. _I hope she didn't notice._

"We're going to take a shower now, then maybe take a walk later before eating dinner." Amy said.

"okay." Nadia said. "umm…Kristin…"

"Yea…"

"umm…never mind." Nadia wanted to ask the blonde if she would want to change rooms, but changed her mind. Knowing Alexis, she would get a lot of questions from her and the two blondes next door. After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, to clear her head, to get rid of those negative dirty thoughts, Nadia turned around.

_Oh…. _What she saw in front of her was Alexis changing into another outfit, she had her bra on..._thank god_…_this is a really bad idea_. Before she came, she was expecting a room with 2 beds. She was expecting to sleep with Janet or Kristin. But somehow, the former DEBS had their own plans.

It just occurred to her why Lucy left that night. _She's afraid she wouldn't be able to control herself. Wait...no...that's not it. She's afraid I won't be able to control myself. I can control myself. _ She shook herself out of her ridiculous thoughts and headed into the bathroom to change.

After taking a short walk around the hotel, Nadia decided to take them to the same place where she, Alec and the brunette once ate, on a spacious decked terrace over the water.

"This is really beautiful, so romantic" Janet said as she looked up at the night sky.

With white table cloths, lights hanging above them, lit candles and a small vase of flower on each table, it truly created a romantic atmosphere.

_This would have been more romantic if we're sitting with our lovers. _Alexis thought to herself, her eyes focusing on Nadia, sitting across from her, thinking about was what just happened in the bedroom.

With her eyes on the taller blonde sitting next to her, Nadia thought about that night. That night, Lucy told her and Alec why she wanted revenge and what her friend was like…and now in front of her was that person she was talking about. That was the first time she saw the brunette cry. _If you saw her that night, you would forgive her…for everything. _

"Nadia, what's good here?" Alexis said, looking at the menu.

"Oh…um…try the sole and the scampi."

There weren't a lot of choices, so it was an easy decision to make. During the meal, they talked about the food, the island and their plans for the next day. Nadia did most of the talking. As she told them about the activities they could do at the island, she couldn't help thinking about the brunette. She knew she made an agreement not to talk about it but she couldn't control herself from talking about that night.

"Have you been here before, Kristin?" Nadia asked, knowing that she hasn't.

"No, we've been to a lot of places but not here." Amy said, remembering her missions.

"She wanted to take you, but you said it was too expensive." Nadia said as she took a bite of the sole.

"Nadia…."

"I know. I just wanted to tell you what happened that night."

Amy wanted to leave but was held back.

"Don't think of her. Just listen…like it's someone else's story."

"I want to hear it." Janet said as she raised her hand.

"it doesn't matter anymore. Why are you doing this?" Amy said.

Seeing how frustrated Amy was, Nadia gave up, motioning the blonde to sit back down. "Okay…I'll stop…"

Nadia realized how bad of an idea it was because everyone became quiet afterwards. Even the quick thinker, Alexis, couldn't think of anything to say. After dinner, they decided to take a ride on the gondola. Nadia suggested it. She couldn't resist smiling, remembering what happened that night when she rode on the gondola with the brunette. She wondered if they would be lucky enough to see someone getting a massage on a gondola in this cool night. She didn't even think of it until the gondola started to move and Alexis was sitting very…very close to her, holding on to her arm.

"I think this is a bad idea. It's so cold." Alexis' body shivered under the cool night sky.

When Nadia took out a blanket from the side and covered them both, she thought that would do it, but nope, Alexis stayed in her current position, clinging her hands around her right arm.

"Is this better?"

"mhm…did you ride this before with Keira?"

Nadia told her about that night, about what they saw, causing Alexis to laugh out loud.

"I don't think anyone is going to be doing that tonight." Nadia said as she looked up at the sky. There aren't that many stars, but she could see a small one, twinkling as if looking down on her. Then there's another one, a little bit bigger, then another. With her eyes, she connected them with an invisible line to see what it would form. When she connected the last star back to the first, she realized it was all in her mind. It was what she wanted to be, the shape of a heart. She frowned at the gondolier when he started to sing. Nobody asked him to sing and she wasn't sure why he was looking at her in that way until she realized who was leaning against her shoulder. Moving her head a little, she couldn't see if Alexis had her eyes opened. Her heart started to beat faster as a strange feeling creep through her body. She had thoughts about being in a relationship but never once pictured herself that she would be the 'man' in the relationship. The feeling was strange, but she likes it. It felt like she was in control, not in control of the woman next to her, but in control of the surroundings. Strange thoughts suddenly appeared in her mind, like how she can protect the one next to her if the gondola capsized or if it was leaking.

_Is this how you feel all the time, Keira?_ It felt as though a surge of energy coursed through her veins, giving her the power, the strength...to protect the one leaning against her if anything happens.

"Owwww!" Her thoughts were broken when Alexis suddenly slapped her face.

"there's a mosquito on you face…" Alexis said as she wiped it off .

_Who am I kidding? _Nadia internally laughed at herself for having such silly thoughts. _ If she and I were in a real relationship, she would be the 'man'_.

"Can you go back?" Alexis asked the gondolier.

As they walked back to the hotel, Alexis again clung her hands through her arm. _It's nothing. She's just cold._ _Girls do that all the time._ Nadia shook herself out of her silly thoughts. It was night time. It was dark. She couldn't see clearly last time, but this time she could see who it was, standing under the lights at the main entrance. Her steps got slower, halting altogether. She quickly turned herself around, pulling Alexis with her, walking faster and faster. "Ssshh…be quiet…I'll explain later."

After making sure that they weren't being followed, Nadia called Amy. They had Janet go inside the hotel first to check it if that man was still there. Inside Nadia's room, they discussed what to do.

"Should we leave tomorrow?" Janet said.

"I think we should leave now." Amy said.

All agreed that it would be safer to leave now than risk the chance of being seen tomorrow morning. After checking out and getting into the hotel's private launch, they felt much safer when nobody else was on the boat except them and the driver. Cool breeze blew through their hair. It was supposed to be a vacation, to relax, to have fun, to feel at ease, knowing that nobody is after them anymore. But this perfect night all got ruined by one man. It isn't over yet. That's what Nadia was thinking during the ten minute ride back to St Mark's square.

Safe. That's what they thought until they stepped off the boat and on to the dock. Four armed men were already waiting for them.

The boat that they were forced to get into was much bigger and could hold as many as 10 people. It wasn't a ten minute ride back to the hotel. They didn't think so since that was a private hotel and only allows the hotel's private boats to dock. They looked around but couldn't see much since the night has darkened. Amy took a look at her watch and realized it was over 20 minutes. They were surrounded by water, away from the city, away from the islands, away from everyone else. If they threw them overboard, nobody would know. This was the perfect place to kill. Amy realized that they were almost there when one of the men took out blindfolds. The less they know, the better. Once they were allowed to take off their blindfolds, all gasped out loud at the size and the modern interior design inside the yacht. With recessed lights, two long white sofas with brown cushions on each side, gleaming hardwood floors, it must have cost millions. At each end of the 2 long white sofas were tables with uniquely designed lamps. Another sofa was placed in the middle at the end of the long sofa. On the other end, it had a large LCD tv and another couch.

Dressed in white shirt and dark pants, Jehan sat comfortably on the right side of the long sofa. Amy, Alexis, Nadia, and Janet sat on the left side. Two men stood near Amy, two others stood on Janet's side.

"Kristin, good to see that you're doing well."

Jehan, about 35, with brownish hair, well dressed, looks like a regular young businessman. If Scud had not shown her a picture of him, Amy would never have recognized him.

"Alexis, how's Michel?"

Alexis didn't respond.

"He must be doing very well. Your grandfather left him and you and Ashley a large sum of money. Did you know?"

What Jehan said made Alexis wonder if this is the reason why he brought them here. "He donated it all to charity."

"Michel…Michel…Michel…Why did you do that?" He said as he slapped his own forehead. He knew he would. But he was hoping he didn't do it that soon. "You should have given it to me if you didn't want it." He shook his head, looking down on the floor, feeling as though he missed his chance in asking Michel for money. He never thought of asking him but now seeing Alexis, that thought just occurred to him. The money would have solved part of his problems.

"Is that why you brought us here?" Alexis said.

He looked up and glanced at Nadia.

"What do you want?" Nadia said in a frustrated tone.

"You know what I want. I asked you multiple times. I want to meet your savior."

"Why?" Nadia said loudly.

"Why? I just want to be friends with him. That's all." After learning how powerful her savior was from Jean Claude, Jehan felt that her savior could help him.

"He doesn't want to."

All could tell that he didn't like the response from the look he gave Nadia.

"Then…you leave me no choice…just like all those times…." Jehan said in a serious tone. "call him"

Nadia had no idea what to do. She knows the brunette's number but if she calls her, then he would know who she is. The brunette might not even pick up. She looked at the other girls for suggestions but could tell that they didn't have any ideas either. Even if they did, they couldn't tell her what to do anyways.

"I don't know the number."

Jehan stood up and stepped closer. "Now, I'm not going to hurt you. But your friends here…."

"If you hurt them…."

"Nadia! Just call him and nobody gets hurt." All could tell that Jehan was running out of patience and…it seemed like he's running out of time too. He kept looking at his watch.

It didn't look good when they saw Jehan glaring his eyes at them. He tilted his head towards one of his goons standing near Kristin. Three goons got their guns out and pointed towards them.

Janet and Amy had been in this situation numerous times so they weren't as afraid as a regular civilian would be. Besides, their feet and hands weren't bound by ropes. Amy was thinking of a way to attack if needed. Janet was thinking of the same. Both glanced at each other and knew what each one would be responsible for. Alexis and Nadia were sitting in the middle. Amy sat next to Alexis. Janet sat on the other end. They were surrounded by 4 men, 2 near Amy and 2 near Janet. If needed, Amy was thinking of using one of the goon's body as a shield. The 2 goons near Janet were too far away. Janet wouldn't be able to get near them unless they come closer. In this large yacht, Amy expected there would be others somewhere on the boat. Her goal was to get Jehan. That's one of the ways to get out. The other way is to give what Jehan wanted.

When goon #1 grabbed Kristin by the shoulders, she was about to do something but what she heard confused all of them.

"Not her."

The goon then let go and stood in front of Alexis and waited for his boss's signal. Not getting a rejection, he extended his arms out and as he was about to grab Alexis by the hand, Nadia used her body to block the goon from taking Alexis away. Her left arm wrapped around Alexis's body as tight as she could without hurting her.

"STOP IT!" Nadia yelled so loud, it shocked all of them. Her dark brown eyes gleaming with fierce and hatred. It was something that none of them had ever seen before.

"Look, all I want to do…" He trailed off when he heard some noise coming from outside. When the yacht moved more that it did before, all realized that someone else was coming on board. "Get them downstairs."

This isn't going well. More men. Amy glanced at Janet as they stood up. She moved her eyes left and right and again. That was the signal for Janet to play it by ear. Janet understood and was the first one to leave the room, then Nadia, then Alexis. Amy, deliberately slowed down, so she could see who was coming up. As she was led down the stairs, she took each step as slow as she could. Another goon stood at the main entrance and waved to the goon next to her, motioning him to walk faster. Amy had no choice but to follow.

* * *

Inside a small bedroom with two twin size beds next to each other separated by 3 feet of space, Amy, Alexis, Nadia and Janet sat against the wall near the end of the beds. One armed man, dressed in collared shirt and khakis sat on a chair near the door, holding a gun pointing towards the floor. The other, wearing a blue shirt and jeans, sat on the end of the bed, holding a gun with his left hand. The way they were dressed made them look like tourists.

After what just happened, all felt that it was best to remain silent. They had been there for 20 minutes. The door was open. Amy could hear the sound of footsteps going up and down the stairs. She closed her eyes and tried to block all the other sounds. The boat's engine wasn't on so it made it easier to count the number of footsteps. There are 2 standing in front of them. The other two were upstairs. She calculated in her head that about 6 came on board. Then there's Jehan. She could hear the main door opening. _They're leaving. _1…2…3…4…5….6. If she calculated correctly, there should be about 9 including the captain and 2 crew members on the yacht excluding those who came on board. Her plan is to wait. Take care of these 2 first. Wait for the others to come down…and shoot them one by one. But somehow plans never work out the way she expected, just like her missions.

"What are you doing?" Goon #1 said to Goon #2, sitting on the bed.

"Get up." Goon #2 pointed a gun to Alexis.

"Boss said no."

"He won't care after I get the information from her."

Nadia immediately extended her left arm over Alexis. "She doesn't know anything."

"Get up."

From what happened earlier, Amy had a feeling that they weren't going to shoot her. Besides, they're on a boat. It wouldn't be wise to pull the trigger unless he knows for sure that he wouldn't miss. As Alexis was being pulled up, Amy glanced at Janet, giving her the signal to move. Nadia held onto Alexis's right hand, trying to prevent her from being taken away.

"Let her go! I'll tell you what he needed to know."

Nadia kept repeating but realized that that wasn't what the goon wanted. He wanted Alexis.

When Amy saw the opportunity, she grabbed the gun from the goon, inserting her finger into it so that he couldn't pull the trigger. At the same time, she twisted his wrist, forcing him to release the gun. Amy was surprised when she saw Alexis and Nadia both kicked into his stomach, causing him to fall back onto the goon behind him. Janet and Amy then acted quickly, throwing punches into vulnerable areas to knock them out. Amy peeked her head out to see if anyone heard.

"Find something to tie them up." Amy whispered.

"I'm going up. Janet, shoot if you have to….Nadia, call Scud if you have to." All of their phones were previously taken away. Amy knew it would be difficult to get away. If they couldn't, they have no choice but to give Jehan what he needed. First she had to find out exactly how many people there are and if she could get on the boat that brought them here. The gun has a silencer attached. After counting the number of bullets inside, she tiptoed along the dimly lit hallway towards the door. Lights, for some reason, were off outside. Amy gently pushed the door open. What she was hoping at this moment was that the small boat's engine outside would be on, so that nobody outside could hear the squeaking of the door. She looked back to make sure nobody was coming down. What she needed to do was to go to the end of the yacht. If those people who came on board were in fact leaving, that's where they would be. Her brows furrowed when she heard voices, angry voices from below. The yacht's engine was turned on. She moved herself away from the door, crouched down and took a few steps closer to the railing. What she saw shocked her.

_Max_?

It wasn't just who she saw that shocked her. It was the position Max was in. Kneeling on the floor close to the edge of the boat, Max had her hand behind her head. There was no time to think why she was there. She had to do something. She immediately opened fire towards the one who was pointing a gun at Max. It was too late.

Her whole body froze. She felt as though the blood flow in her body was coming to a stop. Everything seems to slow down including her heartbeat that seems to have stopped the moment she recognized the one whom she shot crashed to the floor. Questions crowded her mind. She wanted to take a closer look but couldn't when unconsciousness involuntarily took over.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter will have a few flashbacks.  
**

**Several months ago**

In front of a large window on the 5th floor of an office building in France, a man, about 35, dressed in a designer shirt and pants stood still, looking out at the cloudy sky. He once saw his boss standing in a similar position, having similar type of feelings. Their problems weren't the same, but they were problems that could only be resolved by means they never thought that they would do.

"Contact them." His voice was low and full of uncertainty.

Standing behind him is his assistant, a bearded man in his 30's. "Sir, are you sure?"

"I don't have a CHOICE!"

Startled by his boss's loud voice, Jehan's assistant moved a few steps back.

"I can't let him keep doing this. Do you understand?" After the first meeting he met with Jean Claude, Jehan didn't think he would ask for more money. But he did and there is nobody in France he can trust to take him down. Once the word is out, he's afraid that Jean Claude would know about it. If he give him the money the second time, there will be a third time. The only ones who aren't afraid of him are the ones who considered themselves as freedom fighters, known to the public as terrorists.

* * *

**Several months ago in France  
**

Walking one step slowly at a time, her finger tapping on her mouth, not a sound in the room except the sound of her boots. Two steps, then stopped, then another 2 steps, then stopped. Her movement continued until a loud voice echoed inside a 200 square feet room with no windows, white brick walls and a steel door.

"For Heaven sakes! Do you think you're here to pick Mr. Universe? Are you done yet?!" said the woman, caressing her temples.

There were 10 men and three women lined up in black uniform.

"Love the color. I'm glad you got rid of the plaid." Lucy said to the black bald man sitting calmly next to the Head of Division 16 and continued to look at each one lined up against the wall.

"This is not going to work. They look like secret agents."

"That's because they are." The older woman said as she rolled her eyes.

"How the hell are we going to make them believe that they're not. They're too stiff. Loosen up…and you guys look too good…the girls too…"

Helene shook her head and signaled all of the agents to leave the room. All left except for one female agent.

"Maybe this is a bad idea. Maybe you should just lock her up." Helene said to the big man dressed in dark gray suit, who simply responded with a smile.

Lucy kept her eyes on the female agent standing 5 feet away in front of them as she took a seat next to Helene.

"Good job, agent."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Yes, thank you Grace." Lucy said in gentle tone.

"You're welcome." Grace flashed the brunette a big warm smile.

Lucy stood up and stepped closer. "I know how difficult it must be for you to have to…you know…but you did an excellent job…especially the last part…" She turned to the older woman. "Did she tell you what happened?"

"Yes." The older woman said in a dull tone as if she didn't want to hear any more of the performance, especially the sex part. This isn't the first time one of her agents had to pretend to be interested in the brunette. She herself wondered how they could do it.

"If I didn't put a bug in her bedroom, she would have figured it out." Lucy glanced the blonde beauty up and down. "…sorry…I have to touch you…there…" Lucy said as she glanced at her breasts.

"I'm sorry I have to make it so real." Touching each other's sensitive areas was unavoidable. Seeing each other naked was unavoidable. It was Grace's idea to have her handcuffed to the bed, naked. Lucy didn't like the idea at first since she's not into that kinky stuff but there was no time. Amy and the girls were coming up to spy on them. So they took their clothing off as quickly as they could. Lucy wanted to cuff Grace to the bed but Grace thought it would be more convincing the other way around. And the moaning, well..it wouldn't sound as real if there was no touching involved. "I hope she forgives you."

"Grace, this is a job. You're not a prostitute. You're a secret agent. You're not required to give yourself to this…this…"

Lucy narrowed her eyes at Helene and wondered what she was going to call her.

"gorgeous woman, ma'am?" Grace smiled at the brunette.

"no, that's not I was thinking of…"

"We didn't. ma'am. She was very…um…careful…and gentle…and considerate…and"

"Stop…I don't want to hear it anymore."

"Now do you know why I have to pick her myself." She turned and smiled at Grace. "She wouldn't have believed it if it was someone else." Lucy said in a softer tone, feeling a little regret for lying to the blonde once again.

A few weeks ago, Lucy was doing the same. There were 10 female agents for her to choose from. She rejected five of them because of the way they looked. One agent covered her breasts when all Lucy did was glanced at them. Another stepped away when Lucy was about to kiss her. She kissed another one but the agent didn't last for 1 minute and decided that she couldn't do it. There were only 2 left. What she saw in Grace was that she looked a little like Amy and Alyson. Her gorgeous blue eyes, her smooth blonde hair, her sexy figure, and most important of all, she was willing to allow her to see her naked and touch her sensitive areas.

"What's the point of this again?" Helene asked. Lucy already told her the purpose of having Grace pretend to be her girlfriend, but it didn't quite make sense to her. "She can't remember you. So why do this?"

"because…she cares, her memory is coming back, she wants me to wait for her…" Lucy said, looking deeply into Grace's eyes as if she was looking into Amy's. At that moment in the hotel room, when Grace told her what Amy said, she almost couldn't control her emotions. _She remembers me?_ It was Grace's deep kiss that prevented her from acting like herself. She almost screwed up. "It's because of you…she's jealous.…."

She turned to look back at the older woman and said in an obvious tone. "and to show them that I've moved on, so they can too….most important of all, I need Scud to stop contacting me. If I don't respond to him at least once in 2 weeks, he's going to think something's wrong…just like last time. Now that he knows I'm traveling with her, he won't be doing that too often."

"Right…" Helene tapped her forehead as if it made sense to her…but it really didn't.

"so what if he calls you…"

"I'll be responding to his messages and sending him pictures of us once in two weeks. Ma'am." Grace answered for the brunette.

"I need you two to keep your word. After this is over, don't ever bother me again…Don't bother Amy, Janet, or Scud. Do I have your word?" Lucy said in a serious tone. She looked at the man who seemed to be increasing in size as he walked closer towards her.

"Miss Lucy Diamond. I have learned everything you did from Miss Devereaux….and I do believe that you have changed…because of our Perfect Score. I am deeply sorry to have to involve you in this…but please understand that we…feel that you are the only one who can help us." He spoke in his deep voice. "It's happening in Paris, Italy, and London, and America…So you see, they are getting stronger. We believe they are recruiting more…and I hope, with your power, your connections, you can inform your **friends**…what it's happening…"

_I don't think they give a damn. _Lucy thought to herself. She had never met this man, standing 6ft 5 inch tall weighing around 280 pounds in front of her. She now understood why Amy had a lot of respect for him. Not only did he not express any type of dissatisfaction or scorn towards her for taking his Perfect Score away, Mr. P, that's what Amy called him, had been speaking to her in a very polite tone from the moment he met her. If Petrie was in his place, she would have threaten her, for sure.

"…and I hope after this is over, Amy…can remember you."

"Even if she does, she wouldn't want to be with me." Lucy said, letting out big sigh. She had no idea how Mr. P found her until he mentioned Max. The DEBS no longer exists, but some of the members were chosen to join another secret organization, much much smaller. Lucy denied his request multiple times but gave in because the Head of Division 16 was annoying the heck out of her and won't leave her alone. Everywhere she went, she had her people following her. Another reason, which Mr. P explained, was that Max might need help. Max wasn't chosen to join the group because of her out of control behavior after learning about Amy's demise. Lucy is doing this for Max, to repay her for what she went through. But more importantly, she's doing this for Amy because Max is her friend. And after learning about Hannah, she felt more obligated to do this even more….for Amy.

Mr. P's mission is to find the leader of the terrorists that had been causing havoc in America. That was his assignment until he received a message from Max. Max inadvertently heard that her boss wanted to know where to buy pistols, machine guns, and high tech detonators. What does a business man want those kinds of weapons for? There could be only two possibilities. He could be the leader of the terrorists or he's selling them.

"Now let's talk about money." Lucy directed the question to both superiors.

Rolling her eyes, Helene walked towards the door and ignored the brunette's question.

"Hey! I already have to risk my life. You can't expect me to cough up the money too. You took it all remember?"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. Miss Diamond. Besides, it's about time you return **all** the money."

"I don't have any money!" Lucy shouted as the older woman shut the steel door behind her. "Mr. P…"

There was nothing that Mr. P could do. The higher ups would never agree to the plan if they were the one supplying the firearms. It would be disastrous if the mission fails. "Amy will be proud of you." He encouraged the brunette before leaving the room.

_Shoot_. When she agreed to this, she didn't expect to be the one to be doing all the work as well as using her own money. As far as getting illegal firearms, she could go to Anthony. He has the connections. But money? Lucy can't take her money out of her account because Scud would know about it. Not only will she be risking her own life, she's going to lose a lot of money because after the deal goes thru, she is certain that the government will be keeping the firearms and the money as evidence.

"I must be out of mind." Lucy slapped her forehead and looked up the ceiling after flopping her butt down on the chair. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. What were you thinking? That's what Scud would say if he knows about it. _I don't know. Scud. _

Lucy let out another big sigh. _ Amy._ That's why she's doing this. But in the end, she will be back where she used to be. Alone.

"Hey"

A soft gentle voice brought Lucy out of her thoughts.

"She will forgive you." Said the blonde beauty standing in front of her.

The main purpose of the act was to make everyone especially Scud believe that there was nothing wrong. She was surprised that it would cause Amy to react that way. She couldn't believe when Amy allowed her to kiss her, to touch her. What surprised her even more was that everything she hoped for was taken away by something that happened a decade ago, something she couldn't prevent it from happening.

"no….she won't."

* * *

**Half an hour ago**

Before executing any kind of heist, art, diamond, money, etc, the plan has to be well thought out. It requires details of the location, the timing, the surroundings, and a plan B to go with it if anything goes wrong. But sometimes no matter how detailed the plans are, the most unexpected can happen.

Darkness surrounded the yacht. Water was calm and cool. A bearded man in his 30's, dressed in a suit, stepped off a small white boat that could hold up to 10 people. Five others followed from behind.

"This way." He said in a polite tone to the person behind him. Three men and a woman followed their boss up the lighted stairs.

Dressed in a black jacket, black pants, hair tied in a pony tail, Lucy took one step inside the double doors that were opened for her. She had seen bigger yachts before. Anthony had a bigger one so she wasn't shocked by the size and the modern interior design inside the yacht. What she saw in front of her was a man in a collared shirt and dark pants, standing 15 feet away at the center of the room, with his back facing her. _How rude? Who the hell does he think he is? _Lucy frowned at his behavior. She had negotiated with crime bosses before. Whoever had the upper hand could act the way that the man in front of her is acting now. But in this case, Lucy has the upperhand. She has something he wants and she is very curious to know who this cunning, arrogant bastard is for a very long time.

She frowned at the bearded man who had been acting as the one in charge for months, the one who led her to this yacht, the one whom she wouldn't negotiate with unless he brings her to the person in charge, and the one who noticed that she didn't appreciate his boss's attitude towards her.

He cleared his throat. "Sir, she's here."

Two armed men stood next to Lucy. One woman and a man stood behind her, ready to shoot if necessary.

Like a movie played in slow motion, the man slowly turned himself around as if he was the Godfather of criminal organizations.

"What…the…hell!" Hearing their boss's sudden shout, 4 men pulled their guns and pointed at the former criminal leader and her followers. Lucy's followers did the same.

"Jehan?!" Never in her mind thought that Jehan would be involved. Lucy believed that Jehan was a coward especially after hearing about the incident with him and Jean Claude. It took her months of planning, mostly waiting to lure his assistant to take the bait. _This is going to be a piece of cake._

"You know her?" Jehan's assistant spoke as he took a few steps away from the possible line of fire.

"Why did you bring her here?!"

"she's the supplier." Jehan's assistant took another step away from the brunette as the possibility of a setup crossed his mind. She was introduced by someone he knew.

"Who are you?!" Jehan asked as he took a gun from one of his goons and pointed towards her from about 8 feet away.

Ignoring the guns pointing to her head, Lucy walked a few steps forward before answering. "You know who I am. It's me, Keira, private investigator slash owner of a surveillance company, living a happy life in Paris." Lucy said in a casual tone. "But that's all gone now, you know why ….because of you!" She shouted as she pointed a finger at him.

"What?!"

"Because of what you and your boss did, and I don't mean Michel, the scam your boss pulled…." Lucy could see that he was more confused than ever.

"You have no clue. Do you? They were on to you. They were investigating everybody who knows you, Michel and your dead boss. That's why I have to leave Paris!" Lucy shouted in an angry tone. "Do you know how much I lost!" She kicked the end table so hard, the designer lamp fell on the floor.

"Your name isn't Keira Holmes?"

Lucy let out a laugh to show him how stupid his question was. "Are you serious, Jehan? If I use my real name, would I still be here?" She slowly walked around before taking a seat at the left side of the white long sofa.

"So…I see that your boss left you a large sum of money." She said as she glanced at the other side of the room. "Since my misfortune is partly his fault, then maybe you should…"

"He gave it all to Michel."

_Bastard. _"Michel, huh, well maybe I'll pay him a visit."

After seeing Jehan's men lowering their guns, Lucy waited for him to speak. Having done numerous negotiations of this nature, she knows that it's not a good idea to show that she's desperate to make the sale. She needed him to know that he wanted this deal more than she does. With one arm leaning on the couch arm and her legs crossed, she again looked around the cabin.

"Is this how you treat guests? Can I get a drink?"

Nobody moved.

"What's your real name?" Jehan asked, still holding a gun pointing at the floor.

Lucy let out another small laugh. "The point of having a fake name is so that nobody knows your real name."

Jehan didn't like the answer. He thought back to the past. He didn't meet with the brunette that often, but noticed that the brunette in front of her was different from the one he once knew. Her attitude was different. The tone of her voice was not as gentle. He always knew that she's in charge, not Scott. But crime boss? He just couldn't picture her as being one. But he himself fooled a lot of people too.

"I'm sorry I changed my mind. This boat is not for sale."

"Excuse me?" Lucy said in a calm tone. She's not here to talk about a boat sale. Even his assistant was confused. It took a moment for Lucy to understand. _He thinks I'm wired._

Lucy had also been in situations like this before and what usually happens in a situation like this, she let the others know she doesn't like people messing with her.

"Please excuse us for a moment." Jehan's assistant apologized when he noticed the brunette glaring at him. This was his idea. He needed to make sure this deal goes through. There are a lot of money, a lot of time, and a lot of dangerous criminals involved. He's not sure what the brunette would do if his boss backs out. He pulled Jehan aside to have a talk, to convince him that this isn't a setup. She and her followers were previously scanned for electronic devices before being allowed on the boat. He had wanted them to give up their guns before boarding, but that was asking too much. They were already in their territory. They were the ones who contacted the brunette, not the other way around.

"We can trust her. We need to make this deal tonight." What he learned from others was that she is not to be messed with. The reason she agreed to be here is that she was taking a vacation nearby. Otherwise, the meeting would be held in her territory not his. He had spent months to make this happen. "If we can't deliver, they're not going to be happy." He reminded his boss why they need to make this deal. The terrorists are waiting for them to make the delivery. The deal was to get them the firearms and weapons they needed in return for Jean Claude's head.

Lucy was running out of patience. She flung her leg back and forth while tapping her finger on the sofa arm.

"We're done here." Lucy said as she stood up. She didn't kick anything this time. She wanted to let him know that this is his loss, not hers. And more importantly, she wanted to give him the feeling of not knowing if she would do something to him for wasting her time.

Lucy walked down the stairs in the same pace she came in. Everything was going according to plan…sort of. She expected this to happen. What she didn't expect was Jehan. Even without the deal going thru, at least now she can tell the Head of Divison 16 who to go after. _Mission accomplished. Part of it anyways._ What she also didn't expect was Max getting caught and Amy and all the others were in the yacht.

* * *

**Current in Venice  
**

"Lucy!" Her eyes opened wide for a second and quickly blinked a few times to get adjusted to the light. Blurry images slowly became more clear. As she tried to lift her head up, the pain caused her to fall back down on the pillow. Surrounding her were three worried-looking woman: Nadia, Alexis and Janet.

"What happened?" Amy looked around and noticed that she could be in another hotel room.

"How are you feeling?" Nadia said as she sat closer on the bed.

"Don't you remember?" Janet said.

"How's your head? Should we get the doctor?" Nadia said in a gentle tone.

Amy looked at her watch and saw that she was out for an hour.

"Maybe we should leave tomorrow and get the doctor to look at your head. You don't look so good." Janet said in a concerned tone.

"Janet! It's not my head. It's my neck. They knocked me out. Now tell me what happened to Max! Where's Lucy?" She frowned at each one of them who were looking at her like she has two heads.

"Kristin…calm down…"

"Nadia…tell me what happened."

"Everything's fine…we called Scud and Jehan let us go."

That's good news, but that wasn't what she wanted to hear. "Where's Lucy? Where's Max?"

"What are you talking about?" It took a moment for Amy to realize that it was possible that they don't know about Max and Lucy. After telling them what she saw and what she did, she could tell that nobody believed her.

"I'm telling you the truth. They were there!"

"We didn't see…."

"Give me the phone." Amy said anxiously to Nadia.

Taking the phone from Nadia, Amy urgently pressed the speed dial to Max. She waited for 3 rings. There was no response. She tried again. Same thing. Her heart beat pounded faster each time she dialed. At the third try, she left a voice mail. Next, she pressed the speed dial to Lucy. Everything was in the back of her mind. It took 3 tries before she remembered that the brunette wouldn't pick up anyone's phone unless it's an emergency. Knowing that the brunette wouldn't reply back to her, she had Nadia text her a message instead. Her entire body was trembling as she held the phones in her hands. There was silence in the room. A cold shiver ran through her body. She didn't need to look at herself in a mirror to know that her face was as pale as the white sheets on the bed. As she waited for the phones to ring, she thought about what happened. The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. The longer she waited, the more real it became. Her hands began to shake on its own. A tear drop fell from her eyes and onto her phone as she looked up at Alexis. "I…shot…her...Alexis…I killed her." Amy said in a trembling voice.

"Kristin…" Alexis held her tight, stroking her back, up and down. "No…it's…it's only a dream."

"No…it's not." Amy shook head. "She was there. Max was there. She shot Max…and…and…I" She turned to look at Nadia. "…Nadia…I…didn't know….Alexis…I didn't know…" She said in an apologetic tone.

Seeing how pale she looked, Nadia placed a hand on her forehead.

"Janet, go get a doctor."

"Janet!" Amy yelled so loud, Janet stopped moving. "Why don't you believe me?" Amy glanced at Nadia, then Alexis, then Janet. At that moment, she felt like she was someone with mental illness whom nobody believed in.

"Kristin….do you think that maybe you could be wrong? It's dark out. Maybe it's not Keira. Why would she shoot Max? Why would Max be there?" Nadia said in a comforting calm gentle voice.

Amy had the same questions herself. None of it makes sense to her. "I don't know." They hated each other but Lucy wouldn't kill her. Amy closed her eyes and tried to remember what happened an hour ago. She then shook her head vigorously as she tried to imagine it was someone else. It was no use. She was certain that it was Max. As for the brunette, she wasn't so sure because all she saw was one side of her face when she landed flat on the floor. "NO…it was Max. I know it's her."

All stopped moving when the phone suddenly rang. Amy didn't recognize the number but that was the least of her concern. "Lucy?" Without thinking, she called the brunette's name instead of her DEB friend. When the other end didn't respond, Amy realized that she should have asked for Max.

The fear that consumed her had completely disappeared when she heard Max's voice. Everything that she was thinking before was all in her mind. Her mind was playing tricks on her.

"Okay, Max, see you a few days." After hanging up the phone, she let out a big sigh of relief and flopped her back against the headboard. If that wasn't Max, then who she shot couldn't have been Lucy either. "She's in Paris." She said to each of the girls who simply nodded with a smile.

When a sound came from Nadia's phone, Nadia picked it up from the bed.

Nadia read from the instant message. She took a glance at Alexis, then at Janet before returning her eyes at the taller blonde. "She's…in…Tokyo."

Amy snatched the phone from Nadia's hand. After taking a look for 2 seconds, she handed it back to Nadia. Alexis could tell that her behavior had completely changed when the blonde punched the pillow twice before resting her head on it. She took a look at the phone and realized why the sudden change. In the phone was a picture of the brunette with her girlfriend Grace taken at night time in front of a Japanese restaurant.

"It's late. Go to sleep." Amy closed her eyes. There were still a lot of questions she wanted to ask. Who's the person she shot? Did she witnessed a homicide? How did Scud convince Jehan to let us go? Where am I? But after seeing the picture, she was no longer in the mood to ask those questions. All that worry was for nothing. _She's having a good time while I'm worrying sick. _Amy grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it over her head. "Go to sleep! Janet!"

It wasn't loud. It wasn't clear. But all heard what the taller blonde said and all understood what was upsetting her.

"A…" As Janet was about to call the blonde's name, she stopped when she saw 2 pairs of eyes narrowing at her. Both placed a finger on their mouths and pushed Janet outside of the bedroom.

Not wanting the blonde to hear them, all walked to the end of the hallway.

"Janet, you can't tell her." Alexis said.

"You saw what happened earlier." Nadia said.

"But…  
"You can't." Alexis said.

"Stick to the story."

"Do you understand?"

"It's for her own good."

"Not now."

Janet was getting a little dizzy after moving her eyes from left to right. She finally nodded after the girls stopped talking.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a hospital in Venice, Italy

Sitting on the bench in front of the double doors of the surgery room, holding a cross in her hand, Max continued to blame herself. She had been mumbling to herself after getting the call from Mr. P. _It's all my fault. Why do I have to be so nosy?_ _I'm so sorry. Amy. I'm so sorry._ She had always been tough. The only time she ever cried was when she heard about Amy's demise. This time, she couldn't control her tears from forming at the thought of Amy finding out the truth. _Please God. Don't let her die._ She never thought that there would be a day that she would be praying for the life of the criminal mastermind. But at this moment, she wished to exchange her life for the brunette's. She could not imagine how the blonde would react if she knew what she did. Thinking of the worst possible outcome made her feel sick to her stomach. At this moment, she wished she never saw the brunette in London and she wished she never called Mr. P. All of this could have been prevented if she had just kept her mouth shut.

It was her questions that made her boss become suspicious of her. Her boss was on to her for a long time and she had no idea. She was supposed to be a bodyguard. She shouldn't have that many questions. She realized why she was allowed on the yacht where the deal was being made, where she was allowed to finally find out who the real boss is. That night was supposed to be her last day. They were going to kill her. She was sure of that. What she wasn't sure of was whether they were using her as a test to see if the brunette was an undercover cop. I used to be a cop but not anymore. That's what she kept telling them but they wouldn't believe her. She thought about jumping off the yacht to escape. The chances of surviving would be small but still there could be a chance. It surprised her to see the former criminal mastermind coming out of the cabin so fast. It surprised her even more that the brunette had a plan B to save her and in the process made them believe that she wasn't a cop herself. It was the gun that Lucy used with the silencer attached. One close shot in her stomach and her shirt was smeared with fake blood. Then one quick kick on her front shoulder caused her to fall overboard. Max was sure that the next step in Lucy's own plan was to have the yacht move out of that location as quickly as possible so she could come up for air. But when the yacht didn't move until moments later, she had to swim away under the water as far as she could without being noticed. Something must have happened or maybe that wasn't her plan. That's what she thought until she was rescued minutes later after the yacht left the area. She was confused at how the brunette was able to contact them and how they were able to find her in the darkness. She found that there was another reason Lucy asked her female follower to search her for bugs before shooting her. It was to put a small tracking device into her pocket.

"But how did you know?" That was Max's question to her rescuer. The device would give them the location but not when to pick her up.

"They called us to get them a doctor."

"That was the code?"

"No, someone's hurt."

The brunette had her own tracker and they saw that her tracker was moving away from Max's. With the unexpected phone call and the trackers, they knew something was wrong.

* * *

Inside a room with king size bed, the lights were on. It was late at night. It was dark. Everyone should be sleeping by now, but sleep was the last thing on their minds.

"She's going to find out tomorrow." Alexis said.

"I know…"

If not tomorrow, then maybe the next day. Both knew how difficult it would be to keep lying to the blonde. She used to be a DEB. She's tired now. She can't think straight. After tonight, they had no doubt that Amy would be back to herself and there would be a lot of questions that they wouldn't be able to answer.

Alexis sat up on the bed. "Why haven't they called?" She said as she stared at her phone. "I can't sit here and wait." Alexis lifted the blanket off and got off the bed.

"Alexis!" Nadia jumped off the other side. "You don't know where they took her."

"We'll go to the nearest hospital. We can find out." Alexis grabbed her jeans from the chair.

Nadia grabbed her hands, stopping her from moving. "I want to know too…as much as you do…."

An hour ago, they had no idea what happened to Kristin after she left the room. When they saw more men coming down and heard that Kristin was captured, they knew there was nothing that they could do. Janet threatened to shoot one of the goons that were tied up if they didn't bring Amy back to them. They were not in a position to negotiate so they knew she was bluffing. They could feel that the yacht was moving fast. Where they were heading to, they had no idea. It wasn't until they were forced to enter a van and found that a phone call was waiting for them. All were surprised that it was Lucy. She was in another car. Her voice sounded weak. She didn't explain what happened. What Lucy wanted to say to them, they only realized a moment ago why it was so important to her. "Don't…tell…Amy."

"She was lying to us." Alexis said as she sat on the edge of the bed. When they were brought here to the hotel, they were told that someone will call them later. Why can't they tell them now? Why can't Lucy tell them? Their questions were answered after listening to Amy.

"She's going to be okay." Nadia said as she hung her arm around her shoulder to comfort her. It became clear to her that everything the brunette did a few months ago, introducing Grace to them, was part of a bigger plan. She had a feeling that Grace was the one who sent that message. _She didn't want any of us to know and she would have kept pretending if this didn't happen._

"Why did she lie to us?" Leaning her head on Nadia's shoulder, Alexis sniffed in her tears and wiped the tears with the back of her palm.

Both knew part of the answer. It was for Amy. The other part, they would have to wait for whoever is going to call them.

Both jumped when Alexis' phone rang. After hanging up the phone, Alexis became even more worried. She was upset to learn that somehow the Head of Division 16 got Lucy involved. Helene didn't give her any details. All she said was what Alexis didn't want to hear.

* * *

Nadia didn't sleep well not only from worrying about the brunette but also from something else. She only realized what that was that woke her up when she opened her eyes and lifted the blanket. An arm was hanging over her abdomen. A long smooth leg was hanging over her left leg. Sleeping very close to her was none other than Alexis. Last night, they were informed that the brunette was in critical condition. Doctors did all they could do. There was nothing that anyone could do but pray and wait. Last night was the second time she saw Alexis in that state; sobbing uncontrollably. The first time was when the brunette got shot over a year ago. This time, it's for the same reason. Alexis is sleeping peacefully now. One couldn't tell what she went through by the way she looks now. When Nadia heard the news about the brunette, she somehow was able to control her emotions from pouring out. She had to because Alexis was already crying. It seemed odd seeing the strong woman broke down in front of her. But she understood why. It took a while for her to convince Alexis to sit with her, to pray with her, to stop her tears from flowing down. Their mind and body were too exhausted and both later drifted off to sleep.

They took the first available flight 2 and half hour back to London. They expected a lot of questions from Amy and Nadia responded as best as she could. They could tell that Amy didn't believe her because the responses just didn't make sense.

"So he let us go, just like that?" Amy said.

"yes, and Scud said he'll take care of it." Nadia wasn't lying about Jehan being taken care of. In the van last night, that's what Lucy told her. She's just not sure how she did it.

Nadia turned to her right and saw Alexis had her eyes closed and was wearing a headphone. She knew Alexis wasn't sleeping and heard the questions from Amy. Alexis wanted to stay behind and so did she, but both knew they wouldn't be able to help because they had no idea where the brunette is. And the other reason was obvious. They can't let Amy know.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Amy frowned, sitting on the aisle seat across from Nadia. She knew it wasn't the right time to ask the questions, but she was very curious to know what happened in detail, last night. She shot someone. She had no idea if her bullet killed anyone but she knows for sure that she shot the person in the shoulder to prevent that person from killing Max. Then someone hit her from behind, knocking her out.

"Did Jehan say I shot one of his men?"

Nadia shook his head. "You got caught, so I called Scud and he talked to Jehan to arrange a meeting with him. Then he let us go."

"him?"

"Anthony"

Amy nodded in understanding. For a moment, she thought it was Lucy. Of course it wouldn't be her. One, Jehan knows her. Two, she's with her girlfriend. Frustration and anger spontaneously boils inside of her each time she thought about the brunette with her girlfriend.

Nadia knew that the only way for Amy to find out is by talking to Scud. Knowing how Amy was distancing herself from Lucy and Scud, there could be a chance that the blonde wouldn't find out the truth, at least not for awhile.

"So if he didn't say anything about the man I shot, then that could mean 2 things." Amy said not directing her guesses to anyone. "One, that person is not dead, just hurt. Two, he doesn't care. Hmm…what about the other person? Should I tell my former boss to look into it?"

Nadia wasn't afraid that she would, knowing that her former boss would also hide the truth from her. She continued to pretend to look at the magazine. But internally, she's praying that the brunette would make it. Then suddenly a realization hit her, after hearing what Amy said.

"you think you shot his right shoulder?"

"I couldn't see that well, but I could tell she's a woman, but I was too late, it looked like she shot Max, I thought it was Max, and then she kicked her overboard"

_Why didn't she take the small boat? That would have been faster. _Nadia looks at the blonde and slowly realizes why. She wondered if Alexis heard and turned towards her. Their brows furrowed as both realized that the brunette must have saw the blonde after she got shot and thought that she was in danger. _So instead of taking the small boat back to land to get help, she chose to stay in the yacht to make sure the blonde is safe. _ _She had no idea we were all there until later._ They were not told why Lucy was on the yacht with Jehan, but they were told that she was helping them. When Nadia saw tears brimming Alexis' eyes, she moved her head to prevent Amy from seeing Alexis.

_Don't_. Nadia mouthed and held Alexis' hand.

"Maybe I should tell my former boss about Jehan." Amy said.

Nadia quickly turned to look at Amy, blocking her view from seeing Alexis. "good idea"

Amy stopped asking questions after that and Nadia was glad she did. When they finally arrived to London, it was already 3 pm. Amy took a taxi back to Max's apartment since she didn't want to see Scud who would be picking them up from the airport.

"Should I tell Scud?" Janet asked.

Lucy never said not to tell Scud. All wondered if they should. When Scud arrived, all remained silent. Scud dropped Alexis first to her house. He noticed that they were all acting weird thru the ride and thought at first, that they were just tired from plane ride. _But it's only a 2 hour flight._ They all looked like they didn't get enough sleep.

"Did you have fun, Janet?" Scud asked.

Sitting in the passenger, Janet let out a small smile.

_Okay, something is definitely wrong._ The whole point of the trip, he was told, was to make Amy feel better and he agreed that it was a good idea.

"Is she okay?"

"Who?"

If he wasn't driving at the moment, he would have asked his girlfriend what was wrong.

"Kristin."

"She's fine." Janet let out another small smile and returned her eyes on the road.

Scud took a glance at the rear view mirror and noticed Nadia was in her own world, looking at the side window.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Feeling tired and having a lot on her mind, Amy took her keys out and clumsily dropped her keys on the floor. She blew out a deep breath and shook her head out of her thoughts before bending down. Grabbing the keys from the floor and as she was about to stand up, she suddenly remembered that before she left, she had placed a small piece of paper on the side of the door, 5 inches from the floor. That piece of paper is used to see if anyone entered her apartment while she's away and that paper, to her surprise, is no longer there. "Max?" The door is locked. Realizing that it can't be Max, Amy looked around to see if there was anything that she could use to hit whoever is inside. There is nothing in her luggage except clothing. Amy decided to knock on the door instead and put her ear against it. After 2 knocks and not hearing a single sound, she stepped away from the door, pressed the doorbell and quickly ran away from the door. What she was thinking of was that someone could have wired her doorbell to create an explosion. When nothing happened, she realized how crazy her thought was. "I must be out of my mind." After ringing the doorbell and turning the doorknob a few more times and making sure there was no sound coming from inside, Amy put the keys in and slowly opened the door.

"What…the…hell?" As the door widened, what she saw shocked and disgusted her. Max's black leather sofa was flipped over, no longer in new condition. The lcd tv was on the floor, broken. The glass coffee table was shattered into pieces. The walls weren't damaged. In her DEBS mode, she carefully took one step inside and scanned the living room. Her first thought was that it wasn't a burglary since they didn't take the 42 inch LCD tv. _Maybe it's too heavy?_ The coat closet near the door was opened. All the coats, jackets, and anything that was inside were thrown out. On the floor was a baseball bat, Max's bat, used to defend herself if needed. Amy picked up the bat and immediately regretted it because whoever did this could have fingerprints on it. Who am I kidding? They must have gloves on. She then went into the kitchen and found everything inside the cabinets and drawers were on the floor. "Damn it!" She's not looking forward to seeing what her bedroom would look like. As expected, her bedroom was a mess and so was Max's. "Where's her computer?" Scanning around, flipping Max's blankets over, she couldn't find the computer anywhere. Many thoughts crossed her mind and one of them is that Max might be lying to her from day 1. Amy immediately called Max but all she got was her voice mail. She left a message telling Max what happened at the apartment. Feeling unsafe to be staying there, Amy checked to see if any of her personal documents had been taken. Inside the closet in her bedroom, she stood on a stool, lifted a small tab on the wall and felt relieved that all her personal documents were inside. Calling the police is not an option since she has no idea what kind of trouble Max is in. After grabbing another bigger suitcase, Amy stuffed it with whatever was important to her and Max's documents from the desk drawers.

It had been almost an hour since she left the apartment. She wondered why Max didn't called back. After having lunch inside the 4-star hotel, Amy closed her eyes as she layed on the queen size bed. What she was thinking of was other possibilities of what could have happened, but the only thing that she was convinced of was that it wasn't a regular burglary. They were looking for something. _Were they looking for me?_ If she didn't have her laptop with her, there was no doubt in her mind that they would have taken that too. _Why? Who_? She had been thinking that they were there looking for Max. But now she's not so sure. _What are they looking for? _What she needed right now is to talk to someone to figure this out. _Where is she?_

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A day later in the Grand London hotel

Sitting inside the hotel restaurant near the window, Amy had a look of confusion. She's confused about everything that's happened last night but that's not what caused her to be hypnotized by what she's holding in front of her. Last night, she decided to tell Janet about what happened to her apartment. Janet's first question was if she called the police. After explaining to her why she didn't think it was a good idea, Amy realized that Janet wasn't thinking clearly because Janet asked her to stay with them instead of the hotel. There was a reason why she left the house, but she knew Janet asked only because she's worried about her. Amy went thru Max's belongings to see what she could find and didn't find anything unusual. What she did find, however, was something that didn't belong to Max, something that was in her own room, in one of the pockets of a coat that she never wears and she had no idea until now. Her eyes then closed as flashes of images suddenly appeared. Most of the memories that appeared so far were mostly about Kristin but this time, something unusual happened. Scenes of Amy, then Kristin…it wasn't confusing because the brunette was talking to them about the same thing.

"Do you want more coffee, Miss?" A waiter asked.

"huh…umm…no thanks…" Amy responded, disappointed with the interruption. After the waiter left, she placed one on the table and held the other one with both hands. She then moved 2 levers simultaneously, then immediately dropped the bracelet when a red light emitted from it. Her jaws dropped. She looked around to see if anyone noticed what she did. A small hale of smoke emitted from the burnt spot on the table. Luckily she let go of the levers soon enough before the laser could burn a hole through it. She quickly took the 2 bracelets and went back to her room. Inside the hotel room, she tried the wire, the pepper spray, the drop of liquid and the laser again. This time, she aimed at the silver spoon. "oh…my…god…" She gasped loudly when the a beam of red light burnt a hole through the spoon. The wire and the laser were the only ones that worked. One was given to Amy about five years ago, the other was given to Kristin over a year ago. It's no wonder the pepper spray and the liquid that has the effects of a sleeping pill didn't work. "Must have dried up." She knew exactly which one was given to her five years ago because the only thing that worked on the one she's holding with her left hand was the wire, strong as steel.

_Where was this?_ What she did in a hurry back at the apartment was grabbed all the clothing that was thrown on the floor by whoever ransacked her apartment and threw it into her luggage. She wondered if Kristin knew about it. As for the other one that was given to Kristin, she had seen it before in Kristin's jewelry box but didn't think it was anything special at that time.

"You gave it to me 5 years ago." Amy said as she looked at the one on her left hand. "Then you gave it to me again." Staring at the bracelets, she's not sure what to think of this. "Are we supposed to be together?" She couldn't help thinking that is her fate. "How is it possible?" She asked herself again how is it possible that she, being a DEB, who never had interest in woman could fall in love not only with a criminal, but who's also a female. "Why do I want to be with you?" Amy still couldn't believe that she had allowed the brunette to touch her. She could still remember that moment that made her heart pounded twice as fast. Her upper lip was being kissed while her right upper lobe was being gently caressed at the same time. Her eyes opened, then closed when she saw the brunette closing the gap again, softly capturing her bottom lip, then upper lip. There was no tongue involved, but she remembered at one point of the kiss, her own tongue slightly stuck out as if wanting to taste more of her but pulled back when the brunette pulled away. That kiss was unlike the deep kiss she gave the brunette when she tried to take the tv remote control away from her. It was hotter.

"Are we supposed to be together?" Amy asked herself again. "If we are supposed to be together, then why do we keep separating each time?" From what she heard from Janet and Nadia, it's at least 6 times they separated. Two times as Amy; four times as Kristin. Holding the bracelets against her heart, she lay down on the bed as she kept her eyes on the ceiling. "What are you doing to me?" The question wasn't directed to the former criminal mastermind. It was directed to the Lord. "You brought us together, then break us apart again." Thinking back to that moment where she thought she shot the brunette, she felt as though her heart had stopped beating. No…no… That's what she kept saying in her own mind. Everything was unimportant at that moment, not even Hannah. All she wanted to do was turn back time, so Lucy could be safe. And if she could turn back time, she would have done something differently…stop her from leaving…with Grace…

"Why does it hurt so much?" Feeling a sharp pain in her heart, Amy winced in pain as she curled her body into a fetal position. She closed her eyes and unconsciousness quickly took over, sending her to a much needed rest.

But what she got wasn't a peaceful dreamless sleep. It was a nightmare. "Lucy!" Darkness surrounded the room. Sitting up, Amy panted heavily and reached to the side of the table to turn on the lamp. "Damn it! Where's the switch?" It took her a few seconds to finally find the switch at the base of the lamp. Taking a look at her watch, she realized it's 12AM. It was another crazy dream but it felt so real. She dreamed of being with Max, Janet, and Dominique. All were dressed in DEBs uniform, sitting in a black Volkwagen with beige leather seats. License plate was D.E.B.S.1. Max was the driver and was angry with her because she was promoted to captain 15 minutes prior to the mission. Their assignment was to capture Lucy Diamond who had taken over the bank in broad daylight. She, alone, had fallen into a booby trap inside the safe. There was nobody around. Darkness surrounded the area. At the end of the hallway was a door with a slit of light shone underneath the door. What she saw inside when she opened the door caused her to aim her gun and open fire without any hesitation…at Lucy Diamond…naked...on top of another blonde.

"Oh god…what's the matter with me?" Amy said, covering her face.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Next day Venice, Italy

It didn't take long for them to find the whereabouts of the brunette since Venice, Italy had only 3 hospitals. After doing research on each one while on the flight, Scud believed that that there is only one hospital that the head of Division 16 could have taken her. What did take some effort was finding the room Lucy was in. They waited for anyone that looked like an agent at the entrance of the hospital. Who Janet recognized was the big bald black man who used to be her superior, Mr. Phipps.

"She's stabilized." Mr. P said to all four of the brunette's friends who were looking at the brunette, lying peacefully with a mask on inside another room. Janet, Nadia and Alexis all had the same look of worry, tears flowing down.

Now that Scud had found her, he wanted to know what happened. "Why?" He said, keeping his eyes at the brunette in the other room.

"It's…my…fault."

All turned to Max who just came back from the bathroom and noticed that she must not have any sleep from her look of fatigue.

Scud heard the story from Nadia but he had no idea why Max was there. Anger boiled up inside of him. He stepped forward. He would never hit woman but this time is different. He raised his hand high up and as he was about to give what Max deserves, he was prevented from doing so when Mr. P grabbed hold of his hand.

"No…it's my fault."

"No, it's mine. I told him about her." Max stepped forward, closed her eyes as if allowing the former criminal to hit her wherever he likes.

As Scud was about to slap her face, he stopped when Janet called out. "Scud, don't!"

"Janet, she…"

"How could you? Max. How could you lie to all of us? I can't believe you're still an agent."

"I'm not. Janet." Max said in an apologetic tone.

"What?"

"She's not." Mr. P responded.

As Mr. P was about to explain, everyone was surprised at what the straightforward brownish hair with a tinge of red young woman, the youngest woman in the room, did. Without a word, Alexis extended her left hand, pushed Janet aside and slapped Max's face as hard as she can, causing Nadia and Janet to gasp loudly.

Alexis, like the rest of them, had no idea what's going on. But hearing the black woman's confession and seeing what Scud wanted to do, she knew that Max was the one to blame.

Max saw it coming and could have prevented it, but didn't. "I'm sorry." Her voice was full of regret.

"This is my fault. I made the decision to contact her." All then gasped when Alexis tightened her fist and threw a punch at the big black man three times her size.

"Alexis!" Nadia quickly wrapped her arms around Alexis as she was about to throw another punch, seeing that the first punch didn't do any harm.

All turned to the direction when the Head of Division 16 opened the door. Helene sighed, not expecting them to find them so soon. After hearing the explanation from Helene, Scud wasn't the only one who's confused.

"Why do you need her help?" Scud said in an upset tone.

"It's confidential."

"Confidential? You almost got her killed. We have a right to know." He wanted to yell. He wanted to scream. He wanted to shout. But since Lucy is in the other room, he tried to keep his angry tone of voice down.

"What I can tell you is that she succeeded in helping us. Thanks to her, thousands of lives will be saved."

If Helene isn't a woman, Scud would have grabbed her neck. "What did you threaten her with? And don't tell me you used us…we had a deal!" Knowing that the government could never be trusted, Scud wouldn't be surprised that they used their lives as well the megastar to force her boss to help them again.

"We didn't threaten her." The response came from Mr. P.

"Then why would she help you?...none of this makes sense"

"She didn't tell us why. But my guess would be is…because…of Amy."

"You threatened her to expose Amy?" Scud contorted his face in anger and disgust. "She was your perfect Score. She was one of your own. How could you do this?!"

"We…didn't…threaten her…." Mr. P repeated and understood how he felt so he said it slowly and calmly. "We explained what we needed help with and she agreed."

"Just tell me what you wanted her to do!" Being only 5 feet 11 inches, Scud stood on his toes, reached up and grabbed the 6 feet 5 inches tall black bald man by the collar of his gray suit.

There was no response from Mr. P or Helene. Nadia held Alexis tighter when she felt Alexis trying to break free as if she wanted to hit Mr. P again to get him to speak.

"I found…my boss…" Max doesn't work for the government so she didn't feel she's in violation of telling them what happened. Besides, she felt that they had a right to know. Max continued to explain everything including how the brunette saved her.

It was too much for Alexis to just stand there and do nothing. She wiggled herself out of Nadia's grasp and this time instead of slapping the former DEBS captain who is responsible for everything, Alexis threw a punch to the left side of Max's jaw.

All could see blood on Max's lip. Seeing how Max just stood there without trying to block the attack, Janet understood how Max felt. She's just not sure how Amy would react when she finds out.

"Do you realize what you've done?" Alexis huffed angrily.

Having known Max for about 2 years, Janet had never seen Max in the state she's in now. Tears brimming her eyes. Her look full of apology and regret.

"If she …." Alexis stopped herself from saying 'the word', "Kristin…will never…forgive herself."

* * *

3 days later

Sitting inside the car parked in front of the duplex that she hasn't been to for months, Amy kept her eyes at the duplex. It's about 11 pm. Max returned her call the day after that night and said she won't be able to come home until a week later. Max's response to what happened to her apartment was:

"it could be just someone looking for expensive stuff"

"Max, they took your computer and they left the tv." Amy didn't believe her until she learned that Max went back to London while she was on vacation in Venice. And as for the computer, Max said she gave it away since the hardware was old. That would explain the piece of paper missing from the door. Just to be safe, Max told her to stay in the hotel for the time being. It was a believable story until she learned that Janet was also busy to have dinner with her. Janet's excuse was that she had to travel for business for a week. Nadia's excuse was that she had to go back to Paris to visit her best friend, Alec's ex-girlfriend whom she had lost contact for years. And Alexis also went back to Paris to visit a friend.

"Coincidence? I don't think so." It took her 3 days to feel that something wasn't right because they all had busy lives. Not seeing each other for days is not uncommon, but all three not being in London at the same time is very unlikely. She just came out from visiting Ethan and Ethan told her the same thing about Nadia. What she also learned was that Scud was out of the country to see Anthony to take care of the Jehan situation. That made sense to her. But something tells her that something is wrong.

* * *

Italy

Inside the cafeteria, anyone who saw them would know that their love ones must be hospitalized since all of them, Nadia, Alexis and Janet had a look of worry plastered on their faces. All of them didn't feel like eating breakfast and it's not because of the Italian hospital food.

Dropping the fork on the table, Janet jumped when her phone rang. "It's Kristin." It had been been 4 days since they've been in the hospital. They were all hoping that Lucy would be awake by now so that they don't have to keep lying to the former blonde agent.

"Answer it." Nadia immediately said.

"Hello….oh…ah…2 more days…uh…huh…okay…see you then."

"What did she say?" Nadia said.

"She just wants to know when I'll be back."

"Janet, if Keira is still…." Nadia saw that Alexis didn't like what she was about to say. "then I think you should go back. She's going to think something…."

Before she could continue, Alexis' phone rang.

"It's Kristin." Alexis said.

"Hello…yes…a week. What's up?...okay….okay."

"What did she say?" Both Janet and Nadia asked in unison.

"She said she has something important to tell us and wanted to see when I'll be back."

"Something…important to tell us?" Nadia was the one to ask but all were wondering what it could be.

Then all remained silent and stared at the phone vibrating on the table next to Nadia's plate. First Janet, then Alexis, now hers. Nadia didn't have to look at the phone to know who's calling.

"Hi Kristin…" Nadia said in a tone as cheerful as she could.

Janet and Alexis stayed as still as they could.

"Kristin?...hello?" There was no sound on the other end. Nadia looked at her phone to make sure it has the signal. "Kristin?" Not getting a response for another few seconds, Nadia was about to hang up until the other end finally spoke.

"Where are you, Nadia?" Her voice was calm.

"Paris"

"Why are you lying to me?"

"What?" Nadia kept on pretending.

"Nadia! Janet and Alexis are with you. The background noise are the same. I know. So stop lying to me!" Amy never screamed at Nadia but she had no choice. After spending hours writing down everything that happened the last few days, everything that she found suspicious to her on a big piece of drawing paper, she came to the conclusion that something must have happened to the brunette.

"No, they're not…"

"Nadia!" Amy shouted, getting tired of everyone lying to her. "Did…something…happen to Lucy?" The silence told her that she was right. "Did I…shot…her?" Her low trembled voice sounded uncertain, but she knew it was true. There were many things she realized that she should have known she was being lied to. But her anger had crowded her judgment the moment she saw the picture of the brunette with Grace smiling happily in Tokyo. The problem with the picture was that the time in Tokyo should haven't been night time, unless that picture wasn't taken at that moment or it was fake. What she did before calling Janet was sent a message to the brunette. "I have to talk to you. I remember everything. Please call me."

As expected, there was no response. There was no doubt in her mind that Lucy would have called her if she saw that message. She's not sure what to say to her if she did, but she would be happy to know that what she thought was wrong. But when the response never came, she knew she was one step closer to finding out the truth and that truth is written down at the bottom of the drawing paper. _I shot her._

"Nadia…how…is…she?"

* * *

After learning what happened to the brunette, Amy had not been able to get any sleep. How could she? She shot her ex-lover. She shot the one who saved her numerous times. She shot the one who killed her DEBS colleague. She hated the brunette for that, but never in her mind did she think about taking revenge for Hannah. She cried for hours, blaming herself and prayed to the Lord not to take the brunette away.

The first thing she did after arriving to Venice, Italy was headed to the hospital. Scud and Janet picked her up from the airport. Scud had not seen Amy for a couple of months nor have they talked to each other. He was surprised Amy apologized to him. It wasn't her fault, so he didn't feel that she should be responsible for what happened.

Standing in front of the hospital room, Amy swung the door opened. It has been five days now and Lucy hasn't awaken yet. The good news is that the doctor felt it was safe to move the brunette from the ICU to a regular room. Alexis was massaging the brunette's arm and Nadia was doing the same to the other.

"Kristin…" Alexis stopped massaging the brunette's arm and gave the blonde a hug. "I'm sorry…we couldn't tell you…"

"I know." Amy had learned from Nadia that they had a reason that they didn't tell her. When she heard what happened, she was surprised that the brunette was able to stay conscious long enough to tell them. Why didn't she take the boat? It was the same question that Nadia had and she believed that Nadia's reason made sense. Lucy wanted to rescue them.

Taking her sunglasses off, all could tell that the blonde had been crying by her red rimmed and swollen eyes. She couldn't help control her tears from falling again when she saw the brunette's pale face, dry lips, and lifeless body lying helplessly on the bed. Tubes of all sorts were attached to her body. Heart monitor, bags of white and yellow fluids; everything looked familiar to her because she remembered that the brunette had been in this position before.

"Where…did…I…shot her?" Standing next to the bed, Amy slowly scanned the brunette from top to bottom. The question wasn't directed to anyone specific.

"Right shoulder" Nadia said softly.

Amy closed her eyes for 2 seconds, letting tears run down her face. There was nothing to be happy about, but she was glad that she didn't aim for the heart. She slowly sat down and reached out to hold the brunette's cold hand.

"Lucy…I'm here…it's Amy." Amy sniffed in her tears as she placed the brunette's hand against her cheek.

What she did later and what she said surprised all of them.

"It's time to go home now, wake up…Lucy. Let's go home together, you and me." Amy said in a calm gentle voice and kissed the back of her hand. "I forgive you…"

The only person who understood what the blonde was forgiving her for is Scud.

Amy reached up and gently caressed the brunette's pale cheek. "Did you hear what I said? I said I want to be with you. Wake up now, Lucy"

All especially Scud wondered if Amy was telling the truth or it was just to get the brunette to wake up.

"Amy" Feeling that he could no longer keep it a secret, Scud felt that it was the right moment to tell the blonde. He could no longer keep it to himself and let the brunette take the blame. "It was...me..."

All except Amy had no clue what he was confessing to.

"she was shooting at her. Janet, I had no choice." Scud went on to explain what happened that night. Knowing that Alexis and Nadia could be trusted, he didn't feel it's necessary to hide it from them.

That night, as Lucy was about to kill Schaffer, a shot hit the brunette in the arm. Everyone ducked when more bullets were fired. Men ran back to their cars and drove away for safety. Lucy was quickly assisted and escorted away. After a moment, the shooter came out. What Hannah didn't know was that Lucy, Anthony, Scud and a few others were in hiding. There was no way Lucy would miss the opportunity to kill Schaafer. Anthony wanted to drag her away.

"She thought we all left. We asked her who she is… It looked like she was there to save him and kill…Lucy. Amy, I…was the one who shot her."

It mattered then but not anymore. Hearing the explanation from Scud, Amy became even more confused. She had thought that she was knocked out by Lucy's men, but now she's not so sure. "It doesn't matter, anymore…." Sniffing loudly, Amy brushed the stray hair away from Lucy's eyes. "I just want her to wake up. Lucy, can you hear me? It doesn't matter anymore."

Exhaling loudly, Scud internally thanked the blonde for forgiving him. He could see six pairs of eyes looking at him in confusion, especially Janet's. "…she's…a DEB."

All gasped loudly. Janet snapped her head at the blonde and finally realized why Amy wanted to move out. "Amy…why didn't you tell me?"

"Janet…it was me…not Lucy." Scud clarified, letting his girlfriend know that Lucy took the blame for a reason. His lips then curled up when he saw his girlfriend nodding in understanding.

Nadia gestured with her hand, motioning all to leave the room to give the blonde some privacy because she believes that the only one who can wake the brunette up would be Amy. Even if the blonde was just lying about wanting to be with the brunette, Nadia agreed with her plan. _Whatever it takes_.

Alone inside the room, Amy wiped her tears that continued to stream down her face. She then pulled the blanket down the brunette's chest and lifted the hospital gown. What she wanted to see is if the bullet went through. It didn't. Her face leaned closer to the brunette's cheek.

"Wake up, please." Amy whispered and lightly kissed the brunette on her cheek. She remembered the time when the brunette woke her up and wondered if it would work with her. "I love you. I want to be with you." Sadly, there was no movement, just air fogging up the oxygen mask. After a moment of saying what she thought the brunette wanted to hear and feeling that nothing seems to work, she brushed her tears away.

"What do you want from me?!" Amy said angrily. "Do you want me to feel sorry for the rest of my life? Is that it? Why did you help them? Do you have some sort of hero complex? They didn't threaten you. So why did you help them?" Amy said, sniffing in loudly again. She had asked Nadia the question, but all Nadia said was that her former boss didn't threaten her. "If you didn't, you wouldn't be here. What's the matter with you?" She held the brunette's hand against her wet face.

"Amy."

Amy turned and saw Max and Mr. P at the door.

"Mr. P?" Nadia just told her about why Lucy and Max were on the yacht. She had no idea Mr. P was involved.

"Amy…it has been a long time."

"Why?…." Previously, Amy learned that Max was working for Jehan's assistant as a bodyguard and the reason why Lucy had to pretend to be shooting her. But now seeing Mr. P, she's not so sure that Max told them the truth. Her eyes glanced at Max, then at Mr. P.

"Max…please don't tell me you're still working for the government." It made sense if she did because the people who ransacked her apartment were looking for something important. And those people would probably be Jehan's men.

"I'm not."

"Then why!" When she heard what happened to the brunette, she couldn't help blaming Max and herself, but herself more than anyone else. After listening to Mr. P's explanation, she's not sure what to think of all of this. Her mind couldn't help thinking of would happen if she had stayed with the brunette in London, this would never have happened. "It's my fault."

"Amy, it's not your fault. It's mine." Mr. P had learned from Max that Amy is no longer in love with the brunette, but seeing in her state now, crying uncontrollably, her head leaning on the brunette's abdomen, he's not so sure that was true. Becoming more worried, he is afraid that this incident would break the perfect score.

"I'm so so…sorry…Amy." Max said as she slowly bent down and knelt on her knees.

* * *

Another week has gone by without a change in the brunette's status. Everyone, especially Scud was certain that Amy would be able to wake the brunette up. Even doctors were baffled. After getting the doctor's permission, Scud decided to move the brunette back to a hospital in London. As each week passed by without a change, all became even more worried. It was only a shot in the shoulder. It shouldn't be like this. The only reason that doctors could come up with was that she might have injured her head at some point because they did see a bump on the side of her head or it could be that they took too long to revive her and somehow affected her brain. Amy decided to move back with Nadia since Max was recruited by Mr. P to work for the US government once again. Classes ended for the semester. Amy had wanted to spend full time taking care of the brunette but was finally persuaded by Nadia, Janet, Alexis and Scud that it wouldn't be healthy for her, so she continued on taking 3 classes during the summer while spending the rest of her free time with the brunette and helping out at the restaurant. Each day, she would tell the brunette everything that happened to her, Scud, Janet, Nadia, and Alexis including Annie's story.

"Your eyebrows are getting bushy." Amy carefully snipped the ends of the brunette's brows. "You better wake up soon, because you're getting chubbbbbby." A month has gone by. Each night she prayed to the Lord, but each day she came with disappointment. "There…all set…beautiful." Amy gently brushed the eyebrows evenly with her thumbs before placing a kiss on her cheek. That's what she had been doing each night before she leaves the hospital….a kiss on the cheek. "Your toe nails are done. Your finger nails are done….what else?" Amy pondered for a short moment before lifting the blanket off the brunette's legs. "You are so lucky. You don't have to shave your legs." She then straightened the brunette's hair. "Your hair is getting really long. Do you want me to cut it for you? How about I shave it all it off… for charity?" Stroking the brunette's long dark brown hair, she wondered how long it hasn't been washed. As she was about to get up to ask the nurse, she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

It surprised Amy to see who it was that came with her former boss, Kat and Grace. The head of Division 16 apologized many times for what happened to the brunette. It wasn't until that the news about Jehan and the terrorists were broadcasted that she learned why the brunette chose to stay on the yacht. The main reason was to save them. The other reason was to get Jehan to take the bait; Helene decided that it wouldn't do any harm to let the former blonde agent know what happened inside the yacht.

_That night, when Lucy got shot and fell on the floor, her men pulled out their guns and aimed at Jehan's men. "Hold your fire!" Standing at one level up, Jehan called out to his men._

_Screaming in pain, Lucy held her shoulder as her followers aimed at Jehan's assistant who came running down._

_Holding his hands up high, Jehan's assistant explained that it wasn't them. To show he meant no harm, he asked his men to put their guns down._

_"who shot me?!"_

_"You're hurt." Jehan's assistant bent down and tried to see if it was serious but was prevented from doing so by Lucy's followers who were aiming their guns at Jehan's assistant and his men._

_"No kidding!" Lucy winced in pain as she was assisted getting up. Huffing angrily, Lucy held her right arm against her side. She looked up and saw Jehan crouching next to the shooter. There weren't much light on the above deck. But she could see that Jehan was making sure if the shooter was okay. As Lucy took a step forward, her followers advised her not to. It was a dangerous situation. They might have found out. What they wanted to do was get her on the smaller boat. _

_"You better have a good explanation for this because you have no idea who you're dealing with!" Lucy shouted at Jehan on the second level as she stepped forward to take a closer look._

_"I do. Come up and I'll explain. Start the engine." Jehan ordered one of his crew._

_One of Lucy's followers, who works for the Head of Division 16, felt that he should say something. "Boss, you're hurt. We should get you to the doctor."_

_"Call the doctor to wait at the port." _

_Her follower didn't like the idea but understood the signal that was given. She was beginning to get dizzy as she took each step. She could feel blood sliding down her back. She had been shot before so the pain wasn't unfamiliar. When she was finally able to get herself upstairs to the cabin, a medical kit was waiting for her. The yacht was moving faster._

_As soon as she stepped inside the cabin and saw who was lying unconsciously on the sofa, she knew who shot her and why. She thought I killed Max. A shiver ran down her spine as a cold sweat begins to form. Lucy tried to stay focused._

_"What is she doing here? Who else is here?" The only other person she knows for sure that must also be on the yacht was Nadia. _

_"I didn't plan this. Shooting you was not my intention. I needed her for personal reasons."_

_"personal reasons? What personal reasons?" Lucy winced in pain as she took off her jacket and allowed her follower to tape a bandage over her shoulder. _

_"It's personal…." _

_Jehan then stood up quickly, shocked at what the brunette wanted to do. "What are you doing?!" _

_"Does she work for you?" _

_"no" Jehan said, confused._

_"Then this is what she gets for shooting me." Lucy aimed her gun with her left hand at Amy._

_"No!...you can't…that's Kristin…"_

_"I know who she is. She has no reason to shoot me." Lucy moved her gun, pointing at Jehan. "…unless…you told her to…"_

_"No…there must be a misunderstanding." Jehan had no intention of telling her the real reason why the blonde was there. But he couldn't think of a lie to tell her why the blonde would be shooting at her. "All I can tell you is that she's here involuntarily." Jehan saw the brunette's eyes narrowing at him. "Can we talk about business?"_

_"Now you want to talk about business?" Feeling a little light headed, Lucy put the gun down. Knowing that Jehan needed the goods badly, she knew that he would come to his senses. But she had no idea she would be dealing with the situation with a bullet in her body. When Jehan opened a suitcase and placed it on the couch, Lucy's follower made sure all the money was there. _

_"You'll have the rest by wire tomorrow."_

_Lucy took out a piece of paper from her pants pocket and handed it to Jehan who quickly handed to his assistant. While they were waiting for a call back to confirm the goods, Lucy instructed her follower to take the blonde downstairs._

_"What are you doing?" Jehan asked when he saw one of the brunette's goons carrying the blonde._

_"Jehan, if you think I'm going to let someone get away with shooting me, then you don't know who I am." Lucy tilted her head towards his follower. "go downstairs and kill her"_

_"Wait!"_

_"Boss, we're almost at the port." Lucy's follower informed and played along. She knew that, that's why she chose to do it at that moment._

_"Then kill her now and dump her." Lucy said in an obvious frustrated tone. All could tell that she was becoming weak as her face began to turn pale._

_"Alexis…she's here too. Take Alexis…you remember Alexis, she likes you…and you…" Jehan trailed off when she saw fierce eyes glaring at him. What he wanted to do was exchange the blonde for Alexis, but he knew it didn't make much sense since the brunette wanted the one who shot her. He wasn't sure why but it looked to him as though she didn't want anyone to know her preference. But what she said later confused him._

_"Who else is down there?" When Jehan didn't respond, Lucy continued with the pretense. "You know what. You're right, it would be a waste to just kill her." Lucy then said in a commanding tone. "Take all of them." _

_"No!...not her…"_

_"and why not? You know…that's the 3rd time you stopped me. I ask you again. Did you tell her to shoot me?" Lucy said as she raised the gun with her trembling hand which Jehan noticed and immediately stepped away just in case she opened fire by accident. _

_"No…she's…she's…Michel loves her…you can't kill her…Michel will …." _

_"Do you really think I care about Michel?" _

_Frowning in confusion, Jehan realized that the brunette had completely changed or was everything just an act in Paris? He was hoping that she would let the blonde go._

_"It looks to me like you want her for yourself.." Lucy contorted her face in disgust when she realized she's right. It was his look of concern for the blonde, his reaction that gave it away. She wondered if Amy knows._

_"Take them. They're not with us." Jehan's assistant interrupted and said in a low volume to his boss. "we still need the second shipment." He wasn't sure why his boss was so keen on keeping the blonde. It wasn't until he heard what the brunette said that he finally understood. He was surprised that his boss was willing to risk everything that they planned for several months for a woman. The first part of the deal was done. He's afraid that there could be a chance that the terrorists would go after them without the second part of the shipment. That's where the ammunition, bombs, and hitech detonators are. _

_When the yacht finally docked at the port, Lucy was glad that she was able to hold on. Her body was weakening. Sweat formed on her face and body. Every step she took, she could feel her legs trembling. Before she stepped off the yacht, she just had one more thing to say. "you…better…pray…I make it…" As soon as she got inside a car, a doctor, sitting in the passenger seat attended to her wound. She wanted to make sure everyone got out safely before going to the hospital. But Helene's agents didn't listen to her and immediately started driving._

_"Who's with her?" Lucy said, barely audible. When she learned who else was with the blonde, a grin appeared on her face. _

* * *

Helene, Kat and even Grace came to visit. That's what the doctor recommended, to have friends and people talk to her. But nothing seems to help.

"I can't believe you did that." Amy learned from Grace that the 2 flat tires were intentionally punctured by the blonde beauty. More than being lied to, more than being ignored, she hated being eavesdropped on even more. She learned that Lucy had placed a bug in her room. That was how they were able to put on the 'sex' act at the right moment. She learned why and how Grace was picked for the mission. Even if Grace didn't tell her, Amy knew why. It was their similarity.

"I asked you to wait for me, why won't you? You could have told me what you were planning to do. We could have…" Amy trailed off when she realized that making her jealous wasn't the brunette's intention. "You wanted to show me that you've moved on?" Nadia was right. The brunette's other purpose was to show them that she's moved on so they can move on. Even though she asked the brunette to wait for her, she's not sure if she would still feel the same way after learning about Hannah at that moment.

Amy came to visit the brunette every single day so everyone, doctors, nurses, nurse assistants, and even the guy who came to wash the floors know who she is.

"It's time to give her a bath." A nurse assistant in her 40's came in, holding a new pair of hospital gown, urinary and fecal catheter bags. Feeling helpless, Amy couldn't control her tears from falling and covered her mouth when the nurse began washing the brunette's body with a sponge.

It wasn't the first time Amy saw how the nurse assistant gave her a bath. After a couple of times of watching how it was done, she volunteered herself. "Let me do it."

"How are you doing?" The nurse assistant asked in a concerned tone of voice as she gave the sponge to the blonde. She has no idea what their relationship is but noticed how much she cared for the one in the comatose state.

"I'm okay." Amy said as she sniffed in her tears and washed the brunette's legs.

"She's your best friend?"

"She's my…yes…she is." She had no idea what got into her. In that moment, she was about to say that she's her wife, but quickly stopped herself. As the nurse gently rolled the brunette on the side, Amy tried hard to hold in her tears again when she saw the bullet wound.

"I'll do it." The nurse said when she saw the blonde suddenly stopped.

"No…I can do it." Amy continued washing her back.

"She's very beautiful."

"Yes, she is." Amy smiled at the nurse assistant.

"Is she married?"

"she's…" Amy hesitated and thought about the question. "No." She responded, knowing that the nurse would continue asking the next obvious question if she had said yes.

"Does she need her hair washed?"

"I washed it yesterday."

"Thank you."

After she was done and after the nurse left, she sat down next to the brunette and reached down to intertwine her fingers with hers. Feeling a little tired, she propped her elbows on the bed, holding the brunette's hand against her face. "When are you going to wake up? I said I want to be with you. Can you hear me?" Unable to control her emotions again, tears began to run down. "Do you know how long you've been sleeping? It's been a month now." She wiped away the tear that blurred her eye. "If you don't wake up, I'm going to leave you. I'm tired. Lucy. You hear me." When she saw no response from the brunette, Amy sighed loudly. She continued talking, hoping to wake the brunette up, her eyelids began to droop, her head slowly leaned on the brunette's hand, she mumbled softly again and again. "Pleeeeease…wake up…" She didn't realize she fell asleep until she heard a voice calling her name. It was Nadia. Ethan, Janet, and Scud. It's not the first time they saw the sight in front of them. When Janet didn't see her at home, she knew where she went.

"C'mon…Kristin….it's late…let's go home." Amy slowly got up with Nadia's assistance. Her eyes still half asleep. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Amy said in a soft tired tone and without thinking, without caring what others think, especially Ethan, she kissed the brunette on the cheek just like she had done everyday. Without a smile, with her head drooped, Amy slowly walked out the door, passing by all of them.

Nadia was a little surprised at what the blonde did. She wondered what Ethan was thinking of at that moment. Nadia then did the same and kissed the brunette on the cheek. Janet followed suit.

Ethan still had no idea who Amy really is. He learned what happened at the yacht but what he was told was that Amy shot the brunette by accident.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Scud didn't reject to the idea to move the brunette back home.

After Amy got home and took a shower, she didn't feel as tired as before. "Yes, I think it will help her."

Nadia agreed and immediately volunteered to stay home to care of the brunette. Janet also offered.

"No…we can hire someone to help her."

It's not that he didn't think about it, but hiring someone that he could trust would be very difficult, especially when he's giving that person access to everything inside the house.

"We'll take turns. I'll take care of her in the mornings and afternoons, you can take care of her in the evening." Nadia said to Amy. "and you can still go to school…and I can work part time."

"and I can help out too…" Janet added.

"Girls, I know you want to do this. But it's not going to be easy. Let me try to find someone." Scud said as he headed back to his house. What he's worrying about is that since their bathroom doesn't have the same setup as the hospital bathrooms, it won't be easy for them to give the brunette a shower or take care of her the way the hospital could. Scud had spent a lot of time and money to make sure that the private hospital could give the brunette the best care.

As Amy was about to go back to her own room, Nadia couldn't resist. For a month now, everyone noticed and heard what the blonde said to the brunette. Nadia was very curious to know if what she said was true.

"Kristin, when she wakes up, are you planning to stay with her?" There was no doubt in Nadia's mind that the brunette will wake up some day. Ethan had more serious injuries and he was able to survive it.

"Yes."

"What I mean is…are you planning to stay **with** her?" What Nadia wanted to know is if she's planning to stay with her as lovers.

"Yes, forever."

"this isn't your fault." Janet wondered if she's staying with the brunette out of guilt.

"Janet, I know that…and it's not because of that."

"She wouldn't want you to repay her by…"

Before Janet could continue with her thought, Amy cut her off and exploded in anger.

"I'm not staying with her because I feel guilty! Goddddd…" She glared at both of them before stomping upstairs to her bedroom.

Nadia got her answer and let out a small smile while Janet wondered what changed her mind. As far as she knows, Amy still couldn't remember why she fell in love with the brunette. So the only reason that she could come up with is that Amy is doing it out of guilt.

A week has passed and Scud interviewed several people but couldn't find one he could trust. Even if he could find someone, he would have to install cameras everywhere inside the house and each day, they would have to look at the videos to see what that person did. It would just be too much work and having cameras inside the bathroom wouldn't be appropriate. Since it was 3 votes against 1, he had no choice but to comply with the girls' request. The remodeling of the bathroom and the wheelchair ramp will have to be done later.

After getting approval from the doctors, they were all excited to get the brunette home. But what they didn't expect to happen was what they had been hoping for. What they saw when they opened the door to the hospital room were two doctors and a nurse crowding around the brunette.

"What's going on?" Scud said.

Afraid that something bad had happened, Amy was the first one to approach the bed. Covering her mouth, her jaws dropped, she was shocked to see the brunette sitting up still with her eyes opened. She wanted to call out her real name but she stopped herself from doing so. The doctor was examining her eyes. Scud, Janet, and Nadia were all shocked as well.

"What happened?" Even though the brunette had her eyes opened, Amy could tell there was something wrong. Lucy wasn't moving, just sitting still on the bed.

The nurse assistant explained that she stepped out for a few minutes and when she came back, she saw the brunette had her eyes opened. It didn't make sense to Scud or any one of them. They believed that something must have triggered her.

When the doctors finally stepped aside, Amy hugged the brunette and pulled back when the brunette didn't move. She cupped the brunette's cheeks and turned her head to face hers. "Lucy" Amy whispered after making sure that doctors and nurses weren't looking at them. Dark brown eyes were looking straight at her but it looked as though she had no idea who she is.

After getting the brunette home, all stared at the brunette, sitting on the wheelchair.

"Alright, Lucy, cut it out. It's not funny anymore." Scud said, but the only response that came from the brunette was a silent stare into blank space.

"Scud…." Janet didn't like what her boyfriend was implying.

"I was just joking." It was a good sign that his boss is finally awake. Even though she didn't recognize them, everyone was in a better mood than before.

Amy crouched down in front of the brunette and looked up. "Are you hungry?" When the brunette didn't look down, Amy stood up a little and moved her face closer to the brunette's, so close the tip of their nose touched. It looked as though to anyone watching was that she was about to kiss her. What she was expecting the brunette to do was jerk back, but she didn't, just eyes blinking a few times.

"…I can't believe you." Janet realized that Amy was thinking of the same thing her boyfriend was thinking, that Lucy was pretending.

"I just want to see her reaction." Amy lifted the brunette's hand and when she let go, Lucy's hand remained at its current position. It was as if she's acting like a robot. Whichever part of the body was moved, that part remained still until it got tired.

"What do you think happened?" Nadia asked.

"Whatever it is, I am sure she's going to come back to us." Amy said without a doubt as she locked her eyes at the brunette's pupils as if to see what's going on inside.

Even though the brunette was awake, what they found was that she wasn't able to chew. Amy pulled down the brunette's jaws and pushed it back up a few times, hoping she get the idea but that didn't work. What did work was feeding the brunette with soup only, but it made a mess everywhere.

"Are you sure about this, girls?" Scud asked again.

"Yes" Janet, Nadia, and Amy responded in unison as Janet wiped the brunette's mouth each time Amy put a spoonful of soup in her mouth while Nadia held a dish under the brunette's mouth.

"Okay….juuuust making sure."

After learning what happened to the brunette, Alexis came over after work and was confused and shocked at the same time. She waved her hand across the brunette's face and all she saw was what they all expected, her eyelids closing and opening a few times. Ethan was confused as well.

"It's time to give her a bath." After eating dinner, Amy felt it was necessary to give the brunette a real bath since they made a mess on her clothes while feeding her and she's not sure when the last time the brunette had one.

"Let me help…" Ethan volunteered and as he was about to carry Lucy to the bathroom upstairs, Scud stopped him.

"Let me…she doesn't like other men touching her…."

"Then let me…." Nadia suggested and gently pushed Ethan and Scud aside. Janet dropped her jaws when she saw the fitness instructor lifting the brunette up without any effort. All followed Nadia to make sure that she could carry the brunette to the third floor without dropping her. Without breaking a sweat, Nadia placed the brunette down into the bathtub.

"Okay, I'll take it from here." Amy said and noticed 8 pairs of eyes looking at her.

"I can help." Nadia suggested.

"me too…" Alexis added. Scud knew why they volunteered and so does Janet who rolled her eyes.

"No….." She said to Nadia, then turned towards to Alexis. "no…she wouldn't want that."

"she wouldn't mind. I've seen her before, remember?"

"you have?" Alexis was a little shocked and wanted to know when and how it happened. Even she hasn't seen the brunette naked. "When?"

Since the girls were taking a long time to discuss who was going to give the brunette a bath, Janet had to say something. "umm….ladies….." She had no plans on volunteering herself.

Without saying another word, Amy gently pushed Nadia and Alexis out the door and locked it. Nadia and Alexis sat on the kingsize bed as they waited for the blonde. Seeing that their help weren't needed, Scud and Janet went downstairs. The only one who was confused finally spoke.

"Did I miss something?" Ethan said. "I understand why Kristin feels that she should do it. But why won't she let you help?"

Nadia turned towards Alexis to see if she wants to answer the question.

"Because we're gay."

Nadia smiled because that's what she wanted to say, but both knew that wasn't the reason Amy kicked them out.

"So?" Ethan shrugged, still confused.

"mm…Ethan…you wouldn't understand…" Not wanting to explain any further, Alexis wanted to know the answer to her previous question. "So when did you see her naked?" Alexis asked in curiosity as if she's still a teenager.

"Not fully naked…" After Nadia explained what happened that night, Alexis gasped out loud.

"No way!" It took her a moment to realize why Amy was so upset that night. "So…that's why she said that." She spoke to herself.

"You caught her having sex…with Grace?" The more Ethan heard, the more confused he got. He knew that Nadia had always loved the brunette, but from the way she's telling the story, it seems to him that her sister has completely gotten over her. He had no idea that the blonde beauty was the brunette's girlfriend.

"I think…you should go down." Nadia said as she pushed Ethan towards the door.

"Where is Grace? Does she know?"

"They broke up."

"Oh….why?...she seems nice…"

"I don't know." After locking the door, Nadia let out a deep breath. She intentionally told the story in front of Ethan so that he wouldn't think there was anything going on with Kristin and the brunette. That's the reason she left out the part about why they came up to spy on Grace and Lucy that night. The only person who doesn't know about the real identity of Grace is Ethan.

After Amy was finished bathing Lucy and getting her dressed, she allowed Nadia to carry the brunette back to bed. Totally exhausted, Amy flopped down on the bed to rest for awhile.

"Are you sure you don't want my help next time?" Nadia said, noticing that some part of the blonde's clothes are wet.

"she wouldn't want that." Amy said, looking up at the ceiling.

"and… what makes you think she's okay with you doing that?"

Amy slowly sat up. "….and you know why…" Amy said in an obvious tone, knowing that Nadia was just teasing her. They knew why because both knew that they were once married.

It was getting late. Alexis went home. Ethan, Scud, Janet, and Lucy were all sitting on the couch, watching tv. Amy had just finished taking a shower. When she walked down the stairs and saw what everyone was doing including Lucy, she thought it was quite strange. Lucy wasn't sitting on the wheelchair, she was sitting on the end of the couch, watching tv as if there was nothing wrong with her. Amy slowly approached the couch and sat next to her. She noticed that the brunette wasn't sitting as stiff as before, but more in a relaxing position, her back against the couch, her right arm resting on the arm of the couch.

"What happened?"

"Sshh…." The sound didn't come from Lucy; it came from Scud. Amy snapped at Scud and wondered what was more important than the brunette.

"Scud, what happened?"

"Wait…"

Amy didn't understand why everyone was ignoring her question, so she walked towards the 42 inch LCD tv and shut it off. "Now can someone tell me…." Before she could finish her sentence, Amy's reflex kicked in and caught the nectarine that was suddenly thrown at her. Dropping the nectarine, she then caught the box of tissue. All were surprised at the brunette's sudden movement. When everyone saw what the brunette grabbed on the coffee table, Scud and Janet shouted at the same time. "Lucy! No!..."

"Keira…no!" Ethan and Nadia shouted in a panic tone.

It was too late. Lucy had thrown the fruit knife at the blonde who dodged it, but the LCD tv wasn't so lucky.

All three quickly held onto the brunette to stop her from grabbing anything else on the table.

Amy's heart was pounding out of control. So was everyone else's.

"Turn it on! Turn it on!" Scud hoped that the tv still works. As they were holding the brunette down who was struggling to break free, Amy quickly did as told and got out of the way. As soon as the tv came con, Lucy returned to her calm state, acting as if nothing happened. All were looking at the brunette as if she had two heads.

"What happened?" Keeping her eyes at the brunette, Amy asked in a lower volume since she was unsure what the brunette might do if she interrupted her again. Scud explained that previously while Amy was taking a shower, Lucy on her own got off the wheelchair and sat on the couch when Janet turned the tv on. "She was walking?" If she had known that sooner, she wouldn't have had to use so much energy getting the brunette out of the bathtub.

"First thing we have to do is hide all the knifes and forks." Nadia said.

"I'll do that right now." Seeing how dangerous it was a moment ago, Janet quickly went to the kitchen.

"Just don't upset her, let her do whatever she wants." Scud suggested since all had no idea what elicited that type of behavior except for Scud. Everyone kept their eyes on the brunette and no one tried to block her view or change the channel. When the movie ended, Janet decided to go to bed since she was a little tired. The rest remained seated to see what Lucy would do next. After another half an hour, seeing that she was in her happy calm state, all relaxed and watched another show that came on. Then all of a sudden, all were startled when the brunette suddenly stood up. The only person who knew why was Scud. Slowly extending her hand out, Lucy took one small step, then another, slowly walking towards the tv. All watched the brunette in silence and wondered what captured her attention. Scud knew exactly what captured her attention and smiled, realizing that his boss, his friend would soon be back the way she was before. He wondered if that was what woke her up. Lucy placed her hand on the tv. What was showing on the tv was the megastar singing their song in the music video. While Scud was smiling, the others were frowning in confusion. Amy remembered that Ashley once sang that song to her. When the video was over, all called out loudly again when Lucy started shaking the tv.

"Lucy, no!" Scud quickly wrapped his arms around the brunette to prevent her from making more damage to the tv. "Lucy, calm down, calm down" Scud said in a gentle voice to keep her calm but it was no use. "Use the phone, put the video on!" Amy grabbed her phone and quickly opened the video website that everyone is familiar with. "What's the name of the song?" She couldn't remember the name of the megastar or the song.

"missing you" Scud immediately responded while still holding the brunette under control.

When Amy found the video, she quickly put the phone in front of the brunette who, in an instant, stopped struggling. She increased the volume and placed the phone in the brunette's hand. Feeling that it was safe to let go of the brunette, Scud slowly released the hold he had on her. Grabbing Scud by the arm, Amy pulled him a few feet away from the brunette who was focusing on the video like a little kid.

"She likes her?"

"Doesn't everybody? " Scud said as if she just asked the most stupid question. "That video has over 3 billion views. "I'm guessing you haven't seen it." Scud himself had seen it a few times.

When Nadia saw that Lucy was shaking and poking the phone, she quickly showed the brunette how to replay the video. All returned to their seats and wondered when the brunette would get bored of it. With her arms crossed, Amy wondered what was happening to the brunette. She had never seen or heard anything like it. After another half hour, Scud was starting to doze off and so was everyone else including the brunette who dropped the phone and closed her eyes.

"Oh…good…finally…"

As Nadia was about to carry the brunette, Amy stopped her.

"Lucy…Lucy…" Amy shook the brunette's shoulder lightly to wake her up. She was hoping she could get her to brush her teeth first but nothing seems to wake her up, not even the voice of the megastar. Nadia carried the brunette on her back all the way up to the third floor in the master bedroom. They had previously thought about letting the brunette sleep on the first floor bedroom, Janet's bedroom, but now that she is able to walk, Amy decided that it's best to put her on the third floor, on the king size bed. That sweet smile, that calm face, Lucy was sleeping like a baby. All stood to look at the brunette for a moment.

"Okay, good night…Nadia, Ethan, Scud." Amy gently pushed all of them out.

"Wait…you're sleeping here?" Ethan asked in a concerned tone. Scud was a little surprised but not Nadia.

"Well, I can't let her sleep alone." Amy was thinking of sleeping with her anyways even if the brunette was still in a coma.

"But what if she…you saw what happened earlier…she threw the knife at you…what if she…"

"Ethan, she won't, now that we know what she wants, I'll just put the video on for her. Besides, she might get scared if she didn't see anyone around."

"but…" Ethan turned towards Nadia, then Scud and saw that they didn't reject to the idea.

"Good night…." Amy locked the door.

Behind the door, Ethan was still concerned for the blonde's safety. "Nadia, I don't think…"

"she can take care of herself. You know what she used to do. It's okay."

Ethan had no choice but to go back to his side of the house, knowing that he will have a difficult time falling asleep.

Once Amy got herself ready, she kept the bathroom light on, leaving a little opening so that she could still see the brunette. It had been an exhausting and interesting day. The thought of what Ethan said about the brunette hurting her never crossed her mind. The way Lucy threw the things at her, if she had wanted to kill her, she would have thrown the knife the correct way. But she didn't. She was throwing it like a little kid who just learned to throw a ball. It was a weak throw. Even if the knife hit her, Amy wouldn't have been hurt badly.

"Good night." Amy leaned over and kissed Lucy on the cheek. Her smile spread from cheek to cheek when she heard a groan followed by a soft snore from her ex-lover. She rolled over to her side of the bed and turned the lamp off. The outcome didn't turn out the way she expected but knowing that the brunette had awaken, she knew she would be able to finally get a good night sleep.

* * *

Next morning

It was indeed a good night sleep that she had not had for a long time. In fact, it was so good, she didn't realize the person next to her wasn't there. "Lucy?" Rubbing her eyes, she turned towards the bathroom where the light was still on. The door was wide opened and so was the bedroom door.

"Lucy!" Thinking of the worst, Amy quickly got up and ran down the stairs, all the way down to the living room. The main door was closed. In her pajamas, she then ran towards the dining room and came to a halt.

"What's going on?" Amy said in confusion when she saw everyone including Ethan and Scud sitting at the dining table, watching the brunette stuffing her mouth with scrambled eggs, bread, ham, and sausage. She expected someone to answer her but all she saw were faces as confused as she was.

"Slow down." Nadia said in a gentle voice when Lucy started choking and spitting out the scrambled eggs. Amy was the only one who gasped out loud when she heard 2 words from the brunette.

Amy quickly approached the brunette who was sitting at the end of the table and bent down. "Lucy, you're okay?" When she didn't get a response and saw dark brown eyes looking at her, then at her chest, her brows creased. The way the brunette was looking at her made her feel a little uncomfortable.

"Who's she?"

"She's your…friend." Scud said, unsure if the blonde wanted Ethan to know. He wasn't sure why they're still keeping it a secret since she rejected Ethan already. When Scud repeated who everyone is one more time, Amy understood what happened.

"She's…like…me?" Amy said as she stood up, looking at the brunette who gulped down a cup of coffee.

"Not exactly." Scud responded.

"Is she my girlfriend?" Lucy said to Scud.

Everyone glanced at Ethan when he quickly responded. "She's just a friend. Your girlfriend broke up with you."

All could tell that Lucy didn't like what Ethan said when she suddenly stopped chewing and stopped moving. "You may not know who I am, but nobody breaks up with me." Ethan never heard that tone of voice from the brunette, but Nadia has. It was different. It was commanding. It was...arrogant.

Nadia remembered where she had heard that tone before. She reached out to hold the brunette's hand and when she gently caressed it, it brought the brunette's attention to her.

"Are you…my girlfriend?" Lucy said in a gentle tone.

"No!" Nadia and Amy said in unison and Nadia quickly pulled her hand away.

"not her…" Lucy said in a tone as if she wouldn't believe it if someone told her that she is. She was pointing to Janet who quickly shook her head.

"she's my girlfriend." said Scud.

"oh…good for you." Lucy said and continued eating. She didn't think so since Janet isn't her type.

"What's going on?" Amy directed the question to Scud.

"How old are you?" Scud asked, but had an idea how old the brunette is from the way she's acting.

"18."

"What!" The response came from everyone except Scud.

"that's what I thought."

Nadia explained that she saw the brunette came running in and stuffed her mouth with anything she saw on the table. She was cooking breakfast at that time.

"I'm not 18, am I?" Lucy said, seeing how old her subordinate looked.

"No….but you still look good."

What woke Lucy up was the need for food. When she saw the blonde sleeping next to her, she was a little startled by her. The place didn't look familiar either. With the need to fill her stomach, she ran down to look for food but not before getting rid of the diaper she's wearing. Seeing herself in the mirror, she had a lot of questions.

After filling her stomach and feeling satisfied, Lucy leaned back against the chair.

"Okay…so tell me…"

Scud remained silent for a moment and wasn't sure where to start. If Ethan knew about them, then he wouldn't have a hard time thinking of what to tell her.

"well…short version…you left the organization, we went to Paris to live, you saved all of them…" Scud pointed to Amy, Nadia, and Ethan. "…you got shot, coma, then you woke up…" Scud let out a smile, but no one else was smiling.

"I left the organization? And why would I do that?"

"well, one day, you said you hated that life and you wanted to live peacefully. Look, Luce, it's a very, very long story, it's all going to come back to you. So take it easy and let it come back naturally."

Her brows creased, her eyes scanned at each one of them and stopping at the blonde, looking at her from head to toe.

"If you're not my girlfriend, then why were you sleeping with me?"

Again the response came from Ethan. "She just wants to make sure you're going to be okay."

"So you're telling me that I don't have a girlfriend? How is that possible? Scud."

"You did, she broke up with you." Ethan repeated and quickly added when he saw the brunette's eyes glaring at him. "…or maybe you broke up with her."

Feeling a little pain in her back shoulder, Lucy winced in pain. "What happened to that bastard who shot me?"

"umm…Luce…" Scud glanced at the blonde who cut him off.

"I shot you…by accident."

Lucy snapped her head at the blonde as she got more confused with the new information.

"accident"

"Yes, accident"

"Luce, it's going to come back to you. In the meantime, I think you should go out, take it one step at a time. Get some sun….get a haircut." Scud suggested.

Feeling a little stiff, Lucy thought it was a great idea. Nadia took a day off and went with the brunette, Amy and Scud. Janet and Ethan went to work. The first place Lucy visited was the salon to get her haircut. The second place they visited was to get a massage which Lucy felt she needed one badly. The third place they visited was a boutique. All their jaws dropped when they saw the brunette coming out of the dressing room except for Scud. Scud wasn't surprised to see the former criminal mastermind dressed in her usual black attire with short sleeves up to the shoulder, tight at the waist showing her perfect curves, hair tied in a ponytail, and with soft natural makeup that brought life back into her. Strangers wouldn't be able tell that she was sick before.

She turned to look at herself in the full size mirror and was satisfied with the way she looked even at age 30. "I look good, Scud." She didn't need anyone to tell her how good she looked. The expression on their faces said it all.

"You do." Scud nodded in agreement.

Lucy turned and slowly walked towards the woman whom she noticed had the most toned body she had ever seen and was looking at her in a strange way. "What do you think?"

"beautiful" That was the first thing that came to mind when Nadia saw the brunette.

"Thanks." The corner of her mouth lifted into a cocky grin as she locked her eyes at the fitness instructor who suddenly cleared her throat and looked down in embarrassment before stepping away from the brunette.

Amy noticed what just happened and didn't like what she saw, not one bit. It looked to her like the brunette was flirting with Nadia without speaking, just using her hypnotizing eyes...and those cute dimples. Noticing the brunette was still looking at Nadia, Amy turned to Scud who could only shrugged in response. That's how Lucy was at 18. She sees something she likes and she goes for it.

Sitting in an elegant expensive restaurant, Lucy opened up a newspaper and flipped through each page to see what she missed.

"Jesus…what happened?" Lucy said, pointing to the page of the stocks.

"it crashed"

"you're kidding?…is that why we live in that small house?" After Scud whispered into her ear, Lucy felt better knowing that she didn't lose her father's inheritance.

"that's not a small house." Nadia didn't like what the 18 year old Lucy Diamond said so she had to say something.

"It's not. I just meant that it's smaller than the one we used to live in." Lucy responded in the same gentle voice.

Scud explained that they used to live in a mansion. Lucy tried not to ask questions about the people she knows since they were out in the public.

"Do you remember what happen last night?" Amy interrupted the gaze the brunette was giving Nadia.

Lucy took a moment but can't seem to remember anything. "What happened?"

Scud was as shocked as everyone else. He explained her behavior and Amy showed her the video that she was so focused on last night.

"Who's that?"

Scud's jaws dropped. He was certain that she would have remember the megastar. He allowed her to finish watching the video and was disappointed when Lucy gave the blonde back the phone as if what she just watched didn't have any affect on her at all. After walking for more than half a day, they headed back home. Lucy wanted to continue visiting the famous tourist areas, but Scud felt that she shouldn't over-exert herself since she hasn't walked for a month. Lucy spent her time looking at the video pad at home to see what she missed while Nadia prepared for dinner.

"Is she really like this at 18?" Amy said, disgusted with the brunette's behavior. The moment she walked inside the house, Lucy put everything she bought on the couch and left it there as if waiting for someone to bring it up to her bedroom.

"She's used to having people do that for her. But she changed…you changed her…"

"This is so cool. You should have created one of these." Lucy said looking at the small video pad she's holding.

"Thanks to you, you made a smart investment in that company….and thanks to that, the glasses business boomed…"

"oh…." Lucy shut it off immediately since she didn't want to ruin her perfect vision. Having nothing to do, Lucy took a walk around the house and headed into the kitchen where Nadia had already began cooking.

"Smells good…what are you making?" Lucy said, standing behind Nadia and scanning her from top to bottom.

"Your favorite. T-bone steak."

Lucy sniffed in the aroma as if she had not had one of those for years. "looks delicious…" She said, looking at Nadia and reached up to brush the bangs and tugged it away behind her ear. Nadia looked up at the brunette, feeling that something was definitely wrong with her.

"Ow!" Nadia cried out when she felt a burning sensation on her forearm.

Lucy immediately pulled the girl away from the hot pan, wiped the hot oil off from her arm and blew cool air on to it. "Are you okay?" Lucy said as she kept on blowing on her forearm.

Nadia wasn't having impure thoughts. The only thing on her mind was if she had met the criminal mastermind before she became Keira, it would have been the same. She would still have fallen for the young brunette.

"It's burning…"

Nadia immediately pulled her arm away from the brunette when she heard Amy's voice and move the pan onto another burner.

_Calm down. Calm down. She's not herself._ Amy tried to calm her blood boiling inside of her. What she thought before, she's now certain. _She's hitting on Nadia._ Previously in the living room, Scud had told her what Lucy was like when she's 18. She couldn't believe it when she learned that the brunette had swarm of girls wanting to get her attention.

"Well, she is the leader." Scud reasoned. "…and she's hot…and rich…and powerful…and charming…and…."

Amy got the point and quickly ran to the kitchen when she realized that the brunette was missing. When she opened the door, there they were, Lucy holding Nadia's hand and Nadia gazing deeply at the brunette, ignoring everything around her.

"Do you need any help?" Lucy said.

Amy clenched her fists tight when she noticed the brunette was completely ignoring her.

"No. …I can do this." Nadia quickly responded and gently pushed the brunette out the door since she didn't want Amy to get the wrong idea. After pushing the brunette out the kitchen door, she wanted to explain but Amy stopped her.

"I understand." Amy said, holding her hand up and left the kitchen.

Sitting at the end of the couch, Lucy flipped through a magazine while Scud sat on another couch, watching tv. Lucy had a lot of questions but every time she asked, Scud would give him the same response. "Let it come back naturally." So she stopped asking. While Lucy was reading the magazine, Amy kept her eyes at the brunette the entire time. What she was wondering was how long the brunette would be in her state since she herself still couldn't remember a lot of things. It's almost been a year and she still couldn't remember the love that she had with the brunette. But she's giving herself a chance, a chance to wait for that memory and that feeling to come back to her. The feeling that Kristin felt for her, the feeling that 'Amy' felt, she could feel what they were feeling whenever something happens to the brunette. She could feel that it's slowly coming back, bit by bit because what she's feeling right now is…what a girlfriend would be feeling when she sees her lover thinking of someone else.

"Wow, she looks hot!" Lucy showed the page to Scud who smiled and nodded in agreement. "She…looks…familiar. Do I know her?"

All Scud could do was smile and say. "You wish."

"Let me see."

When Amy saw who the brunette was referring to, she rolled her eyes. It was the megastar. "That's her in the music video."

"ohhhh….right…"

At this time, Janet came back from work with Alexis following from behind. Alexis had no idea what happened to the brunette since she left last night. When she saw a completely different look of the brunette, she quickly approached her to take a closer look. Standing in front and looking down at the brunette who was looking at her, Alexis thought the brunette was back to herself. "Keira?"

Amy rolled her eyes again when she saw how her ex-lover was looking at the brownish hair girl with a tinge of red, dressed in a short dress.

As Lucy stood up, her eyes fall on the beautiful outfit Alexis was wearing, staying at the upper part of the body for a moment before focusing on her soft red lips and her dark brown eyes sparkling with love. "That's a beautiful dress." Lucy didn't expect it and was completely taken aback by the tight hold Alexis suddenly gave her. "Keira!"

Amy couldn't stand it anymore when she saw how Lucy was responding to the hug. Her hands were roaming Alexis' back and her face was leaning close to her neck as if about to kiss her. "umm..Alexis…" Amy cleared her throat but that didn't do anything. She had to call Alexis twice, loudly.

Alexis didn't pull back because of hearing Amy's voice, she pulled back when she felt warm lips on her neck. "Keira?" Alexis took one step back, keeping her hands on the brunette's shoulder, wondering why the brunette was kissing her.

"Are you…my girlfriend?"

"no, she's just a friend." Amy pulled Alexis away and explained what happened.

While the girls stepped aside to talk in a whisper, Lucy was scanning Alexis up and down. "Who is she, Scud?"

"That's Alexis, you saved her and her family too."

"She's into me, isn't she?" Lucy said while keeping her eyes at Alexis' legs.

"mhm…but you're not interested in her…" Scud said, keeping his eyes at the tv.

The response surprised her. What she saw is a very beautiful young woman.  
"What's wrong with her?"

"nothing is wrong with her, you're just not interested"

What Scud said got her extremely confused. She wondered what could have changed her preference during the last 12 years because in her state of mind that she's in now at age 18, she could see Alexis as a potential lover.

Alexis approached the brunette and sat next to her after having a talk with Amy. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm still a little sore…and stiff…here…" Lucy said pointing to her shoulder.

"Oh…let me help you…"

Lucy expected that and turned her back towards Alexis and winked at Scud who could only shake his head. Knowing that that is only temporary or at least he hopes it's temporary, Scud didn't stop her behavior. Besides, he wouldn't be able to because Lucy, at 18, was more stubborn.

"DIN…ner's ready…" Nadia stuttered when she saw what Alexis was doing. It was more of what she's doing, knowing that Amy was in the back of her. She made a mental note to talk to her later.

Janet came back just in time for dinner.

At 18, being the leader of a criminal organization, Lucy didn't have to think twice or ask where she should be sitting. She took the seat at the end of the table and waited for her meal to be placed in front of her as if she's the boss. Noticing that Amy didn't like what the brunette was doing, Scud explained again. "That's how she used to be."

"Well, I hope it's only temporary because something's going to have to change." Amy said as she placed the utensils in front of the brunette.

"what?" Lucy asked in confusion, not understanding what they were talking about.

"Nothing, Luce…" Scud responded.

"Lucy, you're not the leader anymore, so I would appreciate it if you don't act like you're the boss…you're not…everybody has to help out…maybe you can do the dishes later…"

"Kristin, she just got better…" Alexis was appalled at what the blonde was asking the brunette to do.

"Dishes? I don't do dishes."

"not when you're 18, but the Lucy we know does everything including cooking, cleaning, dishes, laundry…"

Lucy heard but didn't believe it. She stood up, placing her palms on the table as if she didn't like what she heard. "She's joking, right, Scud?"

Scud smiled, shaking his head.

"You're an awesome cook." Janet added.

"that's why we love you." Amy said as she sat in her seat next to the brunette.

Nadia and Alexis were both surprised at how the brunette used to be.

"Me…cook?" Lucy saw everyone nodding.

"and you loved it…" Janet couldn't help thinking of the dish the brunette made. "Lobster Thermidor…mm…mm…that was deeeelicious…"

"Lobster…Thermidor…?" Lucy had no idea what that even is. "The only thing I know how to cook is ham and eggs and…I…would only cook…for the ones I love…"

"mhm…" Janet nodded and glanced at the taller blonde. She remembered that night and knew what the brunette got for making that dish. _She got lucky._

"Why didn't I hire someone to do that? Why did I do that?" Lucy sat back down and asked Scud.

"It'll come back to you." Scud responded since Amy didn't respond.

After they were all done with dinner, Amy expected Lucy to help out but she didn't. Lucy went back to the living room to watch tv. Amy decided to let it go for this week but if it happens again in the future, she's not sure what she's going to do.

After dishes have been washed, Lucy suggested to go to the movies since there was nothing else to do and Scud won't tell her anything.

"okay." Flopping herself next to the brunette, Alexis was the first to agree.

"Great…anyone else?" Not waiting for a response, Lucy led the way. She didn't care who else was coming, but knew Scud would not let her go without him.

Sitting in the comfortable recliner seat in the movie theater, Lucy sat between Alexis and Amy. Nadia sat next to Alexis while Janet and Scud sat behind them. Amy realized how big of a difference between the 18 year old and the 30 year old is. The one who still thinks she's 18 is extremely bossy. She didn't even ask what they wanted to watch and picked the movie that she wanted to watch, a movie with a lot of action.

What the hell? Amy wondered what was going on with the bossy Lucy when she saw her and Alexis whispering and giggling as if they were on a date. After the movie ended, Amy expected to be going home but instead the boss wanted to take a walk in the mall. She narrowed her eyes at the young woman with the beautiful dress who had her hand clinging around the brunette's arm. At one point, they were even holding hands, ignoring everyone else. Her eyes were burning with fire at the sight. She blew out a few deep breaths and controlled herself. "It's just temporary. She's going to remember me." Knowing Alexis would never betray her, she didn't question Alexis's actions. _She knows I want to be with her. No…wait. She wasn't there when I said it._ But still, she knows Alexis wouldn't. As for the brunette, she's not so sure. It looked like she's hitting on every pretty girl she sees.

After the 18 year old boss was satisfied, she decided to go home after getting an alcoholic drink at a restaurant. Amy didn't think she should be drinking since she just woke up from a coma but whatever Amy said, the brunette didn't listen. At home, Ethan was waiting for them to come back to find out if there was any change in the brunette's behavior. He was confused seeing how close Alexis was with the brunette. Sitting on another couch with Nadia, Ethan was anxious to know what happened. Nadia told him what they did but didn't tell him about the brunette's behavior.

"Kristin, is everything okay?" Ethan said when he saw the blonde glaring at the brunette who was sitting close to Alexis.

"Fine….Alexis…shouldn't you be going now? It's getting late."

"in a little while…"Alexis said, keeping her eyes at the brunette.

"So…you guys went to watch a movie?" Ethan said, noticing that there was something wrong the blonde who was sitting next to Alexis. The question was directed to Amy, but she didn't respond.

"Yes we did." Nadia said, noticing how the atmosphere just became insanely awkward.

"Keira, do you want to go dancing tomorrow?" Alexis' question caused everyone to paid full attention to her.

"mm…sure."

"Luce…you don't like dancing…"

"I don't…but since there's nowhere else to go…"

Lucy then took the same magazine she was looking at that morning. Scud knew who she was looking at and noticed that it was bothering her that she couldn't remember the megastar.

"What are you looking at?" Alexis said, noticing how deeply focused the brunette was looking at the magazine. When Lucy didn't respond, Alexis moved her head closer to the brunette's to see.

"are you sure I don't know her, Scud? She looks so familiar.…"

"only in your dreams" Amy had enough. First Nadia, then Alexis, then the megastar.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, stop your over-active hormones and stop thinking about other girls when you have…" Standing up, Amy stopped herself from continuing when she realized Ethan was in the room. Everyone noticed and understood what was bothering her except Ethan who had never seen the blonde act this way.

"when I have what?" Not getting a response, Lucy continued with her thought. "For your information, I don't think of every pretty woman that way. I just thought that she looks familiar." Lucy pointed to the magazine. "…and it kills me that I can't recall where I've seen her." All could tell that Lucy was quite angry when she stood up.

"oh really" Amy couldn't hold it in anymore when she saw Alexis holding onto the brunette's forearm. "Then tell me what you were thinking of when you're with her?" She pointed to Nadia, sitting on another coach next to Ethan. "…and her…" She pointed to Alexis on her left. "…and don't tell me you weren't having dirty thoughts when you see her!…" Amy said pointing to the magazine.

All remained silent and could see the blonde's cheeks becoming red, not from embarrassment, but from anger.

"So what if I was thinking of that? What is it to you? I can be with her." She pointed to Nadia. "…and I can be with her if she wants to." She pointed to Alexis on her right. "…and I can be with her…" She pointed to the magazine, then tossed it down on the coffee table. "…if she's willing and if all it takes is money, then why not?!..." Lucy said as she took one step closer to the blonde. "Who I want to be with is none of your business!...and nobody…."

All gasped loudly when Amy suddenly raised her hand to slap the brunette but Lucy was quick enough to grab hold of her wrist. When Amy raised her other hand, Lucy expected that and reached out to grab her other wrist. "nobody can hit me unless I let them…" Lucy pulled the blonde closer. "…whom I'm with is none of your concern. You have no right to tell me what I can and can't do…and you certainly don't have the right to tell me who I can and cannot be with…." Lucy pushed the blonde back, letting go of her wrists.

Scud was unsure how this situation led to this. He got off the recliner. "Everybody…just calm…."

**"I'M YOUR GIRLFRIEND, DAMN IT!**

"…down…"

With hot fuming eyes and tears about to form and huffing angrily, Amy glared at the brunette.

"Kristin?" Ethan stood up, surprised with the information.

"When were you going to tell me?" Lucy's tone changed to a softer tone.

"You…knew?"

"You were sleeping next to me, isn't that obvious? What I want to know is why you're hiding it…all of you…"

"Kristin, what's going on?" Ethan asked again, waiting for anyone who could give him an explanation.

No longer as upset as before, biting her lip, Amy moved her eyes away from the brunette and turned to Ethan. Since the cat is out of the bag, she has no choice and no reason to keep lying to him.

"Ethan, she's…not my girlfriend."

Ethan was as confused as Lucy. "huh?"

"She's my...wife." The last word came out soft but Ethan heard.

Ethan's jaws immediately dropped. "you're kidding me, right?" Ethan let out a small laugh. When he saw no one else was laughing and nobody else had the same confused look except for the brunette, he realized they knew all along. "Your wife?" He still couldn't believe it and glanced at Nadia, then Janet, then Scud before stopping at the blonde, still hoping they were all playing a joke on him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I did…tell you…Annie…and…I…don't remember her."

It took a moment for Ethan to understand what she's referring to. He turned to his sister and finally understood why she wanted him to let go. "Nadia?"

"Sorry, Ethan. It's complicated." Nadia apologized to her brother for not telling him the truth.

"He…she's…the one who's willing to let you go…because you can't remember…her?"

Amy nodded once. Her face full of apology.

"oh…" Holding his head, Ethan had to sit down to take everything in, to think of everything that happened in the past.

Lucy didn't see that coming. "we're married?" Lucy was surprised too. "How come you're not wearing a ring and I'm not…?"

"It's a very, very long story." Scud said.

"I know…I know…let it come back naturally."

"Great! Now that everything is out. I can go home." Alexis said as she stood up.

"Wait, Alexis…you…were…"

"Kristin, I don't know why you don't want her to know…"

"I...guess I…didn't want…him…to find out this way." Even though she rejected him already, she knew he hasn't got over her yet. She wanted to wait for him to get a girlfriend first.

Seeing that Ethan was still in shock, Alexis understood. "Well, good night…." Alexis leaned in to kiss the brunette on the cheek. "You…are as charming as Keira…but I like her better."

Alexis grabbed her purse and Nadia led her towards the door.

Standing at the door, Alexis couldn't resist asking what Amy was referring to before when she was arguing with the brunette. "She hit on you too?"

"mhm…"

"Did you know what I was trying to do?"

"It was very obvious." Not at first, but Nadia knew why when she saw Amy's reaction at the movie theatre.

"call me, let me know if there's any change?"

"Drive safely." Nadia said as she led Alexis out the door.

After Alexis left, Ethan decided to leave as well after Amy apologized again.

Janet was getting tired and headed to bed. Scud took the hint from his boss and went back to his house. Seeing that Nadia stayed behind, sitting on the couch, Amy decided to go upstairs to take a shower. There will be time to talk later.

"When did you know?" Nadia asked out of curiosity.

"Weren't you listening?" The response wasn't said in a sarcastic tone but Nadia could tell she was definitely different from Keira.

"Then why…" Nadia cleared her throat and looked down in embarrassment. "Why were you…hitting on me?"

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "Since nobody wants to tell me the truth, I want to find out what's going on. Besides…I want to see her reaction."

"So you…weren't really interested in me?"

Lucy stood up and walked over to sit next to Nadia. She reached out to hold her hand. What she would never do is hurt those who love her. "There is something about you that I find extremely captivating. I can't explain." With Nadia, Lucy could see herself going on a few dates with if they met on a blinddate. But she's not someone who would catch her eye in a room full of females and definitely not someone whom she could see herself spending the rest of her life with. "Are we friends?"

Nadia nodded.

"Friends who risk their lives for each other."

"yes."

"…and Alexis too?"

"yes."

"have we ever…?"

"no" Nadia immediately responded, looking down shyly.

Lucy just wanted to make sure that they never did it. If they did, it would be quite an awkward situation. "I am honored to have you as my friend."

Nadia realized that the person in front of her wasn't much different from the mature one. She was apologizing for what she did and apologizing she wasn't able to return her love.

"me too."

"it's late, go to sleep." As Lucy was about to go back up the stairs, she stopped when Nadia didn't let go of her hand.

"I just want to let you know. I would have fallen for you too."

Lucy nodded in understanding. When she was 18, there were a lot of girls who were interested in her. There were ones who loved her for her power and wealth. There were others who love her for everything that she is, her beauty, her personality, her power and wealth, but what she would never do is show them the real side of her. And lastly there were others who fell deeply in love with her but she wasn't interested. To those, she could only let them down gently.

Up in the third floor in the master bedroom, Lucy expected the blonde to be there but found that she wasn't nor was she in the bathroom. She went down the second floor and knocked on one of the bedroom doors. When Amy opened the door, Lucy noticed that she was already dressed in her pajamas, getting ready for bed.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked.

"…going to sleep…" Amy responded in a tone as if she just heard the most ridiculous question, but deep inside, she knew what the brunette wanted.

Ignoring the blonde's response, Lucy took her hand and led her to the master bedroom, which she could tell on her way up, the blonde was following her reluctantly for some reason. Lucy locked the door and led her lover towards the king size bed.

"I want to talk to you. Don't go anywhere. I'm going to take a shower." It wasn't a command. It was a request. She spoke in a gentle voice.

After seeing the brunette went inside the bathroom, Amy immediately stood up. What she wanted to do is go downstairs and sleep in her own room. Now that the brunette has awaken, she wouldn't need her. What she was also afraid of is that the brunette would want to do something else besides sleep and she's not ready for that yet. Her heart pounded nervously at the thought. "What am I doing?" Amy said to herself. "If I'm not ready, then just tell her…that's all. She's 18. She's an immature brat. I can handle her." After sliding into bed, her nervousness subsided after a short moment. But hearing the bathroom door opening, her stomach began to feel queezy. Lucy shut off the light in the bathroom and the room, leaving the lamp light on before slipping underneath the blanket.

"You prefer sleeping on the right side?" Lucy said, leaning on her side. It was a large bed. There were more than 1 foot of space between them.

"Doesn't…matter."

There were a lot of things Lucy wanted to know. She thought this would be the right moment to ask. "Did we have a wedding?"

"No, I…they told me that I didn't want one."

Lucy nodded but found it strange. She expected all of them, especially the ones who's as beautiful as the one sleeping next to her, would want an extravagant wedding since money isn't an issue.

"Where did I propose?" There was no doubt in her mind that she was the one doing the proposing.

"Cupid Capsule, that's what they told me."

"So…we separated because you don't remember me…"

Her eyes took in every detail of the brunette's face as she remembered the moments where the brunette let her go and the moments where she regretted it. The thought of shooting her, almost killing her and never be able to see her again caused tears to fill up her eyes. "yes."

"but you do now?...well, that's a stupid question, of course you do, otherwise you wouldn't be here…..so let me get this straight…we got married, something happened, we separated, somehow you shot me by accident…and now we're here…"

"it's a very long…"

"long story…I know." Lucy let out a sigh and shifted closer to the middle of the bed. "you've been taken care of me?" When she found herself wearing a diaper, she figured that their relationship would be more than friends.

"You were in the hospital for a month. We thought it would help if we bring you back here."

"Did you…help me?" Lucy wanted to know who bathed her and changed her diaper. Did they hire any help to do that?

"Yes." She said in an obvious tone. "They volunteered but I know you wouldn't want anyone else to do it."

"You could have just hire someone." Lucy couldn't imagine what it would be like to change an adult's diaper.

"…you wouldn't mind?"

"I do…but I don't want to see the one I love go through that."

She might be 18 years old, she might be stubborn, but Amy realized how thoughtful she could be towards the one she loves. "Same here."

"Next time, just let someone else do…" Lucy couldn't complete her sentence when the blonde placed her hand over her mouth.

"sshh…There's not going to be a next time."

Lucy took hold of the blonde's hand. "What I meant was…when I get so old and I can't do it myself, let someone else help me."

"By that time, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to help you even if I wanted to." Amy couldn't believe that her lover who thinks she's 18 is already talking about growing old together. Her heart began to pound faster when she saw the brunette leaning closer, one inch at a time. The kiss was short and soft. Memory of that moment where they kissed at the hotel came rushing into her head when she felt brunette's lips capturing her bottom lip, then upper lip. _Oh God_. Her eyes fluttered closed when she felt the brunette's warm hand gently caressing her abdomen. Her breathing began to quicken when she felt wet kisses running down her mouth, her jaw and her neck and a hand gliding underneath her blue tank top. Her body stiffened, her eyes shut tight, and a moan escaped her mouth when she felt a soft hand on her breast, slowly and gently massaging it. She had done this before in the hotel, but the sensation was much more intense. She gasped and moaned as her neck was being smothered by soft kisses. Breathing heavily, Lucy took her own top off and threw it on the bed before climbing on top of her lover. What she wanted to do was take the blonde's blue tank top off, but that can wait. Pressing her naked upper body against her lover's, Lucy continued to kiss the blonde's lips in a soft gentle way. This will be her first time, at least that's what she thinks, so she wants to take it slow and make it memorable for both of them.

"We did this before?" It was a stupid question_. Of course we would have. We're married. _

"yes…"

"It'll be my first time."

"Your…first time?" The way she was acting before and what she heard from Scud, Amy thought the brunette had done it before, probably dozen of times.

Lucy leaned down and continued pressing her lips on the blonde's smooth lips and cheek. She placed herself between her lovers legs and spread her legs apart with her knees. They both still had pajamas shorts on but that can wait.

Amy knew exactly where this is leading to. It's farther than she had ever gone before as herself. The feeling was unlike anything she had ever felt before. She couldn't believe what she was allowing the brunette to do. I'm not gay_. _She said that lots of times to herself and Janet. But she's starting to question that a few months ago. What the brunette is doing at this moment, touching and kissing her..her face, her lips, her body, she didn't find it repulsive or nauseating. It was definitely not what she expected to be feeling. She remembered what Max said. _Could you picture yourself having sex with her? _The response to herself at that moment was she could picture herself, but she wasn't sure if she could do it for real.

"Ah!" A shriek escaped her mouth when she felt the brunette's core suddenly pushed against hers. _Oh God_. A huge part of her wanted this, but then there's another part telling her something else. That thought about not being ready to go that far is still there. She is still fully clothed. Her body is aching in need. She could feel the pleasure that coursed through her body when the brunette glided up against her again and again and again. "uh!...uh!" But she just can't let it happen…because…because…_she can't remember me_. Who's on top of her is an 18 year old with over-active hormones who wants only sex. This being 'her' first time, she can't allow it to happen, not like this. _I can't. I can't._

Those were loud shrieks. Lucy expected moans but not that. Managing to stop her hot body that wanted to continue, Lucy stopped her movement and hovered over the blonde's. She could feel the blonde's chest rising and falling against hers. She could feel the blonde's quick breathing on her face. What she also saw was uncertainty in the hazel green eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I…" Amy had said this before to Annie. Nobody has the right to your body not even your lover unless you give it. "I'm not ready." She was surprised that the brunette rolled off her immediately without asking why. Seeing how she was acting before, she expected the brunette to be asking a lot of questions.

Both took a moment to catch their breaths as they looked up at the ceiling.

"Is there…something you want to tell me?" Lucy said as she put her top back on. She thought everything was going well until she felt the blonde's body stiffened as if it was her first time. And the loud shrieks, she thought maybe that's how she reacts when they make love. _She's not ready._ What the blonde said confused her even more. She may have the mind of an 18 year old but the blonde is in her 30's.

"I…can't remember the way we used to be." Amy continued to explain what happened to her, the brain tumor, the aneurysm, and the amnesia. What she didn't tell her is who she is before she met her.

"I can't remember you either, but something inside of me tells me that I love you. What I said before isn't true. I wasn't interested in Nadia. I just wanted to see your reaction."

"…Alexis too?"

"Alexis…" Lucy let out a big sigh. "Well, I have to be honest. For a moment, I thought I had it all wrong and she's my girlfriend." Lucy saw the look the blonde was giving her and noticed she didn't like what she said. "What? She's hot!"

That did it. Amy sat straight up and as she was about to get off the bed, Lucy stopped her from leaving by grabbing her forearm.

"You said you can't remember how we used to be, but your reaction tells me that you love me."

Amy realized that the brunette did it again, getting her jealous again, getting her true feelings to come out, just like what happened with Grace.

"Do you…love me?" Her tone was genuine. Her tone was serious. What she said didn't sound like a 18 year old or someone who's immature.

"I…" When Amy was about to respond, what she saw changed her mind. "Are you trying to get me to change my mind? Because that's not happening…" What she saw was that the brunette did a quick glance on her chest and the movement of her throat told her that brunette was having impure thoughts as she was talking to her.

Lucy quickly let go of her forearm and raised her own forearms in surrender. "Can you blame me? You're hot…and…you're… my…wife." Lucy smiled, thankful that she had found someone beautiful, intelligent and caring, someone who loves her not because of her wealth and power.

"Just because I'm your…" Amy cleared her throat before saying that word. For some reason, that word still sounded strange to her. "…wife, it doesn't mean you can get what you want, whenever you want." She had to make it clear that it's not happening until she's ready and that could take a long time. And since the brunette thinks she's 18, Amy had to make sure she knows that she'll need to control her sex drive because that's the age when young adults get into trouble.

Lucy didn't expect that to come from the blonde. She wonders who the boss is in this relationship and it seems that she, the leader of a large criminal organization, is not. Not wanting the blonde to leave, Lucy quickly shifted back to her side of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Lucy thought she made it clear that she will behave.

Clearing her throat in embarrassment, with warm red cheeks, Amy headed towards the bathroom and locked the door.

Lucy smiled, knowing exactly why her lover needed to go.

After Amy slipped back into bed, Lucy said 'good night' after turning off the lamp. She was surprised when the blonde gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night." Amy said and held the brunette's hand over her abdomen. Even though she still couldn't remember the love they had, why she fell in love with her when she was a DEB, there were still a lot of things to be happy about. One, the brunette is alive and well. Two, she was able to make the brunette understand why she's not ready. And three, they can finally start living their life in peace. That's what she thought until having lived with the brunette for a month.

"Lucy, I really appreciate it if you would help me out." Amy said in an upset tone as she pushed the vacuum under the brunette's legs. Lucy lifted her legs up on the sofa as she continued to watch tv while munching on a doritos chip.

"we can hire someone to do that." Lucy said it numerous times that they should hire someone to do that every weekend, but the blonde did not agree.

Amy thought the brunette would change because that's what Scud told her. Not only did she had to do the cleaning, cooking, and laundry, the brunette expected to be waited on hand and foot.

"this is a small house, we don't need a…where are you going?" Amy asked when she saw the brunette getting up and heading for the main door.

"out" It wasn't the first time that they talked about this. Each time, the conversation ended up with Amy being frustrated. She had said numerous times that she doesn't do cooking or any housework because she doesn't know how to cook nor does she like to cook. Now that she's no longer the leader, she's not sure what to do. Housework is not something she wants to do even if she has nothing to do.

* * *

"She's talking to me like a little kid, like she's my mother." Lucy gulped down an alcoholic drink, frustrated with the situation she's in. "I don't do cleaning. You know that. Get someone else to do it." Lucy slid the empty drink towards the bartender. "Get me another one."

"not too much alcohol." Scud told the bartender. It has been a few times since he heard about this. He was surprised that Amy wasn't able to change her. Nothing has changed about the brunette within these few weeks. She still acts the same way when she was 18. She could be serious when she wanted to be. She could be gentle and caring. But she could also be stubborn and when that happens, nobody can persuade her.

"Do you love her?" Scud said.

"I…" The first night, she told the blonde that she does, but now she's not so sure. "I don't know."

_Uh oh._ It wasn't a good sign and Scud knew that. It happens to a lot of married couples. They were happy before getting married and after moving in, their feelings for each other start to dissipate as they found out more about each other. The smallest things like the constant nagging was the reason for separation for most couples.

"I know you don't remember, but you two have been through a lot. She got shot, you got shot, it's a miracle that you two can still be together. You two were meant for each other. It'll come back to you."

"That's what everyone keep saying. But it's not coming back to me." It was a quiet night. Most of the employees were getting ready to leave. Lucy had been there for more than three hours since she didn't want to go home. Feeling a little dizzy from the alcohol, she leaned forward and grabbed Scud by the collar and pulled him closer.

"she…won't…let me." She whispered and let go of his collar.

Knowing that Lucy is never one who likes to kiss and tell, Scud definitely thinks that there is something wrong with her or maybe it's just the alcohol taking its effect.

Lucy hiccupped loudly. _Yup, it's definitely the alcohol. _"If this keeps up, I don't know how long I can stand it."

Standing behind them a few feet away were Nadia and Ethan. They didn't mean to eavesdrop. They were getting ready to go. When they heard what the brunette said, both weren't happy about it. In the past month, Nadia witnessed what was going on inside the house and she didn't like the brunette's behavior. She never thought that she could feel anything but love for the brunette, but the way she has been acting as if she's still the crimeboss, she understood why the blonde would be upset with her.

"C'mon, let's go home." Nadia said in a gentle tone.

Amy knew where the brunette went and was sitting on the couch, watching tv and waiting for her to come home. When the door opened, she wasn't surprised to find the brunette a little drunk because it wasn't the first time it happened. Lucy was never too drunk that she can't walk by herself. She knew where she was and who she's with. Everyone watched the brunette's movement as she wobbled up the stairs to her bedroom without looking at her lover.

It was very late and everyone was tired. Scud felt the need to explain why his boss was acting this way because he's afraid that one of these days, the brunette wouldn't be able to take it and leave.

All sat on the couch. Ethan kept his concerned eyes on the blonde. When he found out the truth about her being married to the brunette, it took him a few days to understand the entire story, when they got married, what happened during their marriage and why they separated.

"Lucy…she's…" Scud could see everyone was listening intently. "she's..like this because she had to…she took over her father's place, she needed to show everyone that she's tough, that she can do the job."

"But you said I changed her. I can't see how I could ever fall in love with someone like that." She saw 6 pairs of eyes staring at her. She didn't mean to say that out loud, but it's how she feels. It's true. She wouldn't be able to stand somebody who's untidy, cocky, bossy, and lazy. With that said, Scud realized that the blonde still couldn't remember why she fell for the brunette and realized why she didn't allow the brunette to touch her.

"She…changed after… her girlfriend broke up with her."

"But she said nobody breaks up with her." Ethan remembered exactly what the brunette said.

"That's because she hasn't met her yet. Her ex affected her so badly, she moved to Reykjavik alone for 2 years. When she came back, her behavior changed so much, everyone of her followers noticed. They became even more loyal to her because she showed them how she cared. She wasn't that same person you see now. You…didn't fall for this Lucy."

"Then how did I…change her?"

"You know the answer to that." Scud said, not wanting to spill the beans in front of Ethan.

"Do you know why she broke up with her?"

Scud shook his head. "But it was a good thing. I never liked her anyways and it's not because she didn't know who she is. Kristin, I think it's time to tell her…everything."

Scud thought that her memory would slowly come back to her but seeing the situation, he felt that it's time.

"She…wants to leave."

The statement sent a sharp pain through her heart. _Again._ Her mind was a total blank. Amy didn't know what to think of all this. A month ago, she decided to be with her even though she couldn't remember the love that they had. "Did…she say why?"

"She…" Scud paused, unsure if she should say exactly what the brunette told him.

"Is it because she doesn't love me?"

"you know that's not true….she's not herself…I think if we just told her what you two went through, then she'll see just how much she loves you and what she was willing to sacrifice to be with you."

It wasn't a good time to ask but Ethan couldn't help himself. "What…exactly did she sacrifice for you?" He remembered what the blonde said to Annie's husband. "I know you said she's willing to leave you so you can be happy. You said she's willing to risk her life to save yours." Sacrificing his own life to save the blonde, Ethan is willing to do that. But leaving her, he's not so sure he could do that. If he is in the brunette's place, he wouldn't have left the blonde. He would have stayed in the same city as her and tried to be friends with her and wait for her to remember him.

"Everything…Ethan…" Scud said.

_Everything?_ Ethan wasn't sure what he meant by that. He could see that the blonde was deep in thought, so he didn't continue asking what he wanted to know.

After the conversation, everyone went to bed. Lying next to the brunette who was sound asleep, Amy couldn't help letting a tear drop at the corner of her eye at the thought that her lover wants to leave. It's a phase. She's not always like that. Everyone goes through changes. She'll come around. Her memory will come back bit by bit. She chastised herself for nagging her all the time. Scud didn't have to say it. She knew why the brunette wants to leave. She's 18, she's a leader, in her state of mind, of course she doesn't like to be told what to do. "please…don't leave." Amy said in a whisper, letting another tear fall onto the bed sheets. That's what Kristin wants. That's what the Amy who fell in love with her wants…and that's what she wants.

* * *

Next morning

Having gotten a little too much to drink, Lucy got up later than usual, 11AM to be exact. She had been waking up late every day since there was nothing for her to do. Walking into the dining room, she was surprised that Scud and Amy were waiting for her with a plate of breakfast placed on the end of the table where she usually sits. Nadia walked in from the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee.

"You don't have to work, Nadia?"

"I took a day off." Nadia put the cup of coffee in front of her.

Lucy was very hungry, so she started eating first before asking Scud what was going on. Scud sat on the other end of the table. Nadia and Amy were sitting across from each other closer to the brunette's side. Feeling satisfied after filling her stomach, Lucy moved the plate forward and gulped down the last drop of coffee.

"Okay" She could see that nobody was happy. _If they start lecturing me, I'm going to leave. _She looked at Scud as if telepathically letting him know what she just said in her own mind.

"Lucy, it's time for you to know the entire truth." Scud said.

"Oh…" Lucy had a feeling what she said last night, the blonde knows too.

"It's very important that you listen to the entire story before doing anything else. You promise?"

Amy and Nadia turned to look at Scud in confusion, wondering what he meant by that. When Amy heard their story, she couldn't control herself from crying.

"Okaaayyyy…" She said in a nonserious tone. When she saw Scud narrowing his eyes at her, she stopped her silliness, straightened her posture and turned serious as if she was having a meeting with another crimeboss.

"You asked me why you left the organization, why you left the power and wealth all behind."

Lucy nodded and remained silent.

"You…left…everything…for…her."

Everyone turned to see her reaction. What they saw was the brunette frowning in confusion and disbelief. It didn't make sense to her why she would do that. She could have any girl she wants, almost any girl. Girls basically throw themselves at her. After she killed Schaafer, her power grew and everyone in the underground knows who she is and what she is capable of. Schaafer was powerful. A lot of people were afraid of him. So naturally after she killed him, people knew that she's not to be messed with.

"I…left…everything…for…her." A smirk appeared on her face, showing them she didn't believe a single word Scud said. _There must be another reason but for a girl, definitely not. _

Amy can't blame her because she herself had the same reaction when she learned that she gave up her life for the brunette.

"Yes, you did…and she…gave up…everything…for you…so you two could be together."

"It's not possible, Scud."

"Wait…listen to the entire story. You weren't 18 when you met her. You were in your 20's, more powerful than you were 18, more mature, and so much more respected. Anthony, Uncle Nick, Ivan, Victor, Joe…you've earned all of their respect.."

"Victor? That piece of shit…" Victor always gave her a difficult time about her, females in general, because he believes that females aren't capable of being crime bosses or leaders. He felt that women should be at home, making themselves pretty and waiting for their men to return home. He didn't say it in a nice way either. He always said that in front of her group, looking down on women, treating them as objects, and his personality disgusted her.

"Yes…Victor, you've earned his respect and he never made fun of you again after you helped him."

Lucy crossed her arms and leaned back against the seat and waited for Scud to continue with the ludicrous story.

"You've changed, Lucy. You've changed after you got dumped by your ex."

"What!"

Knowing what she's going to say, Scud immediately put his hand up, signaling her to stop talking.

"Yes, Lucy, you were dumped, hard. You spent 2 years in Reykjevik in isolation because of her. After her and after a few blind dates, long story short, you met her." He pointed to Amy.

"Her name…isn't…Kristin Smith." He explained that everyone knows except Ethan. "Her name is…Amy Bradshaw."

Lucy was more confused than before and everyone noticed.

"Lucy, AmyisaDebandsheelopedwithyoutoBarcelonaandwethoughtshe'sdeadwhentheplaneinParisexplodedand…"

All then snapped their heads towards Scud when he started to speed up and ramble on and on without breathing.

"stop…you lost me at Amy is a.."

Scud stopped, took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Knowing that there is no other way, he has to tell her the truth.

"She's…a…DEB."

"What!" Lucy stood up so fast, the back of her knees pushed the chair behind her a feet away. Her reaction also startled Nadia and Amy who also stood up. Now they know why Scud wanted her memory to come back naturally. "you're joking, right?"

Scud shook his head.

"A DEB! Scud…she's a DEB…a good DEB is a dead DEB…why would I give up everything for a DEB?"

Amy wanted to say something but Scud signaled her not to.

"Janet is also a DEB. You fell for her. It was love at first sight. Everyone thought you were crazy including me…you were different then…you were happy with her…you couldn't live without her. I have never seen you happier with anyone else."

"Don't you remember what they did to our people?! Why would I…"

"I do remember. We're criminals. They're government agents. That's what they're supposed to do." Scud signaled her to sit down and listened to the rest of the story.

Lucy took a moment to take it all in and did as told while keeping her eyes at the blonde. It was a very long story. Lucy realized he was right. Scud told her the important facts and make it as detailed as possible so that anyone who heard the story could feel the love they had for each other. Nadia told them what happened at the island where the brunette talked about her deceased lover. It was touching, the way she told it. Amy realized why Nadia would want to tell her what happened that night.

As Lucy listened to the story, she kept her eyes at the blonde who did the same. When Scud was finished, there was total silence. It was a moving story but Lucy still could not believe that she would give up everything for her lover, a DEB. There was a long moment of silence. All of them expected that and waited for the brunette to speak.

"You're not lying to me, are you Scud?"

"It's all true."

"Why would you..give up..your life to be with a criminal?" Lucy asked in a soft tone.

Amy wished she knew. That's what she was trying to remember. "I…don't…know."

Lucy expected a different response. "If you don't remember me, then why would you still want to be with me?" She remembered what the blonde told her that night. It was that reason she didn't want to make love to her.

Amy placed her hand over her heart. "Kristin does, Amy does, and I…"

"…but you don't remember the way we used to be. Isn't that what you said? Then why force yourself?" Lucy said as she slowly stood up.

"I want to try…"

"you want to try? You want to try to love me?" It sounded pathetic.

"no…I mean I know I want to be with you…I…just can't remember…"

"I can't remember either. But I know…here…" She pointed to her own heart. "…I know that I love you. But now, I'm not so sure. I don't know why I would fall for a DEB."

"Lucy!" Scud stopped when the brunette held out her hand. He thought telling her the whole story would help. But it seemed as though his plan backfired.

"Can't you see how ridiculous the story is? Can't you see we weren't meant to be together? Don't…force yourself to be with me."

"Keira" Nadia didn't like where this was heading.

"one thing I hate most …are the ones who pretend to love me when all they want is my power and my money."

"Luuuucyyyy!…" Scud sensed that she was being extremely ridiculous.

"all I have is money and the mind of an 18 year old, if you want money, I can give you that, but don't…" She contorted her face in disgust. "…pretend that you love me…and don't force yourself to love me…because that would only make you a prostitute."

"Lucy! Enough!" Scud shouted in anger.

At the same time, Nadia gasped out loud when the blonde suddenly slapped her face and this time, she was able to.

Lucy let out a smirk. "I deserved that. It must be difficult for you to allow me to touch you." Her eyes focused on the blonde's breast.

Nadia then let out another gasp when the blonde slapped her other side of the face.

"I deserve that too." Lucy rubbed her other side of her face. "Thank you for stopping me from making the biggest mistake of my life."

It happened before. Amy came to realize what the brunette is doing again. _She's deliberately saying these hurtful things. She wants me to hit her. _"What…are…you…doing?"

Lucy took a step back as she continued. "Listen to yourself. You didn't enjoy what we did that night. That's not what you want. You can't do it. So why force yourself to do something you don't want to do?" Everyone moved forward as the brunette moved back. "There is a reason why we are both this way. We should have never met. We were…never…meant to be together."

Lucy turned around, headed for the main door, held the doorknob and as she was about to open the door, Amy spoke in a trembling voice.

"Is…this…what you…really want?"

"yes" Without any hesitation, Lucy responded without looking back and walked out the door, closing the door behind her.

"Lucy…wait!" Scud quickly followed after her.

Standing still with her heart pounding so fast, Amy felt like she was going to faint. Her eyes were already red-rimmed from last night. Her vision became blurry when tears of sadness filled her eyes. Nadia couldn't believe what just happened. The outcome was totally opposite from what she expected. Nadia wrapped her arms around the blonde.

"It's not like I didn't try. I tried. I tried to make it work." Amy said, allowing her tears to flow down.

"I know. I know." Nadia gently patted her back. "It's going to be okay. She'll remember you…when she does, she'll come back."

"When? Nadia. I still can't remember that feeling that we had."

Nadia pulled back to look at the blonde with a face full of tears. "But you know…you want to be with her…and you didn't before…..It's going to take time…you'll see…one of these days, you'll know when you're ready…and when that day comes…"

"When that day comes, she's not going to be here."

Nadia had always thought that Amy is more intelligent that her, Alexis and Janet. But there are times she found the blonde to be not herself…and this is one of those times. "We can go look for her…and Scud will know where she will be."

"What if she doesn't want to be with me? What if she still thinks she's 18?" Amy wants to be with her, but she's not sure she could stand the brunette's behavior.

"Do you believe what she said it's true?" Nadia said, wiping the blonde's tears with her thumb.

"Which part?" Amy said as she wiped away her tears.

"That you two weren't meant to be together."

"nnnnnno…." Amy said in an obvious tone.

"I don't either. That's coming from an 18 year old. She hasn't had any experiences that we've gone through. She might be a crimeboss. She might have seen a lot more of the world than we have, she might have done a lot of things that we haven't. But when it comes to love, she has no experiences in that yet. So don't pay any attention to what she said. She's going to come around. I know she will." It wasn't just to comfort her. Nadia truly believes that.

There were too many people on the streets, so Scud didn't want to make a scene by yelling at the brunette. He followed wherever Lucy went and quickly realized what she was intending to do when she went to a shopping mall, then to a hotel. Knowing that her sidekick has been following her, Lucy didn't close the door after entering a luxury hotel room in a five star hotel. Dropping the bags on the floor, then flopping her back on the king size bed, she turned the tv on.

"You're an ass, you know that?" Scud said in a calm, but frustrating tone.

"How can you call her a prostitute? That hurts, Lucy. You hurt her."

Lucy continued to flip through the channels.

"Just because she won't put it out for you doesn't mean she doesn't love you. Janet won't, but I know she loves me. She's just not ready yet." Scud knows that she's listening. "Amy is not ready yet!" Scud had to yell because Lucy just increased the volume.

Lucy's behavior was driving him nuts. He had to do something so he walked over and snatched the remote from the criminal mastermind and shut the tv off.

"Scud! Get out!"

That's how she was at 18. When she doesn't want to listen what others have to say, she tells him to get out or she would leave.

"Look, Luce…I know you. I know it's not about sex."

Lucy walked out to the balcony to take a deep breath of fresh air. Scud stood next to her and remained silent for a moment, letting both of their minds to calm down, waiting for her to talk. "Why is this happening to me?"

He didn't have a good answer for that, so he remained silent.

"Why would I give it up all for her? It just doesn't make sense."

"Of course it doesn't. You're 18. A lot of things happened after that, you've changed. I've changed. Our people changed. That's what happens when you get older.."

"but she's a DEB"

"a very beautiful one, don't you think?"

"she's too old for me…"

Knowing that she was only joking, Scud lightly pushed her arm in a playful gesture.

"You like older woman."

"I'm serious. When you have the mind of an 18 year old, you look at someone who's what, 30 something, you don't think about them that way."

"stop it…I see the way you look at her. "

"It's true. Now when you're 18 and you look at someone who's in their 20's, that's different."

When she continue rambling on about how hot Alexis is, he's starting to wonder if she's serious. _Oh my God…she is serious. _What he saw was the brunette taking out a magazine she previously bought from a store and looking through it. The front page of the magazine is none other than the megastar. "now she's hot!" Lucy showed him the front page and flopped down on the bed to read about the megastar.

"Luce, you…were never…interested in that."

"that's cuz I don't have the time, but now I do, there's nobody after me, there's nobody to go after, there's nothing to do" Lucy said as she kept on reading.

"I know that you think you're 18, but you're not."

"I know."

"You never like the young immature types because they drove you crazy."

"Are you sure I don't know her?"

"why…do…you keep asking that?" Scud said, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"because…just like when I see Amy…I feel it…right here… when I see her" Lucy pointed to her own heart, then pointed to the megastar on the front page of the magazine.

Scud quickly responded. "That's only natural. She's a star, she's gorgeous."

Wanting to change the subject, Scud sat on the edge of the bed and took the magazine away from her.

"What are you planning to do?...and please don't tell me you're going to stay here forever." Knowing the brunette's behavior at 18, he knows that convincing her to go back home would be impossible.

"Do you know where Anthony is?"

* * *

Nadia had prepared lunch at home while they were waiting for Scud to come back. Amy and Nadia were anxious to know where Lucy went but seeing the look of disappointment on Scud's face, he didn't have to say a word for them to know that Lucy wasn't coming back.

"Where is she staying?" Amy said.

Scud didn't think it was a good idea to tell her since last time something awful happened because he told her.

"I think it would be good for her to see some of her friends. It would help her." That's what they did for the blonde when she couldn't remember.

After learning that the brunette wanted to visit Anthony, Amy let out a deep breath. "What else did she say?"

Scud took a short moment to think about what to tell her. Telling the blonde that the brunette was no longer interested in her would definitely be a no no.

"She told me to take care of you and hire someone to do the cooking and the cleaning." Scud smiled, remembering the reaction when she told the brunette Amy's net worth.

Realizing that the brunette had no clue why she became upset, Amy rolled her eyes.

"I hope you understand she didn't mean any of those things she said. That was her way to get you…"

"I know. She wanted me to hate her so I wouldn't want to be with her." She became so furious after being called a prostitute, she hit the brunette in a moment of anger. Amy looked down at her own palms. "She let me hit her again…" She realized that the brunette didn't change much in this regard.

"only you can…that's her way of apologizing…" Scud wanted to let her know that the brunette had reasons of doing things. Others who witnessed the situation might think she is a total bitch, but deep inside she had other reasons.

"Why does she always do that?" She knew that it wasn't the the first time she slapped her. And each time after she did it, after the brunette let her do it, it made her feel really guilty. There was nothing she could do except wait for the brunette to remember who she is.

* * *

Next day Saturday

Sitting in the food court eating their lunch after getting a workout at the gym, Nadia told Alexis what happened last night in detail. Not only them, all those in the gym noticed that the blonde wasn't in a good mood. The way she kicked and punched the punching bag, everyone was afraid to walk near her.

"I can't believe she said that." When Alexis heard, she couldn't believe what the brunette said about the blonde.

"Alexis, that's just to get her upset."

"I know. But that's just so…so…not like her."

Amy kept quiet through the conversation, letting Nadia do all the talking.

"Kristin…you…"Alexis wasn't sure if she should say it. Ah what the heck. They have been friends long enough. They can talk about anything. "you didn't…let her…" She thought what she said was very clear but she saw 2 pairs of confused eyes staring at her.

"you two didn't have sex?" It was as blunt as it could get.

"Nnnno!"

Amy's reaction startled Alexis. She didn't expect that. _They're married. They did it before. She loves her._ So "Why not?"

"because…" Amy hesitated for a long moment. "…I'm not ready."

Amy spoke so softly, Alexis could hardly hear her but she heard.

"I know you don't remember, but you two are married and married couples usually do that on their wedding night, so it's not like it's your first time." Alexis said in a tone to let her know she still doesn't understand why.

"It will be my first time because I can't remember my first time and…I'm not ready."

"…and Keira? What did she say…when you…didn't let her?"

"Nothing, she understood."

"She did?" It sounded odd to Alexis because it has been a month since they slept together. From what she can tell after meeting the 18 year old, she has a feeling that Lucy would have a hard time controlling herself with a beautiful woman as Amy, sleeping next to her. "You're telling me, she didn't try again after you told her you're not ready?"

Lucy did try again after that night, but Amy just couldn't do it. They've kissed, they've touched but when Lucy tried to take her clothes off, Amy put a stop to it.

"She's 18, all she's thinking about is sex, not love. She can't even remember me. I just can't let her. I want her to remember me…then maybe…I…"

"Maybe if you let her, then it would help her get her memory back, and maybe yours too."

"What!"

Alexis shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe if you let her, everything would be different."

"That is the most absurd, ridiculous, illogical thing I've ever heard." Amy said in upset tone but making sure to keep her voice down so others nearby wouldn't be able to hear them. She wanted her first time to be special with someone she loves and with someone who loves her. The only reason that she would be doing it is to make love not because in need of sex.

"Look, you drew a fine line between sex and love. I know you. You need to love that person before making love to him. Me too….and I'm sure Nadia does too." Nadia smiled and nodded and wanted to say something else but decided to wait for Alexis to finish. "That's how I feel when I was 18 and that's how I still feel now. What makes you think Keira is not the same way? "

What Alexis said did make sense to Amy. That's how she always felt.

"umm…Alexis, you said 'him', not 'her'" Nadia said.

"Isn't that what the problem is? Kristin. You're not ready because she is not a he."

Amy didn't think Alexis could understand what she was feeling, but she really does. She took a glance at Alexis, then Nadia and tried to divert that question.

"But she doesn't remember me. Why would she wanted to do it if is not just for sex?"

"because she loves you…she could feel it, that's how she knew you were her girlfriend. Kristin, I told you this before…and trust me when I say Keira only sleeps with the ones she loves. She's not one of those people who would do it with any pretty woman who's willing."

What she said caused them to stare at her. "Nothing happened, okay?" Alexis raised her hand in surrender.

"Look, do you love her?"

"I do, you know that…but I'm just not ready…"

"You're thinking too much. Don't think of it as doing it with a woman. Think of it as doing it it with someone you love…and if you don't know what to do, then let your body take control, let her take control."

Amy had no idea how Alexis could talk about this without being embarrassed about it. She could feel her cheeks getting red and she could see Nadia was looking around to see if anyone was listening to their conversation.

"You're not 18. Let your body decide what it wants to do. You know she loves you…and you love her. You both did it before. So just stop thinking why she wants to do it and stop thinking that it's your first time …because each time you do it is going to be special…because you're doing it with the one you love…and after everything you two have been thru, are you still afraid it's going to be a mistake?"

Nadia couldn't believe how this girl who's younger than her wouldn't be embarrassed talking about this. Makes her wonder if Alexis had done it before. She wouldn't be surprised. She's beautiful. She's direct. She's not afraid to go after the one she wants.

"Even if she decides to leave after you make love to her, will you think it's a mistake? If you expect her to stay after doing it, then don't do it."

Amy was a bit confused. First Alexis told her to do it to see if it will bring the brunette's memory back, now she's telling her not to.

"It's at that moment what you want to do. You don't think about what happens afterwards. Love is unconditional. If you expect her to stay with you afterwards, then that's not making love, that's sex…" Alexis took a sip of her drink because her mouth was getting dry for talking so much. "…with a tag on it."

Nadia and Amy couldn't help but laugh at Alexis' last few words.

"…and…you're not going to get pregnant…" Smiling, Alexis raised her brows up and down.

Amy let out a big sigh, feeling a little depressed after what Alexis said. "I wish…I can get pregnant."

What Amy said caused Nadia and Alexis to burst out laughing and others nearby to stare at them.

* * *

Night time, a few days later

Amy stood still in the middle of the hallway. A shiver ran down Amy's spine, knowing that she was about to see the brunette again, probably for the last time…._until she can remember me._

"Wait…this is a bad idea." Amy said as she was being pushed towards the hotel room by Nadia and Alexis. She said it a few times even before she stepped foot inside the hotel, but those two seem to be ignoring her. "I can't do this. I'm not ready." Amy quickly stopped Alexis from knocking on the door by grabbing her hand. "Alexis, I feel like I'm an escort."

"You shouldn't because she didn't call you, we called her." Alexis smirked.

"You know what I mean."

"relax, we just want to talk to her before she leaves." Alexis said in a comforting tone and knocked twice on the door. "…and if she makes a move and you want to do it, then just let her."

"Alexis!" Amy stopped when the door opened. The frown on the brunette's face told them that she wasn't expecting them.

"Hi…may we…come in?" Nadia said in her gentle voice. From the way she looks, it doesn't look like the 30 year old who thinks she's 18 wants to talk to them. Lucy left the door open and returned back to what she was doing before.

"_This is not a good idea_." Amy mouthed to Alexis who pushed the blonde inside with her.

"What the…_hell_?" The last word was barely audible, spoken by Alexis. What they saw not only shocked the blonde but Nadia and Alexis as well. The bed was a mess, not dirty messy. Magazines, lots of them, were scattered all over the king size bed. There were more on the round wooden table.

"What's going on?" Alexis asked out of curiosity. It's normal to be reading magazines when you have nothing to do, but there are about 20 of them and most of the magazines had famous celebrities on the front page.

"Have I met her?" Lucy said showing the page of the megastar to Alexis. She noticed that the blonde didn't like what she was looking at. Amy's face turned red when she saw one of the magazines on the bed. It had pictures of naked women. She wanted to yell at her at that moment but knowing what the outcome would be, she held it in and was having difficulty hiding what she's feeling. _What the hell is the matter with you?_

Taking the magazine from her hand, Alexis realized who she was looking at. "umm…you've seen her…"

"I have?"

Alexis continued to explain that she and Scud went to her concert.

"oh…." Lucy returned to her previous position, lying against the pillow and continued reading the article about the megastar.

All three stood in confusion as they watched the brunette and wondered why she was so interested in the megastar. _Is it the megastar or just beautiful celebrities_? Amy wonders.

Feeling disgusted with the brunette's behavior, Amy walked over and closed the magazine with the picture of a naked woman who's showing a lot of herself. "Can we…"

"Son of a bitch!" Lucy jumped up from the bed, startling others.

Noticing that the brunette was still reading the article, Nadia said in a concerned tone. "what?"

"oh…nothing…it's..old." What Lucy read was an article about the megastar being sued by a paparrazi. She became calm after finding out it happened over a year old ago. She tossed the magazine on the table and glanced at each one of them who were looking at her at a weird way.

"Can we talk?" Amy said.

As if what happened the other day didn't, Lucy took a look at her watch. "sure, are you girls hungry?" It wasn't a question. It was more like a command. Without waiting for their response, Lucy grabbed her jacket and headed out the door.

Amy let out a frustrated big sigh and both Nadia and Alexis knew what she was thinking at that moment. Sitting in a rectangular table inside the hotel restaurant next to the window, Lucy sat next to Alexis. Nadia sat across from Alexis and Amy sat across from her.

"What would you like to eat, Alexis?" It surprised them that Lucy's tone had completely changed, not commanding, not bossy, a nice gentle tone. It was that caring tone that Amy gave into that night when she almost made love to her.

After asking Alexis, she asked Nadia in the same tone.

"Amy?"

_What is wrong with her?_ That's the first thing that came to Amy's mind. One minute Amy felt like the brunette was ignoring her. The next, she was back to being the Lucy she used to know.

After ordering for everyone, Lucy looked around the restaurant before returning her eyes at the blonde. Flashing her million dollar smile at the blonde, showing her adorable dimples, she was satisfied with the reaction that the blonde gave her. That's the same reaction she gets from the girls who were interested in her. _I still got it, even at 30._

"So Alexis, tell me about yourself."

All were a little surprised with her question. Alexis didn't expect that. They were here to talk about the blonde and her.

"It might help me get my memory back."

Alexis understood her intention, so she gave a detailed story of how they met and what happened afterwards, leaving out the unnecessary information and making sure the brunette knows that she had always been interested in the blonde not her.

After Alexis finished her story, Lucy nodded in a serious manner. She then asked Nadia the same question and throughout dinner, they were surprised at how the crime boss turned the serious situation into a laughable one where it got everybody even Amy laughing by telling her own story, not what she did when she was the leader of a criminal organization, her personal stories when she was a teenager before she became the leader.

"I'm sure you all went through that too, having guys asking you out and you're not interested."

"yes, but I didn't threaten to cut their balls off to stay away." Alexis said.

"sometimes you have too because there are some who just won't get it."

Everyone smiled at the brunette's comment.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Alexis?"

"Still single" Alexis said proudly.

"How about you, Nadia?"

Nadia shook her head in embarrassment.

When Amy saw the brunette looking at her, she frowned. _She knows the answer to that._

"Amy?…" All frowned in confusion until the brunette asked a different question. "Have you ever been with anyone else?"

Amy had no idea why the brunette wanted to know. It's irrelevant. It's a long time ago. "Amy?"

"I've…dated…once."

"Oh…" Lucy nodded. "I mean…I shouldn't be surprised. Is she a DEB too?"

Amy froze for a moment, unsure of whether to tell her the truth. "no."

"why did you two break up?"

It's a simple question, but Lucy noticed Amy felt uneasy about it. "no connection."

"Then what about Ethan?"

_She knows._ _That's why she's asking all the questions…because she knows._

"They've never dated. She was never interested in him." Nadia said.

"Oh…really..then why not tell him about us? why keep the secret from him? Why let him think that he still has a chance?"

All remained silent and wondered what the brunette knows.

"He still loves you…you know." Lucy said in a casual tone and gulped down the last drop of her drink.

All was unsure the brunette's intention for saying that.

"He told me…to take good care of you." All eyes focused on the brunette as she stood up. They wondered what Ethan told her. "Tell him, I'm sorry…I can't." Lucy said, taking a glance at Nadia, then at Amy. _I'm only 18. I can't stay with you…forever like this. It's not going to work out. I can't be what you want me to be_. _I'm sorry._

As Lucy began to walk away, Amy stood up. She hasn't said what she wanted to say yet.

"Wait here." Amy said to the girls. She didn't expect Lucy to be going out at this time of the night. There were a lot of people walking around near the 5-star hotel. It wasn't the appropriate place to talk so she remained quiet and continued to follow the brunette.

After having eaten dinner, Lucy wanted to walk around to get some fresh air and be alone. Everything she wanted to say to the blonde had been said. She's not sure what else Amy wanted to say to her. Lucy stopped and looked up the sky. It's the last day she's going to be in London. What she is anxious about is seeing her friends again, friends and followers who helped her get revenge for her father. Scud had told her about Hannah and how the blonde came to forgive them. She asked why she would do that. That's her colleague. His response was 'because she loves you.'

_Why can't she understand that we're not meant to be together?_ She looked up at the bright full moon that seems to be looking down at her. It suddenly became darker and darker and disappeared as clouds moved over it.

"oh…shoot…" Lucy loves the summer time but hates it when it rains, the mugginess, the humidity, the stickiness. Everyone started to run, afraid that the light drizzle would turned into bigger drops. Lucy turned around and saw the blonde a few feet in front of her, not caring if she would be wet. Moving rapidly, Lucy took her hand, leading her back to the hotel, 2 streets down. People, even those who weren't staying at the hotel, quickly ran inside for cover. Breathing heavily, Lucy let go of the blonde's hand as they walked through the rotary door. They weren't soaking wet but could see that each other was uncomfortable in their wet clothes and hair.

Inside the elevator, Amy wanted to say something but there were other people around. Since she didn't want to make a scene, she continued to follow the brunette in silence.

Lucy slid the keycard in and opened the door but quickly blocked the blonde from entering. "Amy, I can't."

"I just want to talk."

Lucy stood rooted but ultimately gave in. She didn't feel like yelling or arguing. All she wanted to do is be alone. Lucy wanted to get out of her wet clothing and take a shower. But since Amy was also wet, she decided to let her use it first, to dry herself. That's what she thought the blonde was going to do until Amy took longer than she expected, she realized Amy was taking a shower. _Well, it's raining outside. What do you expect her to do?_

Her eyes focused on the blonde who had a towel wrapped around her body for a short moment before clearing her throat. "There's a robe inside the closet." Lucy tried not to stare at her bare skin above the chest and headed inside the bathroom. She was hoping by the time she finishes taking a shower, the blonde would have left. She did give her plenty of time to blowdry her hair and wet clothing. What she saw was all the magazines were taken off the bed and neatly stacked on the wooden table and the blonde sitting on the chair, dressed in her dried clothing and waiting for her with the tv on. Lucy let out an exhausting sigh, grabbed one of the magazines on the table and flopped herself on the white sheets on the king size bed. At the corner of her eyes, she noticed that the blonde was standing up. To her disappointment, she saw Amy walking towards the bathroom instead of the door. She made a mental note to yell at Scud later. This is why she told him not to tell anyone about her location. Everything that she said that day was so that the blonde wouldn't want her to stay with her. But knowing Scud, he probably told them the real purpose. What she was also hoping by telling Scud that she didn't find the blonde as attractive as the megastar, he would tell Amy what she said. _But he probably didn't, seeing that they're all here._

After a long moment, when Amy opened the bathroom door, she saw the brunette was again captivated by the magazine. She walked over and sat next to her.

"I want to talk to you." Amy said in a calm gentle voice, slowly taking the magazine away.

Leaning her back on the pillow, Lucy turned serious and paid full attention. It's going to be their last time talking, so she might as well give her what she wants. There's a time to be serious, there's a time to fool around, and there's a time to be herself. Lucy knows exactly what to do at this moment.

"Scud told me that you're going to visit Anthony?"

Lucy nodded. "…and Uncle Nick and some friends." When she heard about Anthony and Uncle Nick, she couldn't believe it. She was happy for them. She couldn't help wondering what would happen to her if she had never met the DEB. Would she be as powerful as Anthony?

Amy nodded in understanding and looked down, feeling a little said about her leaving. "I think that's a good idea."

"You do?"

"Can you…promise me…"

"Amy, I can't." Lucy responded in a guilty tone. She had no idea what the blonde wanted her to promise but knew that she wouldn't be able to keep it.

"you just don't remember me now, but you will, and when you do, you will want to come back to me."

"If I don't?" Lucy needed to let her know that could happen. It has been a month now and she still thinks she's 18 and she still couldn't remember anything about them except for the fact that she could feel the love for her but she just couldn't get herself to spend the rest of her life with the former DEB. What happened during the past month proved that.

"Can you just promise me to take care of yourself?"

Feeling guilty at how she argued with her during those times, Lucy nodded.

What Amy was afraid of was that the brunette thinks she's still 18. What if she's behaving like an 18 year old with an active mind? Drinking more than she should, partying more often because she has nothing to do. What if she starts stealing again, not for money but for the fun of it, to see if she could still do it. That's what Lucy Diamond was known for; diamonds, jewelry, valuable paintings, and bank heists. Not getting caught gave her the thrill.

"…and can you…promise me…" Amy hesitated, knowing how ridiculous her request is. "not to…do it…with anyone."

"doooo…." It took a short moment for the brunette to understand. She can't keep that promise since there is no way of knowing who she's going to meet in the future. She knows that the former DEB would know that she's lying if she agreed so she didn't see a point lying about it. "Amy…I…"

"3 years...wait 3 years…Lucy, I know you'll remember by then, but…if I find out that you've been with someone else, I don't think I can forgive you….and I don't want that to happen."

_3 years…that's a long time_. She couldn't believe what the blonde would do for her. "No…I can't…please don't wait for me." Lucy reached out to held on to her shoulders. "You…deserve someone better than me. You…deserve to have a happy life. If you never met me, then…" Lucy couldn't speak when the blonde placed a finger on her lips.

"You said that before…and I regretted not staying with you then." Her thumb softly swiped across the brunette's soft bottom lip. She couldn't help thinking of that moment when she shot her, the moment when she thought she wouldn't be able to see her again, the moment when she felt that everything she did before was a mistake. If she could turn back time and do it all over again, she would have done it differently. It seems that the Lord has been listening to her. _She's here now. _Amy leaned forward and placed a kiss on her lips.

"I…can't." What Lucy can't do is make the blonde wait for her, whether it's 3 years or 1 year.

Amy continued kissing her, hoping she could make her keep the promise. "2 years" She said between kisses.

"you don't want to do this." Lucy let out an involuntary moan when she felt kisses on her jaw and neck. She had to stop it before it goes any further because she knows that Amy isn't ready. When Ethan came to talk to her, she found out that Ethan had been pursuing the blonde for a long time and he had no idea that she's gay. So why didn't she reject him? All she had to say was she's not interested in men. There was only one conclusion that she could come up with and that is the former DEB was giving herself a chance to see if she could be with Ethan and she…is not gay. The conversation during dinner time told her that she was right when the blonde hesitated on the question about her ex. She had a feeling that her ex is a man. She had thought the blonde wasn't ready because she didn't love her the way she used to even though she said numerous times that she does. _It wasn't because she doesn't love me. It's because she's not sure she could love me in that way._

Lucy gently held the blonde's shoulder and pushed the blonde back. "You don't want to do this."

Amy looked down. Her hands reached up and as she was about to unbutton her blouse, Lucy prevented her from doing so.

"I…can't…promise you."

Lucy was confused when the blonde reached out to caress her face with her thumb, looking at her with love and a gentle smile. She let out a deep breath when Amy got off the bed and walked towards the door. She thought she had convinced her to leave but she was wrong.

After locking the door and turning off the ceiling light, Amy walked back to the bed. It was dark but with the lights from the tv, Lucy could see what the blonde was doing as she walked closer. Amy was slowly unbuttoning her white blouse, exposing her white laced bra. She leaned down and turned the lamp on.

"Amy, I can't stay." Lucy wanted to let her know that no matter what she does, her decision would still be the same. She was hoping that would do it because sleeping with a girl and leaving afterwards is not something she would do. She gasped inward and swallowed when the blonde dropped her pants, showing her white laced panties, standing in front of her for a moment, then dropped her blouse, and crawled on top of her.

_God…my wife is so...damn...hot._ She was only lying to Scud when she told him that she didn't think Amy was as hot as the twentyish girls. Whether she's 20 or 30, Amy must have been the same, keeping herself in perfect shape. Her eyes locked on the blonde's cleavage as it came closer to her. What she saw in front of her, straddling her, was Amy swinging her golden medium length hair back in a seductive way, waiting for her to make a move. Lucy swallowed again at the sight in front of her, seeing one bra strap falling off the shoulder. She's not sure what to do, but her body knows. Lucy leaned forward, placed a gentle kiss on her lips before kissing her deeply. Before it gets any further, before she couldn't stop herself because her heart was beating so fast, she was so focused on what's in front of her, she didn't realize the tv was still on.

"Are you sure?"

When the blonde took the tv remote from the bed and shut it off and threw the remote to the end of the bed, Lucy understood.

"I love you." Amy said, moving the bangs away from the brunette's eyes. She couldn't help thinking of that night at the hotel where the brunette kissed her because the kiss that they just shared was similar to that. That kiss was hot and turned her body on. The way she massaged her earlobes, the way she softly captured her bottom lip, then upper lip, then giving her an open mouth kiss from one side to the other caused her heart to beat faster as if it was the first time she kissed her.

With that said, Lucy continued to do what she was doing before, kissing every inch of her wife's face, neck, and collarbone and ran her mouth to the other side while gliding her hand back to easily unhook her bra, then tossing it away. She then gently pulled the blonde on top of her and rolled the blonde over and stopped for a very short moment to take off her pajamas. Looking down, she could see Amy's chest rising and falling rapidly. She heard her moan when she laid on top of her lover, pressing her breasts against hers. It's their first time, Lucy wanted to take it slow, so as to not scare the blonde. Her face hovered over Amy's and when she saw no rejection, no uncertainty in her eyes, she continued kissing every inch of her upper body from her neck, her collarbone, spending more time on her sensitive areas, gently nipping, sucking, licking, massaging.….

"Luu…cy…"

Lucy heard the whimpers, the moans, then stopped the trail of kisses at the area below the belly button when she heard the calling of her name since she wasn't sure if the blonde changed her mind. She may be the leader of a criminal organization, she my have dozens of male and female followers, she may be tough and give others the image of being ruthless and notorious, but one thing she would never do is force a girl to have sex with her. She needed to make sure her lover is willing before doing so. But at 18, she hasn't met anyone she wanted to do it with, even though others, her followers thought she had done it dozens of times. That's the rumor Scud was spreading around to make her look tough. Image is very important.

With her legs between the blonde's, she crawled back up and hovered over the blonde to see what she wants. Amy was breathing heavily. Her eyes fluttered closed, her cheeks was red, not from embarrassment, but from the hot burning sensation building up inside of her.

"Amy?" Lucy wanted to make sure if she wanted to continue.

Amy opened her eyes and extended her hand towards the right.

_Oh_. Lucy understood and turned the lamp off. She would rather have the lights on, but knowing that Amy didn't want that, she obeyed. She blinked a few times to adjust to the darkness. A small smile turned into a bigger grin as she looked down on the blonde who was breathing heavily and had her eyes closed because she could still see with the bright moon that suddenly cleared up and city lights, shining through the window.

Being an early riser, Amy had no problems waking up before the brunette. She knew exactly where she is, whom she's with, what she did last night, and why she did it. After finding her undergarments on the floor and got dressed, Amy stood, looking down at the brunette who had a smile on her face as if she was having a happy dream. Letting out a smile, she leaned down and pressed her lips gently on the brunette's cheek.

"I will wait for you." She said in a whisper.

* * *

**Chapter 49: Chapter 49**

* * *

**Chapter 49 Part 1  
**

Once she got home, the first thing she wanted to do was take a shower. After last night of passionate love making, she found herself, like all those wet dreams she had before, wet. She was a little surprised to find Alexis at her house so early in the morning, walking down the stairs.

"Alexis?"

"Good morning."

"Why are you here so early?"

"I slept here last night."

"why?"

"Well, someone told us to wait in the restaurant and never came back, then it started raining."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here."

"It doesn't?...So tell me, where were you last night?"

"I…" Seeing Alexis' smile, Amy rolled her eyes and went up the stairs while ignoring the straightforward girl when she realized why Alexis stayed in her house….so to hear her explanation.

After taking a shower, longer than she intended to because while letting warm drops of water splashing against her face, her mind spontaneously thought about last night, her first time, Amy's first time. It wasn't like the wet dreams she had with the brunette, it was much more…real. That feeling was indescribable. She let it happen, let the brunette take control. _She was gentle. She was caring. She is Lucy. _Last night when she talked to the brunette, she could feel a different person was talking to her, not the same bossy 18 year old who yelled at her. She was the mature one, the one she fell in love with. Amy opened her eyes. _The one I fell in love with_? _Did I just say that? _

* * *

"Well?" Alexis said, sitting across from Nadia. Sitting on the end, Amy dug her fork into the tofu scramble and put it into her mouth.

Knowing full well what they wanted to know, Amy glanced at Nadia, then at Alexis and returned her eyes on the plate of breakfast.

"She's not telling us." Alexis said to Nadia who let out a smile. "You don't have to. We know what you did last night."

Amy pretended not to be listening.

"All I want to know is how it was."

"Alexis…" It came from Nadia not Amy. Nadia thought that question was way too personal, but knowing Alexis, she's not afraid to ask it. "Kristin…Is she…still leaving?"

Amy didn't respond and continued eating her breakfast.

"No regrets?" Nadia said in a gentle voice.

Alexis was surprised that she was able to convince the blonde to let it happen, without any strings attached, without expecting the brunette to do anything afterwards.

"Why did you do it?" From last night's conversation, Alexis felt that the brunette was behaving oddly at different moments. One moment, she was the 18 year old notorious criminal leader, another moment, she was a regular person, but not the same Lucy whom she used to know. She didn't think Amy would. Although she did try talking her into not thinking so much, she couldn't help wonder how the blonde agent could go through with sleeping with the brunette with her behavior last night.

Amy took a sip of coffee and wiped her mouth. "What makes you think that I slept with her last night?"

Alexis let out a smirk. "Well, you went into her room and you never came back down. Is that not enough proof?"

"I didn't come back down because my clothes were still wet. And yes, I slept with her…on the same bed, and not what you're thinking. We talked and we fell asleep." She said it in a tone as if it's no big deal. It's not. That's what they did the past month.

She's the Perfect Score, the one who lied to everyone in the DEBS organization. What's in front of her are two young civilians. If she couldn't convince them that nothing happened, then there's only one reason why they wouldn't believe her. They must have stood outside the hotel room and pressed their ears against the door because anyone who heard her moaning and numerous shrieking of ecstasy would know what they were doing. She internally smiled at the 2 confused faces.

* * *

Everyone came to see her off at the airport except for the taller blonde, Amy. Sitting on the window seat, Lucy didn't understand why Amy didn't come to see her. Did she regret it? Does she hate me for leaving? Or is it because she realized she couldn't be with a woman? Her face contorted in confusion as she looked out the small window on the plane to Canada. _Naa…couldn't be. She enjoyed it last night. _If she didn't want to, she would have put a stop to it.

It's not going to be the last time, but she's not sure when they're going to see each other. Especially, after last night, she wanted to say a few things to her before she leaves. She wanted to tell her how incredible last night was, how sorry she is for not being able to be with her, and how she'll always love her. But in the end, she knew that's not what the blonde wants to hear. Lucy leaned her head back against the seat, feeling a little regret that she let it happen. But she knew the outcome would be the same if she had another chance to do it over. She closed her eyes, her grin spread from to cheek to cheek, remembering the moment from last night, her first time.

* * *

After the brunette left, it had been difficult for Amy for the first week. She had moved her stuff back into her own bedroom on the second floor. Each time, she went up into the master bedroom, she couldn't help taking a moment to lie on the king size bed and think about that night, that night when she had her first time.

That night, she didn't plan on it. But the way the conversation went, it somehow caused her to let everything go and let her heart take control. Like Alexis said, just let it happen naturally and she did. She let the brunette take control. She had seen lovers making love on screen but never understood why they reacted the way they did. But she does now. That feeling was so incredible, so intense, involuntary moans of pleasure escaped her mouth. Her eyes spontaneously closed. Her head thrust backwards against the pillow, her hands held onto the brunette's back, her moaning and whimper became louder and louder as the indescribable sensation enveloped her whole body.

Amy smiled, remembering that moment. She didn't expect her body to feel like that. Would she want to do it again? Definitely. She didn't think she could before, loving her that way. But now she knows she could.

For the first week, she heard from Scud where Lucy went and whom she's with. But as days went back, news about her became less because Scud told them that she was busy and she didn't want to be bothered. Amy wanted to call her but decided not to. _She'll come back to me when she's ready._

* * *

The first person Lucy visited was Uncle Nick. After telling him what happened to her, he was as shocked as everyone else. She wanted to visit other people but Uncle Nick didn't feel that it's a good idea since she had been out of the spotlight for years. Anthony agreed and was able to persuade her after a very long conversation talking on long distance. She wanted to go to the US to visit Anthony but he didn't think that was a good idea either. So what she did since Anthony was busy was went to the tourist attractions by herself. Places she had wanted to visit but never had the time, she did that. Insane creations like the Edgewalk in the CN tower, she did that too and found it absolutely thrilling. Something she had also wanted to do but didn't have the time was to complete her training, flying helicopters and planes. Now that she had the time, she finally got her pilot license.

When Anthony finally had the time, she went everywhere with him, everywhere except the US. When he's busy with business, she occupied herself with other things. During the time they spent together, Anthony told her what he could remember from the time she was 18.

"Do you know why I would fall for a DEB?"

"We had no idea…at that time. But now, I see why. She loves you. Lucy."

"I know. But do you know why I would give everything up for her?"

"isn't that obvious after everything I told you? You fell in love with her."

"love?"

"Yes, love."

Seeing that the brunette still didn't understand or couldn't believe what she did back then, he continued to explain. "People have different goals when they get older. Look at boss, he quit for his son. What's important to him now is his son."

"But I was in my 20's."

Having spent more than a month with the brunette, he found her behavior extremely different from the mature one. He thought she was just joking when he learned what happened to her, the part where she got shot by her lover and the part about her memory.

"Love is blind." That's all Anthony could say.

"Have I been here before?" Lucy said, looking at the brightly lit Eiffel tower on the panoramic window inside a luxury hotel.

"maybe…" Anthony shrugged her shoulders.

* * *

Lucy knew that Anthony had reserved seats for dinner for 2 at an elegant restaurant but had no idea where they were going to was the Le Jules Verne, a restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower where it had the best views of Paris at night.

"have I been here before?"

"maybe…" Anthony noticed that she had been asking that question a lot when they arrived to Paris. "You used to live here. I wouldn't be surprised."

Inside the elegant restaurant, everyone was nicely dressed. T-shirts and shorts weren't allowed.

"I've never been here before." Anthony said. With a romantic atmosphere like this, with the view of the lighted city of Paris, one would want to come with their love ones.

"Are you dating anyone?" During the time that they spent together, they were mostly talking about her.

"no time…" Anthony said as she dug his fork into the sea bass on his plate.

"no…time?" What she heard was that he's the boss, he shouldn't have to work that hard.

"I'm not as lucky as you…you found her and she loves you…I wish I could find someone like that." Anthony took a sip of the wine. "I mean…love at first sight, definitely not undercover agent…" Anthony let out a smirk and Lucy responded with the same.

"So you've never met…anyone?" Lucy felt bad for him if he didn't find anyone he could love. Even Scud was able to and she was happy for him.

"I did…but it didn't work out. It's difficult. You just don't know if they love you or your money. You know how it is."

Lucy nodded. It wasn't difficult to understand. Being 18, she had been in those situations before. If she was still in that business, she probably would be in the same shoes as Anthony.

"But you're a man."

"So?" Anthony took another bite of the sea bass.

"Men usually…you know…they aren't really looking for love." _Especially not at his age. _As long as they're beautiful, that's all it matters to them, most of them anyways.

"Some…not all…I'm not that type. I'm looking for beautiful, kind, caring, funny and someone who loves me, not my money and not my status."

"Anthony, you have money, you have power, the only way to know if she really loves you for who you really are would be…if she also has that."

"True." Anthony said as he swirled the glass of wine.

"…and if she has all of that, why would she be interested in you?"

"Hey…I…" He stopped when Lucy extended his hand.

"I know, you have the looks and you have the charm. I'm just saying it would be difficult to find someone like that. Maybe you should lie to them, don't tell them anything until you get her to fall in love with you."

"Don't think I haven't tried, but it's difficult when I have my men following me and I need them."

Lucy understands. In his position, he needed his men to protect him.

"I guess all you could do is to have her sign a prenup." Lucy smirked. "That's what all celebrities do. "

There was a moment of silence. Lucy wondered what he was looking at or who he was looking for.

"Hey, isn't that….and there…isn't she the girl who plays…mmm…oh…what's the name of that movie?" Anthony tapped his forehead as he tried to think of the name while Lucy was surprised that he would have time to watch a movie.

Lucy looked around but had no idea who he's talking about. This is a very famous restaurant, so seeing celebrities here would be possible.

After dinner, they decided to take a walk around the area near the Tower. It was a beautiful night. The weather was chilly. Life is great. Even though she is no longer the leader, she found that she could get used to this kind of life. She has money and she could do whatever she wants. All that talk about love earlier got her thinking about the blonde. _He said I was lucky._ She never thought of it that way. At her age, she didn't want to be tied down yet and definitely does not want to live the way she did when she was with the blonde. _That's how I am. I'm not going to change. It just won't work, Amy. _She let out a deep breath. Standing next to him, Anthony did the same. His men, 3 of them stood a feet away, were scanning the surroundings.

"Luce, I'm thinking of quitting."

Lucy snapped her head. "What? Why?"

"because I'm tired…I want a different kind of life, I want to find someone to be with, I want kids, I want…a family."

"You can do all of that. You don't have to quit." It would be crazy for him to quit at this moment. "You just need to think…in another way. Don't think she's after your money. Who doesn't love money? Just think that she loves you…That's all. It's that simple."

Lucy never thought that the former DEB loved her for her money. When she found out how much Amy has, that just confirmed it. But what she still couldn't understand is why they were living in that small house without a maid or butler.

"You're thinking too much." It took him years to get to this point. What she was worrying about is what would happen to him after quitting. Would his enemies go after him?

"Lucy, you're not yourself…that's why you said that. You…would have been happy for me…"

"I just want you think about this carefully. It's not that simple. Once they know you're out, they might go after you…and who can you give it too?"

"I know…it's not that simple." Anthony let out a smile. He knew it wasn't. Uncle Nick was lucky to have him because he was loyal to him. He has people who are loyal to him but he didn't think any one of them could take his place. Once he steps down, he's not sure if his follower would be able to handle it. He has a lot of respect from other leaders. He's not sure if his follower would be able to do what he used to. Once that respect is gone, his organization will ultimately crumble and in turn his own life may be in danger.

"I really like talking to you." Anthony had wanted to talk to someone about this, this thought that he had for a long time ever since he saw how Uncle Nick's son was able to get a girlfriend. Being single without a family, he felt alone, just like his friend standing next to him. But there is a difference. Someone is waiting for her and nobody is waiting for him.

"Anthony…don't…it's going to get better." Lucy never thought having power and money would be a bad thing. It's not. Many people kill for what he has. "you can have anything you want…"

"anything…except…" Anthony trailed off.

Lucy followed his line of sight but had no idea what he was looking at.

"wait here…" Anthony said, keeping his eyes at the crowd 50 feet away. His men followed him. One stayed behind.

Never liked to be told what to do and also being curious, Lucy decided to follow at a distance. There were a lot of people looking up admiring the Eiffel tower. It was night time, but it wasn't so dark that she couldn't see what was going on. Pickpocketing gangs. This area is known for that. They strike when they see tourists focusing on the Eiffel Tower above them. "You see that." Lucy said to Anthony's man.

"What?"

If this was summer time, there would have been more people and Lucy would not have been able to see that. It's November. Tourists come at this time to avoid the long lines and the crowds. Lucy intended to mind her own business, but since that pickpocketer was heading towards her. She might as well have some fun. While looking up at the tower, Lucy walked forward and intentionally put her foot out, causing the pickpocketer to trip and fall on the floor. It didn't take long for Anthony's man to understand what she was doing because the moment she apologized and picked up something that fell out of the pickpockter, he could see how nervous the pickpocketer became.

It's red, clearly a woman's cell phone. "Is this…yours?" She said it in a tone to let him know that she's not going to believe him if he said yes. Lucy intentionally turned it on.

"Yes it is, thank you." He spoke with a French accent and extended his hand out

"It is?" Lucy couldn't believe he was still trying to lie about it. "Then what is sticked in the back of it?"

"Excusez-moi?"

"What is stuck in the back of it?"

Without waiting for his response, Lucy asked Anthony's man to call the cops and somehow it came out in French. "Appele la police" Even she was surprised by what she was able to say. Within seconds, the pickpocketer took off quickly.

During the ride back to the hotel, Lucy told Anthony what happened back there.

"oh really"

From the tone of his voice, she sensed that he didn't like what she did. She could feel that she's going to get a lecture from him about keeping it low, minding her own business, but Anthony knew it wasn't appropriate to say that in front of his men.

"Boss, paparrazzis…" Bunch of people, photographers were snapping pictures at whoever was entering the hotel. That's what happens when you live in a very high class hotel. He didn't mind having his picture taken. He was worrying for the brunette. Once the crowd dissipated, they felt it was safe to go back in. Inside Anthony's room, Lucy flopped on the couch and waited for the lecture that Anthony was going to give her. Anthony did the same, spreading his arms across the couch. He closed his eyes and leaned the back of his head on the couch. Lucy could tell that he was tired, not from tonight, but from everything that's going on in his life. It happens to everyone at one point, the idea of quitting. But those who did usually regret doing so because what they had been doing for years kept their mind active. Once they retire, they would feel as though they have no purpose in life. Their mind would slowly numb itself. They would become not as intelligent as before, nothing to think about, waiting to die. That's what usually happens to people who had a regular job. But not for Anthony. He had a lot more to think about, his businesses, his people, his friends, and his own life might be at risk.

After a long moment of relaxation, Lucy felt that she should say something. "Anthony, c'mon, let's go."

"Where?"

At this moment, what she thinks Anthony needed is motivation. Having taken some courses in business management at Yale, she learned that to make a business successful, one needs to have loyal workers. When a business isn't doing well, you don't put the blame on your employees. You need to motivate them. You need to tell them that they're doing a good job even though you don't think they are. Because what will happen if you try to push them to do more, if you tell them that they're going to get fired if they don't improve, if you lost their trust, that's not going to improve your business. Nobody likes to be told that they're incompetent. You need to change the mood, the atmosphere, and the way they think. That's what a leader should do. That's what Anthony needs right now. She has to change the way he thinks about himself. What Anthony is feeling right now is common. He thinks he's getting too old. He thinks he wouldn't be able to find someone who would love him for who he is. He thinks quitting would resolve his problems, if not all of it.

"Let's go have some fun. Let's go meet some girls." Seeing that Anthony didn't respond, Lucy got up and walked towards him. "Have you look at yourself in the mirror lately? You're fit, you're good looking, you're charming…I've never seen anyone who has that look of confidence like you have."

Lucy thinks it's working when she saw a small grin on Anthony's face. "You didn't change much, Anthony. So…stop acting like you're 40. It's just a number. This…" She pointed to her own head. "determines how old you are and who you are." Lucy flashed her diamond smile and raised her eyebrows. He should get the point. He's an intelligent man.

"The mind of an 18 year old"

"Exactly."

After changing into a casual attire, both went down to the restaurant inside the hotel to have a drink. Anthony felt it's safe to go without his men. It was a busy night. It wasn't crowded but there were a lot of people, chatting with friends, having a few laughs, listening to the live band, and having a few drinks at the bar area.

Sitting at the bar area, both looked around for targets. What they saw was that they weren't the only ones checking people out, there were others and others checking them out.

"Hey, it's her again." Anthony still couldn't remember the actress's name.

"Looks like she's popular." There were others looking at her as well. Lucy didn't care for it since she didn't find her attractive at all. Besides, the guy next to him is probably her boyfriend.

He looked around to see if there were any women sitting alone or with girlfriends. "Over there, I'm going…"

Before Anthony could leave, Lucy stopped him. "waaaiiit…"

"What?" He wasn't sure why she stopped him. It was her idea.

"first, go buy her a drink, then wait"

"I could just go over there and introduce myself." That's what he was planning to do. He's not afraid of getting rejected. That's what he did at the island and he got himself a date, except for the fact he found out later that woman used to be a man. He didn't remind Lucy about that.

"Some women don't like that, she could be shy…" Lucy waved to the bartender over and told him to make a drink for the woman. "Whatever she decides to do, it's up to her. Now smile." Lucy could see that the woman is a young blonde. She had a feeling that the blonde wouldn't accept but anything can happen.

Both turned to the right to see what would happen as the bartender walked towards the other end. When the bartender placed the drink towards the blonde, the blonde and her friend turned to look at them.

"She's….smiling…she's…raising the pina colada…she's…sucking it…yes!" Anthony smiled wide and as he was about to go over to introduce himself, Lucy again stopped him.

"umm…Anthony…I..um…forgot to…tell…him…it's from you…"

"whaaatttt…"

Lucy cleared her throat and turned towards Anthony. "I…think she's looking at me." She let out an apologetic smile.

Frowning, Anthony darted his eyes at the blonde, then at the brunette, and repeated a few times before realizing that she's right. "oh…."

"where are you going?"

"Staying away from you."

Lucy felt really bad and thought that he had a good point. There is a good possibility that people might think that they're together. Not wanting to give the blonde the idea that she was interested in her, Lucy quickly finished her drink and left the restaurant. Once she stepped inside the elevator, she texted Anthony to let him know that she's going to call it a night. Lucy moved one step back as the woman in front took a step backward. Everyone moved to the sides to allow a woman in a wheelchair to roll inside the elevator. From the look on the woman's face, whatever it is that she has must have taken her spirit away as well as her will to live. Each time the elevator stops, the man behind the wheelchair steps out of the elevator to allow the guests off. It's sad seeing that woman in that state because it reminded her of her own mother.

Lucy was young then. Her mother died of a rare illness while sleeping. Doctors had no idea what it was that took her life. The week earlier, her mother had not been feeling well, but it wasn't to the point where she's so sick that she needed to go to a doctor. She didn't think anything of it nor did Lucy who was just a teenager. Her father may have noticed that something was wrong if he had been there. At that time, he was out of the country on a business trip and had regrets of going. He even thought that Schaafer had something to do with his wife's death. There was no proof, only a speculation, a speculation that Lucy learned from his father's loyal followers some time after she killed Schaafer.

Lying on the bed with her eyes opened, Lucy couldn't sleep. She had been able to for the past 6 months without any problems. "now what am I going to do?" For the past six months, she had been able to visit a lot of places she had always wanted to see, see places she never thought of seeing, and fulfill her dreams, some but not all. Those dreams that she had before was no longer important. The thought of getting a job, working with Anthony, crossed her mind. But picturing herself working in an office everyday changed her mind. "Should I go back to London?" Lucy shook her head. "I can't live like that." Remembering what she had gone through, she knew the outcome would be the same if she goes back. "The mind of an 18 year old in the body of a 30 year old. What would a 30 year old be doing? Some would already have kids. Some would be thinking of marriage…Some would be thinking of having kids…...I'm sorry. Amy. I…just…can't." It's selfish of her. She knew that. Everyone thinks that she and the blonde were meant to be together except her. Even Anthony thinks so. It was a ludicrous story, so ridiculous, she had no doubt that their relationship wasn't meant to be. "It was a mistake from the beginning. Why can't anyone see that? " Lucy turned on her side towards the window and let out a big sigh. "Amy…please don't wait for me…."

* * *

London

It was a Saturday and the girls were getting ready to do their normal routine, breakfast, yoga, gym, and sauna. Knowing how the blonde had been feeling, nobody wanted to mention the brunette, but Alexis who came to joined them for breakfast wanted to know.

"Have you talked to her?"

Amy shook her head and took a bite of her vegetable omelette.

"No news is good news." What Janet said caused everyone to turn towards her. "What? It is. Isn't it?"

"I don't know how long I can take this. It's 6 months now." Amy finally opened up about her feelings. "What is she doing?" She didn't realize how difficult this would be, not hearing any news from Lucy for months.

"What did Scud say?" Alexis directed the question to Janet.

"…she's doing things she always wanted to do and never had the time for."

"which is?"

"she didn't say…a lot of things…" Janet responded.

"where is she?"

Janet shrugged.

"Who is she with?"

Janet shrugged again.

Alexis didn't like this at all, not knowing anything about the brunette.

"Call her."

Amy wanted to for a long time. "I…" Amy let out a deep breath. "What can I say?" Her response sounded really odd to Alexis. She found Amy to be tough, tougher than Kristin. But at this moment, she felt what's in front of her isn't the same Amy who had an argument with her at that time when she talked negatively about the brunette.

"Well, just ask her how she is. Tell her you miss her. Tell her you think of her everyday…"

"what will that do? She's not going to come back even if I said that. She's not going to come back until she remembers me. If I call her, she's going to think I'm checking up on her."

None of the girls agree with her thought.

"I think you should call her."

"Janet, she's 18, she doesn't like to be controlled, she likes to be in control, she doesn't like people to know where she is all the time, she'll think I'm annoying.

"You said it yourself. She's 18. What if she…" Janet didn't want to say it, but knowing how the former criminal mastermind was acting at that time, it could be possible. "what if she's with someone else. You need to call her to remind her that…" Janet stopped when Amy suddenly grabbed a fork from the table and stood up.

"If she cheats on me, it's over." Amy thrust the fork into her vegetable omelette so hard, the table shook, causing Nadia, Janet and Alexis to jerk back.

"You hear me! Lucy! If you cheat on me, it's over!" Amy shouted, looking up at the ceiling.

* * *

"Jesus!" Drops of sweat formed on her face. She held her hand over her rapidly beating heart. Her eyes fluttered opened. It took a moment for her mind to come back to reality. Nightmares happened often back then, especially when Schaafer was after her. But she had not had that for a long time. Her whole body was sweating. After taking a look at her watch, she realized how early it was. With nothing to do, she usually gets up about 10, so 9AM to her is really early.

"Hello…okay…give me half an hour...what? why?...okay." Lucy spoke groggily on the phone.

After taking a quick shower and getting dressed, Lucy headed next door. Anthony had called her earlier and ordered breakfast but didn't tell her what the plan was. They've been in Paris for a few days. She's not sure what Anthony had in mind next. Australia? Peking? Hmm…I definitely want to see the Forbidden City.

One of Anthony's man stood outside of the door and opened the door for her.

"What took you so long?"

"I consider half an hour to be pretty fast. You might not know, but a lot of girls take more than…" Lucy trailed off when she saw a very beautiful young woman, about the same age as her, maybe younger, brownish red hair, smiling at her. "Oh…you have a guest." She was waiting for Anthony to respond and found it odd that he didn't.

Her brows drew together as she stepped closer.

"You don't recognize her?"

Lucy took the hint that she was supposed to know her. She immediately stepped forward and extended her hands to assist the stranger when she saw the woman was getting up from the wheelchair.

"I can walk. Thank you."

Lucy slowly took one step back and saw that the woman was very different from the one she saw last night. Her big eyes, her smile, her makeup, and her emotions, one couldn't tell she was sick. _But why the wheelchair?_

"It has been a long time, Lucy."

Lucy didn't expect her to call her real name. "Anthony?"

"It's okay. She knows who you are. Lucy, she's…."

"I'm his ex-girlfriend" The woman explained.

"Really?" Lucy contorted her face in confusion. "I mean…really?" She thought Anthony was playing a joke on her and would tell her any moment now that he was just joking but that never came. Wow. She was surprised because the woman had a look of confidence and she doesn't look like the type Anthony would go for and vice versa.

"It's nice to see you again, Lucy" The woman stepped forward and hugged the brunette. Lucy still couldn't believe it. "Ex?" She mouthed to Anthony who nodded in a serious manner while hugging the woman who seemed to be very happy and excited to run into them.

"Lucy, do you have the phone?"

"Oh..." Lucy took it from her back pocket and extended it to Anthony. Previously, Anthony told her to bring it with her but she had no idea why until she heard the gasp from his ex.

"Where did you find this? Where..." The woman paused for a moment. Her smile disappeared. "Did you steal this?"

Lucy realized that the woman knew alot about her...well, maybe not. "A phone? Why would I steal a useless phone?"

She quickly realized she overreacted and wasn't thinking. "Sorry...Thank you for finding this." The woman again hugged the brunette firmly.

As they were eating breakfast, Lucy found it odd that the woman who introduced herself as Brooke did most of the talking. She learned that they met at a party and was introduced by her Uncle who was also a crimeboss but his organization wasn't as big or as powerful as hers. As Lucy told her about the pickpocketing incident, she found that Brooke is very easy talk to. Brooke again thanked for getting her phone back.

"So why did you two break up?" She seems nice but Lucy didn't think they would be a good match based on the appearance alone. She expected Anthony to respond but Brooke responded instead.

"I was very young then."

Lucy glanced at Anthony to see if he has anything to say. He didn't and just kept eating his breakfast while staring at his ex.

"Are you still in that business?"

"I was never in that business." The tone of her voice sounded like she just got offended by being asked that question. "I was too young then to know any better."

Hearing that, Lucy understood why they broke up. Anthony is still in that business. Their relationship wouldn't have lasted then or even now. Would he give up everything for her? Lucy looked at Anthony to see his reaction. _No, he wouldn't. _It seemed like he doesn't love her anymore.

"What's your uncle doing now?" Lucy wondered if he is still in that business.

"He passed away several years ago."

"Oh…I'm sorry." Lucy said and wondered why Anthony didn't say anything. _Maybe he already knew._

It was quite odd seeing Anthony had nothing to say during the entire meal. What she learned about Brooke was that she used to work as a manager in a financial company and quit after she found out about her illness.

"What do you have? You don't look sick." Lucy said. She doesn't. She looks like a healthy woman.

"Let's not talk about that." Brooke wiped her mouth. "Anthony, do you have any plans later? I was hoping that we could go out, take a look around the tourist attractions." Hearing no response, Brooke walked over towards the powerful leader. "Please…" Brooke said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

Lucy found Anthony's behavior extremely strange. He's behaving like a jerk. After successfully persuading Anthony, they went to the Louvre, art museums, Eiffel tower and various places. Having spent the day with the sick woman, Lucy could tell that Brooke just wanted to go out and have fun, like a normal person would.

After escorting Brooke back to her hotel room, Lucy took the opportunity to ask what happened between them since Anthony kept his mouth shut the entire day.

"She dumped me, Lucy. You would have acted the say way if it was you."

"true, maybe, but nobody dumps me."

"You got dumped, you just don't remember." Anthony reminded her.

Lucy still couldn't believe what Scud told her.

"She's dying, Anthony."

"She hurt me, Lucy!" Anthony said angrily. "She hurt me so badly, she…" Anthony paused as if remembering that moment. "I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think. I didn't want to do anything. I got angry at everyone."

"Wow…that bad, huh?" It surprised her that Anthony, the powerful leader, could fall for someone that hard. "Look, she apologized. She was young then."

"young? She knew who I was then!"

"Did she cheat on you?"

"no"

She expected a different response. That would be the only reason why Anthony would be acting that way. At this moment, he didn't sound like the Anthony she knows.

"It's a long time ago. She's dying. Can't you see she just wants to spend the rest of her days with you?"

"We don't know that. Maybe she's lying."

What Anthony just said caused Lucy to think twice. It is possible that Brooke could be lying about her illness. But why? The only reason she could come up with was that Brooke wants to get back together with Anthony now that he's more rich and more powerful than before. Is this the reason why he's behaving like this towards his ex? Lucy had a difficult time sleeping that night. She's worrying about his safety. She couldn't help thinking about Brooke's motive for being here. Running into them, was it an accident or did she plan this?

* * *

In the next morning, Lucy expected him to continue the conversation from last night, but found it odd that Anthony's behavior changed 180 degrees.

"She's sick." Sitting on the couch, Anthony said in a serious tone. Knowing that Anthony must have found out somehow, Lucy didn't ask how he found out.

"Then you should spend more time with her."

"I can't."

"Anthonnnyy…" _Why is he being so stubborn?_

At this moment, both turned towards the door when they heard a knock. What they saw was Brooke, dressed warmly in a winter jacket, ready to head out to see another day of sunshine. Anthony couldn't make it not because he didn't want to but because he had business to take care of. It was sad to learn that Brooke has only a month left. Doctor told her that she might not live to see next year. After hearing that, Lucy did all she could to fulfill her last wishes. It wasn't difficult because Brooke's last wish was to spend more time with them.

Sitting in a table in Anthony's room eating dinner, Brooke talked nonstop in excitement like a kid about the day in Disneyland. It was her idea. Lucy had as much fun as she did. It was a familiar place. She sensed that she had been there before.

"Where should we go tomorrow?" Brooke said in excitement.

"ummm…" They've visited a lot of places in 2 days. Art museums, Lucy wasn't too fond of. Brooke wasn't either. "How about the Eurail?"

"Eurail?"

"sure, 27 countries, we could stop at each country, stay in a hotel for a night, then go to the next one."

Lucy didn't have to say anymore. She could see Brooke's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Anthony?"

"I'm sorry. I can't."

"Anthonnyy…c'mon, it'll be fun." _She hurt you once. But that's a long time ago. She's dying, man_.

"you know I can't. That's too long. I have work. You go and let me know where you're staying. When I'm done, maybe I'll join you. Okay?"

It sounded genuine to Lucy, so she didn't try to persuade him. She wouldn't be able to change his mind anyways because Anthony went back to US the next day.

Letting out a deep exhausted breath, Brooke laid on the couch. She had fun visiting 12 countries, some she had never visited before. Having spent 24 days with the brunette, she found the brunette to be the same as before. She knew that the brunette wanted to be in control but there are moments when she almost had an argument with her. Every time she said she wanted to go some place or spend more time in a shop, her request was either denied or ignored.

"You haven't changed." Brooke said, resting her legs on the arm of the couch.

"what?" Lucy said as she relaxed on the recliner.

"You still like to be in control." Brooke rested her legs down on the floor. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"no" came the rapid reply from the former criminal mastermind.

"No wonder. When was the last time you got laid?"

"What!" It was a very personal question. Lucy didn't expect that coming from the sick woman. Although in the past few days, they had been talking freely as if they were friends for a long time. It was very easy to talk to Brooke and Lucy came to understand why Anthony would fall for her. She's beautiful, probably more beautiful when she was younger, she's funny, she's a lot of fun to be with. They joked, they laughed. What made them laugh hard was talking about Anthony how he used to be when they dated. Lucy learned that he had a difficult time keeping his hands to himself. _Can't blame him._

"Lucy, you're not the leader anymore, girls don't like that. You need to ask her what she wants to do. You can't expect her to do whatever you want." Brooke spoke as if she was the mature one. She may be more mature but she's younger than Lucy by a year.

Lucy wasn't sure why she became the topic of discussion.

"You may not remember me, but we're closer than you think. I may be Anthony's ex-girlfriend, but I'm also your friend."

Lucy had no idea. This was the first time she heard.

"Can't you feel we have this connection? I used to talk to you about my problems and you would do the same."

"I'm doing just fine, thank you." Lucy pulled the recliner back and shifted forward.

"Are you?"

"Yes" Lucy said in an obvious tone.

"Then why are you here with me and not with **a** girl?"

"very simple, because I want to be alone. I have girls line up from here to London, just waiting to propose to me" Lucy said arrogantly as she walked to the bedroom. "If I want a girl, I can get one just like that." She snapped her fingers and stood still at the bedroom door. "oh…hmm…"

Brooke couldn't resist rolling her eyes at her cocky behavior. "what?"

"umm…they gave us one bed instead of 2."

Brooke let out a sigh and continued with the discussion. What Lucy said wasn't important to her. " I'm serious. It's not fun being alone. Look at me." Brooke cupped her cheeks, moved her face in front of her. "You…don't want to be alone. It's a scary feeling. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't make the choice I made years ago. The outcome could have been different. I may still have this illness, but I could have been happier and I…wouldn't be alone."

It was spoken with regret, guilt, and tears brimming her eyes. Lucy wondered what happened after she left Anthony. "Heyy…you're not alone." She said as she pulled her in a tight embrace. "You have me…and Anthony…he's just busy right now, he'll come back." Lucy continued with comforting words but it didn't seem to work when she heard sounds of sniffing coming from the sick woman. All she could do was hold her until she was ready to let go. She could feel how tight Brooke was holding on to her as if it would be her last time. _Anthony, you should be here. Why can't you forgive her?_

If it wasn't for the sound of Lucy's stomach, Lucy would have just kept on standing near the bedroom door, hugging her.

"I'll order dinner, you take a shower."

"did you even hear what I just said?"

It took a moment for Lucy to realize what she's referring to. "It's just dinner.."

"uh…"

"It's not like I'm…"

"uh..uh.." Brooke said as she shook her head.

Lucy let out a big exhausting sigh. "Brooke, what do you want to do?" She wasn't sure why she was getting so uptight about it. It's not like she's ordering her to do something that she didn't want to do.

"I'll order dinner. You take a shower."

"fine." Lucy did as told and went to take a shower. Brooke did the same after her. When she came out of the bathroom, she noticed that the brunette was stunned still, sitting on the chair, staring at the table with 2 jars of lit candles and a vase of roses in the middle. Brooke turned off the ceiling lights and turned on the lamps next to the sofa. Lucy's thoughts were then broken by the sound of her footsteps.

"Did you order this?" When Lucy opened the door and saw what was on the cart, she thought the hotel staff made a mistake.

"mhm…"

"why?" It would make sense if Anthony was here.

"no reason, I always liked eating in this kind of atmosphere. So romantic, don't you think?"

"Yes, it would be if…"

"To us…...friends forever."

Lucy froze. Hearing the words, another sense of déjà vu washed over her. When she saw the vase of roses, the lit candles, she could feel as though she had been in that situation before. Now hearing those words, she knew for sure, it happened before in her past, but with whom? She struggled to remember.

"Lucy?"

Lucy lifted her head and quickly clunk her glass of wine against the younger, more mature woman. She took a bite of her steak and almost spitted it out after hearing Brooke's question.

"So when was the last time you got laid?"

"can we not talk about that?"

"That long, huh…"

Lucy had been in this situation before. When she doesn't want to talk about something, there was only one way out. "So Brooke, what happened after you dumped Anthony?" She raised her eyebrows and knew Brooke understood what she was trying to do. She was surprised that Brooke responded to her question.

"What you really want to know is if I ever met anyone."

Chewing on the steak, Lucy nodded.

"I did."

Lucy wasn't shocked. Brooke is beautiful. She would be shocked if she didn't meet anyone.

"It didn't work out."

_Obviously. _"Why?"

There was a moment of silence. Lucy remained silent to see if Brooke would tell her the reason.

"It's…complicated."

Lucy heard that before. She didn't think anyone else's relationship is more complicated than hers and Amy's.

"Sometimes things don't turn out the way you expected. What you thought you wanted before…you'll come to realize that…it isn't what you wanted at all." Brooke spoke in a soft tone while keeping her eyes at her plate of chicken.

_It's too late now. Brooke. You broke his heart._

"Is there anything else you want to do?" Lucy spoke in a soft tone, letting her know what she meant by that. She wanted to fulfill her last dying wish. _Anthony, you jerk, you should be here._

"mmm…I want to…but he's not here."

"Let me call him right now." Lucy got her phone but Anthony didn't pick up. All she could do was leave a voice mail, letting him know where they are.

After dinner, Brooke wanted to take a stroll along the beautiful beaches of Barcelona despite how cold it was. Shivering, Brooke cling her arms around Lucy's. "Do you want to go?" Lucy didn't want her to catch a cold since she's already sick.

"a few more minutes…then we can grab a cup of coffee."

"coffee? At this hour?" It's 8pm. Lucy wouldn't be able to get any sleep if she drank coffee at this hour.

"How about hot chocolate?"

Lucy isn't too fond of that, but what the heck. It wouldn't hurt. It was a beautiful night except for the cold. She looked up the sky and saw the moon following them. She turned to her right and saw the sick woman clinging to her arms closely against her body. The thought of Amy suddenly appeared in her thoughts. It happened from time to time. After that night, she couldn't stop thinking of her and the moment they shared. That question Brooke asked caused her to think about that moment.

After that walk, Lucy could tell she accomplished in fulfilling another one of Brooke's wishes. If she wasn't dying, Lucy probably wouldn't have agreed on watching a movie with her. It was getting very late and she was tired. Lucy drifted off to sleep on the couch.

"Lucy, it's over." Brooke shook her shoulders to wake her up.

"Oh good. " Lucy quickly went back to the room and slid underneath the blanket. If she wasn't that tired, she would have thought about putting some pillows in between them. But all her mind was thinking about was going to bed. Her body was tired. Her mind was tired. Ten more minutes, she would have fallen into a deep sleep and she wouldn't have known if there was an arm around her abdomen. "mmm...Ammyy...mmm." Lucy said in a mumble when she felt kisses on her face, lips and neck. When she had trouble breathing, Lucy opened her tired eyes and was surprised to see Brooke hovering over her face with her body on top of her.

"Brooke?" Lucy said, confusion all over her face. She wondered if what she was feeling before was only a dream.

"I know what I want."

It was a whisper. Lucy heard it and understood what Brooke wanted when her mouth was captured in an open mouth kiss. "mmmphhh" Lucy tried to push her away but her wrists were held down against the bed. Lucy pulled her mouth away and tried to take control of her hands. It was quite difficult to push someone with the same weight as hers especially when she's tired and the other person was feverishly kissing her and touching her. Lucy managed to get off the bed and turned the lights on, stepping a few feet away from the bed.

Breathing heavily, Lucy wiped her mouth with the back of her hand while looking at the woman who seemed to be disappointed.

"It's my last wish. Lucy."

Lucy couldn't believe what the dying woman wanted. "Nnnno!"

"I'm dying, Lucy."

It doesn't matter if she's dying. Her request was ridiculous. "Nnnno!"

"Lucy…" Brooke patted on the bed and spoke in a gentle voice. "come here…"

Lucy's heart was pounding nervously. She thought about leaving the room until she heard the last word from the dying woman.

"let me help you remember…us"

"us?" Seeing the soft innocent smile on Brooke's face, Lucy came to understand what she meant. "you…me…Anthony?…" Nnno..._tell me this isn't true. Remembering the way Brooke looked at her in the past few days told her that it is true. She left Anthony because of...me.  
_

* * *

**Chapter 49 Part 2_  
_**

Interrupted by the sound of Anthony's voice and the snapping of his fingers in front of her face, Lucy blinked a few times and shook her head.

"Let's party!" Dressed in jeans and short sleeve shirt, with a cocktail in one hand, Anthony pulled the brunette up from the leather couch. Inside a large room furnished with expensive furniture, a pool table in the middle of it, a large indoor pool on the other side, there was Scud, James, Anthony, and Lucy including four hot strippers. Lucy didn't think it was a good idea to invite Ethan and Alec, because she was certain that Ethan and maybe Alec too would tell the girls about it. Not only that, they probably would feel weird having Lucy there. She is after all, a female. Having females around besides the strippers just wouldn't be the same. With only her closest friends and followers who had been thru this type of situation before, there were no 'awkwardness'.

"Janet is going to be soooo upset with me if she finds out…" Sitting on a chair, surrounded by the strippers, Scud jerked his head back when his face was hit by one of the short skirts thrown from a stripper. Two months ago, Scud decided to propose to Janet. He didn't have to think long and hard about marrying Janet. He just didn't think it was the right time since so much has happened in the past few months. He had Kristin to thank for because Kristin once said they cannot put their lives on hold to catch the bastard. There is no reason not to propose. Her best friend, her boss, not being in London at the time, was definitely not a reason not to propose. In fact, it would be a good reason to propose because then he would have a reason to bring his boss back to London. And here they are, Anthony, James, and Lucy giving him a surprise bachelor's party.

"She won't find out! Besides, all you did was look. If she finds out, tell her you had no idea!" Lucy shouted thru the loud music.

"I had no idea!" Scud said in an obvious tone.

"Exactly, so relax…and enjoy the show…" Lucy laughed out loud when each of the strippers took off their clothes and threw them at the groom.

When one of the strippers sashayed her way towards Scud and reached out to touch him, Scud quickly stood up and stepped away, raising both hands up. "I can't."

Anthony burst out in laughter. "Girls…no touching!" He called out jokingly. Laughing out of control, James held onto Scud's shoulders and pushed him back down on the seat. As the girls continued to dance in their bikinis, one of Anthony's men entered the room and whispered into his ear. Anthony gave the signal to have the music turned off.

"What's going on?" said Lucy.

"I'm not sure. Let them in." Anthony said to his follower.

After a short moment, what they saw confused all of them. Two law enforcement officers entered the room and approached the brunette.

"Are you Skye…Walker-Smith?" said the male officer.

"Yes" Lucy was confused as all of them.

"Where were you last night at 11PM?"

"What?"

"We have reasons to believe that you were involved in a hit and run last night. Please come with us." As soon as the second officer took out the handcuffs, Anthony stopped the female officer from cuffing the brunette.

"There must be a mistake. Is this really necessary?"

"We're just doing our job. Please cooperate."

There was nothing he could do. They're police officers. Anthony immediately took out his phone. "I'll call my lawyer."

Lucy contorted her face in confusion as she allowed the officer to handcuff her hands behind her back. As the male officer began reading her rights, James angrily grabbed the officer by the arm.

"You can't take her."

"James…" It wasn't a good idea to be doing that to a law enforcement officer and Scud knows it. He grabbed onto James' arm and told him to let go.

"Let go or we will have to take you in too. You are violating…"

There was a lot of confusion because James wasn't listening. While he was pulling the male officer to prevent his boss from being taken away, Scud and Anthony were trying to get James' hands away from the officer. But it was impossible since James has the size of a football player. "James! Stop it!" "Please cooperate…I'm warning you!" There were shouting, shoving, pulling, pushing, warnings were given. Through the confusion, somehow Lucy landed on the chair that Scud had previously sat on.

"What the hell?" Lucy said after everyone stepped away. The music then came on as loud as before. Anthony, James and all the strippers began clapping their hands. Lucy finally understood what was going on when the female officer took off her hat, letting her medium length golden hair fall down. She was unaware that her hands were cuffed to the chair until she tried to move them. "You ….." Lucy closed her eyes when the officer slash stripper threw her uniform towards her. She wiggled it free from her head. She turned to look at Scud who held his hands up and shook his head, indicating that he had no idea. She could see James and Anthony laughing and clapping loudly. Without a doubt, it must be Anthony's idea. Only he could plan this.

"You like it?!" Anthony shouted.

"What the hell?! Why?!"

"It's for you!"

"Obviously! But why! I'm not getting married?!"

Anthony stopped clapping. A frown appeared on his face. He held his hands up against his mouth and shouted. "You're already married!"

Lucy finally understood what it was for, the bachelor's party that she never had when she married Amy. It was a nice idea, a blonde dressed in a police officer uniform, reminding her of Amy. Only Anthony could think of that, a loyal friend who cares.

After the party ended, Scud was the only one who could stand up straight. Everyone else had a little too much to drink or too tired.

"I have to go home guys."

"Okay, Scud…bye..." Anthony slurred and went back to take a nap.

"Scud…wait.." Lucy managed to lift herself up from the couch. James was sleeping on the other couch. Feeling hot inside, Lucy fanned herself with her hands. Placing her hands on her shoulders to balance herself, she looked up at her sidekick with tired eyes. "Do you know if I've…ever cheated…on Amy?"

It has been so long. Scud realized that she still can't remember anything and at the same time wondered why she would ask about that.

"No. You didn't."

Lucy nodded and gave him a hug and a pat on his back. That's all she needed to know. It was comforting to hear that she didn't change much because being in a relationship with more than 1 girl at a time is not something she would do, even at 18.

"Are you coming with me? She would want to see you."

Lucy didn't think it would be a good idea especially the way she is now.

"Then I'll see you then. Don't be late."

* * *

It was never a good idea to have a bachelor's party before the wedding. So Anthony had it planned two days ahead. As for the girls, they had it the day before the wedding.

All sat on the couch around the bride to be. "Oh my God, what is this?"

A burst of laughter echoed through the room.

"It's a lingerie." Nadia said.

"No, it's 3 pieces of very thin cloth tied together by a very thin string." Janet said. "I am not wearing this. Here, Alexis…it looks better on you." She tossed it to Alexis who's sitting next to Nadia.

"You would look good in that." Nadia said as a thought appeared in her mind.

"You think." Alexis stood up, holding the lingerie in front of her and noticing the sparkle in Nadia's eyes. "I think I look better without it."

"So…have you talked to Ashley yet?" Amy asked while getting all the wrapping paper together.

"I did…and she understood."

"Really? What did you tell her?"

"I told her that Keira is actually working for a secret service and she had to fake her death…and we only knew about it not too long ago."

"That's a great idea!" Nadia said. Now they don't have to keep hiding it from her. Knowing that Ashley will see the brunette in the wedding, they had to let her know that Lucy is still alive. Sooner or later, Ashley will know the truth and they thought it would be a good opportunity to tell her now.

"She's definitely…coming, right?" Amy wasn't sure since she hadn't heard from her for months.

"That's what Scud said. Is Max coming?"

"She said she'll make it to the banquet. Mr. P can't make it."

After numerous thoughts, Janet decided to send an invitation to her parents only. Her excuse for not inviting the others was that they don't have enough money. They barely have enough for the wedding and the plane ticket. So instead of telling them that the restaurant belongs to Scud, she told them that he's a manager there.

"Do you think…she's already here?" Amy glanced at Janet, then at Alexis and Nadia.

"I'm sure she's not." That's all Janet could say. If the brunette is already here and she didn't let them know, that could mean only one thing. Lucy is avoiding the blonde.

Just thinking about the brunette made her nervous. She's not sure why. That's unlike her and she knew that. She used to have men begging her for a date and she still does, at school and at the YMCA. But when it comes to the brunette, she felt like the one who's begging. "You are so hopeless."

"What's that?" Janet said.

Amy didn't realize she herself said that out loud. "I said why I am the one who's begging? I have men asking me out. I have a long line of men just waiting for me, begging me to go out with them. Who does she think she is? Why am I worrying that she's not going to be here? Why am I worrying that she's not going to stay here? I had enough. You know what. Don't ask her to stay here. If she wants to stay here, then that's fine. But don't ask. If she wants to leave, then let her. I'm going to sleep."

Amy stormed upstairs to her room leaving three faces of confusion watching her from behind. All heard the slamming of the door a moment later.

"because you love her…" Nadia said, all heard but Amy.

* * *

**Church**

Roses, flowers of all colors, ribbons, and wedding decorations of all sorts were hung on the stair rails, sides of the seats, windows and various places. After all the guests were seated inside the church, all remained silent. Scud, dressed in white suit, smiled at her boss.

"Nervous?" Lucy said, noticing that his hands were trembling.

"Oh yea…" Scud reached up to loosen his bow tie a little.

"Where did you propose to her?" Lucy said, hoping to calm his nerves. The organ was playing. Her eyes kept at Alexis, dressed in strapless, light gold long satin gown, walking down the aisle, who was looking at on her. Then there's Nadia who was also looking at her instead of the front. They had no idea that Scud picked Lucy as 'best man'. It was a surprise and they were definitely 'surprised'.

"Cupid Capsule."

"How did she take it?"

"She was screaming and jumping. The worker told her not to jump."

Lucy smiled, imagining how funny that could be. She was about to ask another question but was captured by the attention of the maid of honor walking down the aisle. She expected Amy to be looking at her, but she wasn't. "Wow, she looks gorgeous."

"you should tell her that." Anthony,who had been listening, was standing next to the brunette.

"She knows that."

"but you should still tell her."

Scud had planned on having James being one of his groomsmen, but later decided that he should be sitting with his wife and kids. Ethan was asked to fill in.

Lucy turned to look at Ethan and saw that his mouth was wide opened. Anthony noticed and quickly elbowed him. "That's inappropriate, man." He reminded him that even though that the brunette and the blonde aren't together, it's not appropriate for him to look at the blonde that way. That's his savior's wife and that's not right. Ethan cleared his throat and looked at something else.

Standing about 7 feet away from the bridesmaids, Lucy kept her eyes at the blonde who wore a satin, light gold long gown with two thin straps. _Odd_. She noticed that Amy wasn't looking at her at all.

All then focused their attention on the little girl as she dropped flower petals on the floor. When it was time, all stood up as the bride walked down the aisle with her father and mother. Janet wanted to make this special. Instead of walking with her father, she walked with both of her parents.

Having planned dozens of heists, arranging a wedding ceremony was a piece of cake for Scud. Everything worked out as planned. It could have been flawless if he wasn't so nervous. All he had to do was repeat after the minister and he screwed up, causing everyone to burst out laughing.

After the ceremony ended, everyone went straight to the hotel. Some guests were from another country so he planned it so that their wedding doesn't take the entire day. He even provided transportation for his guests.

Ten round tables with 8 seats were covered with golden cloths. On each table was a vase of pink flowers. Long beige curtains were let down to cover the windows. Recessed lights were dimmed to make the room even more romantic. A live band was playing soft music in the corner of the dance floor.

On a round table close to the stage, Lucy sat next to Scud who sat next to Janet and Amy sat next to her. On another table sat Janet's parents, Uncle Nick, Nathan, Alec and few other close friends.

"That's a beautiful dress, Janet. You look great." Lucy complimented after taking a bite of the lobster. Everybody was focusing on her when she spoke except for the maid of honor.

"Alexis picked it out for me." Janet, like most of the brides to be, was frustrated for not being able to find a wedding gown. With the fashion designer's help, Janet was able to finally found one that suits her. She wore a v-neck long gown, tight at the waist, with long laced sleeves.

Lucy nodded and glanced at Alexis who smiled back.

"You all look great."

"You too." Alexis said, sitting next to Nadia who sat next to Amy.

What the brunette had on was a simple yet elegant black pants suit with a little flare at the bottom, a criss crossed black top with thick straps, just enough to cover the bullet wound, leaving tan bare shoulders for all to see, a thin golden line matching the color of the bride's maid's dress around the waist, and a diamond necklace.

"thank you." She said to Alexis but kept her eyes at the blonde.

"Where did you go?" Nadia couldn't wait. She really wanted to know and so did everyone else.

"A lot of places. I took a lot of pictures. I can show them to you later if you want." Nadia and Alexis nodded their heads vigorously. But there was no reaction from the blonde.

Getting the signal from Scud, Lucy knew it was time. She took a sip of water before standing up and took the microphone from the waiter.

When the music stopped and finally got everyone's attention, she introduced herself. "For those who don't know me, I am Sam's best man…I mean...woman" A laughter came from several tables. She expected that and said it as a joke. "…I've known Sam for many, many…many years. He is an amazing friend, someone I can always count on, he is like a brother…to me, even better than my own brother…" Another loud laughter was heard after she explained that she doesn't have a brother. "Sam is a man of many accomplishments…and today counts as his one of his biggest accomplishments to date, committing to a woman like Janet. And Janet, well..I don't know you that well." She said in a way that made the guests laugh. "But when I saw you and Sam together, I knew that you two were meant for each other. He is very lucky to have you." She said in a genuine tone as she held her hand over her heart. "I toast you… and wish you a long marriage filled with love and above all, laughter"

Everyone cheered and clunk their glasses together before taking a sip.

"Not bad…different from what you used to do…but not bad…" Anthony said.

"You weren't nervous?" Scud said.

"No, why should I be nervous?"

"No reason." Scud remembered the time that the brunette had to make speeches. She practiced many times in front of the mirror. It's unlike what she had to do in college, in front of a group of students. They were his father's followers and she being under 20, not even an adult, and a woman, who would listen to her? But she needed them. She needed to persuade them that she needed their help. She needed to persuade them that she is capable of taking her father's place. If she had not shown her confidence, if she had not shown her strength, if she had not been able to show everyone that she could beat up one of her father's followers who insisted that she should step down, she wouldn't be here today. Even with Uncle Nick's assistance, she could have been…murdered if it weren't for her followers.

It was the moment that they've all been waiting for. Dancing. Slow soft music. Scud and Janet went up first, then the bridesmaids and groomsmen followed. Ethan asked Alexis to dance and Anthony did the same with Nadia. Sitting on the table were just two of them, Amy and Lucy, looking at each other. There was no reason to avoid eye contact with the brunette anymore. _She looked great. _Amy always wondered what she would wear. Like everyone else, she was expecting the brunette to be sitting at the front row in the church and was shocked to see the brunette standing next to the groom. She quickly looked away when she noticed the brunette looking at her. She decided not to be like before. She's tired of being the one…_begging._ _I can live without her. I can. _ _Stop it. _She said to herself, telling her own heart to stop beating so fast.

"Want to dance?"

"no" The response came so quick, Amy surprised herself.

"Why not?"

Before she could think of a reasonable response besides that the fact that she doesn't want the guests to be staring at 2 women dancing, Lucy got up. She watched the brunette walking towards her, but was disappointed that it wasn't what she thought. Lucy walked pass her towards the dance floor. Amy let out a deep breath.

"May I cut in?" Lucy said to Ethan who was a little confused. "You don't mind, do you, Alexis?"

"Not at all." Alexis smiled and took the brunette's hand and placed the other on her shoulder.

"Oh…and Ethan…you can ask her to dance, if you want?" Lucy tilted her head towards the blonde, giving him permission to do so.

Ethan was even more confused and nodded once before stepping off the dance floor.

"So…Alexis, how's everything?"

"great…" She could see that a lot of the guests were looking at them, not the bride and groom. "they're all looking."

"Do you care?"

"You may not remember, but I'm Alexis. I don't care what people think."

Alexis smiled, took her hands away from the brunette's and placed her hands around her shoulder and leaned in to hold the brunette closer. Lucy placed her hands on her hips and noticed that Ethan and Amy were already dancing.

"She misses you." Alexis said, whispering into her ear.

"She does?" Lucy knew that and that just confirms it.

"But if you're going to leave again, I'm not sure she's going to wait for you."

"duly noted."

Alexis wanted to say more to convince the brunette to stay, but she was cut off.

"I think that's my cue." Lucy tilted her head over to where Ethan and Amy were dancing. Alexis understood and both danced towards the blonde. Lucy asked to cut in again and Ethan hesitated for a moment before letting go. He didn't have a choice. Alexis practically grabbed his hand away and pulled him away from the blonde. Lucy knew it was going to happen and moved in front of the blonde to prevent her from leaving the dance floor. This time she didn't give the blonde a choice and took her left hand and held on to her hip. She could see that Amy was uncomfortable with the idea of dancing in front of so many people by the way her eyes moved from left to right as if to see if anyone was watching. "just ignore them." Seeing how she was still uncomfortable, Lucy led the blonde towards the back, away from the guests, turning her so that her back is facing all the guests.

"so…how are you?"

"What do you care?" Amy looked away, her face full of frustration. She needed to let the brunette know that she was still upset with her for not calling even though the brunette didn't promise her anything. She should at least call once a month.

"I think about you all the time." That got Amy's attention. "I miss you."

It was unexpected. It was genuine. It was what she had wanted the brunette to say. What she wanted to know, she was afraid to ask. She remained silent to let the brunette continue, but what the brunette said wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"So how's school?"

Amy frowned, expecting the brunette to say something else. "Fine."

"that's good." Lucy smiled as she continued to move from side to side.

Amy sensed that something wasn't right. She decided to just ask.

"Are you leaving after this?"

"Do you want me to leave?"

Again, the question was unexpected. _She knows the answer to that. Yet she still asks. I'm tired. I'm tired to be the one chasing you around. I'm tired of not knowing when or if you'll come back. I know I said I'll wait. But I can't_. It was that cocky, arrogant attitude of hers, she couldn't stand it. Amy stopped moving and pulled her hands back.

"Do whatever you want."

Not only Lucy, those near her noticed that the blonde was upset when she got off the dancing floor. Lucy let out a small smile that the blonde couldn't see, but everyone else saw. She expected the blonde to say 'yes' to her question and was surprised that she got another response instead.

"What did you do?" Scud and Janet had been dancing behind the blonde, so he heard everything.

Smiling, Lucy shrugged her shoulders and went back to her own seat, pretending that nothing happened. Amy didn't avoid the brunette's eye contact. It was difficult to even if she wanted to since everyone was still dancing and they were the only ones sitting on the table. Keeping her gaze at the blonde, Lucy took sips of the champagne. Amy did the same, taking one big gulp after another. Unlike Lucy wearing a small smile on her face, Amy had a blank expression. _What is she thinking?_

"Take it easy on the alcohol." Amy turned to the unexpected voice and was surprised to see Max.

"You made it." Amy gave her friend who wore a black sleeveless dress a hug.

After pulling back and complimenting on each other's dress, Max felt the need to apologize to the brunette. She took one step towards her, but stopped when she realized that something was wrong. _Why aren't they sitting together?_ She was relieved to hear from the blonde that the former criminal mastermind was fine but didn't hear anything else. When she walked towards the brunette, she became even more confused when she saw the brunette looking up at her as if she had no idea who she is.

"I want to thank you for saving me." Max extended her hand out. "I'm glad you're okay."

Frowning in confusion, Lucy stood up. As she was about to ask who she is, Amy introduced her. "She's…Max."

Lucy remembered the name Max. From what Scud said, she's the reason why she got shot. Lucy shook her hand firmly.

Max expected her to say something. …_something like your ass is mine now or don't come between Amy and me ever again_.._or stay the hell away from me…I don't want to see you ever again_. Whatever she had to say, she was prepared for it and was surprised that all the brunette said was "You're welcome."

"You look great." Max complimented and frowned hearing the brunette's response.

"thank you. You too."

She expected her to say something like 'better than you'. Getting a compliment from the former criminal mastermind was something she didn't think would ever happen.

"okay, what's going on?" Feeling something is wrong, Max expected an answer from either one. At this moment, Janet interrupted them and gave Max a tight hug.

"Congratulations, Janet."

"I'm so happy you made it." After a moment of small talk, Max handed a present from Mr. P.

"…and this is from me…" Max handed Janet a card.

It wasn't a wedding card like she expected. Janet read it over and over again before letting Amy read it. "Is this true, Max?"

Max nodded.

After Amy read the card, she too was shocked. Even though it doesn't matter anymore, she did feel better knowing the truth. "now…everything makes sense…"

Scud had no idea why his wife gave him a big kiss and a hug. It was too important not to tell him. She whispered into his ear. As expected, Scud was as shocked as she was.

"What happened?" Lucy had been listening but had no idea what they were talking about.

"I'll tell you later." Scud let out a sigh of relief, feeling as though a rock has been lifted from his heart. The rest of the evening was even better. It was definitely a night to remember. His employees and friends tried to get him drunk, but he took control. He's not going to let them ruin the best day of his life. Janet made sure of that. The only person whom nobody ever expected to get drunk was Amy. It was very shocking after Max heard what happened to the brunette from Amy. Since they didn't want the brunette to hear their conversation, they sat in another empty table far far away from the bride and groom's table. Before Max knew what happened, Amy was too drunk to continue on with the conversation. But she heard enough to know that this time, Lucy was the one who doesn't want to be with the Perfect Score….

After the wedding, Lucy had wanted to go back to Anthony's place but Scud insisted that she should go with him to stay with the girls for one night because he had something important to tell her. Lucy agreed because she was also very curious to know. Max had a talk with the brunette before going back to her hotel. She apologized again and said something that she herself never thought she would say. "Stay with her…please."

Inside the duplex in Nadia's side sat Scud, Nadia, Janet and Lucy. It was another long story from Scud, a story Lucy had not heard before. Scud had once told her about Hannah, but this time, what she heard was in more detail. Lucy remembered that moment very clearly as if it happened yesterday.

"Hannah is, I believe, one of Schaafer's." Scud said.

"That son of a bitch." Lucy said calmly, she couldn't believe it either. "She was so young."

"She might not be the only one." Scud said and Janet agreed that there may be others. If the DEBS could have someone infiltrate into the criminal world, so could they.

It was Amy's idea. She wanted to know the truth, so she told Max to check Hannah out. There were too many things that didn't make sense to her. When she was captured by the criminal mastermind, everyone in the DEBS knew about it and tried to get her back. When she eloped with the criminal leader, the DEBS knew about it. But it seemed to her that Hannah's death was kept 'secretive' at that time. Not that many DEBS knew about it. Amy trusted Max to keep this confidential. It was so long ago, she didn't think there could be a chance of getting Scud in trouble since he had a new identity and they had no proof. Who could have possibly helped Max to find the truth was probably Mr. P.

"No wonder she was shooting at me."

"Lucy, Amy forgave you for that, even before she knew it was me."

Lucy understood why she lied. It was for Scud…and Janet. Without a doubt, she would have done that even if it happened today. He is like a 'brother' to her. They would do anything to protect each other.

After the conversation, Scud and Janet decided to call it a night. A few days before the wedding, Janet had already moved her belongings to Scud's place in the master bedroom. Lucy opened the door to take a peek, to take a look at the blonde one more time before she leaves. Since it wasn't that late and she didn't have any clothes to change to, Lucy decided not to stay overnight. And somehow Nadia knew she would say that and lent her some of her clothes. Lucy stepped in slowly, one step at a time, leaving the door open. Looking down, she could see the blonde was sleeping peacefully. Lifting up the blanket a little, she could see that the blonde still has her dress on. _Should I? _ Lucy smiled at the thought. It was just a thought. Of course, she wasn't going to do it. Lucy leaned down and as she was about to give her a kiss on the cheek, she decided not to. "I'm sorry." Lucy said in a whisper and left the room.

After the door closed, hearing footsteps up the stairs, Amy opened her eyes. Drunk, she wish. Her years of training wouldn't allow her to do that. She was a little tired, though. "Sorry for what? What are you sorry for? Sorry you can't be with me…sorry you have to leave.." Tears formed and a drop fell from the corner of her eyes. She knew that was going to happen. _Nothing has changed._ _She still thinks she's 18_. Knowing that there was nothing she could do about it, she got off the bed and went to take a shower. She's not afraid that the brunette found out that she wasn't sleeping. She's not afraid to bump into her while walking from the bathroom to her room because she knows that nothing was going to change the brunette's mind. Standing at the door, she waited, looking at the stairs, hoping to catch a glimpse of the brunette because after tonight, she might need to wait a long long time to see her again. After a moment, Amy closed and locked the door.

The next morning, Amy got up later than usual for not being able to fall sleep. She wasn't drunk last night but felt the effects of having too much to drink. "Oh…my head." After getting dressed, she headed downstairs and saw that Alexis was there.

"Did you sleep here last night, Alexis?"

"no" Alexis responded casually. After spending that night with Nadia, she hadn't been sleeping over. It's not that she didn't want to. It's because they were always around and Nadia didn't want them to know yet. She can't invite Nadia to go to her place. Now that Janet moved to the other side, maybe she could sleep over more often and Amy would never know since her bedroom is upstairs. The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded.

That night, Alexis was there to talk about the wedding arrangements. That night, she and Amy were able to convince Janet from wanting a big wedding. What Janet wanted to do was invite not only her parents but her aunts and uncles and cousins she barely knows. Not only invite them, but also pay for the plane tickets and the hotel stay. It wasn't a good idea and they all agreed except for Janet. Because inviting them would show how much money Scud has and that would lead to a lot of questions about Scud's background. Knowing that Scud is rich would also lead to family problems. Janet had no idea until Amy explained that her Uncles and Aunts might ask to borrow money, borrow without return. It could happen once, twice and three times. It's not just that. Amy had seen where siblings fought with each other, close friends and relatives became enemies, and all because of money. "Never let your parents, friends or relatives know how much you have." Amy was finally able to convince Janet on having a small wedding instead.

That same night, Alexis asked Nadia about naked yoga. Since she was there, why not get it over with. Naked yoga, they didn't end up doing that, they did something else.

* * *

_Flashback to that night_

Lying on the bed, Alexis closed her eyes as she waited for Nadia. She could still remember that night when she learned about the former criminal mastermind. She was so emotional, she couldn't control herself from thinking of the worst, just like that time when the brunette got shot and died in the ICU. Nadia held onto her and told her of all the reasons that the Lord wouldn't take her away. She said it with such certainty that she actually believes that Nadia could be right. She had stopped crying after that and both lay on the bed. Their hands held tight together as they prayed for the brunette. That night she slept for a few hours and woke up in the middle of the night. She found herself sleeping close to Nadia's shoulder and was still holding her hand.

_"I'm supposed to be the strong one." She found it odd how Nadia was the one comforting her and how different she could be at different moments._

_There was also something that happened that night on the yacht that Alexis will never forget. Nadia had used herself twice to protect her from being taken away. Her fierce eyes, her strong voice, the strength inside of her that Alexis had never seen before when Nadia kicked the man in the groin. "You would risk your life to save mine. I would do the same. Is it because I'm your friend or is there something else? " She placed a kiss on Nadia's cheek and placed her arm around her waist._

Alexis opened her eyes and sat up when she heard someone coming in. She found it odd that Nadia was dressed in her pajamas.

Nadia locked the door preventing any accidents to happen. Everybody went to sleep already except for them. She just wanted to make sure they weren't going to be interrupted.

"I'll change in the bathroom." As she walked past Alexis, Alexis reached out to stop her.

"Nadia, we're going to be naked. That's what everybody is going to do in the class."

"Right.." Nadia smiled in embarrassment and returned to previous position a few feet away from the door. Standing near the mat, she looked down and and unbuttoned the first top button, then the next. When she was about to take off her pajamas, she looked up to see where Alexis was at. She then gasped inward so loudly, she wasn't sure if Alexis heard but that wasn't on her mind. The only thing in her mind was the naked form standing in front of her. Alexis had already took all her clothing off and looking at her. Nadia couldn't continue to take hers off because the sight in front of her was just too much. She swallowed. When she saw Alexis walking towards her in all her glory, she quickly turned around.

"mmm…Alexis, I change my mind."

"You're not going to join naked yoga?"

"right, I'm not."

"Well, that's good. I'm glad I'm able to change your mind."

Nadia nodded, keeping her back facing Alexis. "Thank you…for doing this."

"You're welcome."

Nadia walked rapidly towards the door, holding onto the front of her pajamas.

"Naadiaaaaa.."

Nadia stopped, keeping her face facing the door. She could hear the footsteps coming closer. "Yes."

"I…don't think…it's fair that you get to see me naked and I didn't get to see you."

It's not that she can't take it all off in front of her. She's just not sure if she could control her eyes from staring at Alexis' sexy naked body.

"…right…" She didn't realize how close Alexis was standing to her until she turned around. Her eyes began to fall from Alexis's eyes down to her neck, then to her…Oh God. Nadia quickly shut her eyes and concentrated on what she has to do. She took her pajamas shirt off, then pajamas pants in a flash, all the while keeping her eyes closed tight and with the mindset that it's no big deal. It isn't a big deal. She's just standing naked in front of her…._oh God…. _"What are you doing?" Nadia opened her eyes and took one step back when she felt a warm hand on her waist.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Alexis took one step forward.

"No." Nadia said in a whisper as she took another step back. Her heart had already began to pound faster than usual seeing Alexis's nude form, and now she definitely felt that it was a bad idea, seeing how close Alexis was standing in front of her with their breasts almost touching. They held each other before, closer than they are now, but that's different. They had clothes on. Trying hard to keep her eyes at Alexis' dark brown ones, Nadia swallowed again and backed herself against the door as much as she could.

"Tell me the truth. What do you think of me?"

"What?" Nadia heard but she's not sure what Alexis wanted to know.

"How…do you feel about me?" Alexis said seductively.

"I think you're kind, caring, smart…"

"do you…?" Alexis leaned in to whisper in her ear.

_Oh God_. Nadia immediately shut her eyes tight, unable to hear the last 2 words when she felt Alexis' naked breasts pressing against her own. Her whole body became stiff, pressing her firm butt against the door as much as she could to prevent their lower bodies from touching each other's.

Not hearing a response, Alexis asked again in a whisper near her ear. "Do you…like me?"

Her heart pounded so rapidly, she felt like she had trouble breathing. Taking in a few deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling, Nadia responded after swallowing nervously. "Yes"

"Do you…want…me?"

Not hearing a response, Alexis pulled back and let out a gentle smile at the reaction she elicited. Nadia's nervousness could be seen on her face. She reached up and gently caressed her cheek with her thumb and at the same time leaned forward slowly inch by inch and closed the gap between their mouths.

When Alexis pulled back, Nadia swallowed, trying to catch her breath and control the emotions bubbling inside of her. "Alexis…I don't think…"

"Don't think of anything else. At this moment, what do you want to do?"

It's hard not to think of anything else. We're friends. What would happen afterwards if I let it happen? I never acted on impulse. The only time I ever did was with Keira but I never thought of going all the way with her. Nadia let out a gasp and closed her eyes when she felt wet kisses on her cheek and her neck. Her head spontaneously tilted and turned to the other side for Alexis to continue kissing her.

"what are you feeling?" Alexis asked between kisses.

"I…I…Oh Godddd…" She didn't mean to say that, but she couldn't control herself when she felt a warm hand on her breast. She needed to stop this before it goes any further. "Wait…Alexis…wait…" Being the older and more responsible one, she needed to make sure Alexis wanted to go through with this. "Are you sure?"

Alexis couldn't help but let out another sweet smile at the one whom she knows is beginning to fall for her and is afraid to show it.

"Isn't it obvious?"

It is. Nadia stopped talking and thinking and let her body take control.

Alexis shouldn't be surprised but she was when Nadia pulled her in for an open mouth kiss, and at the same time lifted her up with both hands below her butt. With slightly tanned legs wrapped around the fitness instructor, she was being carried and placed on the king size bed. Nadia didn't stop there and laid her hot body on top of the fashion designer. They were touching each other in places that make them both moan. Lying underneath the woman with the incredibly toned body, Alexis wondered why Nadia had suddenly stopped. She thought Nadia had second thoughts.

"Do you think Kristin would mind?" Knowing Kristin, she probably would mind them using her bed.

"Let's not tell her." Alexis cupped her cheeks and pulled her in for a deep kiss which Nadia reciprocated with equal fervor. Nadia slid down, placing gentle kisses all over the sexy body underneath her.

"Alexis." Nadia said while gently kissing and nipping the sensitive areas that she had caught a glimpse of before, that caused her to have dirty thoughts before.

"hmm…"

"Shouldn't you let your father know?"

"What? Let my father know about us?"

That wasn't what Nadia wanted to say and that thought never cross her mind either. They're adults. Whatever they doing now is their business. If Alexis wanted to tell her father, that would be fine too. She pushed herself up and looked down at the young beautiful woman who was breathing as rapidly as she was.

"I mean…staying here…tonight."

"I did."

"You did? When?" She realized that Alexis might have planned to do this before they stripped naked. Before she knew what happened, Alexis rolled on top of her. Her eyes fluttered closed. Her head tilted backwards against the pillow. Involuntary moans escaped her mouth.

Alexis had allowed the fitness instructor take control, but since she kept on talking at the moment when her body was aching in need, her body acted on its own.

* * *

Back to the current moment

"Nadia, why can't we let them know about us?" Not hearing a response, she continued. "I want to come over more often. But I feel like I can't because that's not what a normal friend would do. I want to touch you, but I can't do that because they're always around and you don't want to do that in public which it's fine.. I want to…" She turned towards the dining room to make sure the blonde isn't going to come out of the dining room and leaned in for a kiss on her lips. "…I want to…do more than that." She continued kissing her. "Don't you?"

Feeling her cheeks getting hot, Nadia still couldn't get used to her girlfriend's straightforwardness. She understood her point loud and clear. "Let's wait for Keira and Janet and Scud and your father and Ashley, Ethan...and…mmm" As she was talking, Alexis had been kissing her neck. It was quite difficult to concentrate. "Later…" Nadia extended her hand and gently pushed away her lover with the sexy dress on. She then quickly headed towards the dining. Alexis wanted to stop her from leaving but was too late.

"Hey, there's some omelette in the microwave. Did you see that?" Nadia said as she walked over to pour herself a cup of coffee before sitting across from the blonde agent.

"Lucy slept here last night." Nadia wondered if she knew. "She went back this morning." That got the blonde's attention.

"She left?" _How could she leave without saying a word? How could she…_

"She went back to her place to get the pictures." Nadia explained and noticed that Amy felt relieved to hear that.

Amy looked up when she heard the doorbell.

"That must be her." Nadia got up quickly.

"…Nadia!…"

"Yes?"

Amy pointed to her neck. "Unless you want everyone to know, you should get rid of the lipstick…on your neck…and here" Amy pointed to her own jaw.

If she was still holding a cup of coffee, she would have dropped it on the floor. Nadia quickly took a napkin and wiped her face and neck. "You knew?" She expected the blonde to be shocked. From her reaction, Nadia realized that Amy must have known.

"don't forget, I used to be an agent…and a DEB before that…I'm happy for you two." Amy had no idea if anybody else knows and had no idea why Nadia was hiding it so she kept it to herself.

"Anywhere else?" Nadia stepped closer and extended her neck. "How long have you known?"

"Several months" Amy took a napkin and wiped off one more spot on her neck.

"Keira's here..and Janet and Scud" Alexis said, standing at the doorway. "mm…I was going to tell you…about that." She smiled, seeing what Amy was doing.

"She already knew…several months ago.." Nadia explained.

"Oh…then why didn't you tell us?" Alexis rolled her yes. "You know how difficult it is to hide it from you guys."

"Why are you hiding it?" Amy asked out of curiosity and realized that it was Nadia who wanted to when she saw Alexis pointing her finger at her.

Not having a reason, Nadia pushed her lover back into the living room. "Hurry up, Kristin."

Inside the living room, Lucy had already started showing her pictures on the LCD tv, connected to her laptop.

"That's Sweden, Switzerland, Spain,…" Each picture was by herself or a scenery. Lucy continued when the blonde walked in from the dining room. She had taken pictures with Brooke in it, but didn't think it would be a good idea to show it to them.

"You went by yourself?" Janet asked.

"No, Janet. I met someone and she went with me." Lucy could see that all were shocked by what she said, especially the taller blonde. "I'm kidding…" _Maybe I shouldn't have said that. _It didn't look like anyone believed her. "here…Paris…as you all know…" A picture of the Eiffel tower was shown on the tv. "Anthony's with me"

"So who took the pictures for you?" Janet asked again because going alone to all those countries sounded odd to her.

"Strangers…and here is umm…umm…hah…where is that?"

"Barcelona" All turned their attention towards Amy. Even Scud didn't know that and he lived there for 7 months.

"Right…" Lucy looked at the blonde for a moment and wondered how she knew. When she was done, she could see that they were still shocked that she had done so much in the past few months. The pictures not only included the countries, it included the helicopter and the plane she flew.

"That's only 12 countries. There is still more to explore." They all took the hint that she is planning to leave. All remained silent. Eyes glanced at the blonde, then at the brunette. There was a moment of awkward silence before Scud let them know that they're going to their honeymoon tomorrow. After he was finished announcing his plans, Nadia felt it's the right moment. She stood in front of all of them.

"I have something important to tell everyone." The way she said it caused everyone to pay attention because it sounded serious. She reached out towards Alexis and Alexis took her hand to stand beside her. "We're…dating…."

Both expected everyone with the exception of Amy to be shocked but the only people who were were Scud and Janet.

"You didn't know?" Lucy asked Janet after hearing her loud gasp.

"…How did you know?" Janet asked. Alexis and Nadia were also confused at how the brunette knew when she wasn't even around.

"It was very obvious…last night." Lucy noticed the way they looked at each other at the church, the way they whispered to each other at the banquet and the way Nadia looked at Alexis when she was dancing with her.

"When did this happen?" Janet asked out of curiosity. She used to be a DEB and wondered how she could have missed it.

Nadia looked at Alexis who was smiling at her. Nadia didn't think it would be possible to fall in love with Alexis since they had so much difference. But as time went on, as they spent more time together, she found that the young woman who's not afraid of anything isn't like that at all. Alexis is funny, she's confident, she's direct, but she isn't as strong as she lets everyone to believe. There's a softer side in her, a weaker side. She wanted to be loved and be protected, just like everyone else. And Nadia found herself wanting to be that person, to love and protect her.

"When are you leaving?" Amy asked. It was a question that everyone wanted to know. All eyes focused on the brunette. There was another moment of silence as the blonde kept her eyes at the brunette. There was a blank expression on her face and everyone knew Amy wasn't happy. All waited for the brunette to speak.

When Lucy looked down to take a look at her watch, Scud didn't like what he saw. "You're not leaving today. Are you?"

Lucy tilted her head and Scud understood the signal.

"Janet, let's go pack up." Without waiting for her response, Scud took his wife's hand and led her outside.

Lucy stared at Alexis for a moment. Taking the hint, Alexis took Nadia's hand and led her upstairs.

Once they were all alone, Lucy sat on the coffee table across from the blonde who was sitting on the couch. Leaning her forearms on her laps, she locked her eyes on the blonde.

"I still can't remember us. There are still a lot of places I want to go." Lucy spoke in a soft tone.

Amy heard enough and stood up. "Then go. You have no reason to stay here. If that's what you want, then go." She said with frustration. As she was about to leave, Lucy grabbed her forearm. At this moment, the doorbell rang and Lucy let go. Amy was too upset to think of anything. When the doorbell rang again, Amy stormed towards the door and swung it wide opened. If it's on any other day, she would have said in a polite tone, but she was not in the mood and just stared at the delivery guy holding a bunch of red roses. The delivery guy also noticed that the blonde was upset as if she wanted to beat the crap out of somebody.

"Is um…Kristin Smith…here?"

"I'm Kristin."

"This is for you." He handed her the roses and asked her to sign.

"Who's it from?" Amy recognized the flower shop where the guy worked. She always passed by it coming back from school. She understood when the guy pointed to the card inside the bunch of roses. After signing it, Amy closed the door and quickly pulled out the card. There was nothing on it.

"Secret admirer?" Lucy said jokingly.

Amy didn't respond and kept on looking to see if there was anything else inside the roses.

"Maybe it's from that guy from the wedding last night."

Amy's head shot up. "What guy?"

"There was a guy who asked me if you were available and I told him you were. He asked me where you live, what you do, I guess he…"

"You what!" Amy's face turned red…from anger. "How could you do that?!"

"What?"

"You have no right to do that!"

"He's a nice guy…"

"Get out!" Amy walked towards the door and opened it wide. It was bad enough that the brunette had no plans of staying with her. She couldn't believe what she did.

Lucy walked casually towards the door and stood facing the blonde who turned her head away. It was very familiar. _She hasn't changed at all._ _Can't blame her._

"Amy…"

"…just leave." Amy said without looking at her.

"I was just having some fun."

Hearing her response, Amy frowned in confusion and turned to look at the brunette.

"What I was going to say before I was rudely interrupted…I can't stay here…not like this."

Lucy paused for a moment and noticed that the blonde didn't like what she said.

"…I miss you. I do. Every night, I think about you…you and me..that night…" There was no reaction from the blonde, just paying full attention to the brunette. "But I'm not ready…for us…living together…like this. Do you understand? I know what you want…but I can't give you that…not right now." Scud was ready for that, not her, not the 18 year old.

"You still think you're 18?"

Lucy ignored her question. She looked down and grabbed the roses from the blonde. "I want to start over."

"What?" Amy was more confused than ever.

"Start over..like we were never married. We have no commitments to each other. I want to know everything about you. I want to go out with you…on a date. I don't think we ever went out on a date…before we jumped into bed." It was meant to be funny. She expected the blonde to blush or look down in embarrassment but all she got was a confused stare. "Amy Bradshaw, will you..go out with me?" Lucy said as she handed her the roses.

It sounded very familiar, just like all those times when she got asked out. Amy didn't expect this, not from the arrogant former criminal mastermind who reiterated many times that she has many girls wanting to be with her. Forcing the brunette to live with her will never work. She was surprised with the brunette's suggestion. _Start over, from the beginning_. It wasn't what she expected at all. It was better than everything she ever thought about.

"umm..Amy…I've never done this before. Usually girls ask me out. If you reject me, then…" Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "..I'll just have to try harder."

"These are from you?"

Lucy smiled and shrugged her shoulders again.

Realizing that the brunette wanted to make this work, Amy didn't have to think twice. _She had this all planned_. She took the roses and wrapped her arms around the brunette for a moment before responding. "Yes, I love to go out with you."

Lucy let out a breath of relief. There was a moment where she thought that the blonde would play hard to get.

"Did something happen?" Amy couldn't help thinking that something might have happened to her during the past several months.

Lucy expected that. "I did almost everything I wanted to do." She pulled back to look at the blonde. "…and I got a little older." She smiled after seeing the blonde smile. It got lonely sometimes but she didn't tell her that, knowing that nobody wants to hear that as a reason. "I…miss you." Holding the blonde's waist, she stepped into her private space and pressed her lips on hers. "That…was..your plan…wasn't it?" She gave her a short kiss again, then another, then on her cheek. Knowing that the blonde used to be an agent, she must have a plan when she slept with her that night."That night…" Lucy continued kissing her softly on her neck as the thought of that night flowed into her mind. "I..can't stop thinking about you." Lucy held her closer and kissed her way to the other side of her neck. Feeling her lover's body against hers, sexual desire began to build up inside of her.

Her heart beat out of control, feeling the warmth of the brunette's body against her own and wet kisses on her neck. _A plan? That night, she wanted to do it. She felt it was the right moment. Like Alexis said, it wouldn't be called making love if she had expected something out of it. If it did make the brunette remember her, then even better._ "mmmphhh…" Amy closed her eyes and moaned when the brunette captured her mouth in a hot kiss. Feeling hands gliding down her buttocks, Amy gently pushed the brunette away.

"not on the first date." Amy swallowed and breathed in quickly to catch her breath. "I'll go get changed." She signaled the brunette to wait and quickly ran up the stairs 2 steps at a time. It was her idea. She wanted to start over. So of course, there shouldn't be any kissing on the first date. She could control herself. She's not sure if the brunette could.

Lucy smiled, watching the blonde from behind. Everything worked as planned, although the delivery guy was a little late, so she had to stall. She made herself comfortable on the couch. Flipping through the pictures reminded her of Brooke.

* * *

**Flashback to Barcelona(2 months earlier)**

That night, in the Barcelona hotel, inside the bedroom, Lucy feared that her past came to haunt her. She did something, something so unforgivable, she, with the mind of an 18 year old, couldn't believe how she had allowed it to happen. She…betrayed Anthony, her loyal friend. She blamed herself. She wanted to know how it happened. But she didn't find out until a day later in the hospital because something inside of Brooke chose to react at that crucial moment. Brooke went into a coma. She called Anthony to let him know what happened. She apologized again and again for something she did years ago but couldn't remember anything about it. But what she found out shocked her, her heart stopped beating for a few seconds.

"Lucy, Brooke is your ex-girlfriend."

Anthony had been lying all along. It was Brooke's idea. He made the decision to go along with it because he found out the truth.

"she's the one who dumped you. She's the one who hurt you so badly, you went to Reykjavik for 2 years. All she wants is to spend time with you…and she told me…she had her reasons for letting you go. She loved you then and she wants me to tell you if she didn't already, she still loves you."

"I…don't…understand." Lucy shook her head in disbelief as she listens to Anthony on the other end of the line. "Why did she dump me? If she loves me, then why did she dump me?" She was hoping that Anthony could tell her but all he told her was how deeply she fell for her, so deep that she became negligent in taking care of some her businesses, how she left everything to Scud to handle and took off to Reykjavik to live alone after she was dumped.

Lucy wanted to know the reason and hoped that Brooke wouldn't just leave like that. She prayed to the Lord, she prayed to her parents. She wanted to know. It seemed that the Lord had granted her wish and maybe it was Brooke's final wish because the next day, Brooke woke up from her 2 day coma.

Lucy was shocked to learn that it was a setup from the very beginning. It was her Uncle's idea. He needed her to find out important information from the criminal mastermind, any information that she could get. Lucy fell into her trap because Brooke, unlike other young women, didn't show any interest in the brunette. She made the brunette go after her. It shocked her to find out that her first time wasn't with the former blonde DEB, it was with Brooke, a spy from another criminal organization, a spy sent by her Uncle who raised her, a spy who had a reason to get close to her.

Brooke extended her hand out. "Come here." She spoke softly in her weak voice. If she wasn't dying, Lucy would have done something else because hearing Brooke's story of how she was able to lure her into her trap, Lucy was angry. She was conned. She should be angry, but held the urge to show it in front of the dying woman. Lucy did as told and sat on the bed, closer to her. Brooke reached up with both hands and Lucy leaned forward, unsure of what Brooke had in mind. She allowed the dying woman, her ex-lover to place a kiss on her cheek. "I do love you." She needed to say that before saying anything else because she knew that the brunette would get even more upset after hearing what she had to say.

"You had sex with me for a shipment?!" Lucy contorted her face in disgust and stepped away from the bed. That night, Brooke saw her writing something down on a piece of paper while talking on the phone. In order to get that information, Brooke slept with her. That large shipment of illegal firearms and ammunition were later stolen by her uncle. And that wasn't the first time.

"I wouldn't if I didn't want to." Brooke knew she would say that. Anyone who heard would think of the same thing. She needed the brunette to know that she didn't sacrifice her own body for a shipment that's worth millions. She would have other ways to find out. "Please, you have to believe me." She extended her hand out again, hoping the brunette would believe her. "That was the best night of my life….Lucy." She wasn't embarrassed to say that. It was true. Having gone through another relationship with a man later in her life, she realized that she failed to see what she had before and had regrets of leaving her. She's dying. She wanted the brunette to know everything. She wanted her first and only love to remember what they had. She let out a smile when the brunette walked closer and sat back down to her previous position. Brooke once again reached up to caress the brunette's cheek.

"You…like to be in control and I hated that about you. I didn't think I could fall for you because you were so arrogant and so inconsiderate, and you're a...woman..." Lucy brows drew together. Many thoughts appeared in her mind and it seemed that Brooke knew what she was thinking. Brooke cupped both of her cheeks and pulled her closer. "...but...you...also showed me how thoughtful you could be, how sensitive you could be, you made me laugh in ways nobody has ever done before, you were charming, you're...beautiful, you're gentle and so caring, that's why...I fell for you." Brooke said, remembering their first night together.

Lucy realized that it could be possible that she had fallen head over heels for the woman in front of her when she was younger. She would only show her softer side to the one she loves. "Then why?"

"I saw you…giving out money to those lying on the streets, begging for a meal. Nobody cares about them, but you. I saw you...talking to a prostitute...but I found out later what you did to that girl...it wasn't what I thought..." Brooke said as she gently caressed her cheek. "You...are not like my uncle, you're different, you're not like them."

"Then why did you leave me. If you loved me, why did you leave me?" Lucy asked again.

"because…I was young then, I didn't know any better. I did what my uncle told me to do. I saw things that I never knew was happening." What she saw were innocent people, woman, children and bystanders getting killed and injured during negotiations that went wrong. She saw what her Uncle's followers did to a family when the head of the household could not repay back the gambling debt. What she saw frightened her.

"It was wrong, Lucy. How can I make my Uncle see what he's doing was wrong? How can I make you...see that everything you were doing was wrong? I can't. You were…the leader and you loved it."

She saw how people treated the powerful leader. Those who knew her would step aside when they walk into a bar. Women would try to get close to her. Where ever Lucy chose to sit, those people would immediately give their seats up. And Brooke, having been with the brunette for more than a year, noticed the former criminal mastermind loved the way she was being treated, like a king.

"Did you even try to make me see that?" _Amy did and I gave it up all for her_. It was possible that she could have done the same for her since she loved her so much. She came to realize that she's the one who couldn't keep her hands off her, not Anthony. She was the one who couldn't think, who didn't want to do anything, and who yelled at everyone after being dumped, not Anthony.

"No….because I wasn't sure if I could live with you. No. I know I couldn't live with you." Tears ran down her face. She pulled the brunette in to lean against her forehead. "I was too young then." She repeated to let her know that she didn't know what she wanted back then. "But now…I regretted…not trying." Brooke wrapped her arms around the brunette and sobbed uncontrollably on the brunette's shoulders.

It was understandable. They were young then. Lucy wasn't sure if she would give it all up for Brooke if she did ask her. If she found out who she was, why she was with her, would she even consider being with her?

"You left…for a DEB…I'm so…so..sorry." Lucy thought that she was apologizing for leaving her but it wasn't what she thought. "You'll find someone else who will love you as much as we do."

"Brooke, she's…"

"I know. I'm sorry you have to go through that." Brooke held her tighter. " But I'm happy that you've met her. She was able to do what I couldn't."

Lucy was about to tell her about Amy. She wasn't sure why she would do that. There was no need to tell her about Amy. Lucy closed her eyes and wrapped tightly around her ex. She couldn't remember the way they used to be, but she could feel how much Brooke loved her, now and before.

Lucy pulled back and gently wiped the tears away from her ex. She took a moment to look deeply into her brown eyes, scanned every inch of her face. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't remember anything about the woman who dumped her.

* * *

**Chapter 50: Chapter 50**

* * *

**Chapter 50**

Four months passed. Lucy regretted making the decision to date the blonde because Amy won't allowed her to sleep over. She wasn't even allowed to kiss her until after the 5th date. And making out, there's none of that. She's used to having her way, but with the blonde, she allowed her to take control on the first date, on the second, the third, and somehow every date after that. But of course, if she really didn't like something, she would let the blonde know and Amy knows when to let her have her way. Sitting on the couch with her back against the arm of the couch, Lucy wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist, sitting in front of her. Sitting closely together, Alexis and Nadia sat in the center of another couch. They were watching a romantic movie. Lights were dimmed. Lucy was in the mood for something else but had to comply since Amy didn't want to watch a scary movie where people are being killed by a psycho. It was quite boring. Lucy struggled to keep her eyelids up until she heard sounds from the tv. _Oh_. She opened her eyes wide. Every cell in her body focused on the tv set. A sense of déjà vu washed over her. Her arms spontaneously tightened around the blonde's waist. She placed a kiss on the blonde's cheek while keeping her eyes on the couple making love on tv. It was difficult not to have impure thoughts.

"..it's getting late, I'm a little tired…" Nadia said as she let out a yawn.

"good night Alexis…be careful out there…I think it's still snowing…"

Alexis looked out the window. "hmm...I guess I'll stay here tonight."

"there should be clean sheets in Janet's room.." said Amy, keeping her eyes on the tv.

Alexis saw the look on Nadia's face. That wasn't what she had in mind and she was certain that Nadia was thinking of the same thing. "Do you mind if I sleep in the master bed?" Alexis asked the brunette for permission even though she doesn't live there.

Since Lucy wanted to start over, she didn't feel it was appropriate to be living there or at Scud's. She wanted her own privacy. If she lived in Scud's place, she was afraid that Amy would come over all the time and that would be the same as how they were before.

"Wwwwwhy?" Lucy asked, feeling that something was wrong.

" it's more comfortable…and it has a bathroom…and I'm used to…"

"no" Amy and Lucy said in unison.

"I'll wash the sheets. I'm not going to make a mess."

"Sorry Alexis, I'm sleeping there tonight." Lucy said.

"Oh, are you?" Amy didn't give her permission.

"There's a blizzard outside. You wouldn't want me to get an accident. Do you?" Lucy begged with puppy dog eyes. It wasn't until she said please that the blonde agreed.

Alexis regretted asking. Nadia took her lover's hand and both headed upstairs.

"Do you feel we have been in this position before?" Amy asked, looking into the brunette's hypnotizing eyes.

"mhm…" Lucy responded and leaned closer. Not getting a rejection, she closed the gap between their mouths as the sound of groaning and screaming could be heard…from the tv.

"She's not sleeping in Janet's room, is she?" Amy asked after pulling away.

"I wouldn't either. " As Lucy was about to kiss her again, Amy jerked back and let out a big sigh before returning to her previous position, her back facing the brunette.

The couple on tv was getting more intense. It was difficult to control herself from wanting the blonde. Sitting behind the blonde, Lucy leaned closer and whispered into her ear. "…can we…do you want to…" Lucy gave her a kiss on the neck.

"I can't."

She expected her to say no, not I can't. "You can't?" Lucy expected her to explain. There could only be one reason why she can't.

Amy turned her head around. "I can't…not until I get married. You know that." She placed a kiss on the brunette's lips and caressed the brunette's cheek with her thumb.

That's not what Lucy expected her to say. "But…we…" Lucy wanted to say that they're already married but knew that wasn't a good reason. She wanted to say that they've done it before, but knew that wasn't a good reason either.

When the brunette suggested that they should start from the beginning, Amy didn't expect the brunette to change her behavior. It was fun, more fun than she had with her ex Bobby. As much as Bobby loved her, he didn't always agree with her. When she said she didn't want to hang around with his friends, he insisted that it would be fun. She quickly found out that the reason was because he wanted to show her off to his friends. Lucy, however, wanted to have fun. They went to Disneyland and went thru all the crazy rides. They had something in common. They both wanted to win and they both loved the thrill of roller coaster rides. It was very disappointing though that she lost in the Buzz Lightyear shooting game. But she had fun and that's how a date should be. She was surprised that the brunette let her take control. Wherever she wanted to go, Lucy agreed, most of the time. But Lucy let her know what she didn't like. When they spent hours in an art museum, Lucy let her know that she had enough. Amy, in return, promised her that they could go somewhere she wants next time. Compromise. That's how it should be. But it was more than that. They joked, they played tricks on each other, and a few times, she got the brunette all hyped up for nothing. Just like right now, she knew Lucy expected something to happen. But she didn't want to, not while they're dating. It was her idea. She gave her plenty of chances to live together. She's the one who wants to start dating, so she'll have to stick to the rules. Three months of dating and she wants to have sex, that's just not going to happen.

"You're joking, right?" Lucy was quite disappointed with her response. _Wait until marriage. How long will that be? They just started dating and she's not ready to move in yet._ "Amy, please tell me you're not serious."

Amy didn't respond. Dating the brunette has been fun and this is one of those times Lucy knew exactly how to turn a disappointed situation into a fun situation. Amy giggled uncontrollably when the brunette tickled her ribs from behind. Lucy shifted her body to straddle the blonde as she continued tickling her.

"Stop it."

"Say mercy."

"no"

"Say it." Lucy grabbed her hands and pinned them against the couch.

"No."

Lucy jerked her head back a little and blinked a few times. "Have we..done this before?"

Amy stopped giggling. Out of breath, she did feel something familiar. She blinked a few times when images of the brunette, a younger brunette, flashed in front of her. She closed her eyes to see if she could remember more. It was a short moment because the brunette interrupted her thoughts. It was enough, though, for her to remember what happened next.

"What were you going to say next?"

Lucy was a little confused with her question. "I was thinking of asking if you love me. But I …"

"yes" That was exactly what she remembered.

Lucy already knew that so she didn't ask. She let go of the blonde's hands and leaned down to kiss her lips, her bottom lip, then upper lip, then pressed wet kisses along her jaw. Knowing that the blonde would eventually stop her from going any further, Lucy stopped, then buried her head in the hollow of the blonde's neck and gently lay on top of her. "ohh…Amyyyy…." It felt good just to lie on top of her lover.

Wrapping her arms around the brunette, Amy looked up the ceiling. "I remember" Having spent months with the brunette, she noticed that it was slowly coming back to her, the moments she spent with her lover as Amy and Kristin.

Lights were dimmed. The tv was turned off. Outside was pouring snow. It was a great night to be snuggling with her lover. Lucy was satisfied with just lying on top of the blonde. She almost fell asleep if the blonde didn't wake her up.

"Let's go to sleep."

Lucy's lips curled up. _Maybe she changed her mind._ She realized it wasn't what she thought when the blonde blocked her from entering her room. "Your room is upstairs." She didn't even have a chance to make a suggestion. The door closed in front of her after Amy gave her a good night kiss.

"Good night" Lucy said, with a pout.

* * *

6 months later

Like all couples, they are bound to have disagreements and arguments when they date. What Lucy found out was that the blonde could get extremely jealous.

Lucy sat on one couch. Scud sat on the arm chair and Janet sat on the end of the couch while watching tv and eating a pear. She was reading a magazine and when she flipped to another page, it had a large picture of the megastar and an article on the page next to it.

"I hope you're not thinking of her when you're kissing me." A voice came from behind and Lucy quickly closed the magazine.

"Of course not…I was just looking."

"what is it with you? Are you obsessed with her?"

"obsessed? No! Amy, I was just looking." _Damn it. Why do you have to let me see that_? It wasn't the first time that they've argued about this. Most of the arguments that happened is when Amy found her to be talking with another woman. It was just a casual conversation, but Amy saw it as flirting.

"Amy, it's just entertainment. I looked at it all the time. Scud does too. Right, Scud?" Janet said.

"Right, it makes it easier to have a conversation with anyone. We have to keep ourselves up to date." Scud was very curious to know who Lucy was looking at. If he had to guess, he guessed it must be the megastar.

"you're the one I'm obsessed with." It sounded cheesy but sincere. She's willing to say anything to make the blonde believe her.

Amy realized that she had overreacted again, just like all those times. She placed a hand on the brunette's face. "I'm sorry. You can look, you can dream. We all dream of things that we can't have. But I hope you realize…she is someone you can never have. Okay?"

Lucy noticed the tone. Amy sounded like she's apologizing but she really wasn't. It was her way of telling her to stop it. After the blonde walked away, Scud took the magazine and flipped through the pages. Lucy frowned when Scud raised his brows up and down. She wasn't sure what that meant. "What?"

"Scud!" Janet suddenly screamed. "It's time." She breathed in and out.

Frantically, Scud quickly helped his wife up and Lucy shouted at the top of her lungs. "Amyyyyyy!"

* * *

Pacing back and forth in the hospital, Lucy didn't think she would be so nervous. She prayed to God that everything would be okay. They had been there for hours. Janet's screaming was so loud, it sounded like it's worse than a bullet wound. The water didn't break. If it had, they would be even more concerned.

Amy stopped her from pacing around and pulled her to sit down with her. Holding the blonde's hand firmly with one hand, Lucy wrapped around the blonde's shoulder with the other. "everything's going to be okay." Lucy repeated to comfort the blonde, but it was more to comfort herself.

When a nurse came out, Lucy couldn't resist and approached her as if she was the parent.

"It's a boy."

"I knew it!" Lucy shouted in excitement.

After several days back at home, everyone wanted to hold the chubby 7lb baby in their arms, especially Amy. Janet and Scud took the opportunity to get some rest and let the girls take care of the cute fella.

"he looks just like Scud." Lucy said as she held his tiny fingers. "Say Auntie Lucy." Seeing how her girlfriend has been acting in the past few days, Amy noticed that the brunette likes kids as much as she does. She knew that by the way she played with Ashley. But that's different. Ashley doesn't need to be fed. She doesn't need to be changed…and she's not her responsibility. Looking at the brunette, Amy wondered if she wanted to have kids of her own, have our kids…or does she just want to have a life free from kids, free from responsibilities. Last summer, she traveled with the brunette to the 28 countries via Eurail. They had fun, spending more than a month, relaxing and exploring. Being with the 'younger' brunette, she felt like a kid again, goofing around and free from worries. She came to love the idea of dating, more and more.

She visited Lucy's place and found that it wasn't what she expected it to be. It was clean and organized but later found out that she hired a housemaid to come once a week and Lucy didn't hide that fact. _How can_ s_he be so lazy?_ She was disappointed, but had no say in the matter since it was her house and they're only dating.

_Is she ready to make a commitment? _Amy is, but as much as she loves the brunette, she's not sure if she could stand it if the brunette continues to be the way she used to be. It's just not going to work if she doesn't change, if she doesn't realize that marriage comes with responsibilities, if she can't remember how she used to be, as Keira. _God, I miss that part of her, especially her cooking._

"oh…look, he's looking at us…" Amy said, watching the baby's confused eyes move from left to right. "Hold him for a minute."

Lucy happily agreed but soon regretted when she found out what the blonde had in mind.

"Amy, are you done yet? My arms are getting numb." Lucy had to hold him in a way so that Amy could see both of them.

"Almost"

Almost meant half an hour more. "Finished." Lucy quickly put the baby back in the crib and flung his arms to get the blood flowing, then sat next to the blonde. Her body froze for a few seconds. Her brows furrowed. She knew that Amy has talent, able to bring her drawings to life. What she also has is a good memory and imagination. On the drawing paper, there was Lucy holding the baby, next to her was Amy, their heads leaning against each other, looking down at the baby as if it was theirs. Anyone who saw it would understand the meaning behind it.

The whole point of dating is because she's not ready to make that type of commitment. Looking deeply into her gentle hazel green eyes, Lucy wasn't sure what to say. She realized that Amy is ready for the next step, but she herself isn't.

"Do you like kids?" It was a stupid question. Lucy knew that.

Amy nodded with a smile.

"How many are you planning to have?"

"at least 2" Amy didn't have to think about the question.

Lucy just realized that her girlfriend wouldn't settle for just 1.

"You?"

"I don't want any."

The smile on Amy's face slowly disappeared. It was exactly what she thought. Her girlfriend didn't want any responsibilities. She wanted freedom. She wanted to go whenever she pleases. But that's not the life she wants for herself. The crying from the baby then interrupted the conversation. Amy immediately went to pick him up. "Can you get the milk ready?" Amy said, not looking at the brunette.

Lucy did as told. After feeding the baby and getting a burp out of him, Amy put him back in to the crib.

"I'll go make lunch." Amy said, trying not to show that she was disappointed and quickly headed towards the kitchen.

After half an hour, Lucy wondered why the blonde was taking so long to make a sandwich. Peeping in through the kitchen door, she could see a pot on the stove, but wasn't sure what she's making. She could hear her loud sigh of frustration. She walked in and was surprised that the blonde didn't notice. Even though the ventilator was on, she expected the former agent to notice the sound of her footsteps. Once she got close enough to see what was in the pot, she could see what the blonde was making.

"It would taste better with sesame oil."

Startled by an unexpected voice, Amy immediately jumped.

"Sorry…didn't mean to scare you." Lucy could see her frustration and if the blonde didn't turn away, she thought she saw something in her eyes.

"Amy, are you eating this?" Noticing how much stuff was inside the pot, Lucy didn't think it was just for her.

"Yes"

"But there's meat in it."

"It's fine." She had previously wanted to make something for herself, but wasn't in the mood. She didn't mind making lunch for her lover because she doesn't always get to do that now that Lucy doesn't live here. Having dated the brunette for about a year, she found herself...changing, trying out different food, food she never thought she would like. That was the best part of dating the brunette, going to different places, trying out different restaurants, and when neither of them have ideas of where to go, they would go watch a movie in the afternoon or hang around the mall.

When Lucy saw what she was about to do, she grabbed her hand, preventing her from dropping the raw meat into the hot pot. Lucy then volunteered to take over. It was a simple dish. Amy wasn't surprised that the brunette who once claimed that she only knew how to make ham and eggs, knew how to make noddle soup. What she was surprised was how good it tasted.

"When did you learn how to make this?"

"just now." Lucy shrugged her shoulders. That wasn't the first time it happened. She woke up several times wanting to make something simple and somehow she ended up making something she never thought she could do.

What Amy heard put the smile back on her face when she realized that the brunette's memory was slowly coming back. But still the question remains. She wasn't sure if Lucy, the one without amnesia, ever wanted to have a family. Did 'Kristin' married her knowing that she didn't? It's something that she'll need to think about. Amy let out a small smile as she slurped in a long string of white noodle.

After that day, Lucy sensed that something was wrong. Each time she asked the blonde out, Amy had an excuse. Her excuses were homework, exam or she promised Janet to babysit. The excuses were so un-believable, she even went on to say she had to clean the house. The whole day? Her response to that was she would be too tired to go out after that. There was a moment when she wanted to ask her if she wants to break up with her because it sure felt like it. They haven't seen each other for a month and she wasn't the only one who noticed.

Holding the baby in her arms, Amy held the bottle of milk over the little one. Sitting next to her was Janet. Nadia and Alexis sat on another couch.

"Is everything okay with you and Lucy?" Janet said.

"Fine."

"Fine?" That wasn't what she heard from Scud. "I don't mean to be nosy. But I heard that you and Lucy haven't been seeing each other.

Nadia gasped out loud. She had been busy with work and her own girlfriend so she had no idea. "what happened?"

Alexis moved closer and paid full attention.

"Nothing happened. I was just…busy." After successfully making the baby burp, she held him for a moment on her shoulder while stroking his back.

"Well, she thinks you want to break up with her."

"She said that?"

"She…said to Scud."

"talk to us." Alexis said in a concerned tone.

"I'm not." Amy stood up and walked over towards the window. Thin sheets of snow covered the roofs of houses, streets and backyards. Time passed by so quickly. It was hard to believe that they've already dated for a year. "It's healthy for the relationship, not to see each other all the time."

"I agree with that….but it's more than a month." Janet said.

Nadia again gasped. "Amy, what's going on?"

"Nothing." Amy said in a soft voice, still holding the baby on her shoulder. "I just need some time, by myself."

Janet then stood up when a thought crossed her mind. "It's not the aneurysm, is it?"

It has been so long. Alexis has forgotten that the blonde even has a problem. That would explain why the blonde would want to break up with her. Janet quickly took the baby and put it back on to the crib. She then pulled Amy to sit on the couch.

Amy also thought about that. There is still a possibility that it could grow bigger. Her biological clock seems to be ticking faster than before. The aneurysm is like a time bomb. But those weren't the reasons she's avoiding the brunette. She just needed time alone to think if she could live a life without kids. What it would be like to live without her? What it would be like to see her with someone else? She already knew the answer to that and the answer is she doesn't want to lose her.

"I'm not breaking up with her. I just…Janet, please don't tell Scud."

Seeing Janet's hand raised, Amy let out a deep breath and glanced at each one of them. "she…doesn't…want…kids."

The response from the girls wasn't what she expected. A one word sound came from Janet. "Oh." No sound came out of Nadia and Alexis, just a frown.

"You girls don't understand." Amy said, looking at Nadia and Alexis. "you're still young, you have lots of time…but I don't." _especially when the process of making a baby via in vitro fertilization doesn't always work._

"…and you just needed time to think if you can live like that…without a family..just the two of you.." The comment came from the most understanding person. Nadia held the blonde's hands. "Amy, do you…love her?"

"you know I do."

"..and I know she loves you too…isn't that what life is all about? Being with the one you love." Nadia paused to let the blonde think for a moment. After everything that's happened, she thought that the blonde would understand. But she realized Amy will never change. "Do you remember what Alexis said?"

Alexis turned to look at her girlfriend, wondering what she was going to say.

She held Alexis' hand with her right hand and held the blonde's hand with her left.

"It's what you want to do at that moment…" That was the speech Alexis gave more than a year ago. She thought that the blonde would understand that by now. She did. "If she asks you to marry her right now, what would you say?"

All focused their attention towards that blonde.

"yes"

Nadia never doubted that there would be any other answer but yes.

Realizing she's thinking too much again, Amy leaned in to hug Nadia and Alexis. Janet wrapped her arms around all of them, but she's still a bit confused, though.

"Should I tell her?"

"nnno" Amy immediately pulled back and said to Janet.

"Why not?"

Alexis and Nadia agreed.

"She might not be ready" said Alexis

"it takes all the surprises away" said Nadia

"she might run away again."

"…and she…"

"okay…okay…I get it." Janet said. "I'm not going to say anything. But Amy, you really should talk to me. I might not be able to help you but it's not good to keep it to yourself."

"You just had a baby….and you know me, I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, but if you had told me earlier, I could have helped you."

Six pairs of confused eyes stared at the once-thin blonde who isn't so thin anymore after having a baby and waited for her to continue.

"The Lucy now, might not want to have kids. But the Lucy I know, the Lucy Kristin married, she wants kids."

"What?!"

Janet continued on to explain why she would know and told her about that moment when she and the brunette had an argument over what to wear for their wedding picture.

Amy realized all that worry was for nothing. But either way, Nadia was right. _I think too much._ Amy quickly got her phone out. When nobody answered, she called again.

"That's odd." The thought of the brunette getting upset with her crossed her mind. "Shoot…now she's mad at me."

"Just leave her a message." Nadia said.

Amy left a message saying she wanted to talk. They waited and waited but the call never came. Not until 2 hours later, her phone rang but it was from Scud. "Hello" Her whole body jumped up. Her heart pounded faster and louder like the day she learned of the brunette's death. "Where are you?" All were very confused as they listened to her conversation. One minute she had a look of worry. The next it was gone. "can you put her on?..." Janet and the others couldn't understand what they were talking about. "I'm not breaking up with her. Just get her over here…please…"

Amy wasn't worried. Scud assured her that her girlfriend was fine. While waiting for the brunette, she had everything prepared in the master bed. She didn't plan on the brunette sleeping over so soon. God did. Amy realized more and more while waiting for Scud and Lucy that she definitely was thinking too much. Just when she heard that the brunette was in the emergency room, the fear, the feeling of losing her again all came back in an instant.

The road was slippery. Scud drove slowly thru the winter streets covered with snow. One car accident in one day is enough.

"What is with me? Two accidents in the same year." Lucy thought about going to a psychic to see if anything bad is coming her way.

"2…in the same year? When was the first one?"

"I mean…about the same year." First the bullet wound, then this. "Where are you going? You just passed…." Lucy realized where Scud was taking her.

"you didn't tell her, did you?"

When Scud didn't respond, Lucy understood. "She doesn't want to see me."

"Yes she does. It's her idea."

"She's going to think I'm pretending."

Scud never thought of that. "We're here."

"take me home."

"She said she's not breaking up with you."

"She did?"

"Now can we go?" Without waiting for a response, Scud got out of the car. Without waiting for her approval, Scud carried the brunette inside the duplex. It was cold outside. It would take too long for the brunette to walk by herself with a cast on her right leg.

Lucy didn't expect Alexis to be there too. She was surprised to see Amy acting as if nothing odd happened between them.

"So…what happened?"

Crowding around the injured brunette, Alexis, Nadia, Janet, and Amy all were anxious to know.

"A black cat ran in front of me, I tried to avoid it, the car spun, and I hit the pole." That's what she told the police, the nurse, and a few other people. She kept it simple and short because she was tired of explaining how it happened.

"awwww…you poor thing…"

Lucy didn't expect that from her girlfriend. She wanted to ask her why she was avoiding her but didn't feel it's the right moment since there were so many people around. She thought her day would get worse, a sprained ankle, a bruised leg, a torn ligament, a bump on her head, but everything turned out completely opposite after she stepped inside the duplex. It was definitely better than being in the hospital. That's for sure. No hospital food. Nadia's cooking was perfection. What was even better was getting a shoulder massage from her pretty girlfriend….in front of everyone…in the living room.

Scud gave her a wink before leaving.

"I think I'm going to bed." Lucy could feel aches in every inch of her body. Grabbing the crutches, she lifted herself up. She took one small step at a time. Walking next to her was Amy. It took her awhile to go up 8 steps. "maybe I should sleep in Janet's room." It just occurred to her that would be a better idea.

As she was about to head down, Amy grabbed her forearm. "It'll be more comfortable upstairs."

"that's true." She remembered the king size bed being very comfortable and the bathroom was closer. After finally making it to the masterbed, she saw that nothing has changed except the new duvet. "umm…Amy, can I borrow…"

Lucy turned to the direction the blonde was pointing and realized that her lover had everything prepared for her. As she was about to close the door, she was confused when the blonde let herself in.

"Let me help you take a bath."

"Help me…take a bath?"

Amy scanned her from top to bottom. "It's not like I haven't done it before." She reminded her of the time she was in a coma.

It was getting more odd each minute. Amy grabbed the pajamas from the bed and put it into the bathroom. Standing outside, Lucy could hear the water running. She thought her girlfriend was just kidding. Lucy sat on the blue cover of the toilet seat as she kept her eyes on the blonde. She couldn't help thinking of her ex, Brooke at that moment because she once said 'being alone is a scary feeling'.

* * *

It was a genetic disease that took Brooke's life. That's what the doctors think. Lucy was by her side the whole time and she was able to fulfill Brooke's last wish, spending the last moment in the arms of her ex-lover whom she once betrayed. In the last few days before her death, Brooke told her the events that happened between them, in more detail. She insisted on leaving the hospital since there was nothing the doctors could do for her. It was odd that she was able to regain her energy after a few days in the hospital and she looked as though she was a healthy woman. She laughed, she joked, she even talked about their first night together. They were both nervous that night and Lucy found out how Brooke knew it was her first time.

"You told me."

"I did?" It seemed strange that she would since the rumors, the ones that Scud spread, led everyone to believe that she's been with a lot of girls. Telling Brooke that would just confirm that the rumors weren't true.

"You told me, so I wouldn't be nervous...and I wasn't...after you said that..."

Brooke continued to tell her about what she liked about her and also the negative qualities that pissed her off.

"You need to be more sensitive."

"I am sensitive."

"You are...but then sometimes, you just don't get it."

"Like what?"

They were sitting on a couch, watching tv, while enjoying a cup of hot cocoa. She reminded her of the time when she didn't like to go riding on her motorcycle up the curvy dangerous roads to Yosemite.

"You were speeding and I told you to slow down, but you didn't listen."

"I didn't?" Lucy wondered how fast she was going.

"You did after I grabbed your breasts."

Lucy suddenly spit out the cocoa that she was about to gulp down and stared at her ex-lover.

"That's the only way." Brooke smirked before taking a sip of her cocoa. She continued to tell her about the time when she didn't want to go swimming and the brunette got upset with her for ruining a perfect summer day.

"Well, how am I supposed to know why you didn't want to if you didn't tell me?"

Brooke swallowed another sip of cocoa. "Because you're a female, you're supposed to know these things...and you knew when my last time was."

Lucy placed the cup down on the table and shifted on her side, ready to defend herself. "I was the leader, probably extremely busy with a lot of things, I probably don't even remember when my last time was, and you expected me to remember yours?"

After placing her cup down on the coffee table, Brooke reached out to cup Lucy's cheeks. "You...need to be more sensitive, if you had paid more attention, then you'll know why...even if I didn't tell you." Lucy didn't expect her to give her a short kiss but didn't jerk back. If Brooke continued with a longer kiss, she would have to put a stop to it.

After Brooke's death, Lucy couldn't help wondering if there was another reason why Brooke left her; a genetic disease that could take her life at any time. It would have been difficult for her to see the one she loves pass away suddenly and Brooke must have known that. Brooke's last words weren't to tell her that she loved her. She felt it was more important to let her know that she regretted for not staying with her.

Even though Lucy couldn't remember Brooke, the way they used to be, her death made her see things more clearly. That's what happens every time she sees her love ones die, the death of her mother, the death of her father, and the death of her loyal followers, and this time isn't any different. _It's time to go back…before it's too late._

* * *

Back to the current moment

Amy shut off the water. Letting out a small smile, she bent down to Lucy's level.

Dark brown eyes locked into hazel green ones. They had been in this situation many times, just looking at each other without saying anything and they usually ended up kissing. But this is unlike all those times. It wasn't the right moment and it wasn't the right place.

"I can do this by myself."

"Are you sure? You can't get that wet."

Lucy gently pushed the blonde out the door. One of the things she hated was being vulnerable in front of her girlfriend. Even if she had 2 casts on, she would find a way to take a bath herself.

"Thank you." Lucy held the urge to say something else. She would love the blonde to take a shower with her but having her give her a bath isn't the same. Bathing together, now that's different.

After a very long moment, Amy became concerned because Lucy had been in the bathroom a very long time. "Are you okay in there?" Amy turned the knob and realized that it was locked. "Lucy?" _Why did she lock it? She's never shy about showing her body._

"In a minute." It was more difficult than she thought. "Maybe next time, I'll just take a shower."

When the brunette came out of the bathroom, Amy noticed that she didn't have her pajamas pants on, just the boyshorts.

"It doesn't fit." Lucy threw the long pajamas pants on the bed and flopped down on the bed.

"Do you want me to cut it?"

"no, it's fine." After covering herself with the blanket, Lucy felt it was the right moment to ask about last month. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine." Amy responded as she sat next to her. "I'm glad you're okay." She leaned down to kiss the brunette goodnight.

Lucy could feel that something was wrong when the blonde remained still in her position, sitting next to her and looking at her. "if I did something wrong, you can tell me. I'll change." Lucy had never said that to anyone before. "I mean…I'll try"

_Wow. _Amy didn't expect her to say that. _Change? _She noticed that the brunette has changed a lot in the past year especially her attitude, not as cocky, not as controlling, offering help when she needed it.

"You'll change for me?"

"well, yea…" Lucy said in an obvious tone. "…but bad habits are hard to break…but I'll try…"

That was the most touching, sweet, genuine words she has ever heard.

"you are soooo sweeeeet…" She leaned down to kiss her again. "You didn't do anything wrong." She said softly while gently caressing the bruise on her head. Then a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Are you sure you're okay? Did you get a cat scan?" She wants to make sure the bump on her head didn't affect her personality. What she just said, even Lucy, the one without amnesia, wouldn't have said that.

Lucy took her hand and placed it against her face. "I want you to know…you can tell me anything."

Amy nodded in understanding and kissed her again before saying good night and left the room.

Feeling satisfied how everything turned out, Lucy felt that she could finally get some sleep. But she found how difficult it was to fall asleep with a cast on especially when she had trouble scratching an itch. It was useless. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get to it. Lucy let out a deep breath and closed her eyes because that's the only thing she could do. _Try not to think of it and it'll go away. _She tried but it didn't work. "ugghhh" She moved her injured leg up and down against the bed, hoping to get rid of the itch. She stopped when the door opened. It was dark but with the night lights plugged into the outlets against the wall, she could see that the person was walking closer to the other side of the bed. "Amy?" It could only be her and nobody else. The question is why? She wanted her to stay before but knew that her girlfriend wouldn't have agreed to sleep on the same bed since they're still dating.

"Here's water if you need it." Amy leaned over the brunette and placed the water bottle on the table next to her side of the bed.

"What are you doing?"

Lying on her side, Amy turned to face the brunette. "you'll need help getting to the bathroom."

"no I don't." Lucy regretted saying that. It made her sound weak, so that's why she said that without thinking. It's obviously an excuse.

"you don't?" Amy asked to give her one more chance.

"I mean…thank you for being so thoughtful." Lucy then gasped inward and moved her right casted leg up and down and sideways against the bed.

"What's wrong?"

"it's itchy…"

Amy turned the lamp on her side of the bed. "Where, here…or here?" It was only an itch. But Lucy was contorting her face in agony as if she was dying.

Amy understood and quickly went downstairs. It took less than a minute for Amy to come back with an idea. Locking the door behind her, she quickly hopped onto the bed.

"Don't move." Amy gently slid a chopstick made of porcelain into the cast, gliding it up and down.

"aahhh…." Hearing the loud sound of relief, Amy couldn't help but smile. She made a mental note not to put that chopstick back into the kitchen cabinet.

After turning off the lights, Amy slipped back into bed, snuggling close to her lover.

"Amy…"

"hmm…"

"I…love…you."

"I know." It wasn't the first time she heard it from the brunette. She heard it on her birthday after giving her a surprise party. She wasn't surprised by it because she knew ahead of time. It wasn't hard to figure it out because Janet went shopping crazy for party accessories a week before that. Lucy explained that she didn't get her anything because she knew she wouldn't want anything expensive and she ran out of ideas on what to get. Amy was okay with that. They had spent a lot of time together over the past year and on her birthday, she got to spend it with her friends whom she considered as her family. She got a gift from Ashley and that was better than anything that could be bought from a store….a drawing of herself, Ashley and her family.

A month of not seeing the blonde last month, Lucy came to realize just how much she misses her. She had nobody to talk to but Scud. She even asked herself what she did to make the blonde upset. But she didn't sound upset on the phone. Lucy stopped calling because she could hear how frustrated Amy became after calling her numerous times. She even told Scud how much she changed for the blonde. Knowing how Amy hates messes, she cleaned the apartment herself because having the cleaning lady come over everyday is just ridiculous. Having a housekeeper living in the same apartment, that would be even more ridiculous. No privacy. It's not just her, Lucy noticed that Amy has changed as well. The blonde wasn't the same as the one whom she lived with. Maybe it was because they were living as a married couple so Lucy wasn't able to see the other side of her. Amy could be fun when she wanted to and knew when to be serious. But there is one thing about Amy that she didn't like. Every time she sees someone she knows, she would take her hand away and introduce her as her friend, not girlfriend and she would apologize for that each time. Knowing that she couldn't change the blonde in that aspect, Lucy just let it go. If the blonde wanted to do that, so could she.

From time to time when Lucy is in the mood to get the blonde a rose or for a special occasion, she would buy it from the flower shop near where Amy lives. Having been there quite a few times, she got familiar with the female worker there. The female worker once asked her who the flowers were for, Lucy didn't tell her the truth and just told her she was buying it for a friend who didn't have the time. The conversation moved from talking about flowers to other things. One time, she went with Amy to the flower shop and Amy quickly noticed and accused her of flirting with the flower girl. That was their first argument. Lucy wasn't flirting and didn't apologize for it. After 2 days without speaking to each other, Lucy finally gave up and called the blonde. What she told her was that she had no idea if the flower girl is into her, but if she wants to, she could tell the flower girl about their relationship. The catch is Amy would have to do the same if they run into her friends. Lucy was very surprised with the blonde's response. Amy did not agree to it. Her explanation was that their relationship is nobody's else's business but theirs. So Lucy didn't tell the flower girl about their relationship and she noticed that Amy always get jealous when the flower girl talks to her. That would be the only way to get Amy to admit their relationship to her friends, especially the guys who are interested in her. That was her plan.

"I'm sorry."

"for what? You didn't do anything wrong." Amy reiterated.

"I…did."

The moment the brunette confessed, Amy thought that her worst fear had come true. Cheating.

"I should have stopped talking to Kellie…the girl in the flower shop."

_Oh no._

"You told me that you didn't like it and…I should have stopped. "

_No…no…no._

"you're right. Our relationship is nobody else's business but ours. If you don't want to tell your friends about us, then that's fine. But I'm going to tell Kellie that I have a girlfriend and I'm going to stay away from that shop, which means…I won't be able to get you flowers that often.

"Oh…" Her heart immediately relaxed. Amy chastised herself for not trusting her girlfriend.

"Are you disappointed? I mean I could go to that market, but it's not as convenient and those flowers aren't as fresh and ….sssssss…ughhh…that darn itch"

"Let me take care of that."

Lucy lifted the blanket. When she reached for the chopstick on the table, she was surprised to see her lover rolling on top of her, then kissing her lips, again and again. "mmmm.." Lucy moaned loudly and opened her mouth wider, letting her lover's tongue slip into her mouth. Her hands glided to her lover's back and slid underneath her undershirt. The feel of her smooth skin brought back memories of that night.

"Feel better?" Amy said after pulling away.

Lucy nodded vigorously. Then quickly realized how stupid that was. When Lucy shook her head vigorously, that caused the blonde to laugh. Lucy wasn't sure if her girlfriend wanted to continue but then realized she came for a purpose, other than helping her to the bathroom. Lucy closed her eyes, feeling wet kisses on her cheek and neck. "ohhhh….Amyyyy" It wasn't just the kisses that were driving her crazy. Her sensitive areas being touched ignited every cell in her body. Lucy opened her eyes when she could no longer feel the blonde's upper body pressing against hers. What she could feel was the pressure on her private. Lucy reached out to hold her lover's hips while Amy took off her own pajamas top. The itch was no longer there. Even if it was, that wasn't on her mind because the only thing on her mind was what was about to happen next. Once Amy finished taking off her pajamas top including the undershirt, Lucy lifted herself up, wrapping her arms around the half naked blonde. It was cold without the top. Lucy could feel goose bumps on her lover's back, neck, and breasts. Their lips were less than an inch apart. "yeahh?" Lucy wanted to make sure Amy really wanted to do this because last time she was told, she had to wait until they're married. Getting a nod and a kiss from her lover, Lucy gently rolled her over and kissed her passionately before running her mouth down her neck. Her sexual desire was building up. She wanted to take it slow. God seems to be helping her at times, but she realizes God left to help someone else at this moment.

"AH!" Lucy quickly rolled back to her side of the bed. She realized it was impossible to make love with a sprained ankle and a torn ligament.

Amy quickly turned on the lamp. "What's wrong?"

Lucy breathed in and out while wincing in pain.

"Is it itchy?" From the look on her lover's face, it doesn't look like it's just an itch.

"ssss hah..ssss..hah.." Shaking her head, Lucy gasped inward and exhaled a few times. After the pain slowly subsided, Lucy flopped her head down on the pillow. "I'm sorry. I can't"

It's the way the brunette said it, it made her look so adorable. "It's okay….baby…" That was the first time she called the brunette 'baby'. She hated it when her ex Bobby called her babe. But at that moment, that's what the brunette looked like to her and it came out naturally. Amy leaned down to kiss her cheek. "…when you get better…"

Lucy's disappointment turned into a wide smile when she heard she was giving a rain check. Her eyes on its own fall down towards the blonde's chest and didn't move from there. Amy noticed, found her undershirt and pajamas top near the end of the bed, and quickly turned off the lights before putting it on in less than 7 seconds.

"Amy…"

"hmm…" Amy said, leaning her head against the brunette's shoulder. Her heart was still pounding out of control. She initiated again, something she thought she would never do. She came to understand what the brunette told her was right. The first time they made love, it was Kristin who initiated it.

"Do you think we can have lights on next time?"

And there it is again. She found that the brunette isn't embarrassed to say those types of things.

"good night, Lucy"

Lucy closed her eyes. Her smile spread from cheek to cheek.

* * *

It took 6 weeks for the cast to come off. After that night, Lucy was disappointed that Amy slept in her own bed but didn't ask her why. She left the door unlocked and left it up to the blonde. If she wants to sleep over, she is welcomed to her room, anytime.

Having the cast off meant that it was time to go back home. Lucy did so after her request to stay longer was denied.

"Can I stay over some time?"

"Sure"

Lucy kissed the blonde before saying 'see you tomorrow'.

"You never let her stay over." Nadia said after the blonde closed the door.

It was necessary before but there is no reason to now.

"It's just sleeping over. She has her own room, I have mine. We don't do what you and Alexis do."

Embarrassed, Nadia cleared her throat and kept her mouth shut.

"Sorry…." Amy didn't mean to embarrass her. They're both adults. She didn't think Nadia would be embarrassed by it.

"She seems to have changed a lot." During the past weeks, Lucy offered to help out even when she couldn't and didn't expect to be waited on.

"She really has." Scud once told her that she didn't fall in love with this Lucy Diamond. Lucy changed after being dumped by her girlfriend. Amy came to realize that might not be true at all. _She changed because of me_.

"Does she know why you were avoiding her?"

Amy shook her head. "It's not important anymore. You're right. Whether she wants a family or not, I still want to be with her." Amy inhaled and exhaled loudly, feeling as though all the worries have been lifted from her soul.

"So what about you and Alexis?"

"great."

"yeah?…" Amy wasn't surprised. "Have you met her mother yet?"

"mhm"

"…and?"

"what?"

"What does she think of you? Did you leave a good impression?" Amy said in an obvious tone.

"She loves me."

"Good…so no problems then." Nadia and Alexis didn't go through as many obstacles as she and Lucy did, but she could tell that they both love each other. "thought about marriage?"

"Amy…she's too young to get married."

"I don't mean now. I mean have you thought about it."

"mhm" Nadia said shyly.

Amy expected her to say more and could tell that she was thinking of something when she stopped clipping her nails. "Nadia? What's wrong?"

"nothing's wrong…it's just that…she is so…and I'm so…"

Amy was confused. "she is so what?"

"She…likes to hold hands in public."

Amy didn't find anything wrong with that and gave her a confused look.

"…and…she likes…to do…more than that."

"ohhhhh" Amy understood completely.

"Did you tell her you're not comfortable?"

"I did, but she forgets…sometimes…and I don't want her to think that I'm afraid of being seen with her…I'm not…I'm just not comfortable…do you know what I mean?"

Amy lowered the volume of the tv. "I know exactly what you mean. Lucy is the same way." Now that they're alone, she told her what Lucy said to her that night. "I didn't plan on it but that's what she thought and it worked."

"So you want me to stop seeing Alexis for awhile? I can't do that."

"Are you afraid that she'll break up with you?"

When Nadia nodded with certainty, that wasn't what Amy expected.

"How long have you two been dating?" Amy wasn't sure when they started dating. "about 2 years?"

When Nadia gave the blonde an exact number, Amy realized how madly in love she is with Alexis. Even she can't remember how long she dated the brunette. _Who keeps track of that?_

"Oh Nadia…please don't tell me that you're always the one who apologizes first…"

"Apologize for what? We haven't had an argument."

Amy jerked back, confusion all over her face. "How can that be?"

"We don't."

"How is that even possible?"

"We don't."

Amy wondered what type of relationship they have. "When you two go out, is there ever a time where she wants to do something that you don't?"

"Sure."

"…and what happened?"

"I went with her to a party because she said it would be fun."

"…and is it?"

Nadia shook her head. She remembered that time Alexis asked her to go out to a party held by her company. When she was introduced to her coworkers as her 'girlfriend', she remembered the expression on their faces. Some were shocked but some weren't. Her boss was shocked, so were all the male coworkers. Can't blame them. Alexis is hot.

"She asked me to dance but I didn't feel comfortable in front of her workers."

"Did she tell you where she was taking you?"

Nadia shook her head.

"Did you tell her how you felt?"

Nadia shook her head again. "I know why she did it. She wanted to let everyone know, especially the guys, that's she's involved…with me." Nadia paused for a moment. "She…kissed me…while we're…dancing."

Amy gasped loudly. She could just imagine how uncomfortable that could be with everyone looking at them. And Alexis not being afraid of anything wouldn't have a clue of what that would feel like. Her ex, Bobby, did that once. But that was different. He's a guy. Nobody would find that odd. Amy didn't like it, regardless, because he was showing her off to his buddies.

Amy stood up. "Nadia, do it."

"Do what?"

"Stop answering her phone. Let her know you're upset…and you should **be…** after what she did."

"but…it's okay…she just wanted them to know…"

"but she should have to told you what she was going to do!"

"If she told me, I wouldn't want to go."

"Exactly! And she knew that!" She was getting angry for Nadia. If it happened to her, she would let Lucy know at that moment.

"I can't. I don't want to lose her."

Amy sat down and grabbed hold of her hands. "Why would you think that? Alexis loves you. You know that."

"I know. But I love her more." Nadia isn't afraid to admit that.

"Do you want me to tell her?"

"no!" Nadia jumped at the thought. "I don't want her to think that I've been telling you instead of her."

Amy nodded in understanding. "…you know if you don't do something, she's going to keep doing the way she wants…"

Amy had been in that situation before, loving the brunette more than being loved. It's not fun. But she would let the brunette know if she didn't like something because one, she wouldn't be able to stand it. Two. Relationships like that wouldn't last long.

"I…I'll let her know if she does it again next time."

"Next time?" Amy let out a big sigh seeing that she was unable to convince her. "Didn't you say you already let her know you were uncomfortable and she…'forgot'." She could see Nadia looking down as if thinking of something to defend her lover. "Nadia, to maintain a healthy relationship, arguments are necessary." Her own relationship with Lucy is a good example of that. "Look at us."

"But I don't like to argue."

It's true. Amy never saw her argue with anyone. "Nadia, sorry, but you're on your own."

It wasn't a big deal. It didn't bother her that much until she was reminded of that incident. Alexis had pulled her to the dance floor even though she said she didn't feel comfortable. They were the center of attention and her girlfriend knew how she felt about that. Jealous eyes narrowing at her, people talking in whispers, she felt like she had done something wrong. "Amy's right. It's nobody else's business but theirs….next time"

* * *

The next night

Amy and Janet were startled by the slamming of the door. "sshhh"

"sorry.." Nadia said, apologizing for waking up the baby and walked rapidly up the stairs, her face full of frustration. After closing the door, she threw her handbag on the chair and flopped down on the bed. She didn't think that 'next time' would come so soon. After a long moment, hearing 2 knocks, then 2 more knocks on the door, Nadia responded. "Yes"

"Nadia, is everything all right?" Amy said, standing outside the door.

"fine." Her tone had changed, not as gentle as before.

"Nadia"

Nadia sat up, realizing that Alexis was also outside the door. She's not sure what to do or what to say…because she really hates arguing with her girlfriend, but at the same time she knew she needed to let her girlfriend know what she did wrong.

"Nadia, please open the door." said Alexis

Amy was very curious to know what happened.

"can you tell me what's wrong?"

"unbelievable…" Nadia said to herself, realizing that her girlfriend still has no clue. It was her birthday. Alexis had reserved a romantic dinner in a restaurant. Everything was going well until Alexis asked her to dance. Nadia said she didn't want to but Alexis insisted so like all those other times, Nadia agreed. The restaurant had dim lighting. There were other couples dancing to the beat of the soft, slow music. While they were dancing, she could see other pairs of lovers looking at them, just like that night. Nadia held it in and tried to ignore them but it became too much, too uncomfortable. "I want to leave." But all her girlfriend said was they had not finished dinner yet. She didn't want to but had no choice but to drive home by herself leaving her girlfriend alone in the restaurant.

After taking in a deep breath, she exhaled loudly before opening the door.

"Are you feeling okay?" Alexis said in a concerned voice.

"We need to talk."

Amy took the hint and took one step back, then another, and stopped when she heard Nadia's voice. She realized that Nadia needed her support.

"Alexis, I love you…but how many times have I told you that I don't feel comfortable dancing in front of everyone and being the center of attention?"

Realizing why her girlfriend became so upset, Alexis responded with the same tone. "many times…"

Nadia was confused why her girlfriend admitted that.

"but you'll get used to it…" Alexis took one step closer. "You don't have to hide anymore. We don't have to hide anymore."

"It's not about that…" Nadia took one step back and took a quick glance at the blonde behind Alexis. "It's…it's…our relationship is nobody else's business but ours." She repeated exactly what the blonde said.

"you're right." Alexis said.

Nadia didn't think it would be that easy and found out later that her girlfriend misunderstood.

"what we do is none of their business, what they do is none of our business…so just ignore them…" Alexis learned that from a very young age from her grandmother. If it wasn't for her grandmother, she would be like Nadia, hiding it from everyone.

"no…that's not what I meant…" Nadia was getting frustrated not being able to get her point across. She took a quick glance at the blonde again for support. Before she could say what was on her mind, Alexis interrupted her.

"Nadia, you know I love you…and you know what kind of person I am. If you don't want to kiss me or dance with me in public because other people are watching us, then…what's the point of dating? What's the point of going out if we have to hide it from everyone? …What we do is none of their business…." Alexis moved one step forward and placed a small box in Nadia's hand. "I had a cake ready and they were going to sing to you….. Happy Birthday." She leaned in to give her girlfriend a peck on her cheek before moving one step back and let go of her hand.

Nadia was speechless because it didn't turn out the way she thought it would.

"The Nadia I fell in love with isn't afraid of a gun pointing at her. What are you afraid of?"

Alexis turned around and realized there was one more person listening to their conversation. Lucy was leaning against the rail of the stairs 10 feet away.

"Alexis…" Amy felt that she should say something since she felt the same way as Nadia. "You don't understand what it feels like."

"Why wouldn't I?" That was Alexis' way of telling her that she had been in that situation before. They all have including Lucy.

Alexis headed towards the brunette. "Can you give me a ride?"

"Sure." Lucy came to see the blonde, but seeing what was happening, she decided that it's best to leave.

Alexis had planned on going home but felt like doing something else.

Inside a restaurant, sitting on the end of the bar, Lucy had been listening to Alexis. She didn't hear the entire conversation from earlier but came to understand what happened.

"Am I wrong?"

"of course not…I totally agree with you."

Alexis took a big gulp of the alcoholic drink. "then why do I feel so bad?"

"because you hurt her…and Nadia…well…you know Nadia…she's got that…look…that innocent look…you don't want to hurt her but you also can't live like that…"

"I just want her to know there's nothing to be afraid of."

Lucy nodded in agreement.

"Amy…she agrees with her…what do you two do when you go out?"

"ab...solutely nothing…" Lucy took a big gulp of her drink. "I mean…not what I want to do."

"really?" She had always thought Amy would get used to that by now since she was once an agent and she heard that she had been undercover before as a lesbian. "So how do you deal with that?"

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not allowed to kiss her in public. I'm not allowed to hold her hand in front of her friends. I'm not allowed to tell her friends about us….and…I'm not allowed to…" Lucy cleared her throat realizing she had said too much. "I deal with it…because…I want to be with her."

"you've…changed…" Alexis expected the brunette to be the one taking control, just like her.

"I did." Lucy admitted loud and clear. "…and I'm …happier" It sure beats being alone all the time. She used to have Scud and her followers, so she never felt alone back then. But now that everything's different, she finds herself…changing with the rest of them.

* * *

Back at Amy's house

"Nadia, you're going to get sick." Nadia had been eating her own birthday cake that Alexis bought for her. Moist vanilla cake with mango in between and strawberries on the top.

Janet was eating it too and heard what happened. She understood how Nadia felt but also understood how Alexis felt. Not being able to touch and kiss her girlfriend in public, that wouldn't be called dating.

"You're going to get fat like Janet."

"Heyyyy!"

Amy mouthed 'sorry' to the mother who recently gave birth. She was hoping that the fitness instructor would stop after hearing that but it didn't work.

"She's mm…right…you..know." Nadia spoke with a mouthful of cake.

"no, she's not. If you don't feel comfortable, then she should respect you, not push you…" Amy felt that Alexis had a point but she disagreed with her way of handling it. "These things take time…especially for you…and…me."

Nadia pointed at Amy with a fork full of cream. "You're right too…she shouldn't have pushed me…" She dug another piece of cake into her mouth. "mm…this is really good…"

"…that's right…and if she can't see what she did wrong, then…" She stopped to let Nadia fill in the rest of the sentence.

"dump her…" Janet responded.

"dump her?" Nadia's mouth opened wide. Cream and cake could be seen inside. Her cheeks looked as though they were swollen.

Janet nodded. "That's what I would do. If she doesn't respect who you are, if she keeps on pushing you to become someone she wants you to be, then…dump her…" Janet said while chewing. Her advice didn't come out clear but both Amy and Nadia heard.

"Jaaanet…" Amy rolled her eyes, then turned towards the birthday girl. "don't listen to her…" Amy could see that Nadia would never do that from the reaction on her face. "what you need to do right now is give each other some space…let her think about it…then"

Nadia was paying full attention to the blonde.

"what's going to happen is…she's going to call you…"

"Wait for her to call me?"

"Right…and Nadia, don't…call…her, if you do, then she's not going to think she did anything wrong."

Nadia nodded once.

"…and she's not going to change …"

Nadia wasn't so sure that Alexis would change.

Amy saw the uncertainty and the fear in her eyes. "Trust me. She will"

Amy then asked them to stop eating and went to the kitchen. Both Janet and Nadia were surprised with what the taller blonde had in mind.

"Make a wish." Amy held up the remaining piece of cake with a lit candle on top.

All were smiling and Nadia blew out the candle with one quick blow. It was obvious to everyone what she wished for.

After that night, Nadia did get sick from eating too much. Feeling weak after throwing up everything that was in her stomach, she didn't feel like eating even though her stomach was empty. Nobody was in the house. Amy went to school. She wanted to call Alexis but held the urge to do so because knowing if she did, it would be back to the same way as it was before. A day passed by, then two days, then a week. It wasn't difficult to get through the days when she has to work, but on her days off, it was a torture. After the 2nd week without getting a call from her girlfriend, she was starting to worry.

Sitting on the recliner while watching tv with a bowl of ice cream, Nadia scooped up a spoonful of strawberry ice cream and put it into her mouth. Lucy sat behind the blonde, with arms wrapping around her waist on the end of the couch, her favorite position. She was aware of what was going on and didn't interfere because her blonde lover told her not to. Watching the fitness instructor gobbling up the ice cream as if it was water, Lucy was starting to worry about her. That's what happens to a lot of people who got 'dumped'. But for Lucy, she wanted to annihilate a whole country after she got dumped.

"I think we should do something." Lucy whispered into her girlfriend's ear.

Amy let out a sigh before standing up and snatched the bowl of ice cream from the girl who's not as fit as she used to be. "Nadia…if you keep doing this, she's not going to want you when she sees you." Amy said to scare her.

"Why isn't she calling?" Nadia said, wiping the ice cream off her mouth.

She didn't realize Nadia would be this weak. "You want to call her?"

Nadia nodded with a pout.

"Go ahead"

"Really?"

"Sure, but know this." Amy said as she gently grasped her shoulders. "Nothing is going to change and she will keep on making you do things you're not comfortable with. Can you live with that?"

"but she has a point, I shouldn't care what others think."

"…she does have a point, but again, she should have respected your decision, you're not…ready, you decide when you're ready, not her…" Nadia agreed with her. "Isn't that right, Lucy?" Amy said loudly while looking at Nadia.

"You're right, honey" Lucy said, while staring at the tv. Her response came so fast, she didn't realize what she called her. She was a little confused herself why she called the blonde 'honey.'

"Be strong. You can do this. Okay?" Amy shook her shoulders when she didn't get a response from the fitness instructor slash chef. After saying what she had to say, she gave her one last advice. "you need to get back into shape." She said as she lightly patted her stomach and went back to her previous position, sitting in front of her lover.

"honey?" Amy turned to look at her gorgeous girlfriend.

Wrapping her arms around the blonde, Lucy placed her face against hers. "Do you like that?" She knew Amy does when she saw her cheeks lifting up. Nadia had already left the living room and went back upstairs since she didn't want to see others cuddling. They had been so used to sitting in that seat, in that position, everyone in the house would automatically move to another seat when Lucy comes over. Lucy pressed her lips on the blonde's cheek. "It's not going to work, you know."

"Of course it will. Alexis loves her."

"I'm not saying that she doesn't." Lucy pressed another kiss on her cheek. "She...believes…what she's…doing…is for Nadia's…own good." Lucy said between kisses. "She's not…going to back down."

Amy was certain that her plan will work until she heard what Lucy said. Her head tilted to the side as the brunette continued kissing her neck.

"Honey, can I…stay over…tonight?" Her lips pressed on to the blonde's neck. Her eyes moved up, waiting for her blonde lover's reply.

The reply came a moment later. "Sure"

Smiling wide, Lucy got up after the blonde got off the couch. Excitedly, she followed the blonde upstairs and later realized that she misinterpreted the blonde's response when she was given a pair of pajamas and underwear.

"but…Amy…" Standing at the doorsteps, Lucy held on to the pajamas in her arms.

Amy lightly kissed the brunette on the lips before saying good night and closed the door without providing any explanation.

* * *

Another two weeks passed by. Nadia did what the blonde said and stopped binging on dessert. What she did and everyone noticed was that she worked every day in the restaurant. After yoga class, she would go home and get some rest before her shift starts. Today was supposedly her shift. Having overworked herself, she had no choice but to stay home. Her head was leaning on the arm of the couch, her body curled up, her eyes closed, Nadia lay tiredly on the couch. Amy could see that she was sick, not from having overworked, but from missing her lover.

"Nadiaaaa.." Seeing her friend like this, Amy was no longer in the mood to be cuddling into her lover's arms.

"She's breaking up with me."

"No, she's not." Bending down next to Nadia, Amy gently stroked her brown hair.

"I saw her…yesterday." Her voice sounded weak, full of sadness.

"You did?"

"She…was with her friends." Nadia swallowed once and sniffed in as if she was about to cry. "She's…happppy."

"What did she say?"

Nadia took a deep breath, trying to hold her tears in. "She…ignored me." Remembering that moment brought tears to her eyes. She was surprised to see Alexis walking with her friends on the same street. She expected Alexis to say hi to her but instead her sexy girlfriend walked passed her as if she was a stranger.

Amy gasped in loudly, covering her mouth and turned around to look at the brunette's reaction. The only reaction she saw looked like 'I told you so'.

"Let me call her."

"Don't" Nadia got up while wiping her tears away. "Don't call her ." She repeated once more and headed towards the kitchen.

"I can't believe her." Amy said in a frustrated tone while looking at the brunette.

Not getting any reaction from the brunette, Amy took out her phone and tossed it on the couch in frustration after 3 rings of no response from Alexis.

Lucy was watching tv like it was none of her business.

"Lucy!" Amy snatched the remote from her hand and shut it off. Lucy remained silent as she stared at her upset girlfriend. "We have to do something."

"I told you before…Alexis will not…"

"That's not what I want to hear right now." Feeling sorry that her plan had backfired, Amy was thinking of ways to fix the situation and was expecting her girlfriend to help. She felt for sure that it would work since it worked for her and the former criminal mastermind was much more difficult to handle.

Lucy got up, stood in front of the blonde, and held her hands. "Let them take care of it. We can't do anything."

"we have to do something."

"What? What can we do? Nadia doesn't want to call her. Alexis doesn't want to call her and she's ignoring her. To be honest, I don't know how they got together. They don't…match." Lucy saw the blonde giving her a 'look who's talking' look. She stepped closer and hugged the blonde. "What I meant was they don't have anything in common."

"…and we do?"

"right, I'm going to shut up now." Lucy hugged her even tighter.

"Lucy…help…them. I don't want to see them break up like this." Not hearing a response, Amy pulled back. "Can you talk to Alexis?" Knowing how Alexis had always loved the brunette, she felt that if anybody could convince the straightforward girl, it would be her.

"Can I stay over tonight?" She said with a smile, raising her eyebrows up and down.

Amy understood the meaning and slapped her lightly on her shoulder. "Is that all you think about?" That wasn't the first or the second time her lover asked about the raincheck.

"no…" Lucy hugged the blonde gently. "I think about…other..things too." She pressed her lips on the blonde's jaws, then another and another. "…us…you…me…our future…" She slowly pulled back, took a moment to look at the blonde's eyes and leaned in but was prevented from reaching her destination when her lover spoke.

"not now." Amy spoke in a gentle voice. She was very surprised to hear that her lover was thinking about their future. She wanted to continue the conversation but it wasn't the right time and it was definitely not the right time to be kissing and doing other things.

"then when?"

"Lucy!" Amy again slapped her on the shoulder for having impure thoughts at this moment.

Lucy took hold of her hands. "that's not what I meant…"

It took a moment for her to understand what the brunette meant. It was the way her eyes sparkled with love and sincerity. It was the way she spoke, full of seriousness. When? She had planned on graduating first but if the brunette asked her now, she would have said yes without thinking of anything else. But this isn't the right moment and she didn't ask the question.

"get them together first…"

Lucy focused on the blonde's eyes for a moment before taking out her phone and pressed a few buttons. The door bell rang at the same time she put the phone against her ear. Amy wanted to go open the door but was prevented from doing when Lucy held onto her. The door bell rang 2 times again.

"Lucy, let me open the door."

"wait…"

After 2 more rings, Nadia came out of the kitchen with a bowl. Amy couldn't tell what she was eating but knew she was back at it again. "Didn't you hear the doorbell?" Nadia said with a mouthful of food. She expected someone to open it but when nobody moved, she frowned in confusion as she walked towards the door. She almost dropped her bowl after looking through the peephole.

"Nadia, let her in." Lucy said, seeing that Nadia wasn't moving. Nadia was thinking of a lot of things. After taking in a deep breath, she slowly reached out to unlock it. Last time she saw her girlfriend was yesterday, but not up close. Alexis is as beautiful as always. _Looks like it didn't affect her at all._

"Nadia, are you sick?" Alexis asked in a concern tone and pressed her hand against Nadia's forehead.

It had been about a month since Nadia felt her girlfriend's hand. Her body shook involuntarily.

"What are you doing here?" Nadia asked in a small gentle voice as she was being led towards the couch.

After taking the bowl away and putting it on the table, Alexis wiped the pieces of cake away from Nadia's mouth.

"I miss you." Sitting down on the couch, Alexis said in an obvious tone.

"you…did?"

"Of course …" Alexis said as she held her hands.

"Then why?...yesterday…you…"

"Isn't that what you want?"

2 confused faces focused on Alexis. Amy's and Nadia's.

"you ignored her!" Amy couldn't resist.

"umm…Amy…I really think it's none of our business…and now is a good time.." Lucy pointed upstairs.

Amy rolled her eyes and stepped closer to Alexis who was sitting on the couch next to Nadia.

"How can you pretend not to know her in front of your friends?!"

"because I don't want to lie to them and say you're just a friend, when you're not." Alexis said in a calm tone towards Nadia.

Lucy cleared her throat, hoping that Amy get the point, but all she saw was Amy narrowing her eyes at her.

"is that what you want, Nadia? Do you want me to tell them that you're just a friend?"

Nadia immediately shook her head and Alexis shifted closer.

"I know you're not comfortable …and I'm sorry for pushing you."

That's what Nadia had been waiting for but felt the need to apologize for not being able to ignore the eyes of strangers. "No, I'm sorry."

"I...should have listened." Alexis couldn't resist and hugged her girlfriend in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry."

There were a lot of things on Nadia's mind but at the moment, she just wanted to hug her girlfriend for being so understanding.

"you tell me when you're ready. Okay?"

Nadia nodded vigorously on her shoulder and hugged her straightforward girlfriend tighter.

Seeing that everything was settled, Lucy felt it was time, a time for a group hug since the blonde won't follow her upstairs. "Awwww…." Lucy wrapped her arms around both of the girls and waved Amy to come over.

And there it is again. Amy found that Lucy's behavior could be extremely silly, sometimes. She then followed suit and wrapped her arms around them. It took a moment for her 'agent' sense to kick in.

"how did you know it was Alexis?"

All except Alexis turned to look at the brunette.

"mmm…sixth sense?"

Amy's eyes followed her lover's line of sight and darted at Alexis, then back at her lover and wondered if Lucy did get involved when she specifically told her not to. She was glad that her lover didn't listen to her...this time.

Alexis stayed over for the night and Amy allowed Lucy to do the same. "Thank you." Amy said, snuggling close to her lover on the king size bed in the master bedroom, hanging her arm over her abdomen.

"Alexis…she just needed someone to remind her that we're all different." Lucy said, stroking the blonde's arm, up and down. She then placed a kiss on her lover's golden head. "Can you imagine what it would be like if everyone is the same way as her?"

An image of every couple displaying their affection in public suddenly appeared in her mind and Amy couldn't resist letting out a laugh. Lucy had the same thought and laughed along with her lover. Feeling her lover's soft body close to hers, Lucy couldn't stop her mind from wanting to do something else besides sleep and it seemed her blonde lover read her thoughts when Amy stopped laughing and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, then another, and another on her cheeks and neck. Feeling a warm hand rubbing on her belly and soft kisses on her neck, Lucy groaned softly. "mm…Ammyyy" She closed her eyes to feel the warm sensation flowing through her body, but something else appeared in her mind instead; the words of her ex-lover.

xxxxxxxxxx

A year ago in Paris

_Brooke continued to talk about what she didn't like about the criminal leader when they were together._

_"Women...don't like to do it that often. I'm not saying all, cuz obviously, you're not one of us." Lucy understood the meaning behind that. She heard many times from Brooke that she wasn't able to keep her hands to herself. "If we said no, then it means no."_

_"Brooke, I wouldn't do that." Lucy might not remember, but she would never force a woman to have sex with her._

_"You didn't, but you did keep on trying after that first night..."_

_Lucy looked into her ex-lover's eyes from right to left a few times to see if she was telling the truth. When all she saw was a smile, no blinking, Lucy realized that it could be true. Brooke continued on to tell her what she did to get what she wanted._

_"a quiet romantic dinner, just you and me, soft slow music, dancing afterwards, you told me...I was beautiful, you told me you will take care of me, you told me everything a girl wants to hear..."_

_It was quite embarrassing since Lucy couldn't remember a thing. The way Brooke described that night made it look like she had only one thing in mind and that is to make love. Lucy cleared her throat in embarrassment again. When Brooke didn't continue telling her story, Lucy asked again. "Then what happened?"_

_"Then...I..gave...in..."_

_"oh..." Lucy grabbed the cushion and hugged it against her chest, realizing that they had done it more than once. Her body shifted lower down into the couch as she placed both legs on the coffee table._

_Brooke was quite surprised to see the reaction from the former criminal leader. It was something she had never seen before when she was with her. Embarrassed? _

_"So next time, when your girl says no, it means 'no'...she has her own reason...so don't try to persuade her...it's quite annoying...it seems like all you want is sex...is that what you want her to think of you?"_

_It was like getting a lecture on how to treat her girlfriends from her mother if her mother didn't die so soon. Lucy remained silent, hugging the cushion even tighter, and shrunk further down into the couch._

_Brooke internally laughed at the brunette's reaction she caused. There was a point to her story and the point was to let the brunette know that she needed to change her behavior, be more sensitive to the people around her. Girls these days wouldn't be able to stand her if she doesn't change and getting a girl to fall for her like the way she and the DEB did wouldn't be easy since she's no longer the powerful leader.  
_

_Brooke leaned down and placed a long kiss on Lucy's head before leaning on her shoulder. "That night...was incredible." She had to tell her that she did enjoy that night and she didn't do it for any other reason except wanting to be with her.  
_

* * *

Smiling, Amy continued to kiss her brunette lover's neck but then stopped what she was about to do with her hands underneath the brunette's pajamas top. "What?" Amy asked in a gentle voice in confusion.

"I can wait." Lucy repeated.

Amy didn't expect that at all from her lover who had been hinting to her about the rain check since that day she didn't have to wear her cast. "Are you feeling okay?" Amy took her hand away from the warm flesh and placed it on her forehead.

The lights were off, so they couldn't see other clearly.

"I'm just…a little tired."

"Tired to make love?" Amy said in a tone as if that was the most ridiculous thing she ever heard coming out of the brunette's mouth. Tired of working, tired of thinking, but definitely not tired for sex.

Letting out a smile, Lucy pulled the blonde's head down to lean against her shoulder.

Amy was certain that something did happen to her. "you can tell me anything, you know." Amy asked, her right arm hanging over the brunette's waist.

_Anything?_ Lucy knew better. Knowing the truth about Brooke wouldn't do Amy any good. It would just give her something to think about. Nobody likes to hear about their lover's ex. That's what Scud kept telling her. She told Scud about Brooke and realized why he never liked her. Brooke was doing her job and a fantastic job she did. Ever since they were together, Lucy spent more time with her than care about her businesses. Scud noticed and so did her loyal followers. Scud told her about a time when she was late for a negotiation with another crime boss who didn't appreciate her tardiness and decided to sell the goods to someone else instead. Scud had no idea at that time who that crime boss sold it to but realized it could have been part of Brooke's plan, to make her late.

Not being able to remember anything about Brooke, Lucy asked Scud the question that was on her mind. _What do you think I would have done if she did ask me to leave the organization?_ _You wouldn't have, Lucy_. That was Scud's response and he didn't even have to think about it. But he didn't explain why. That was just how he felt.

"I can wait…until we get married."

Amy immediately lifted her head up, unsure of what she just heard. _Did she just ask me to marry her?_ "Married?"

When Lucy again pressed her head back down on her shoulder, Amy realized that it wasn't a proposal. _She will but not now._

After that night, Amy couldn't stop thinking of when the brunette would propose. She took it as a hint that it will happen…soon. Each time they went out to eat and each time Lucy took her to a place where she has never been before, Amy expected something to happen but when it didn't, she was disappointed. They've only been dating for less than 2 years, so she realized that it wasn't going to happen that soon. Besides, she was still in school and maybe it's because she was still in school, that's why Lucy didn't propose to her. That was her thought. Each time she thought about it, she let out a big sigh.

"What's wrong?" Janet said, sitting on the couch while feeding her baby.

"nothing…" Amy said in a dull tone and let out another big sigh. Nobody could help her. She can't tell Janet what she was thinking. If she did, knowing Janet, she would tell Scud. Scud then would tell Lucy. Lucy then will propose to her and that's not what she wants. Well, it is but she didn't want it to happen like that. She didn't think she could feel more down until she heard what Nadia said.

"I'm going to ask Alexis to marry me."

"What!" came the loud reaction from Amy.

"I'm ready. I have it all planned out. I'm going to propose to her tomorrow night."

"tomorrow?" A week ago, they planned on going to a famous place where it will take 2 hours to get there. Their trip starts tomorrow.

"oh my god, Nadia…I'm so happy for you." Janet said.

"But didn't you say Alexis is still young. She might not…"

"I don't want to wait any longer. If she's not ready, then we could always get engaged first."

Amy was happy for her, but at the same time was unhappy about her current situation. She never thought Nadia, the shy one, would get married before she does. Well, in a way, she didn't. She remembered what Nadia once told her years ago. Nadia wanted to have kids just like her. If she was unable to find someone whom she could love, she would stay with the brunette in Canada as friends. Years passed by so quickly and now Nadia is getting married before she does.

"So tomorrow, I need you guys to give me some support. I reserved this restaurant …" Amy and Janet were both shocked at what Nadia was planning to do. She planned on proposing in front of strangers in the restaurant.

"Are you sure about this, Nadia?" Amy asked in a concerned tone. She couldn't picture herself doing it, so she wasn't sure if the shy girl could do it.

"You know how Alexis is. I want to show her that I'm not afraid to tell everyone that I love her. She'll be shocked."

Amy glanced at Janet and wondered if she was thinking of the same thing. _Bad idea_..._because there could be a chance that Alexis would say no_. It would take a lot of courage for anyone to do that.

"We're with you." If that's what she wants to do, all Amy could do is give her support.

It was a secret between them. No one else knows, not even the former criminal mastermind. Ashley and Michel were included in the trip to LittleHampton. Everyone except them thought it would be a weekend of relaxation and fun before summer ends. During the 2 hour ride, all Amy could think of was how brave Nadia was. She's planning to propose in front Alexis' sister and father. Alexis did change her, in a good way, just like how she was able to change the brunette.

Inside the hotel, all took a rest inside their rooms before heading out to admire the beautiful view and sandy beaches of LittleHampton, a seaside resort 51 miles south-west of London. Amy and Lucy had their own room. Nadia and Alexis had theirs. Michel and Ashley rested in another. The couple with the baby had a difficult time resting with the baby crying. During the summer, this is the place to be. Kids can go to the seaside amusements at Littlehampton's Harbour Park. There is fishing, kitesurfing, sailing and even diving from the Harbour. What made this place so famous was the sandy beaches, a perfect place for relaxing.

First stop was Harbour Park after getting something to eat. Ashley had the most fun there, riding all the rides such as the bumper cars, castle slide, the bumper boats and the crazy caterpillar roller coaster. It's nothing like Disneyland, but they all had fun.

It wasn't difficult for them to keep a secret since they were once agents. They were trained to keep secrets. Compared to the ones they had to keep, this was nothing. After a few exhausting hours, all decided to head back to the hotel to get a rest except for Lucy and Amy who decided to take a romantic walk down the sandy beach where there aren't many people around. The day was beautiful. Walking along the shore was the perfect place to be in the hot but not humid weather. With hats and sunglasses on, both wore shorts and short-sleeve shirts with bikinis underneath just in case they decided to take a swim. No words were exchanged as they took each step slowly, holding each other's hand. When both felt they had enough walking, they decided to head back to the previous spot where they had the beach towels in a quiet secluded area near the boulders and let the sun do their work on their toned bodies. Lucy could never get enough of seeing her lover's body in a bikini, especially the part where she took her shorts and top off right in front of her. Amy didn't have to ask. Lucy knew what to do and spread suntan lotion all over her lover's back and legs. Amy did the same.

"Does this feel familiar to you?" Amy asked when a sudden image appeared in front of her.

"Sure does."

"really?"

"We did this last summer." It wasn't the same beach.

"No, I mean…it's something else."

"whether I get my memory back or not, I love you and I will always be here with you." It was the perfect moment for a kiss, but since there was someone walking nearby, Lucy resisted the urge and remained still in her position, her back facing the sun."

"I know…and I love you." Leaning the side of her face on the towel, Amy kept her eyes on the brunette who had her eyes closed. "Lucy…"

"hmm…"

"I…"

Lucy opened her eyes when she noticed hesitation from the blonde.

"I remembered a lot of things."

"Oh…that's good. Kristin? or …"

"Both…" Amy quickly replied.

Lucy waited for her to continue.

"I…want to be with you."

Lucy knew that and wasn't sure why her lover said it again.

"forever…just you and me.."

"I want to be with you too…forever."

If Nadia had the courage to plan to propose in front of strangers, Amy decided that she should just say it, not propose, but give the brunette the hint that she wants to get married.

"It's okay if you don't want kids, I just want to be with you." She wanted to let the brunette know what she was willing to give up to be with her. She had dreams of having kids. To her not being able to have that is a big deal. She wants the brunette to know that she is more important.

Frowning in confusion, Lucy lifted herself up and sat on the towel.

"I don't want to have kids, but you can..if you want to…and I know you do."

Amy immediately lifted herself up and sat in front of the brunette. "Whaaatt?" Her heart began to beat faster when she realized it was a misunderstanding from the beginning.

"It hurts. Do you remember how Janet was screaming?" Lucy shivered at the thought. Amy couldn't help but smile at the way she said it, like a little kid, afraid of getting shots. The tough former criminal leader isn't so tough after all. Without even checking to see if there were others nearby, Amy wrapped her arms around the brunette and kissed her deeply. It wasn't like what Janet said, but was close to it.

"I want to have at least 2." Wrapping her arms around the brunette's neck, Amy said as if asking for approval.

"I know, you said that before and I'll be with you all the way." Lucy said, arms encircling the blonde's waist, their foreheads leaning against each others'.

It sounded like they were already married because they were talking about their future. It was better than a proposal. It was a commitment.

* * *

The time has come and all could tell that something has made the taller blonde even more happier since the last time they saw her at the Harbour Park.

"You looked extremely happy." Michel asked the former DEB as he walked behind the blonde inside the restaurant. They were all following the waitress towards their reserved round table.

Amy wanted to say 'you should be too in a moment' but resisted the urge. She was glad that she didn't say it because that moment she was waiting for, she and Janet were still waiting for it to happen after almost finished with their dinner. She thought Nadia had planned on proposing while they were eating. The family restaurant had dim lighting and a full room of about 50 people. Music was playing in the background. But there's no dance floor or a stage. She's not even sure if they could provide Nadia with a microphone.

Lucy excused herself to the bathroom. Scud also did the same. A moment later, when Alexis excused herself to the bathroom, Amy took the opportunity to sit on Lucy's seat and whispered into Nadia's ear. She had to because Michel and Ashley were still there.

"Is everything okay?" Amy asked and realized that Nadia wasn't when she placed her hand on her lap. Nadia was trembling.

"I can't do it."

Amy thought that was going to happen. You would think you could until you're actually there. That happens all the time. But she didn't think Nadia would be so scared that she would make herself sick. "I don't feel well." Nadia said, holding her stomach. Her nervousness got to her. That gnawing sensation at the stomach lining could be pretty painful. Everyone experienced that at least once in their lifetime.

"Breathe..."

Wincing in pain, Nadia needed something to take care of the stomach acid.

"Do you want to go back to the hotel?"

Nadia nodded. Disappointment on her face could be seen. After telling Michel, Amy left the restaurant with Nadia. Instead of taking the taxi back to the hotel, Nadia decided to get some tums in a shop nearby. But strange things happen. Before they even got there, her nervousness went away, her stomach pain went away as well. The restaurant was located across from the beach. Instead of going back, Nadia wanted to take a walk along the shore to think about what just happened.

"It's okay, Nadia. I wouldn't be able to do it either." It's true. As brave as she is, Amy didn't think she could propose to her lover that way.

Nadia let out a big sigh as she walked along the beach.

"You don't have to propose that way." Seeing how disappointed Nadia was with herself, Amy could only comfort her by providing her with examples of other ways of proposing.

"There's the Cupid Capsule." Amy understood when she saw Nadia narrowing her eyes at her. Cupid Capsule is where Scud proposed to Janet and Lucy proposed to her. Knowing Alexis, she probably wouldn't want that.

"You could do it at home, you can cook her a romantic dinner, roses and...no...okay..." Amy, herself, wouldn't want that either. She continued to think of ways as she walked next to the disappointed woman. It was a beautiful night, stars glistening from above, perfect for lovers walking along the shore. At this moment, she wished her lover is with her. Lucy would have ideas, but she couldn't tell the brunette because it's a secret.

"What do you think Alexis would want?" Amy asked.

"What would you want?" Nadia said as they continued walking.

"me?...mmm...well, definitely not the Cupid Capsule..." _because that's where Lucy proposed to Kristin, even though she's Kristin. _

Nadia nodded in understanding as she looked down on the sand.

Amy looked up at the night sky to think about what others had done before. "I don't want to jump out of planes...it's original but that's just crazy..." She wouldn't be surprised that her lover would want to propose that way. Couples had done it before, proposing during free fall.

"Alexis wouldn't want that. I don't think I can do that either." Nadia let out a laugh.

"What about here? Look, there's no one around. You could take her for a walk and..." She stopped her thoughts when she saw glowing neon lights placed along the sand, like a brightened walkway leading towards an area surrounded by boulders.

"C'mon...let's see what it is?" Nadia shouted and ran without the blonde.

"Wait! Nadia...Don't!" Amy didn't think it was a good idea. There was no one else around. Even though she's not an agent anymore, her 'agent' sense told her that it could be a trap of some kind. _A Trap? with neon lights? _ _Maybe not.._.. The only thing she could do was to follow her friend who didn't seem to be as disappointed as before.

When Nadia stopped at the end of the glowing light next to the humongous boulder , Amy grabbed her hand to prevent her from going into the unknown.

"Go inside."

"what?" Amy was confused. "Nadia...what are you doing?" Amy became even more confused when her friend kept pushing her into the area between the shore and the boulders. Her brows drew together for only a short second before raising it up. Her eyes opened wide and gasped loudly at the scene in front of her. She didn't turn to see if Nadia was still next to her to know that she wasn't nor was she worried that something has happened to her. A few years ago, she once heard about this. She could picture how romantic it could be but it was more beautiful than she could ever imagine.

In front of her was a big area surrounded by boulders. On the sand were a lot of sticks placed in the shape of a huge heart. They weren't just ordinary sticks. They were sparklers, emitting different colored sparks. Inside the heart also had sparklers neatly placed together to form three words. She wasn't thinking if it's legal to have fireworks at this time. She wasn't thinking if there will be fireworks lighting up the sky. What she was thinking of caused tears to run down her face. Her eyes slowly turned towards the person walking towards her. Her heart pounded out of control at the same time.

"It didn't work with candles, Amy."

Amy giggled as she wiped the tear away from her face. There wouldn't be any way to keep those small flames lit on the beach.

Lucy stepped closer and reached out to hold both of her lover's hands.

"Amy..."

"Yes"

Lucy smiled at her lover's response. She didn't think there would be another answer, but she did have a speech prepared and was surprised that her lover responded without listening to it.

"I thought about this moment for a long time."

_A long time? _ Amy wondered how long.

"I thought about flying a plane." Lucy looked up at the night sky filled with stars. She couldn't ask for a more perfect night. "But I decided not to, because I want to be here...with you." Lucy did think about proposing that way, sky writing, since she has her pilot license, but she thought it would be better to do it on the ground. Paying someone else to do it just wouldn't be the same.

Amy was glad that the brunette didn't because she wanted her to be here as well.

"You've been there all along and I failed to see what was right in front of me."

Tears of joy continued to fill her eyes. What Amy wanted to do was hold her lover in a tight embrace but controlled herself and let her lover continue.

"I should have done this many, many years ago...I don't want to wait anymore."

It was too much. Amy pulled her hand away from the brunette to wipe the tears blurring her eyes and nodded vigorously in agreement, letting her lover know that she also felt the same way. A short giggle involuntarily came out as she kept her eyes glued on her lover who slowly lowered herself down, kneeling on one knee, holding a red rose in one hand and her hand in the other. The words she longed to hear sounded exactly like how she imagined it.

"Amy Bradshaw, will you marry me?"

**A/N: End of Missing You.  
**

**Go to next chapter for Part 2.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own DEBS or any of the characters used from the movie. They belong to Angela Robinson. This disclaimer applies to all chapters in this story.**

**Missing You II **

**Chapter 51**

The proposal was better than everything she thought it would be. Amy managed to control herself and didn't tell anyone until a day later, back in their duplex. The moment was too beautiful not to have it captured on her cell phone. Even though she heard it before, it came out differently the way she had imagined it. Sparklers instead of candles made it even more beautiful. It surprised her that the words inside the heart wasn't what she thought when she heard the story. It wasn't 'I love you.' It was 'Amy be mine'.

"I can't believe you lie to me. You can trust me. I wouldn't have told her." Holding her baby in one arm and holding a bottle with the other hand, Janet sat on the end of the couch. Sitting next to her was a very happy Amy. Alexis and Nadia sat on another. Janet was a little upset for being left out of the loop.

"Lucy didn't need your help." Nadia wasn't aware of the proposal until the day before the trip. It was Lucy's plan and she needed her help as well as Scud's who helped set up the numerous sparklers in the sand. The idea of proposing to Alexis was hers, not Lucy's. All Lucy wanted her to do was somehow get the blonde to go to that area on the beach. The thought of proposing to Alexis that way did in fact crossed her mind, though, but decided that it should be a special moment between just the two of them, not in front of strangers. She didn't see how the brunette proposed but could imagine how special it must have been. "Besides, the less people know about it, the better. She said."

All turned to the one who had been very quiet from the moment Amy told them about the proposal. Alexis walked towards the taller blonde and took a seat next to her to take a look at her diamond ring. ""Congratulations, Kristin. It's beautiful." To this day, she still had not gotten used to calling her by her real name. She took a quick glance at her lover who was looking at her.

Nadia noticed her girlfriend's odd behavior. She expected Alexis to have a lot to say because that's how she is. She is one of those people who could turn a boring conversation to life or give excitement to a boring party or event.

"It's getting late, I have to go."

_Yup, there is definitely something wrong._ Nadia quickly followed the brunette outside to her car.

Meanwhile, Janet wanted to know if Amy wanted a wedding because Kristin didn't.

"Definitely, but a very very small one." What she was planning on was to invite Kat, Max, Mr. P and her superior. "Lucy is going to invite a few of her friends." Since she'll be in school, she planned on letting the brunette do everything. All she had to do was agree with the arrangements and show up.

"Is everything okay, Nadia?" Amy saw the disappointment on Nadia's face when she came in.

"mhm…" Her response was barely audible.

"What happened?" Amy said in a concerned tone.

"nothing…"

"Nadia, come here…" Amy patted on the seat next to her and waited for her to come over. She had seen that expression before and knew enough to know that something is bothering the innocent looking chef. "Even if we can't help you, sometimes it helps, just to talk about it." Those were the same words Nadia and Janet once said to her.

Letting out a big sigh, Nadia then let out a small smile towards her friends. But that smile quickly faded. "I asked…Alexis if I did propose to her that way, what would she have said?"

Loud gasps came from the listeners. They were quite shocked that Nadia was actually thinking about proposing in front of a group of strangers.

"What did she say?" Janet asked anxiously.

"She said she would be shocked."

"I would be too." Amy said and Janet agreed.

"…and she said she was glad that I didn't because she would have said no."

"ohhhh…" That's what Amy said to her that day when she found out what Nadia was planning to do; there is a possibility that Alexis would say no. She could imagine how embarrassing it would be being rejected in front of her friends and strangers. "Did she say why?"

"She said she's not ready and we're still young."

Amy nodded in understanding and quickly comforted her. "She's right, Nadia. You girls are still young."

"But I want to marry her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her….but I…" She paused and looked at both, wondering if she should say what was in her mind. "Please don't tell her."

Amy glanced at Janet and both nodded in agreement.

"I…don't…think she feels the same way."

Amy was surprised to hear that. She had thought the incident that happened a few months ago brought them closer together. Amy shifted closer and hugged the young mature woman. The only way to comfort her was to remind Nadia of her relationship with the brunette, the numerous obstacles they went thru to get to this point.

* * *

2 weeks later, 3 months before the wedding

Nadia had to work late, so Amy planned a romantic dinner for two at home. After dinner, she and the brunette danced for a long moment in the living room before settling down on the couch to watch a romantic movie. It would be better than going out to a fancy restaurant since she still feels uncomfortable dancing with a woman in front of strangers.

Lucy thought it would be one of those nights where she was allowed to sleep over but only by herself but she was wrong because after taking a shower and opening the bathroom door, what she saw surprised her. She thought she had to wait until marriage. Inside the bedroom, curtains were closed, ceiling light was turned off, and only one lamp was turned on. Who was sitting on one side of the bed was her sexy soon to be wife dressed in gold satin lingerie.

Lucy quickly slipped into bed and kissed the blonde good night. She wasn't sure what her lover was thinking of until she placed her head down against the pillow and made herself comfortable on her side of the bed. "oh"

No words need to be said at this point. There was no need to rush. Lucy had no intention of stopping her this time. The blonde is still not comforting with the lights on, but Lucy didn't mind. She may be not be able to see but she could feel. Holding onto the blonde's hips, she moaned in ecstasy as her lover rocked against her core. Her right hand glided up along the curves of her lover's perfect body before gently caressing her lover's breast. Her left hand then did the same. This time was hotter than the last time and definitely more comfortable in her own bed.

Lying side by side, both were letting their bodies relax after a long moment of passionate lovemaking.

"Happy Birthday" Amy couldn't think of anything to get her. So she asked herself what would Lucy want for her birthday? It was quite difficult because the brunette could have anything she wanted with the money she has. After saying it out loud to herself, it was quite obvious what the brunette would want on her birthday.

"Thank you…." This time was different from the last time. Lucy had no doubt the blonde would be more comfortable each time they do it. Showering together would be a possibility. A sense of déjà vu washed over her just thinking about it. Doing it on her birthday and showering together. She wondered if she had done this before with Kristin. "We should do this more often."

Amy heard and chuckled. She wasn't surprised that her lover would say that. She shifted over and rolled on top of her lover's naked body, resting her head on her shoulder. A year ago, she didn't think she could do what she just did. Time has changed everything. Events that happened changed everything. "Lucy…"

"hmm…"

"Not as often as you would like to, okay?" Amy wanted to let her know that as much as she enjoyed it, it's not going to happen whenever the brunette wants it.

Lucy knew that. "whenever you want…..Just not once a year, okay?"

Amy couldn't resist letting out another laugh into the crook of her neck. They're not married yet, but it made her wonder if this is what married couples talk about after making love; they could talk to each other about anything.

"And not in public."

"huh?" Lucy wasn't sure what she was referring to until she felt the blonde's hand on her hand that had been gently kneading her lover's firm buttocks. "okay." At the same time, both laughed uncontrollably. What they were laughing at was what they witnessed when they went food shopping that day. They saw a couple walking from the parking lot to the market. What the man did caused both of them to stare at them. Other people also noticed. The man was grabbing his girlfriend's breast playfully while they were walking and the girlfriend pushed him away. They were just having some fun of course….in public. Lucy couldn't help but wonder what Brooke said about her when they were together. Brooke said she couldn't keep her hands to herself. Was that how she used to be? Naa….that's what a pervert would do…she would never do that, she can control herself. Kissing the blonde in public was still off limits and Lucy was fine with that. Her hands gently swiped on her lover's back from the shoulder to her buttocks, up and down, repeatedly. The silly conversation made them both giggle at the same time. Lucy let out a sigh of happiness, a feeling of completeness with no worries, at least not at this moment. She anticipated a lot of problems coming her way since her fiancée wanted a family with kids. Lucy tried not to think about that right now and relished the moment.

Amy knew it wasn't the right time or the right moment. But she couldn't help it because she was worried about her friends. "Have you seen Alexis lately?" It's been a while since she talked to or seen Alexis. Alexis didn't show up at the YMCA or the self-defense class since that night Lucy proposed to her.

"Yes" Lucy had been occupied with wedding arrangements and most important of all her outfit. She gave Alexis that job. Since she didn't want to wear a white gown and couldn't find anything on the internet that she liked, she called Alexis to design it for her, something that looked feminine, not a suit, something that wouldn't steal the spotlight of her bride, and most important of all, something that feels comfortable.

Amy told her about Nadia's situation.

"They're still young."

"That's what I told her."

"Do you want me to talk to her?"

"Can you?" Amy lifted her head and hovered over the brunette's face. "But don't let her know I said anything. Just say you noticed."

"Are you asking me to lie? Mrs. Reynolds"

"I'm asking you not to say what's unimportant, Mrs. Bradshaw."

"Mrs. Bradshaw?...hmm…sorry, I can't, I don't like the sound of that."

"Then how about Mrs. Smith?"

"mm…no…that just sounds so boring.."

"Well, I don't like Walker-Smith, that's too long…Walker-Smith…how did you even come up with that? It sounds so…weird. Skye Walker-Smith?" Amy contorted in confusion and saw that the brunette was too.

"I have no idea either." Both chuckled at the silliness of their conversation because both knew that they couldn't use their original last name.

"Thank you, Mrs. Walker-Smith." Amy leaned down to kiss the brunette.

"you're welcome, Mrs. Walker-Smith." There was no doubt in Lucy's mind that the blonde would take the new name, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. Lucy rolled on top of her lover and continued where they left off.

* * *

The next morning while eating breakfast in the dining room, Amy came to realize that her lover had totally misunderstood what they talked about last night because Lucy was talking to Nadia not Alexis.

"When I was younger, I had plenty of girls who were interested in me and I went out with a few of them."

Amy came in a moment ago and had no idea why her lover was talking about her past. She didn't like what she heard because Lucy sounded arrogant, like the 18 year old. That's what her ex Bobby would say.

Lucy looked at the blonde who was standing at the counter and waiting for the coffee maker to fill her cup. She hoped her lover doesn't interrupt her at this moment because she had a point to make. "How many girls have you dated?"

"Just…Alexis…" Nadia said in embarrassment and took a bite of scrambled eggs.

"mhm…" Lucy took a sip of her coffee and noticed that Nadia was uncomfortable with the conversation. "A lot of people think that I'm a slut…" That got Nadia's attention. "I know that's what they say behind my back, because I dated so many women in my younger days…" She didn't have to explain to the blonde that she didn't do anything with them because the blonde knows that her first time was with her…that's what she thought until she met her ex. "It's because I dated so many of them, I realized what I want and what I don't want." She glanced at the blonde who took a seat next to her. "I guess what I'm trying to say is…"

"I know what you're trying to say, but I know Alexis is for me."

Lucy knew it wouldn't be that easy. Nadia was madly in love. She can't blame her. Alexis is hot.

"Amy, how many guys have you dated?"

Amy tried to think back and counted with her fingers. "mmm…"

"Really…Amy…that many?" She thought it was just 2, Bobby and Ethan. The right side of her lips lifted up and all could tell that Lucy was disgusted. She wouldn't be if they were females.

Amy lightly tapped two times on her lover's cheeks. "Most of them are just one date, nothing happened."

"So you see….if Amy had never dated those jerks, she wouldn't have known that they're not what she was looking for."

"umm…Lucy…Ethan…is not a jerk."

"Right, sorry…but you know what I mean, Nadia." She realized that Nadia misinterpreted her intention after hearing her sudden reaction.

"Is she breaking up with me? Did she tell you that she wanted to break up with me? Is that why you're saying all these things?" Nadia stood up with a look of worry.

Amy was about to say something but stopped herself when the brunette spoke.

"Nadia, tell me what you love about Alexis." Lucy said calmly and motioned her to sit down.

"I love her because…she's not afraid of anything, she's strong, she's kind, she's sociable and she's…hot.." Nadia cleared her throat in embarrassment. She knows that the inside of a person matters more than the physical appearance. But she can't deny that the beauty of her girlfriend is one of the things that attracted her.

"…and why do you think Alexis loves you?"

Nadia's brows knitted together so deeply, one could see a straight line from one end to the other. "I…I…I…"

"Ohh…Nadiaaaa…." Amy couldn't help feeling sorry for her friend. "You're kind, you're considerate, you're friendly, you're beautiful, and you have the heart of an angel, anyone who knows you would fall in love with you."

Lucy cleared her throat, feeling as though her point just got flushed down the drain by her lover. She decided to say it straight out. "You and Alexis have different personalities. She's very straightforward, more than any one of us, you're not. She's not afraid being the center of attention, in fact, sometimes I feel she wanted to attract attention, you're not like that. She does things that a normal person wouldn't do. You two are completely different. I don't know how you two ever got together."

"Lucy!" That wasn't what Amy wanted her to say. It sounded like her lover wanted to convince Nadia to break up with Alexis.

"I think…it's for the best that they…." Lucy stopped when she was interrupted by the young woman who was madly in love with Alexis.

"you, you wanted me to get to know her. You said, we would be good for each other. I didn't believe how I could ever love someone who is so different from me…but I did and I fell in love with her." Nadia explained in her gentle voice.

_What was I thinking before?_ Lucy glanced at the blonde whom she could tell was upset with her. _I am definitely not getting any tonight or ever, until the wedding night. _"Amy, can I talk to Nadia alone, please?" She expected her lover to give them a moment but nope. Lucy let out a big sigh, seeing how her plan isn't working well.

"Nadia, you are a beautiful, caring and a loving person. Don't ever forget that." Lucy paused for a short moment and when Nadia nodded, Lucy continued. "Sometimes, you can see things more clearly if you let her go." Lucy took a glance at Amy and at Nadia who were both focusing on her. She thought that they would understand but nope.

"but I don't want to break up with her….Did she tell you she wanted to break up with me?"

"No." Lucy had no idea what was going on with their relationship until Amy told her to talk to her. But the more they talked, the more certain her thinking was right. Their relationship won't last. It would be better to break it off, the sooner the better.

"Then why are you telling me to break up with her?" Nadia was confused at how this conversation even began. She and Alexis hadn't been the same as what they used to be, but she didn't feel that they're at the 'breakup' point.

"how is your relationship with Alexis? I mean, do you think that your relationship is so strong, that nothing can break you girls apart?"

Nadia thought so the first 2 years they dated, but not anymore. Just recently, she felt that they became even more distant. They didn't have that much to talk about. She thought that was normal in a relationship. She thought that they have passed that stage where silence is no longer an awkward situation. But in that moment where Alexis said she wasn't ready for marriage, she sensed that it could be something else, not just because of their age, but because Alexis didn't feel the same way about her.

Lucy nodded in understanding when she didn't get a response. "Have a talk with her. Ask her what's going on….and when she hesitates, then just tell her how you feel, tell her what you want."

"when she hesitates?" It sounded like the brunette already knows what her girlfriend was thinking of.

"I mean if she hesitates." Lucy corrected herself.

"Maybe I should act like nothing's wrong."

"ohhh….Nadiaaa…" Amy couldn't stand it anymore and hugged the fitness instructor firmly. This is exactly why she asked the brunette to talk to Alexis to see what was going on first. "Okay, act like nothing's wrong. And if you want, Lucy can talk to Alexis…"

"No, don't. I'll…talk to her."

* * *

2 weeks later

Lucy was right. Amy was upset with her and didn't let her sleep over after that day.

"Amy, please let me in." Lucy said from outside of the door.

Amy swung the door open. "I'm still upset with you." During these 2 weeks, she didn't even pick up the brunette's call. But she knew she had to sooner or later since the wedding is two months away and they haven't taken wedding photos yet.

Seeing the opportunity, Lucy quickly led herself in and closed the door.

"Don't you see what I was trying to do?" Lucy tried explaining on the phone but Amy hung up on her. She tried texting too but that didn't work either.

"What I want was for you to talk to Alexis, find out what's going on, not talk to Nadia. Now she hasn't been the same since that day because she thinks Alexis is going to break up with her."

"Did she talk to her?"

"What do you think?" Amy glared at her lover.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. Since she wasn't allowed in the house and she hasn't seen Nadia for 2 weeks or talk to Alexis about her relationship, she had no idea.

"She would have told me if she did." Amy crossed her arms and flopped down on the couch.

Seeing how angry her fiancée is, Lucy remained silent.

Amy let out a deep breath. Her anger slowly subsided. Lucy sat on another couch and waited for the blonde to speak or rather waiting for permission to speak.

"we have to help them. I don't want to see them break up."

Lucy took a seat next to her lover.

"if they were meant to be together, they will end up together." Lucy said calmly as she held her lover's hand. "…just like us…" She paused to let her words sink in. "I don't know what's going on with their relationship, but from what I can see, their relationship won't last…"

"Lucy!"

"hear me out." Lucy extended her hand. "You and I know that Nadia is madly in love with Alexis. But Alexis, I don't see that in her. I actually feel sorry for Nadia to be in that type of relationship. It must be difficult for her and I don't want to see her struggling to keep that relationship together. They're very different from each other."

"Lucy!"

"I know. I know. We're very different too. But our personalities have a lot in common. We both have very strong personalities. But Nadia, she's that type who will go out of her way to try to please Alexis….That's exhausting…don't you think?"

Amy was speechless because what the brunette said was exactly how she felt when the brunette didn't want to stay with her. It was very exhausting and frustrating.

"Nadia deserves someone better, someone who loves her for who she is. Nadia has weaknesses and so do all of us." Lucy could tell Amy was paying full attention to her by the way she was looking at her, unmoved. "You…didn't want to tell your friends about me and I didn't like that. No matter what I do, I can't change your mind." She reminded her about the time when she went to pick up the blonde from school. One of her classmates who is a guy asked if he could get a ride to the market nearby. Once inside the car, both knew it was only an excuse because her classmate asked Lucy a lot of questions. Knowing how the blonde felt, Lucy didn't say anything about their relationship. At the end of the ride, Lucy did say she was unavailable but the guy gave her his number anyway.

"And that's what I love about you…because you're strong, you know what you want and you stick to it. But Nadia, she's not like us."

Lucy thought she didn't understand because it took a long moment for her to respond.

Amy softly caressed the brunette's cheeks. At this moment, she felt as though the Keira she used to know has fully come back to her.

"She deserves someone to love her for who she is."

Lucy reached up to hold her lover's hand against her face. "I think…they should give each other some space. It'll be good for her." Lucy smiled after finally getting her lover to agree with her.

"But how do we convince Nadia…." Amy stopped and snapped her head towards the direction of the door. Their hearts instantly jumped by the loud sound of the door slammed shut. "Nadia, is everything okay?"

It was a rhetorical question. It wasn't just her behavior, it was her eyes. Amy quickly approached and held the young woman with the medium straight soft brownish hair in a tight embrace. "Sshhh…shh.." Stroking her back, Amy tried to calm the young woman who began sobbing quietly on her shoulder.

Tonight, Nadia was supposed to be at work. But Nadia switched it with another chef when she got a call from Michel who invited her to have dinner with them. It was his birthday and she had no idea until she got there. There wasn't anything to be suspicious about since she had dinner with Alexis' family many times. She even went to their house uninvited sometimes to visit Ashley even when Alexis wasn't around. She came to love Ashley as her own little sister and respected Michel as her own father. When dinner was about to start, she found it strange that Alexis had yet to come home. As she was about to take a seat, she saw Alexis entering the dining area with another young woman. From the look on Alexis' face, Nadia could tell that Alexis wasn't expecting her to be there.

"Who is she?" Amy asked, sitting next to Nadia.

"She said she's her friend."

"coworker?"

Nadia shook her head. "a friend from college"

"Did she introduce you as her girlfriend?" Lucy asked.

"No…" The moment they heard, Lucy and Amy knew the possibility of Alexis cheating on her would be possible. But that thought quickly went away after hearing Nadia's next comment. "I…I…don't remember." The moment Alexis came in with that woman, all Nadia could think of was that Alexis was seeing someone else. She couldn't hear a word that Alexis said. She didn't even catch that woman's name.

"Then what happened?" Amy said, holding Nadia's hand to comfort her.

"I…didn't feel well, so I left." It was true. She wasn't faking it. Her stomach was tied in knots seeing her lover with another woman. She excused herself even before the dinner started.

It didn't surprise Lucy. If she was Amy, Amy wouldn't just leave. She would get to the bottom of it and so would she.

"maybe she's just a friend."

"No…I can tell, by the way she looks at her, she's not just a friend."

"What did Alexis do? Did she run after you? Did she stop you from leaving?"

When they saw tears again running down her face, they knew the answer.

"I can't believe her!" Alexis and Nadia are both her friends. But Amy felt closer to Nadia, probably because they lived together and she liked Nadia's personality more.

"There has to be an explanation." Lucy said calmly.

And there it is, Amy found that her lover and Alexis have some sort of connection. If Alexis did something wrong, Lucy would be the first one to defend her and vice versa. Amy knows that they don't have 'that' type of relationship, but she couldn't help but wonder if her lover will still be on Alexis' side if Alexis did in fact cheat on Nadia.

"I'll talk to her" Lucy said in a gentle voice. "But Nadia, whether she is seeing someone else or not, I still think it's good for you to see what other opportunities are out there, you know…give each other some space…and some time…"

"whaatt?" Nadia heard but didn't like the sound of it. Giving each other space would be like 'breaking up'. During the last 2 weeks, she had not seen or talk to Alexis. She didn't have the courage to ask Alexis because she was afraid that Alexis would tell her what she didn't want to hear. She was hoping that by not asking, the 'phase' that Alexis was going thru would end and Alexis would call her when she's ready. But each time the phone rings, her body would jump, her heart would skip a beat, she didn't want to pick it up because picking it up could mean their relationship is over.

All could tell that Nadia didn't want to by the way she said it. Lucy bent down in front of her. Holding her hand firmly with both hands, she looked into the innocent woman's eyes. "It hurts, Nadia. I know. I went to Reykjavik alone for 2 years after my ex broke up with me."

Amy wanted to say something but didn't interrupt.

Lucy reached out with her right hand and held on to her lover's hand firmly. "But look where I am now. It's going to take time and when that time comes, you'll look back and realize how foolish you were. But it's good that it happened, otherwise I wouldn't be able to feel what I'm feeling right now." She turned her eyes towards her lover while squeezing her hand. "…I am happier than I have ever been." She returned her eyes to Nadia. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Sniffing in loudly, Nadia reached up to wipe her tears. "I..should.." She sniffed in loudly again, having trouble getting her words out. "let her…go…" Nadia said in a low tremble voice. Just saying it broke her heart. She took in a deep breath and blew it out loudly to soothe her aching heart but it didn't help. Her head slowly turned to face Amy. At that instant, she realized what Amy was feeling the time she had to let the brunette go.

"It's going to get better, I promise." Lucy said with confidence. When she saw Nadia nodding slightly, Lucy leaned forward to hug her and her lover, placing her head between them, one arm around Nadia, the other around Amy. "It's going to be okay." She turned her head slightly when she felt a soft silent kiss on her right cheek. Smiling at her lover, she understood what that was for. "Just don't go to Reykjavik, okay?" What she said caused both women to let out a small laugh, especially Amy who came to realize that it was the brunette's charm, her thoughtfulness, and her ability to induce laughter even at situations like this into anyone who was listening that had captured her heart when she was still a DEB.

"I don't even know where that is."

The unexpected response coming from the girl who stopped crying caused all to chuckle and hold each other tighter.

* * *

Lucy didn't think she would be getting another surprise so soon. Not only did she get to sleep over, she got to do more than that.

"Ohh…Ammyyy…" With arms wrapped around her naked lover on her lap, Lucy placed a trail of wet kisses on her neck before capturing her mouth in another open mouth kiss. Their bodies moved against each other in synchronization. They had never done this before and she wasn't sure if she did it with Brooke. But her ex isn't on her mind right now, what's in her mind is feeling her lover's breasts against hers, her lover's hot throbbing wet area pressing against the lower part of her belly again and again and again.

Breathing heavily, Amy stopped her movement, lowering herself to sit on her lover's lap, with long legs spread apart on both sides. Leaning their foreheads against each other, both tried to catch their breaths. "Are you going to talk to Alexis tomorrow?" Amy said, her private throbbing in rhythm with her heart.

"Yes, I have to see her tomorrow anyways." Lucy placed a short kiss on her lips. "Don't worry, Nadia is going to be fine…and if she wants to get away for a while, I'll go with her."

And there it is again, this is what made her love the brunette more and more. Amy didn't think of that. It would be difficult for Nadia to have to see Alexis again. She could just imagine how awkward it would be for both of them, more so for Nadia.

"We'll take the Eurail and we could do what we did before, she'll like that." Lucy continued to kiss her collarbone from one side to the other.

"That's a good idea, it'll take her mind off Alexis."

"mhmm" What Lucy wanted to do right now is not talk about Nadia or Alexis. With their bodies so close together, she wanted to do something else.

"do you remember your ex?"

"No" She said between kisses.

"oh…" Amy realized she just said that to convince Nadia.

Lucy stopped kissing her lover. "I'll take her to gay bars, so she could meet other people okay? Can we not talk about this now?" She devoured her lover's mouth and hoped Amy would stop talking and get back to making love.

"mmm…mmm…." When Amy pulled away from the kiss, Lucy was a little disappointed, knowing that she had something else to say. "this…" Amy swallowed to catch her breath. "…this…isn't working for me…"

Lucy jerked back, her entire body stopped. A thought then crossed her mind, the scariest thought. She had never thought of it until now, at this moment. She had kissed other women before. She had made out with other women before, she had touched other women before and she knows that she was always been able to turn them on. So she knows the problem isn't her. It's her lover. Amy is not gay, she knew that. It sounded like her lover was turned on, hearing her quick breathing and moaning. Was she faking it the whole time? That thought quickly disappeared after Amy pushed her down and adjusted her position.

"Ohhh…Ammyyy.." Lucy closed her eyes, thrusting her head back against the pillow, feeling the intense sensation as the blonde glided up and down against her private. She didn't have to ask if this position was working. What they were doing before wasn't working for her either, but it made her heart pumping like crazy. Then all of a sudden, her mind felt numb, clear of everything except for one thing after hearing 3 words from her lover. It was completely dark as if her mind was pulled into a deep black hole. All she heard was a voice, the same words spoken by her lover, but the sound of this voice was unfamiliar. Her eyes then opened when she felt a kiss on her lips.

Amy captured her lover's mouth in a deep hot kiss as she continued to move her hips slowly, soft and hard. An involuntary moan followed by quick breathing escaped her mouth…again and again. Her heart instantly beat faster as if heat just shot up from her private thru the veins to her main organ of life.

Lucy knew what that was, what she just experienced. What she wasn't sure of was who it was she was doing it with, the same thing she's doing now with her soon-to-be wife. She wasn't sure if it was her ex, if it was, then that wouldn't matter. If it wasn't, who else could she have been with? Her heart pounded even faster than before. Not knowing the unknown would do that. Does it really matter at this point? She liked to believe that it doesn't but she couldn't deny the small sense of fear instilled into her, just like the moment when she thought that Brooke left Anthony because of her, a feeling of betrayal.

Betrayal. It happens to all of us at one point in our lives. Most of the time was unintentional. Lucy could still remember those words from the one she respected, her father's loyal subordinate. Uncle Joe, that's what she called him. He had no choice. That's what he said to her after she killed Schaeffer. Schaeffer was threatening him, using his family to force him to give away her location. But luckily, she was able to escape by jumping from one rooftop to the next, injuring herself in the process, giving her a scar in her leg. A few of her followers were not so lucky. After that escape, it made her think twice about the people who were his father's followers, even Uncle Nick. But Scud was able to convince her that Uncle Nick could be trusted. Without Uncle Nick, she would never have been able to use Uncle Joe to capture the one who killed her father. If Schaeffer could do it, so could he. Uncle Nick suggested to use the same method on Schaeffer's men, the ones who worked for him for the sake of money not loyalty and there were many of them. All he needed Uncle Joe to do was what he was forced to do, to tell Schaeffer that Lucy Reynolds had been captured. What Schaeffer was expecting that night in the wooded area was taking care of the last family member of the Reynolds who could potentially pose a threat to him. He wasn't the only who was surprised. Uncle Joe had no idea until that night that it was a setup. Schaeffer died knowing that his plan had backfired and knowing that his men had betrayed him. After Lucy killed Schaeffer, she understood Uncle Joe's hardship and forgave him.

* * *

Next day

Lucy went to see Alexis in her office building to look at the designs of her wedding outfit. It wasn't what she expected. She expected Alexis to be done by now or, at least, have a good design. Knowing how Alexis is, she wasn't afraid to let her know that she was disappointed. Sitting in the bar area of a restaurant, Alexis took a gulp of Raspberry Amaretto Sour. Lucy got herself a drink with a little alcohol and waited for her friend to open up to her. This is one side of the hot young woman she had never seen before, as far as she can remember. Alexis looked unhappy, worried, and occupied with a lot of problems.

"Did she tell you?" Looking down on the table, Alexis spoke in a sad tone as her fingers unknowingly kept turning her glass.

"What?" Lucy knows who, just not what.

"she broke up with me."

"Whaaaaatttt?" Lucy was totally confused. Her job was to find out what's up with Alexis. She didn't think Nadia would actually do what she told her yesterday without finding the truth first. "Why?" If Alexis didn't do anything wrong, Nadia wouldn't have broken up with her. Now she's very curious to know if Nadia was right…_Alexis is cheating on her_. "Please don't tell me you cheated on Nadia."

"What! No!"

"Oh…Thank goodness" If she did, Lucy wasn't sure if she could continue being friends with her.

Alexis blew out another big sigh and rubbed her tired eyes, frustration shown on her face. She had not been able to get a good night sleep for days. Her mind wasn't clear. It was nobody else's fault but hers and she hated herself for it.

Lucy was very anxious to know but kept her cool and patience.

"Do you remember the first day we met?"

Lucy frowned in confusion. "No"

Alexis was hoping she would so she didn't have to tell her the story again. After taking another big gulp, she retold the story of her best friend and her brother who asked her out and who didn't believe she was gay. She had to prove it by kissing her sister whom she had a crush on. It was that night when Lucy proposed, she ran into her friend in the same restaurant.

"I haven't seen her for years….She still looks good." Alexis said in a dull tone and returned her eyes on the table, doing the same thing with her fingers, turning the glass around and around.

If someone ran into an old friend, they should be excited. Hearing her sad tone, Lucy felt something was wrong.

"She's my…first…" Looking sadly, Alexis downed another big gulp. It was something that she never told anyone about, not even Nadia or her grandmother or her mother.

"Your first? But you said she's straight."

"We…got a little drunk…" Alexis downed the last drop and asked the bartender for another. Feeling a little dizzy, she propped her elbow on the table and placed her forehead into the palm of her hand.

Lucy understood. When she was at Yale, she got drunk a few times but not to the point where she couldn't make it back home. If she did get into trouble, she had bodyguards to protect her. She once read an article in a magazine that a lot of girls got sexually assaulted after getting drunk in parties especially members of sororities who were pushed by peer pressure to attend those types of parties. She was very surprised that it was happening even in college. So she knew what to expect even before entering the university.

"Is that why you didn't keep in touch?" If they did keep in touch, Alexis would have known her best friend was in London. She could just imagine how awkward it would be at that moment when they woke up.

It sounded like the brunette was accusing her of taking advantage of her best friend when she was drunk. "No! She let me. She knew what she was doing." Alexis realized she had overreacted when the bartender hesitated on giving her the drink since she was being so loud.

"She's fine." Lucy assured the bartender.

Alexis wanted to make sure that the brunette understood that it was consensual sex despite the fact that they were a little drunk. "You know how it is…in college…girls experiment with that sort of thing." She said in the same dull tone. It wasn't an experiment for her. She knew exactly what she wanted. "She said…pretend it didn't happen…so I did….and…..it hurts…here…" Alexis stared at the brunette while patting twice on her own heart.

The frequency of their emails slowly decreased as time passes by. She had her own life and her friend had hers. She knew where her friend lived. If for any reason, they needed to talk to each other, they could via email. When the investment scam was broadcasted all over the world, she was glad she didn't keep close contact with her friend. Alexis even closed her email account and got a new phone number just to make sure nobody especially paparazzis could hack into her account to find out who her friends are. The last thing she wanted was some stranger trying to get some information about her family from her friend.

"But at least you got a chance to be with her." Lucy let out a small smile.

Alexis smirked at the brunette who seemed to understand her more than anyone. "That's what I said to myself…back then…" Alexis shook her head to try to get rid of the light dizziness. "At least…we can still be friends." She said as she placed her hand on the brunette's shoulder. "Seeing her with someone else is better than not seeing her at all…right?"

With brows raised, Lucy had to disagree with the woman who's a little drunk. She noticed how much Alexis is like her father. "I can't. It hurts too much." Lucy took a gulp of her drink. She turned to the woman who still had her hand on her shoulder. "So what happened?"

More people were coming in. Noises were getting louder. As Alexis was about to speak, a man interrupted them.

_Not now. _Lucy was anxious to know. Both realized that it wasn't the right time or the right place to talk when the man introduced himself. Lucy wasn't sure if he was interested in her or Alexis. It didn't matter, Lucy gave the man an excuse and both left the restaurant. Talking and walking were definitely not a good idea since it was cold out and Alexis was a little drunk.

Sitting in Lucy's BMW on the passenger side, Alexis reclined the seat back to make herself more comfortable, leaning her tired body against the black leather seat. It was not completely dark. The lights were off inside the car. Lucy could still see the guilty expression on her face from the lights shining through the window from the street light posts. _If she didn't cheat on Nadia, then why? _"What does she want?"

"This has nothing to do with her." Alexis responded so quickly, it sounded like she was defending her first love and Lucy noticed.

"It doesn't?" It didn't make sense to Lucy because she thought this situation began when the woman showed up.

There was a moment of silence as they both stared at each other.

One drop, then another, unable to hold in her tears, Alexis covered her face. "Damn it!...It's me…it's what I want." She sniffed in loudly into her palms. After a short moment, she let her hands down, letting the brunette see her face full of tears. "That feeling…all came rushing back…the moment I saw her." She paused to see if the brunette understood what she was talking about. But she couldn't tell. "We talked, we laughed…just like we used to before…and…and…" Alexis swallowed and sniffed in her tears. "I…thought…I could…" Leaning against the seat, Alexis looked up, inhaled and exhaled loudly a couple of times. "She talked about that night. She said…she said…"

The pace that Alexis was talking was driving Lucy crazy. The incomplete sentences confused her.

"She said…she wondered what would have happened if…she gave us a chance." Alexis slowly turned to see the brunette's reaction and what she saw was brows knitted together. "She…kissed me…" She expected anyone who heard her story would be shocked and that's what she saw in the brunette. "…and I let her…"

The tone of her voice didn't go by unnoticed. It sounded guilty. Even though that's all they did and she didn't initiate it, that would be considered…cheating…in a way, but it's forgivable. That's what Lucy was thinking of. "Why?"

"Why?" Alexis was confused. She expected the brunette to understand because she did that once to her. At that moment, she had forgotten that the brunette in front of her was not the Keira she used to know.

"Why did she kiss you? Why does she want to be with you now after so many years? What's her story? And what happened after you let her?" It sounded very confusing to Lucy since Alexis didn't say when the events took place. She would think that her best friend would have known about Nadia being her girlfriend. That should be one of the first questions to ask when they met. If Alexis didn't tell her friend, then Alexis was definitely trying to hide it from her first love. If she did, then her friend was definitely trying to break them up.

It then all made sense when Alexis told her that it happened inside the car at the airport, their last moment together. That was the morning after that night Nadia went to her house for dinner.

"I don't know why she kissed me. I don't know if she wants to be with me. She left after she did that. I want to know why." She said in one breath. Tears streamed down her face. "I want to know her story. I want to know if she wants to be with me."

Lucy didn't expect that to be her response because if Alexis wanted to know something, she would have found out. Besides they were at an airport, she could have ran after her best friend if she wanted to unless her friend won't tell her. What Lucy also didn't expect was to see Alexis crying uncontrollably.

"But I CAN'T! I CAN'T!" Leaning against the back seat, Alexis covered her face as she continued to sob loudly. It wasn't until Lucy heard Alexis cursing…at herself that she finally understood why_. She has Nadia already. She was afraid the answer would be yes, I want to be with you. But then what? Her guilty conscience wouldn't allow her to do so._

"Then why did you let Nadia go?" _Now she doesn't have anybody. _Lucy felt a little guilty for giving Nadia the idea. But deep inside, she truly believes that Nadia would be happier without the bold and beautiful fashion designer.

Alexis sniffed in loudly before putting her hands down. "I can't. I can't." She shook her head from side to side, no longer as loud as before.

Lucy wasn't sure what she meant by that. She wanted to ask her to clarify but saw Alexis' eyes closing and repeating what she said. Her words trailed off in mumbles.

* * *

Holding the tired woman by the waist, Lucy stood at the door, waiting to get inside Alexis' house.

After Michel opened the door, he was very surprised to find his daughter in that state. Lucy made a guess that he might not have known about the break-up yet, so she didn't say anything.

Inside Alexis' bedroom with lights on, Lucy could now see Alexis' cheeks were rosy red. The alcohol has taken affect. Lucy took her shoes and socks off and pulled the blanket over her. When she dabbed the warm wet towel over her forehead and face, Alexis mumbled in discomfort. Her eyes squinted at the lamp light, struggling to open them.

"Turn…light…uf." It was unclear but Lucy understood and did as told. Her intention was to leave afterwards but stayed a little longer after hearing what Alexis had to say.

"Nadia is going to be fine. I'll take care of her and I'll tell her you said that." Lucy knew that she still cared for the fitness instructor, otherwise she would have been the one to break up with her not the other way around.

"Keira…" Alexis struggled to lift her head up. Her head felt heavy. Her mind was extremely tired. Her head fell back against the soft pillow. Lucy leaned her ear closer when all she heard were words mumbled together.

"What's that?" Lucy remained still and silent as possible. The number of words that came out of her mouth was more than what she expected from the tired woman who's not in her normal state. Lucy then jerked back, not because she felt Alexis' lips on her cheek, but because of what she heard. "Alexis, what did you just say?...Alexis…."

* * *

There was nobody inside the house except her favorite blonde. Lucy was surprised to find that Nadia didn't take a day off after breaking up with Alexis the same day. Keeping herself busy with work to keep her mind off her ex, that might work too. But if it was Lucy, she preferred the other method…doing nothing and going on a long vacation.

Amy suddenly jumped and used her elbow to attack whoever was behind her.

"Oww!" Lucy didn't expect that and wasn't quick enough to block the hit to her arm. She meant to surprise the blonde by snaking her arms around her waist, but knowing her lover who used to be an agent would probably figure out that she was there the moment she walked inside the kitchen.

"Lucy! What are you doing? How did you get in here?"

"I love you too." Lucy winced in pain while holding her right arm. She stepped back to take a seat on the chair in the kitchen and allowed the blonde to rub her bruised area.

"How did you get in here?"

"I….got a copy of the key from Janet." Lucy flashed her signature smile, hoping what she did didn't upset her fiancée. She didn't get her permission yet.

"Key" It wasn't a question. It was a command. Amy extended her hand out and Lucy internally blamed herself for telling her the truth. She could have just said Janet let her in.

"But…Amy…."

"Key"

"It's in the living room" She wasn't sure what the big deal is since they'll going to be married in two months.

Amy returned to the sink to finish washing the vegetables. "Did you eat yet?"

"No" Lucy walked over and did what she had intended to do a moment ago. Wrapping her arms around her lover's waist, she placed a kiss on her cheek. "What's wrong, Amy? Exam tomorrow?"

Amy turned into her arms. "Did you see Alexis?"

Lucy didn't think Nadia's problem was the reason for her to be so deep in thought. "Did Nadia tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Lucy thought Nadia would at least have told her. When Amy heard, she was also very surprised with Nadia's decision. Lucy continued to explain what happened but didn't tell her about Alexis' first time. That was personal. She didn't think Alexis would want anybody to know that. All she said was how Alexis was crying and how she wanted to apologize to Nadia.

"Did she cheat on Nadia?" Amy asked in a tone as if she had already sentenced Alexis as guilty.

"Nnnno! She's just her friend. She left already."

"Then why? They've been together for so long and now she's just going to let Nadia go."

"they're still young, they don't have as many experiences as we had." Lucy hoped by saying that, Amy would be convinced that there was nothing going between Alexis and her friend.

"What else did she say?"

Okay, that didn't work. Lucy didn't think so. It was difficult to keep her eyes locked into those powerful hazel green ones that could tell if someone was lying and hiding the truth from her.

"she's going thru a phase right now and when that phase passes, she's going to wish she never…"

"What else did she say!"

Lucy could see those once gentle hazel green eyes suddenly sparkled with dots of red, a fiery red. She understood her feeling. Her lover felt sorry for Nadia. Her lover saw herself as Nadia when she once rejected her love.

"Amy, do you remember the first time you fell in love?" Lucy wasn't sure if Amy could remember the first time she fell in love. But she knows it was definitely not her ex Bobby. "Do you remember what that felt like?"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying…Alexis wants to feel that way again."

That wasn't the only thing Alexis said to her an hour ago. There was something else, something she desperately wanted to know and she couldn't ask anyone except the one who said it. She'll just have to wait until tomorrow. But it made her wonder if that memory from last night, the one who whispered 'I love you' into her ear while they were making love, was none other than Alexis. It wouldn't surprise her because she did find Alexis attractive and when they first met, she thought Alexis was her girlfriend. It wasn't just that, it was what she said in the bar. 'Seeing her some of the time is better than not seeing her at all.' Lucy wondered if Alexis was talking about her not her best friend at that moment.

"She doesn't love Nadia anymore?"

"You know she does. If Nadia is in trouble, Alexis would be the first one to risk her life to save her. She doesn't want to hurt Nadia. She just wants…more."

Just five seconds ago hearing the brunette's explanation, Amy could feel her fist tightening because she was even more angry with Alexis. She can't see herself talking to her ever again for breaking Nadia's heart. But hearing the last words from the brunette, it brought back memories because that's how she felt when she wanted to break up with her ex. She wanted more. She didn't get that part of the memory back, the part where she was kidnapped by the brunette nor could she remember the part where she told her lover that she wanted more. But she slowly came to understand and realize that she had once been in Alexis' position when she dumped her ex as well as Nadia's position when she was dumped by her fiancée who's standing in front of her. The anger towards Alexis was slowly dissipating. Without a word, Amy returned to what she was doing before, preparing to make dinner.

Lucy let out a sigh of relief when she was able to make Amy understand what Alexis was going thru without giving her all the details. _One down and one to go_. She hoped to God what Alexis said wasn't true because she knew that as much as Amy loves her, Amy might not be able to ignore it.

Sitting next to her lover, Lucy didn't expect Amy to be so quiet. "This is delicious." Lucy said, chewing a cube of stir fried tofu. She expected a response but didn't get any. "Nadia is going to be okay. I promise. I'll take care of her." Lucy placed her hand over the blonde's and caressed it gently with her thumb. What she didn't expect was a blank stare from her lover. _Something else is bothering her. _

"is something…." Before she could finish, she was cut off.

"Do you remember the first time you fell in love?"

Her entire body froze, but just for 2 seconds. What Lucy heard, she realized the former blonde agent came to understand more than what she just told her about Alexis's situation.

"mhm…" Lucy scooped up a spoonful of rice with carrot into her mouth.

"you do?" Amy was a little surprised. It was only last night that the brunette said she couldn't remember her ex. Amy wondered if her memory came back today or was she talking about one of her girlfriends before her ex.

Lucy continued eating her dinner, but noticed that her lover was still staring at her as if expecting her to tell her more. So she did.

"She's beautiful. But she didn't notice me. The guys were all staring at her as if they had seen a goddess. One guy was practically drooling." Lucy put another spoonful of rice into her mouth and noticed her lover had not moved, still looking at her. "Just looking at her got my adrenaline pumping, you know that feeling, it's like nothing else matters, it's like she and I were the only ones in the room even though there were a lot of people around. So I made my move since none of the guys had the guts to do so." Lucy used a fork to pick up a piece of stir fried broccoli and put it in front of the blonde's mouth. Amy took the bite and returned her eyes towards her lover, expecting her to continue. "We talked but it didn't go as well as I hoped. I was disappointed that she's not into woman. But I didn't give up. It only made it more exciting. It only made me want her even more." Lucy said with excitement and put the last spoonful of rice into her mouth. She leaned back against the chair, letting out a big sigh with a smile plastered on her face, remembering that moment and staring into blank space. "I couldn't stop thinking about her….I want to hold her, I want to kiss her, I want to rip her clothes and…" Lucy cleared her throat when she realized she said too much and saw the blonde frowning at her. She immediately stood up and took her bowl and utensils towards the sink and began washing everything that was inside the sink.

"so I'm guessing this didn't happen when you were a teenager…I hope." Amy hoped not because having such a dirty mind at such a young age isn't normal, especially for guys.

"nope" Lucy grinned sheepishly.

Amy took her dish and placed it into the sink. "Then what happened?"

Lucy turned to look at her lover and returned her eyes back at the sink.

"she fell for me." Lucy shut off the water and took a wet towel to wipe the counter and the small round kitchen table.

"Why did you two broke up?" She once asked Scud that same question but Scud had no idea why Lucy broke up with her ex.

Without looking at her lover who was standing near the sink behind her, Lucy stopped what she was doing. "It's…a long story." She then continued to wipe the table.

Amy walked towards the brunette. "I want to know."

Lucy stopped and turned around. "Why?"

"If you were so obsessed with her, then why did you two break up?" Amy desperately wanted to know for a few reasons. Since they're going to be married soon, she wanted to know what ticked the brunette off or what the brunette did to cause her lover to call it quits. The other reason is what all couples are afraid of. It never occurred to her that it could happen to her until recently. "If you saw her now, what would you say to her?" Her agent eyes locked on to the brown ones. She had no doubt her lover would understand why she asked the question. It was the explanation she gave earlier about Alexis. It was too much of a coincidence that Alexis's and Nadia's relationship began falling apart when her college friend showed up. Even though the brunette denied it, Amy sensed that Alexis and her college friend weren't just regular friends.

It happened to a lot of couples. Alexis is no different from them. Couples tend to compare their other halves to their exes. Especially those who had been dumped, they tend to look back. Amy figured that Alexis must have been the one who got dumped.

"What would you do if she is standing in front of you right now?" Amy said in a serious tone. As her eyes darted at the brunette's from one to the other, waiting for her lover to respond, she let out a sudden shriek when her waist was suddenly pulled forward, colliding their bodies together. Her mouth was then captured in a kiss, her body was spun around and pushed down on the small kitchen table. It happened so fast, before she realized what was happening, the brunette was already on top of her. Amy pulled her mouth away with both palms pushing against her lover's shoulder.

Lucy noticed that the blonde didn't like what she just did. She can't blame her. "My adrenaline was pumping through my veins when I saw her…at the church." The moment she said where, she saw a twitch in her eyes. "Everyone was staring at her in her beautiful gown." She could feel her lover's palm no longer pushing her away. "Ethan was practically drooling when he saw her walking down the aisle." She could feel the body beneath her lowering her defenses, no longer tightened, no longer stiff. "Others were looking at her at the banquet but nobody had the guts to ask her to dance." Seeing the expression on the blonde's face, Lucy knew her lover understood who she was referring to. "I didn't give up. She made me want her even more." Lucy said as she leaned down inch by inch. "I couldn't stop thinking about her." She closed the gap and kissed her as if it's the first time she felt those moist lips. "I want to hold her, I want to kiss her….I hope…she lets me." Lucy remained still, her eyes locked onto her lover's, her lips curled up when she saw a very little nod from her lover as if she was embarrassed to accept her request. She realized what she thought she saw was only in her head when the blonde pulled her in for a kiss, but only a short one.

Seeing her lover's eyes' beaming with lustful desire, Amy wouldn't be surprised if her lover wanted to take her here and now, exactly like how she described. "I love you. But no." What the brunette said, Amy was taken in by it. She believed what the brunette said was true. It's not that she doesn't want to, it's just not the right time or the right place. They're in the kitchen, for God's sake…and she just ate. With a full belly of food, her body wasn't in the mood.

"No?...to which part?" Lucy said jokingly, which earned her a playful slap on her face.

At this moment, Amy heard something from outside and quickly pushed the brunette off of her and got off the table. Letting anybody especially Nadia see them in that position on the table wouldn't be good for anyone.

Inside the living room, Amy approached Nadia who was about to head upstairs. Lucy stood a few feet behind the blonde. Amy could tell she was trying to hold it in. The instant she moved one step forward, Nadia held her in a tight embrace and began sobbing on her shoulder. Amy expected that. Lucy was a little surprised by it. Amy wanted to say a lot of things but now isn't the time. Nadia was too tired to talk about it as well after working a full day.

In the living room, Amy sat next to her lover with the tv on. They were waiting for Nadia to come down when she's ready. If she's not, Lucy intends to stay in the house until she is, that is, if she has permission to do so. Hearing footsteps from behind, Lucy turned her head.

"Hey"

"Hey" Dressed in blue long-sleeve pajamas, Nadia responded in a soft tone.

Lucy shifted towards the end of the couch and motioned her to sit between her and the blonde. Amy shut the tv off as Nadia took the offered seat. Lucy came for a reason and didn't see any way to give her the message without making the young woman cry, but she kept her tone soft and calm.

"I…saw her a few hours ago."

"you did?" Nadia said with a soft squeal as if she was going to cry again.

Lucy told her what every woman wanted to hear, how Alexis cried and how she apologized repeatedly without telling her why. Amy knew Nadia would cry and was prepared to have the tissues ready.

"You talked to her this morning?" Lucy asked in a gentle tone and Nadia nodded once.

Amy and Lucy were both anxious to know how the conversation went.

Nadia sniffed in her tears and wiped her eyes as she recalled that moment when she found the courage to call her lover this morning. "I asked her…what's going on with her…and…she…she hesitated." Nadia inhaled and exhaled loudly to hold in her tears. "I asked her…if she wants to be with me…and she didn't..say..anything." She extended her hand and took two more tissues to dry the continuous flow of tears. "So…I said 'it's over'." It was too much. She couldn't control fluids from falling down her nostrils and eyes.

Lucy wasn't surprised that it happened that way. In most breakups, anger, cursing, and shouting were inevitable. She couldn't imagine Nadia yelling and cursing at Alexis. What she did expect, though, was Nadia demanding a reason. Anyone would. She wondered if Nadia had the courage to talk to Alexis if they ran to each other again. Alexis would, but Nadia, Lucy wasn't sure what Nadia would do…continue to be friends or avoid her. Alexis would want to continue to be friends, but Lucy knew better that this wasn't the time to talk about that. Lucy took hold of her hand and told Nadia her plan. "a 3 week vacation, just you and me…what do you think?" She could see that Nadia was thinking about it when she turned to look at the blonde. "Amy has classes."

"I'm sorry." Amy apologized for not being able to be by her side in her time of need. "You two have fun…but Lucy…not so much fun…"

Lucy wasn't sure what she meant by that until two weeks later, the night before the trip.  
"Don't drink too much."

"okay." Lying next to the blonde, Lucy had her hands clasped together over the blanket, twiddling her thumb. She thought they would be doing something else when Amy led herself in and slipped into bed with her.

"Look after her, don't let her out of your sight."

"okay"

"I mean it, don't let anyone distract you. Don't let her drink so much cuz she's going to want to drink."

"okay"

"…and…and…what else…"

Lucy wondered when her lover was going to finish. All she had to say was take care of Nadia. Actually she really didn't have to say anything.

Amy lifted herself up and turned to the brunette when she finally figured out what to say. "…and…"

It was when she hesitated that made Lucy turned towards her.

"…and honey…I know that…nothing is going to happen…and not that I don't trust you and Nadia…but I don't want you share a bed with her if there…."

"Ammyyyy…of course I'm not going to do that…" Lucy contorted her face in disbelief.

Amy expected that and leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek, then snuggled close to her and hung her arm over her abdomen. "…sorry….." She can't help it. She had to say it to make sure the brunette knows how she feels about her sleeping with other women on the same bed even if they weren't going to do anything.

Lucy wasn't sure what she did to cause her lover not to trust her.

Trust. What seemed like only a few years ago, Lucy remembered what she had to do to gain her follower's trust. She can't blame them. In the eyes of her followers, she was a merely a little girl who wanted to seek revenge for her father. Even after getting her revenge, some still don't trust her to have the ability to lead them. She knew what her father was involved with. She came to know even more after her father died. Some of her father's followers quit because they didn't want to have a female as their leader. But she also had followers who owed their lives to her father, those stayed with her. Her position would have been given to her father's second or third in command if they didn't also die in the hands of Schaeffer's men. It was chaotic back then. Words were spoken behind her back, planning to 'dethrone' her. If it wasn't for Uncle Nick and her father's loyal followers, she would not have survived that time of turmoil. Taking her father's place wasn't a decision that she had to make, it was her destiny. Dissembling the organization was never an option. Leaving was not an option. That's why she was so shocked when she learned the reason she gave up her empire. She had thought the reason was because the police caught up to her. Never in a million years did she think it would be because of a woman, not just any woman, a government agent, a DEB.

It was difficult then, earning the trust of her followers. Those who didn't approve of her proposed someone else to take her father's place. That person was more capable than she was and more importantly, that person is a man and had been with her father's organization for many years. Even though he didn't have a high rank within the organization, he had a lot of people taking his side. If she didn't step down, they and there were many of them, threatened to leave what her father created. Lucy couldn't afford to lose so many people because losing them would weaken the organization which meant her life, the lives of her loyal followers would be in danger from enemies that her father had made over the years. That's not the only reason Lucy didn't want them to go. With so many of them leaving also meant that she had to give them the severance pay, compensation that they deserve, that they would ask for for what they had done over the years.

There was nothing that Uncle Nick could do to help since that was a problem within her organization and he had no right to interfere. What to do? The only thing Lucy could do was ask them what she could do to make them stay, what she could do to make them believe that she could do what her father once did, and make them approve her status as leader because stepping down was not an option. It surprised her when a young but very intelligent man, spoke his thought during the negotiation. That person was none other than Scud. His suggestion surprised everyone in the room even Lucy. Most thought Scud was out of his mind, even Lucy thought so. But some believed it was a great idea. What he proposed was to steal the 45.5 carat diamond that's worth $350 million, known as the most famous diamond in the world, the Hope Diamond. The one who could steal that from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC would be declared the leader. It was an insane idea. The first one to object to it was the man who wanted to be leader. Lucy had no idea how difficult it would be but she saw that it was her chance, a chance that she could prove to others what she was capable of. Since Scud suggested, she believed that he must have a plan. She hoped. So she agreed but that man hesitated. He had a better idea and it was a darn good one, the same one that Scud hoped that he will fall for but didn't. Scud's plan was to wait for him to try to steal it so he could get caught in the process of doing so. Getting him behind bars for a while would at least solve one of Lucy's problems. But Scud had a plan B if it didn't work. Plan B was to steal it.

Mission was successful after weeks of planning but some still refused to acknowledge her and left her organization. Lucy tried to persuade them but understood why they felt that way. It had nothing to do with her ability. It had everything to do with her gender.

Her next step was to make sure her father's businesses and power continue to grow. But how was she able to do that without the connections her father had? Most crime bosses didn't want to deal with a woman who wasn't even old enough to drink. Without connections, without trusts from other leaders, she had no information and nobody would even consider giving her a 'job'. Leaders didn't want to deal with her even if she had goods to sell. She had no choice but let the loyal followers of her father's negotiate in her place for the time being. But that didn't help much because they did not have the reputation, the respect or the intelligence that her father had. They had firearm deals that went wrong, confiscated by the FBI. The idea of making and selling drugs had been suggested by her loyal followers but Lucy, like her father, refused to do so. The idea of human trafficking was also discussed and Lucy let her followers know to never speak about that ever again. As time passed, money continued to pour out more quickly than coming in. Without money, there will be no followers. Without followers, there will be no power. Without power, there will be an end…an end to her life, her friends, and her followers. Before it comes to that, there was only one thing to do and that is to continue what she had done before. The Hope Diamond became the beginning of many heists, expensive jewelry especially diamonds, priceless artworks, bank robberies, and invaluable objects. Rumors spread like wildfire in the Underground. There was no proof, only an assumption. She somehow became known as the ruthless, notorious criminal mastermind, Lucy Diamond.

Trust. Lucy didn't realize she still had to do that, to earn the trust of the one whom she's going to marry soon until now.

"I booked 2 beds. Amy, I hope you understand that it's safer if we stay in the same room."

"okay...that's what I want you to do." Leaning her head against the brunette's shoulder, Amy gently ran her fingertips over her lover's collarbone.

"If they made a mistake and gave us one bed, I'll sleep on the sofa."

"Okay." Amy said softly.

"If there's no sofa, then I'll sleep on the floor. Amy…I…mm…mm…"

Lucy wasn't sure if she was able to convince her wife-to-be that she can trust her until she felt soft lips on hers, then a body pressed on top of hers. That's what she had been waiting for the last half hour. It's going to be 3 weeks of separation. She was hoping that she could do something like this the night before she leaves and she realizes her lover has the same thought. Her hands roamed underneath Amy's pajamas. As Amy was doing the same, Lucy moaned loudly in pleasure when she felt her sensitive areas being gently kneaded and caressed.

Amy came to know more about the brunette as well as herself. She knew that to stop a disagreement of any kind from turning into an argument, like situations like this, what she's doing to her fiancee now seems to always work. Feeling the soft skin of her lover, her mind spontaneously thought of the conversation she had with Max a few weeks ago. After they set the wedding date, she gave Max the good news. This time, she expected Max to congratulate her and she did. But she didn't expect Max to say something else. _Max will always be Max. _

_"Are you sure about this, Amy?"_

_"Of course, I'm sure. Max, we've been thru a lot and…" _

_"I know you love her. What I mean is…can you live with her?"_

_Amy had no idea what her friend was talking about until she clarified. Max wasn't objecting to their marriage. Max was worried and acting like a mother because what she asked, Amy felt embarrassed about it, listening to it as well as responding to it. But Amy had to respond, to let her overly concerned friend know how she feels._

_ "Have you talked to her? I don't think she's expecting a sexless marriage. And you and I know what she's known for, besides her criminal activities…and she thinks she's still that person. Has anything changed? Did she get her memory back yet?"_

_Amy thought about interrupting but she's not sure if she should tell her the truth. It is personal._

_"Even if she did get her memory back, a marriage without sex isn't going to last long. She may love you now, but in the future, she's not going to stand it…and she might…I hate to say it…but it is very possible that she might look somewhere else to get that…do you know what I mean? Are you going to be okay with that?..." There was no response. "...Amy?"_

_Amy decided to just tell her so she would stop worrying. "I already slept with her."_

_"oh...ohhh..." Max was surprised as expected. She didn't think Amy could, from the way she reacted when they had the conversation years ago. Amy thought that would do it but nope, it didn't stop Max from asking more questions. Maybe it was the way she responded, it sounded like she didn't want to. _

_"It's going to be forever, Amy…and you probably know her better than anyone, she's going to expect…more."_

_Only after hearing this from Max, Amy realized how really, really bad it sounded. So Amy had no choice but to tell her more in detail how she felt when it happened, just like right now. The touch of the brunette's smooth skin set fire thru her entire body. The incredible sensation made her goose bumps rise. Her soft touch made her heart beat out of control. After the second night together, she was certain that no one and definitely not a man could make her feel that way. Not that she had any experiences with a man, she knew the difference. When they make love, it's about pleasing each other. Straight sex seems to be more about pleasing the man. That's what it seems like in most of the movies she watched. _

_"She's gentle, she's soft and smooth, her body is so f…"_

_"Okay, Amy, I get it."_

_"I never thought I could. But it was amazing and she made me feel so…"_

_"Amy! Really…I don't need to hear that. You're oversharing."_

_"Sorry, I just want you to know that you don't have to worry about me."_

_Amy thought that was the end of all the questions but again nope._

_"Look, I'm not trying to separate you two. I just want to make sure you thought this through. I don't want you to have any regrets."_

_"I know, Max."_

_"What about kids? I know you always wanted to have kids of your own."_

_After telling Max her plan, Max was finally satisfied._

* * *

Her hands roamed all over the brunette's body wherever they could reach. Amy found that Alexis was right. Each time they do it would be different and each time would be special. And each time, she learned something new. She couldn't imagine doing it with anyone else except the woman lying on top of her.

As they continued to feel and kiss each other, Lucy felt it was time to do something else. Lucy took her hand away from the blonde's thigh while kissing her lover's neck, she lifted herself up a little, straddled the blonde, grabbed the sides of the pajamas top with both hands and pulled towards opposite sides, causing all of the buttons to pop out.

"What…are you doing?" If Amy wasn't out of breath, she would have understood what the brunette was doing. Lack of oxygen would do that to the brain.

Lucy expected something else to be staring at her besides a pair of hazel green eyes. She didn't realize the blonde had a blue tank top underneath the long sleeve pajamas top.

"I'll buy you another one." Lucy continued to kiss her lips while her hands grabbed the hem of her blue tank top and tried to do the same thing she did before. But it didn't work. It was harder than she thought. "What kind of material is this?"

"it would be easier to take it off." Amy said while giving her lover a weird look.

Lucy tried again and again. "Damn it_._"

Looking at her gorgeous girlfriend, Amy came to realize that the brunette may be a woman, but she has the mind of a man including sexual fantasies. Ripping her clothes off, she can allow that, but not others.

"I know what you're thinking of, but I'm not into that sort of thing." Amy said, letting out a laugh while looking at her frustrated lover.

Lucy dropped the blue tank top and laid back down on top of her lover, seeing that she wasn't able to tear it apart.

"and exactly what do you think I am thinking of?" Placing her hands on both sides next to the blonde's head, Lucy placed a short kiss on her lover's lips, then let out a short laugh when Amy pulled her head forward and pretended to be looking into the inside of her brain.

"I can see there are a lot of dirty thoughts in there….mhm…rip…my…clothes…off, now why would you want to do that?" Lucy let out a small laugh. "mm...I see here…" Amy said as she moved the brunette's head from one side to the other. "…take a shower together….that's not happening, okay?" Lucy pouted her lips while Amy moved the brunette's head back up and looked closely at her forehead. "...foreign objects…" Amy contorted her face in disgust. "…that is definitely, definitely not happening, okay, honey?"

"How about handcuffs?" Lucy saw handcuffs in the desk drawer and had always wondered why it would be there.

The handcuffs brought back memories. "on you? Okay…" That wasn't what the brunette was thinking of. Amy knew that.

Both burst out in laughter for a moment and as it slowly came to a stop, Lucy locked her eyes down at her fiancée. Letting out a sigh of happiness, Lucy placed a gentle kiss on her lips, then another and another before looking straight into her lover's eyes again. "Tell me to stop if you don't want to."

Amy wasn't sure what she meant by that. She expected her lover to know by now that she wouldn't do something she doesn't want to. She swallowed in nervousness, realizing that they might be doing something different. Her heart began to pound faster on its own.

Amy had no idea how 2 women have sex until their first night together. Doing research on that topic never occurred to her. It would be easy to do so if she wanted to. All she had to do was take a look at the lesbian porn sites, but any kind of porn sites, whether it's lesbian or straight, disgusts her. Having been a government agent, she knew those sites weren't as harmless as they say. That's because viewers don't know what goes on behind the scenes and what kind of damage it does to the weak minds of old and young. She was once involved in a case where one of her fellow DEBS had to act as an underage girl interested in a career as a porn star. She herself didn't look young enough so she wasn't chosen. What they found out in that porn company was not only that some of the girls were under age, they found illegal drugs being distributed and other illegal activities.

Her sexual desire began to build up as her lips were gently captured, then her jaw and neck being kissed and left ear lobe being massaged at the same time. The brunette's actions brought back memories of that night in the hotel. The way she was being kissed at this moment was exactly like that. "mmm..." Amy moaned in pleasure in response to the pressure she felt against her core.

"Do you want the lights off?" Lucy said between kisses. She knew that she does but asked anyway, hoping that someday the blonde would change her mind.

If Amy was talking to Max right now, she would tell her just how considerate and thoughtful the former criminal mastermind could be. The thought of making love with lights on whether it was with a woman or man was definitely not possible in her mind, at least not then. She wasn't sure why. But a man's genital is not something she's interested in seeing. Even when she started dating her ex Bobby, she found him to be good-looking, but did she ever want to touch him there or take a look? Absolutely not, because to her, that's one disgusting part of the male anatomy. Anything below the waistline is unappealing. Maybe it's because of that, her idea of making love had always been and should always be done in the dark. But this is different.

Lucy didn't hear a response and was surprised by it. She looked down on her lover and wondered what changed her mind. She didn't get an explanation. But that's okay. She saw the smile and took it as a sign to continue.

"uhhhhh.." Her hands gripped tight on the pillow. Her breathing became quicker than before. Her eyes closed on its own when she felt her nipple being licked and sucked on, then the other. What's the point of having lights on if she didn't want to see her lover making her love to her. She opened her eyes and realized that the brunette had completely covered herself and her own lower body with the blanket. She can't see her lover but she can feel her. She came to realize what Alexis meant when she said each time would be different. Feeling the tip of her lover's tongue running from her belly down, then lower and lower..."Oh God..oh God..."

It wasn't what Amy thought, thank goodness, because if it was, she would have to put a stop to it before she allowed it to happen. Whether it was giving or receiving, oral sex, to her, is not something she's into, no matter how much she loves the brunette.

There was a moment when she wanted the brunette to stop. She didn't say it, but somehow her lover knew what she wanted. Maybe it was the trembling of her legs, maybe it was her loud long moaning or a different kind of sound coming from her mouth that sounded like she was in pain or maybe it was her nails digging deep into her lover's back that caused her lover to stop for a moment and asked if she wanted to continue. Whatever it was, it seemed that her brunette lover knew what she wanted.

Lying next to the brunette, Amy relaxed, letting the sensation leave her body as she inhaled and exhaled slowly. It was a feeling that she had never felt before. _Max_, s_he was so gentle. _That thought she once had where she couldn't make love to the brunette was no longer there. _She was so thoughtful_. Her lover, for some reason, turned the lights off, before beginning her task. _She made me cum more than once._ She didn't think it was possible until their first night together. _Max, you wouldn't believe it even if I told you._

As the pounding of her heart slowly came to a normal pace, a satisfying smile was plastered on her face until she heard what her blonde lover said. It was more than a disappointment. Lucy wasn't sure what to think of it or how to respond. She felt as though her heart suddenly came to a stop. It made her think that everything that she thought before was all in her own mind. It made her think that what she just did was a bad idea. She felt as though she ran out of time when the blonde turned the lights on and rolled on top of her, expecting a response from her. Her eyes and face remained as still as she can, trying not to show any emotion that could give her lover the signs that she was not being truthful. "I want to be with you, not because of it."

Amy couldn't help thinking about the conversation she had with Max. She understood all of it and knew what it could do to couples. She once heard about it from her DEB classmate whose parents had marital problems. Her classmate's mother had a problem and became incapable and her father cheated on her because of it. They had many years of happy marriage, 1 son, 1 daughter and 1 grandson. Her mother was furious when she found out but came to accept his apology. In Amy's mind, that man is a bastard and she definitely would not be as forgiving as her classmate's mother.

"So…you're okay with a sexless marriage?"

Lucy thought her lover enjoyed what they just did and the other times as well. She then silently cursed herself for doing something different just a moment ago.

"if…that's…what…you…want." Lucy said in a robotic tone and hoped to God that she wasn't serious. If she is, she would try to persuade her. She let out a small smile when the blonde suddenly chuckled. Realizing the blonde was just teasing her, she internally let out a deep breath. Sexless marriage; that was the first time she heard of the term. A marriage without sex wouldn't be called a marriage. It would be called 'roommate.' As much as she loves the blonde, she wasn't sure if she could be in that type of marriage, but she couldn't see herself not being with her, either.

Amy didn't expect the brunette's action. Her laugh turned into giggles and shrieks when the brunette tickled the sides of her ribs underneath the blanket. Lucy straddled the blonde and stopped her movement when the blonde held on to her hands. Looking down at her lover who was breathing heavily, Lucy gently laid on top of her lover's naked body, causing the blonde to moan involuntarily. Lucy wasn't planning to continue, but seeing her lover's reaction, she wonders if she should. Her question was quickly answered when she felt the blonde's legs spreading apart. Lucy lifted herself up a little, looked down and adjusted her position while her lover pulled the blanket over them.

"Lucy…"

Lucy turned her eyes back at the blonde as she laid herself back down.

"I want at least 2 kids."

It took Lucy a moment to understand. It was her lover's way of telling her that there will be a long time of no sex when she does get pregnant. She leaned down to kiss her lover's lips.

"Whenever you need me, I'll be there." Lucy said in a soft tone to assure her lover again that she will be ready for that. Her mind may not be the 31 year old, but she is ready to spend her life with the former DEB.

As a sense of déjà vu once again washed over her, Amy wondered where she heard that before. That thought quickly disappeared when she felt her lover's lower body gliding against her core. Her head pressed against the pillow, her eyes closed, there were no other thoughts in her mind, no thoughts of Max, no thoughts about kids, no thoughts about her friends, just taking in the indescribable sensation her lover was giving her and hearing the three comforting words whispered into her ear followed by sounds of love-making.

"I love you."

* * *

It was a great night. Lucy thought so since she drifted off to sleep very quickly and felt energized the next morning. She wished her blonde lover slept as well as she did but from the look on her face, it didn't seem that way. Scud and Janet were sitting across from Amy. Lucy sat at the end. Nadia took out the last dish of egg white vegetable omelette and sat next to Amy whom everyone could tell wasn't in the mood to talk. Even Nadia was in a better mood than she was.

"Is everything okay?" Nadia was concerned because they were going to leave for a 3-week trip in an hour so she wanted to make sure Amy was okay before she leaves with her fiancée.

Everyone noticed the taller blonde's movement as she took a sip of her coffee and placed it back down on the table. It was also the tapping of her fingers on the table earlier that got everyone's attention. She turned towards the brunette who was looking at her. Her fist tightened for a moment and slowly began to release them while looking at the clueless face, staring at her.

Lucy wasn't the only one who noticed. "Amy, what's wrong?"

Amy had contemplated on whether to say what was on her mind for weeks now. What she found was that ignoring it would be better. That's what she thought until it happened again last night, she tried to ignore it again, but felt that if she continued to do that, it would happen again. It didn't mean anything, she knew that. But her heart and mind couldn't let it go just like the time when she needed to find out the truth about Hannah. It wasn't as big a deal as Hannah. But it was bothering her. It bothered her so much, she couldn't keep it to herself anymore. She knew she needed to make the situation as calm as possible because they're getting married soon. Having an argument before that wouldn't be a good thing.

"I shouldn't even bring this up…but…" Amy took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly. All focused their attention on the taller blonde and noticed her fists once again tightened as she inhaled loudly. "It happened once before and it happened last night again." She said as calm as possible.

"What happened?" Janet asked anxiously.

"I know this should be a private conversation but you might not know why."

All were extremely confused.

"Did I do something wrong…last night?" The only thing she could think of was sleepwalking but that has never happened to her. Sleepwalking is a serious problem, especially for someone who didn't have a normal life, someone who had killed before. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"What? No!" Amy wasn't sure what her lover was thinking about but could tell whatever it was frightened her.

Lucy let out a sigh of relief, feeling much better until Amy spoke.

"Who…is…Alyson?"

"Alyson?" Lucy was as confused as she was.

"I know I shouldn't feel this way…since she's probably one of your girlfriends. But you've been mumbling her name."

Lucy had no idea either. "Whoever she is, she's probably not important because I don't remember her."

"I want to believe that she's not important to you, but that's not all you said while you're sleeping."

"What did she say?" Janet leaned forward, extremely curious to know.

Lucy had to say something to assure her fiancée that there's nobody else in her life. "Whatever I said, she's not important and…."

"You said…thank you for loving me unconditionally."

It didn't surprise anyone that Alyson could be someone who loves the brunette since ther's Nadia, Kristin, and Alexis.

"Nadia, do you know who Alyson is?" Nadia shook her head.

"Scud?"

Scud had been listening and was trying not to display any type of reaction. He pretended to ponder for a moment because if he responds too quickly, he was afraid that the Perfect Score could see right through him. "There were so many girls…" He could see Amy was looking at her as if she was trying to see if he was telling the truth and at the same time wasn't pleased with the part about the numerous girls. "I can't remember their names."

"Is Alyson her ex?"

"Nnno!" Lucy realized she made a big mistake in responding to that question when she saw the look on Scud's and Amy's face. She wasn't supposed to know that.

"You remember your ex?"

"I…don't."

"Then how do you know her name isn't Alyson?"

Lucy expected that question from her intelligent wife-to-be. "because…Scud said her name is Brooke." She thought about telling the blonde the truth about how she met Brooke back in Paris but changed her mind because there would be a lot of questions after that. She reached out to hold her hand. "whoever Alyson is, she's part of my past, not my future. You…are my future."

"I know that." Amy pulled her hand away. "But it's driving me insane because you kept calling her name."

"Just because I call her name, it doesn't mean anything. I mean I could be having a dream…I could be calling Scud or Janet…or Nadia…and you."

"Yes it does, Lucy….because you also said 'I love you and always will." With her eyes locked on her lover, Amy heard Janet's gasp. She wanted to know if the brunette was hiding something from her, but she couldn't tell.

It was just a dream. It wasn't like she was calling her name while they were making love. "I'm sure at one point…in my life, I also said that to my ex…" Lucy could see that got thru to her lover when she looked down on the table. She reached out to hold her lover's hands again. "I'm sorry I couldn't control it."

"Amy, her memory is coming back." Nadia wanted to let her know that it's going to continue and it is a good thing. Seeing the blonde slowly letting out a smile, she was glad she was able to get her to see the point.

All turned to the one who suddenly clapped her hands. "I can't wait for the old Lucy to come back."

"Heyyyyy…" All laughed except for Lucy who was a little offended by that and took her dirty napkin and threw it at Janet.

Hearing her baby crying in the other room, Janet left the dining room while Scud and Nadia took the dishes to the kitchen. Lucy was glad that the situation had been resolved because leaving her lover for 3 weeks in that state of frustration and confusion wouldn't be good. "I love you." Lucy hugged the blonde.

"I know." Amy wrapped her arms around her firmly and apologized because she knew the brunette had no control over it. "I'm sorry."

"I understand." Lucy did understand. If Amy called her ex's name while she was sleeping, she would probably be as upset as she was.

"I hope you understand that I can't until you get your memory back."

"You can't what?"

"We should sleep in our own rooms."

Lucy immediately pulled back from the hug.

"What! Amy….you're not serious."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 52**

2 weeks later

"Luv you…" Lucy made a sound of a kiss near her cell phone and hung up before flopping tiredly down on her bed. The day after she left, Lucy called Amy to let her know where she was, but didn't call after that. She didn't know she was expected to do, call home every day. So when she didn't call, Amy was a bit upset with her_. Call every day_? Lucy isn't used to doing that and she didn't promise the blonde that she would. If she gave in now, she's not sure if Amy expected her do so in the future. So she let her blonde lover know what she will do instead. Texting.

Lying down on the other bed was Nadia who felt like she had only an ounce of energy left in her. It sounded fun at first going away for 3 weeks, but after 1 week, she quickly realized how exhausting it was, more exhausting than working in the restaurant. She had fun though, touring with the brunette who was in charge of the trip. All she had to do was follow. It would have been more fun if she was with her girlfriend, ex-girlfriend. There were moments when she thought she saw Alexis but only realized it wasn't her when that person turned around.

"Did Alexis tell you why?" A part of her really wanted to know, but at the same time the other part of her already knew the answer. They were different. She wasn't as open as Alexis. She didn't have the courage to do what her girlfriend was able to do in front other people. That's one of the things she admired about her girlfriend.

Lucy opened her eyes, looked up at the ceiling, and wasn't sure why Nadia asked her not Alexis. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Nadia expected something else not that.

"For whatever I said before that got you two together and…"

"I don't have any regrets. She…made me happy. She…gave me the best moments of my life. Without her, I…wouldn't have known what love is."

Lucy didn't expect that and nodded in understanding. Hearing that comment did made her feel better though. She still had no idea why her mature self would think that they would be good together. "Nadia, trust me, you won't know what love is until you have more experiences." She said in a mature tone while looking up at the ceiling.

What the brunette said caused Nadia to wonder if she had been lying to the taller blonde. "I thought you said you don't remember."

"I don't."

It didn't make sense to her since the brunette still can't remember. Unless she remembers the ex who dumped her, then that would explain the way she was talking. Having been told what she went thru before isn't the same. How many girls could she have possibly dated at such a young age?

"When did you first start dating?"

"Dating?" Lucy pondered for a moment. "mmm…I don't know….maybe 14…"

"14!" Nadia couldn't believe it. When she was 14, she didn't even have the courage to talk to the girls she liked.

"mm…yea…about that age…then there's one at 15 and 16, then when I went to college, that's when things start happening…" Lucy said in excitement as she raised her brows up and down.

"What kind of things?" Nadia was very curious to know about the former criminal's lifestyle when she was younger.

"Women." Leaning on her side, Lucy said in a manly tone.

For Nadia, she had a very boring, but normal life when she was 16, trying to hide her preference from her high school classmates and everyone around her.

"older, but young and beautiful women" Lucy continued to explain that a lot of people came out in that school and it wasn't a big deal to anyone. Lucy herself didn't hide the fact that she is gay. If anyone asked, she would respond truthfully. She was younger than most of them since she finished high school at an early age. "But there weren't that many, you know how it is." It's an ivy league school. Most of them had brains and not looks. "there weren't that many that are like us **but**…" Lucy stressed the word but. "…it's college…"

Smiling wide , when Lucy raised her brows up and down again. Nadia had no idea what she meant by that.

"you don't know what I mean…" Lucy asked when she noticed her confused look.

"no"

"oh…" _Maybe the culinary schools had a different kind of environment_.

"Promise me you won't tell Amy." She knew Amy wouldn't like it if she heard about her wild days.

Nadia pondered for a moment before agreeing.

"What I found is that a lot of girls were confused at that age. About 5 or 6 of us, I don't remember exactly, we had a party….just girls. It was a girl's night in kind of thing, after the final exam, you know, eating, drinking, dancing, then one of the girls thought it would be a good idea to…" Lucy saw how focused Nadia was paying attention to her.

"to what?" Nadia anxiously asked.

"…watch…porn…"

Nadia jerked back slightly. That wasn't what she expected. She herself never thought about it. It was the way she was brought up. The word porn is like cursing, much, much worse.

"have you…"

Knowing what the brunette was going to ask, Nadia shook her head vigorously and shyly.

Lucy expected that and wasn't surprised by it. "That was my first time and my last time." It's true. What she saw disgusted her the moment it came on. Lucy couldn't stand watching it for 5 seconds and excused herself. After she came out of the bathroom, she saw another girl quickly going in as if she was going to vomit from drinking too much. When she went back to the bedroom, she saw other girls were also covering their mouths, wincing in disgust. The girl who suggested it quickly clicked on the keyboard to watch something else. Lucy wasn't sure what elicited that kind of reaction from everyone at that time. She even asked what she missed and a girl said 'something you don't want to see.' When another girl quickly got up, making vomit noises, everyone laughed except for her.

"One girl said she was scarred for life from watching that."

Nadia laughed along with the brunette even though she wasn't sure what caused all of them to react that way, nor was she interested in finding out.

"Then….something else came on." Lucy continued the story. The next video that came on had all of them paying attention to the monitor. Nobody had the same reaction as last time. "All of us were watching it, when it ended, they shut off the computer. "

"Oh…" Nadia expected more. "So…that's it?" When the brunette told her not to tell Amy, she thought it was something else. She didn't think what she did was a big deal. When she saw the sly smirk on the brunette's face, she realized that wasn't the end of the story.

"There was only 1 guest bedroom and I was lucky to be chosen to get that room. Then…" Lucy told it as if she was telling a ghost story. It wasn't. But when Nadia heard what happened, her jaws dropped. "She knew you were gay?" She missed that part of the story.

"They all did." Lucy thought she told her that. That wasn't the part that shocked Nadia. That night, when Lucy was about to slip into bed, someone knocked on her door. It was one of the girls.

_Lucy wasn't sure why the girl was being so secretive, looking around like she didn't want anyone to find out._

_"What's wrong?" Lucy asked when that girl locked the door._

_"I need a favor."_

_"Okay." Lucy said in a confused tone._

_"I need you to not tell anyone about tonight."_

_That was simple. "Sure." Lucy didn't think watching porn was a big deal. It wasn't to her. She realized it wasn't what she thought until she heard the girl's next request._

_"Can I kiss you?"_

_"What?" Lucy was a little surprised by her request and stepped back as the girl moved forward. _

_"Please…." _

_"Why?" Lucy had no interest in her. It wasn't that she's not pretty. She just wasn't her type. Lucy fell back on the bed when the back of her knee hit the edge of the full size bed. _

_"just one kiss" _

_Lucy looked up at the girl who was hovering over her face. The first thing that came to mind was the girl must be recording this, that she was being played. This isn't her bedroom. She checked for bugs already. Crazy college kids do that, playing pranks on someone else. She came prepared. But it didn't make sense to her why her friend would be recording this. Her friends knew her preference. She's not naked nor was her friend._

_"You're not playing a prank on me, are you? Because if you are…" Lucy trailed off when she saw the girl shaking her head vigorously. _

* * *

"She wasn't the only." Lucy said again, wearing a big smile.

Nadia let out another gasp. The girl left after Lucy kissed her, but it was more than just one kiss.

"The next girl who came in, I always liked her….but she has a boyfriend." Lucy did the same and asked if she was playing a joke on her. She gave her more than just a closed mouth kiss. "If you were in my situation, you would have done the same thing I did….she's totally hot." Lucy smiled, remembering that moment, the touching, the kissing. "They were all confused after watching that video because lesbian porn turned them on.

"They were very lucky to have you…to steer them…in the right direction."

Sounds of laughter echoed through the room. Nadia wasn't sure how the conversation led to this, but she was having a lot of fun with this 31 year old who has the mind of someone who's not old enough to go into a casino. What she learned was that the brunette could turn back into her mature self at any time when the situation requires it.

When Lucy started this conversation, she had a point to make….but somehow she ended up telling her this story instead.

"What about you? Do you have anything interesting happened to you when you were younger?"

"mm…no…nothing…" Nadia turned her head to face the brunette lying on the other bed.

It didn't surprise Lucy since she learned what type of person Nadia is over the years. Nadia is your average girl next door except for the lesbian part.

"Hungry?"

"mhm."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hungry and tired, they decided to just eat downstairs in the hotel restaurant. They were in Barcelona. Lucy had planned on giving James a surprise visit the next day. Leave it to her, she only settled for the best hotels. If Amy found out what type of hotels she booked, she would definitely prohibit her from doing so. Sitting in the corner of the exquisite restaurant with soft lights hanging on the ceiling, Lucy continued telling stories of her younger days.

"So you were alone most of the time." Nadia had always thought that the former criminal mastermind lived with her parents until she went to college, but was surprised to find that wasn't the case. She had no idea that the brunette even went to college. How did she become the leader of a criminal organization? That's what she wanted to know, but wasn't appropriate to ask at that moment.

"I wouldn't say that. I had my bodyguards. It was for my safety." Lucy took a bite of the shrimp and looked up to see if Nadia understands.

Nadia nodded and realized that's how the brunette became who she is now, independent and strong. It wasn't because who her father was, it was the separation from her parents that made her the way she is. That's what most rich people do, send their kids to boarding schools so they can become independent. But in her case, it was for her safety. But Lucy didn't go to a boarding school with all girls, she went to a regular school and goes home just like a normal kid except that she didn't live with her parents. She lived with her housekeeper who had worked in their family for years, whom Lucy loved as her own family. She had her own butler, a driver and body guards.

"I see my mother all the time….online…you know."

Nadia again nodded, surprised with all the information she learned.

"Does…Amy know?" Nadia wasn't sure they ever talked about her past.

"yes" Lucy responded in a confused and obvious tone. If anyone would want to know about her past, it would be Amy. The former agent wanted to know everything about the woman whom she's going to marry. Amy also wanted to know her criminal activities, the ones the law enforcement couldn't prove. But Lucy didn't tell her everything, of course. What she did tell her was how she used her power to do good things too like donating to homeless shelter for kids anonymously with the money she stole.

Nadia's brows squeezed together in disbelief. That's the first time she heard of it. Keira never told her that. Amy never told her that.

"What?" Lucy didn't expect her to be so surprised by it.

"I…I didn't know." All she heard were bad things about the brunette. But no matter what the brunette did before, she cast hat aside.

"does it make a difference?"

Nadia shook her head. "I mean…yes."

"It does?"

"I always knew that you weren't as bad as they say…and…I was right." Nadia let out a soft smile but her smile quickly disappeared after hearing the brunette's next comment.

"What if I told you everything that I just said is a lie?"

It wasn't only what she said. It was the way she said it and her expression, Nadia was shocked by it. She had no doubt that the brunette was telling the truth earlier. Keira wouldn't say things like that. _Why would she say that? _Keira would never lie to her about things like this. If she lied, it would be for her own good. At this moment, she couldn't find a reason why the brunette would lie to her…whether she did those things or not, her feelings towards the brunette wouldn't change…._unless….unless…she lied because of Amy._

"What if I told you I lived with my parents? What if I told you everything they said about me was true? everything that I did before was for money…for myself?"

Nadia extended her hand out to hold the brunette's. "It wouldn't change the way I feel about you. Amy…she will still love you."

That wasn't the point Lucy was going for. She pulled her hand back. "Nadia, you….mmm…how should I say this…mmm…you…" Lucy tapped her fingers on the table as she pondered for a moment. There was no other way to say it. "You shouldn't trust people so easily."

Nadia jerked back slightly, more confused than ever.

It's better than saying that she's naïve. Someone has to teach this young woman that the world isn't as nice as she is. People would take advantage of nice young women like her. "Look around you."

Nadia remained unmoved, totally baffled.

"Do you see anything wrong?"

Nadia did as told and slowly scanned the room, but was unsure what she was supposed to be looking at. Facing the brunette, she shook her head in confusion.

"What about that bartender? Do you see anything wrong with him?"

Nadia turned her head and all she saw was the bartender was preparing a drink.

"no"

"What about the man sitting 2 tables behind me?"

Nadia tried not to look too obvious. She stood up, pretended to be brushing dirt off her lap, took a quick glance at the man and sat down. "no" She didn't get a good look but saw that the guy took a glance at her.

"What about the manager?"

Manager? Nadia looked around to find the manager. She wasn't sure if it's a man or woman.

"on your left…"

Nadia snapped her head to the left and noticed the man in a nice suit was looking their way. Her heart again began to beat faster, thinking that they might be in danger of some sort.

"Should we leave?" Nadia leaned forward and whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" Lucy said in the same tone.

Nadia jerked back and scratched her head in absolute confusion.

"Every one of these people…isn't as nice as you think they are. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Nadia still had no clue and shook her head.

Lucy blew out a big sigh. _This is going to be so difficult, Amy. _What Lucy wanted to do was make her stronger by changing the way she thinks. She wanted to make Nadia aware of the people around her at all times. The way the fitness instructor thinks now is that everyone is like her, harmless and minding their own business…which it's true most of the time but not all the time. If she kept on thinking that way, it would only bring problems for herself. Even though her physical appearance doesn't appear weak, her voice does and someone will know what type of person she is just by talking to her. Conniving people will able to see that and take advantage of her. She had thought that the situation with Jehan would make her aware of her surroundings but she realized that Nadia hasn't changed. Lucy once asked Ethan about how Nadia used to be. He said all the good things about his sister but what she wanted to know are the bad things. Shy, quiet, and lack of confidence were the first 3 that came out of his mouth. It seemed that Nadia is still the same way, but a little bit better than before.

"See that woman 3 tables to your left. She has been staring at us for a while."

Nadia didn't notice until now. "maybe she's just looking around."

_There she goes again_. Lucy was disappointed but did expect her to say that. "Just because she's a woman doesn't mean she's harmless." She said in a whisper.

Nadia frowned and took a quick glance at the woman. She still couldn't see what was wrong with the woman. That woman looked as young as her and didn't look anything like a bad person.

"I understand what you're getting at, but I'm positive that woman…" Nadia took another quick glance. "is as harmless as me."

"You cannot tell by the looks." Lucy said in a frustrated tone, feeling as though she was talking to Janet. But Janet knew better. Janet herself has this cute innocent look. Nobody could tell she used to steal when she was younger and nobody could tell she used to be a government agent.

"She's smiling at us." Nadia quickly turned her head back.

Lucy took a look and saw that Nadia could be right, in this case. The woman is smiling at them. Her smile slowly curled up into a bigger grin as another thought hit her. "Hey…" She leaned forward and whispered. "What do you think of her?"

"What?" Seeing the brunette's expression, Nadia slowly came to understand what she meant and turned her head to the left to take a clearer look. What she saw was a pretty young thin blonde with medium length hair about her age. Sitting in front of her was an older woman.

When Lucy tilted her head, Nadia knew exactly what she meant. But they're in Barcelona, it wouldn't work out anyway. That's what she said to the brunette who immediately wore a face of frustration.

"I'm not asking you to take her home with you. Besides, maybe she's from London. You'll never know if you don't try."

The mature Lucy would never talk to her in that way, in that tone, talking to her like a kid. Nadia didn't like it, but understood her intention. "Should…I…go over there to introduce myself?" She said in a low voice that clearly showed that she didn't want to. She had never done it before and wasn't sure what to do or what to say. The thought of being rejected frightened her. What scared her even more is that she may have misinterpreted the blonde's smile.

"mm…" Lucy didn't think it would be a good idea with so many people around. So she made the same suggestion she once did to Anthony, just to be on the safe side and this time she made sure the blonde knows who the drink was from.

Nadia wasn't sure why she was so nervous. Her knees were shaking under the table. She didn't dare look at the blonde until the brunette told her to. "There's nothing to be afraid of. If she rejects the drink, it's okay. If she laughs, it's okay. Don't take it so seriously. You are beautiful on the inside and the outside."

Nadia leaned over and whispered. "She's laughing." Lucy immediately reached out to grab her hand when she saw that Nadia was about to hide her face from the blonde.

"Don't do that." Lucy whispered in a commanding tone. "Look at her and smile."

Nadia couldn't believe what the brunette wanted her to do. It was clear to her that the blonde is laughing at her.

"Just look at…her…and…smile." Lucy continued to give her words of encouragement when Nadia didn't move.

_She's right_. This is nothing compared to what she went thru back a few years ago, experiencing life and death. _There is no need to be scared_. Nadia took in a deep breath, blew it out and did what the brunette told her to do.

* * *

The 3-week trip finally ended. Janet was more anxious than anyone and couldn't wait to hear about the trip. Inside the living room were Lucy sitting next to Amy on one couch, Janet and Scud on another, and Ethan on the recliner feeding the baby. Nadia was taking a shower.

Janet and Ethan let out the loudest gasp after they heard what happened at the restaurant. What Lucy did was had a waitress brought a non-alcoholic drink over to that young woman with a note. It was a very simple note. All it said was to ask the young woman to join them in the swimming pool one hour later for a friendly chat.

"Did she go?" Janet asked.

"She did…with her aunt."

"Is she interested?"

"mhm" Lucy hung her arm around the blonde's shouders who immediately took away her arm while giving her a frown. Amy had told her numerous times not to do that in front of Ethan.

It had been over a year since they dated. Lucy didn't think Ethan would mind and had already got over her soon to be wife. She turned to look at Ethan and couldn't tell what he was thinking because he was looking at the baby.

"…that's great" Amy said.

"mm…not really…"

"Why? Long distant relationships could work. If she really likes her, then I think Nadia should give her a chance."

"Because…she wasn't interested in me, she's interested in her." Nadia said as she walked towards Ethan. It had been 3 weeks since she saw the baby. "Wow…look how big you've grown." Holding the baby, Nadia sat next to Lucy.

All turned to look at the brunette who shrugged her shoulders. Scud wasn't surprised, Janet, Ethan and Amy were.

"Then what happened?" Janet asked.

"nothing." Lucy responded.

"She gave her her number." Nadia said while looking at the baby.

"Didn't you tell her you're unavailable?" Amy asked, a little upset with the whole situation.

"I did…." Lucy responded quickly in defensive mode.

"it's not the first time that happened." All turned towards Scud and expected him to clarify. It happened to him too in his younger days. He got upset and stayed away from her for a few weeks.

"It's not my fault, Scud." Lucy remembered that time very clearly. Scud was interested in the same girl she was. "You said you wouldn't mind." But he did mind because every time she went out with that girl, Scud wouldn't join them.

Amy was starting to think that it wasn't a good idea for her fiancée to take Nadia to lesbian bars. It just won't work. Girls would go for her gorgeous charming fiancée not the shy Nadia.

"Nadia, I'll go to lesbian bars with you."

It surprised Lucy because Amy wasn't too fond of those places.

"I'll go too." Janet volunteered to help a friend in need even though she never liked those places.

"That's not necessary." Nadia placed a gentle kiss on the baby's cheek.

"Nadiaaaa…." Lucy thought she had given up already. "Just because it didn't work out the way you expected, it doesn't mean that it's always going to happen that way. You just have to keep trying.…."

Ethan agreed and spoke words of encouragement. When she found out the breakup, he too was shocked.

When Amy also tried to persuade her, Nadia looked up and glanced at each one of them wearing a look of concern. She wasn't going to say anything but seeing that they were all worried about her, she decided to tell them what happened on the train from Belgium to London.

"you met someone?!" Lucy said loudly in shock because she didn't notice. _How come I didn't notice_?

Nadia could tell how concerned they all were because all of them were asking questions at the same time.

"She's…a nurse."

What Lucy wanted to know is her name so she could check her background but she remained patient as Nadia slowly spilled out the details. "She works at the Evelina London Children's Hospital." Nadia lifted the baby and held it closer to her face as all focused their attention towards her.. "She has big blue eyes just like you." She said to the baby. "…and golden hair just like you." Nadia placed a kiss on the baby's cheek.

Lucy couldn't wait. Nadia was taking too long. "What's her name? Scud can check her out."

"I don't want you to do that."

Lucy was disappointed once again. Three weeks of lecture still can't make Nadia understand.

"it's for your safety." It's not just for hers, it's for all of them.

"She's right." Amy wouldn't have agreed if she was still a DEB. Scud and Janet also agreed.

"I know what you're thinking but it's not possible. I approached her, she didn't approach me."

"that's not the only reason, we just want to make sure she's…clean."

That thought never occurred to Nadia. "if you saw her, you wouldn't think that."

_Here she goes again_. "You cannot tell by the way she looks." Lucy responded in a stronger frustrated tone.

Nadia stood up and gave the baby back to Ethan. She was getting tired from the trip and from this conversation. Years ago, she would agree with them but they were no longer in danger, they shouldn't have to worry about everyone they meet.

Before heading upstairs, Nadia spoke in calm tone. "You're not a criminal when I met you."

Lucy wanted to respond to that but didn't have a chance because Nadia already disappeared from the living room. Letting out a big sigh of frustration, Lucy flopped back down on the couch. "Scud, check that girl out."

"Sure, what's her name?"

Lucy came to realize that Nadia had no intention of telling them. At the corner of her eyes, she saw her blonde lover looking at her and not in a good way. She had no idea why until later in the night where she found herself all alone in the master bedroom. It had been 3 weeks of separation. Lucy thought that her lover missed her. She did.

Standing at the blonde's bedroom door, Lucy knocked twice on the door. When the door swung opened, she was confused with the question being asked.

"Yes?"

Noticing her odd behavior, Lucy frowned at the blonde. "umm…" She wanted to ask what was wrong but decided not to. "I miss you." She said that the moment she saw her and expected her lover to say the same thing now but there was no response. She moved one step forward, then another and let herself in since the blonde didn't stop her which it's a good sign. Inside her bedroom was a desk with a laptop and full size bed with everything organized and neatly placed. She had been in her bedroom but not on her bed. Lucy walked around, touching a few things as she walked passed them.

"This feels comfortable."

Lucy sat on the edge of the bed, bouncing up and down. She then laid her back down and rolled once to the left, then to the right before settling her entire body in the middle, spreading her arms and legs wide, looking up the ceiling and letting out a big sigh of happiness and relaxation. Her eyes closed, her smile spread from cheek to cheek for a long moment until she heard the blonde's voice.

"What are you doing?" Amy said, standing at the foot of the bed.

"mmm…sleeping."

"what did I say before?"

She said a lot of things before. Lucy wasn't sure which part she was referring to. "hmm?" Her smile grew when she saw her lover climbing on top of her. Her hands reached up and as she was about to hold the blonde, she slowly laid her hands back down after hearing the blonde's question.

"Didn't I tell you to keep a close eye on her? Didn't I tell you not to let her go anywhere alone?"

At that moment, it felt like her mother was talking to her. Lucy once had a puppy when she was younger but it got killed by a car because of her negligence. Something interesting caught her attention and she accidentally couldn't hold on to the leash when the puppy ran across the street.

"Where were you when she met that girl?"

"I…was probably at the bathroom."

"for an hour?" Amy didn't know exactly how long, but since they exchanged phone numbers and Nadia knew so much about the blonde, it had to be at least half an hour if not an hour.

"I…probably dozed off."

"you dozed off…"

The look on the blonde's face told her it was unacceptable.

"mhm" Lucy responded like a little child.

"She didn't get hurt. She just met a new friend."

She saw the look her lover was giving her and knew what she was thinking. _Thank god she didn't get hurt._

"She approached that girl. The old Nadia would never be able to do that."

Looking at the blonde who's hovering over her, Lucy hoped the blonde could see it that way. There was a reason for the trip. One is to get Nadia's mind off Alexis. Two is to teach her to become more confident, more aware of the people around her. Lucy was quite proud of herself that she was able to do that in such a short time. When the blonde didn't speak, Lucy lifted herself up and slowly inched her mouth closer to the blonde's. Their lips touched. Lucy pulled back for a quick moment before planting another gentle kiss. Not getting any kind of rejection, Lucy placed her left hand behind the blonde's back and pulled her down on top of her while deepening the kiss. Her right hand glided down to her lover's buttocks. "I miss you…so much…mmm…mmmm" Lucy said between kisses as she placed a trail of wet kisses from the blonde's mouth to her neck. Her legs wrapped around the blonde to hold her closer.

Amy spontaneously moaned in response to the brunette's touch. She had no idea how it led to this. This was definitely not what she had in mind when she let the brunette in. _Oh god_. "uhhhhh…." She moaned loudly when she felt a hand on her breast and another hand on her behind. At this moment, she came to realize that the brunette lying underneath her still hasn't reach maturity when it comes to sex. Having it once a month wouldn't satisfy her. She probably would want it at least twice a week. As for Amy, she has to be in the mood for it and the moment has to be right and this is definitely not the right moment. Amy grabbed the brunette's hands and pinned them down against the sheets.

"What did I say 3 weeks ago?"

Lucy was quite disappointed that she couldn't proceed. "I don't remember. It's so long ago. My memory isn't so good." She let out a soft smile but knew that her intelligent girlfriend knows that she is lying.

"Not until you can remember…"

"…but…Ammmyyyy…that could take years, maybe never…"

"Didn't you say you're okay with a sexless marriage?"

"…but…..." Lucy regretted for saying that. "you're not serious….are you?"

Amy got off the bed and opened the door. "Lucy, I'm tired."

"…please tell me you're not serious…" Lucy said, standing in front of the blonde. The thought of lying to the blonde crossed her mind. But she knew it wouldn't work.

_She's right. Waiting for her to get her memory back could take years_. Years without sex just wouldn't be good for newlyweds. Amy leaned forward to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Not until we get married, okay?" She said in a gentle tone as her thumb gently rubbed her cheek.

Hearing that, Lucy let out a sigh of relief. "Okay." Waiting for more than a month, she can deal with that. Lucy gave her a short good night kiss. "Good night." One inch away from her lover's face, she remained unmoved in her current position as she looked at her lover in more detail as if she had not seen her for a very long time. She leaned in closer and closer and closed the gap between them. What started as a short kiss ended up being a longer one and ended more than just kissing. Her hands wrapped around the blonde's waist as she continued what she was doing before, placing gentle kisses on her lover's neck and jaw.

Amy's breathing began to quicken again. "Lucccccy…"

"I'm not going to do anything else. I just want to do this."

It was difficult to resist especially when she could feel her gorgeous girlfriend's tongue on her earlobe. But she had to. Amy pushed her away and said good night before closing the door, not even giving her lover a chance to respond back. Leaning against the closed door, Amy exhaled loudly. 7 months without sex. The criminal she met as a DEB could control herself. The mature Keira could control herself. It made her wonder if this young brunette could. _She said before she would be there whenever she's ready._ _Would she be ready to have a kid in 5 months?..._because that's what she was planning to do, after she graduates, 5 months from now.

Meanwhile, standing outside the door with a blank expression with her mouth slightly opened, Lucy remained still as if she had seen a ghost. It wasn't a ghost. It was a moment of familiarity that flashed into her brain when she spoke to the blonde. _I'm not going to do anything else. I just want to do this. _Lucy heard the voice before from somewhere but she couldn't remember who said it. Was it Alexis? If it is, she wouldn't have to worry about it because the day after that night when Alexis got drunk, she called Alexis to clarify what she said that night. 'I love you.' That's what Alexis whispered into her ear that night and it made Lucy wondered if Alexis was the one she slept with. It wasn't. Thank goodness. Because if it is, she wouldn't be able to continue to be her friend. It just won't work. It would be extremely awkward. If the blonde finds out, she would probably never speak to Alexis ever again. Amy would probably ask her to stay away from Alexis.

* * *

Even with the comfortable king size bed, Lucy didn't sleep well that night not because she didn't have the blonde sleeping next to her, but because of that small piece of memory. Amy has already left for school. She and Nadia were the only ones inside the house.

"You don't look so good. Are you feeling alright?" Nadia said as she took a sip of the coffee. She too woke up later than usual. But unlike the brunette, she slept very well in her comfortable bed.

"…just a small headache.." Lucy banged the side of her head with the bottom of her fist and hoped that a cup of the morning coffee would make her feel better.

"I…umm…"

Lucy looked up and responded immediately, thinking that Nadia was going to apologize for her behavior yesterday.

"That's not what I was going to say."

Lucy was surprised that she was wrong.

"I know you're worried about me. But can you trust me on this? I am a hundred percent sure that she's not after us."

"What's her name?"

"Lucy! Are you listening to me?!"

"Nadia, I just want to know her name." Lucy said in a calm tone. She wasn't in the mood to argue. Sooner or later, she'll find out about that girl and she will do background check on her regardless of what Nadia said. She just won't tell her that she did. She wasn't sure why Nadia was making a big deal over it.

"I don't want you to check her background. I'll find out myself. She'll tell me when she's ready."

"Okay. I just want to know her name." Lucy said as she took a bite of the buttered toast. What Nadia did later, she didn't expected it. Nadia got up and slammed her palms on the table in frustration. Lucy jerked back, surprised with her action.

Nadia always picks up after herself but at this moment, she didn't feel like doing that. As she was about to leave the dining room, she just had one more thing to say. It was what she had wanted to say before the brunette interrupted her. "I didn't tell Amy about it. You were talking in your sleep again." Nadia saw the brunette was paying full attention to her. Making a deal with the brunette crossed her mind but she knew the former criminal mastermind would never keep her promise. "You said…." Nadia hesitated for a moment and wondered if she should tell her.

_What the..? _Lucy didn't expect Nadia to just walk out after saying that. She immediately got up and followed her to the bedroom. "Nadia, what did I say?" Lucy asked, standing outside of the bedroom door. She repeated but didn't get a response. Lucy followed her towards the front door.

"don't follow me" Nadia said before walking out.

Lucy didn't like it one bit. _Did she just threaten me?_ Well, threatened would be too strong of a word. It sounded more like she was given a choice. 'Follow her and she'll tell Amy or follow her and she won't tell her what she knows.' Lucy didn't expect that at all from the woman with the angelic face. But she was happy though because Nadia has changed; _she believed what she is doing is right and she stuck to it._

* * *

Standing in front of the children's hospital, Lucy looked up at the building. She never liked to be threatened and of course, she wasn't going to listen to a sweet harmless woman like Nadia. After she ate breakfast and got dressed, she tracked Nadia's cell phone to see where she went. Now all she had to do is wait at the lobby area to catch a glimpse of the mystery blonde. She took one of the magazines and scanned the area from time to time to make sure she didn't miss Nadia. One magazine after another, she took a look at the watch. It's almost 12. She wondered if they were eating lunch now at the café down the hall or in the cafeteria. Sooner or later, Nadia had to come this way. Lucy decided it's best to wait. Flipping through pages of a magazine, something caught her attention. On the page was a picture of the same blonde that once got her into trouble. The picture was clearly taken without permission because the famous blonde who is well known in the USA and many other foreign countries had her head down while holding hands with a tall young man with dark hair walking out of a night club. "It's official…they're dating…" Lucy mumbled softly to herself as she read the article. She was so focused on the article, she didn't realize someone was standing in front of her until that person spoke.

"I told you not to follow me." Nadia whispered in a frustrated tone.

"I didn't. I just had nothing to do, so I thought I sit here, relaxing, wasting time…reading a magazine." Lucy held up the magazine.

"What's with the glasses?"

"…my eyes aren't so good…lately…."

"Stop it." She never once talked to the former criminal mastermind that way. This is the first time.

Lucy wasn't in the mood to continue playing games either. "Then introduce her to me."

"No."

"Look, Nadia…" Lucy trailed off when she noticed a lot of people suddenly headed towards an area in the lobby. It also got Nadia's attention as well. "Who's that?" What she saw was a crowd of people surrounding somebody whom she couldn't see. Nadia had no idea either and didn't expect this type of situation in a children's hospital. Lucy was extremely curious and wanted to take a closer look. As she was about to head to that direction, she was prevented from doing so.

"Don't…they're taking pictures." Nadia said as she held onto her hand.

"It's okay. I just want to see." Nadia was unwilling to let her go. The small crowd got bigger and bigger. Security guards were trying to lead the person of interest out the main door. Lucy pulled her hand away from Nadia's grasp, covered her mouth, and headed towards the main entrance to catch a glimpse of the center of attention.

* * *

Back inside the duplex

Nadia avoided the brunette the entire day. Amy only noticed her strange behavior when it was dinner time. She had been in her bedroom the entire time doing her homework after coming back from school.

Inside the dining room was everyone except Ethan. It was the way Nadia was ignoring the brunette when she asked her to pass the salt that make them wondered if the fitness instructor was upset with the brunette. All minded their own business for 2 days until Nadia couldn't take it anymore.

Inside the living room, Lucy was showing a few designs of her wedding outfit to her bride to be.

"Which one do you like?"

"mmm…I like this one." Amy pointed at the sketch.

"That looks good." Janet said, sitting next to the brunette. "I like this one." Alexis came up with 3 designs, all in black.

"I…like this one." Lucy said, holding the last design up. The former DEBS looked at each other like they knew the former criminal mastermind would pick that one. It was very obvious because that one had a cape.

"that looks good, but…don't you think…that one is not quite appropriate for…weddings?" Amy said before it would be up to the brunette, but she still wanted to try to persuade her from wearing that. It didn't make her look like batman, but she still thinks the one she chose would be more appropriate.

"I'm going to ask Alexis if she could change it a little….…"

All turned their attention towards the girl who always spoke with a gentle voice but at this moment, her voice was completely the opposite from that.

"Are you happy now?" Nadia said after taking a seat at the recliner. "She hasn't called me since that day." She crossed her arms and stared at the brunette.

Amy wondered what happened because the Nadia she knows for years wouldn't act like the one who is sitting in the recliner.

"I didn't do anything." Lucy had to lie. That day at the hospital, she met Nadia's new friend after the person whom everybody was interested in left the hospital. She did check the nurse's background but didn't find anything unusual. But that doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with her.

"Stop lying to me because I know you did. You didn't find anything wrong, did you?" Nadia was too upset to be just sitting there. "You shouldn't have shown up. Now she's not picking up my calls because of you." That day that they met, her new friend cancelled the movie date. She didn't think anything was out of the ordinary until now.

"I didn't do anything." Lucy held up her hands in surrender when she saw the blonde staring at her.

"Not intentionally…but didn't you see the way she looked at you?"

Lucy was speechless. She didn't expect Nadia to be acting like Scud, but Nadia wasn't entirely wrong. Lucy did notice the way her new friend Holly was looking at her. The way she was staring at her when she shook her hand, ignoring everyone else. "How is that my fault?"

"you didn't?…" Amy had no idea until now.

"Were you planning never to introduce her to us?" Lucy paused to let her words sink in and hoped they understand that the blonde might fall for her regardless. She noticed that Nadia didn't like what she said by her facial expression. She had never seen that before. "So it's a good thing that you find out now…than later."

"Lucy!" What the brunette said sounded arrogant. Amy couldn't stand it.

All could see that Nadia was holding in her anger. She's never the type who likes to argue. If the brunette apologized, she would have forgiven her. But, at this moment, she found it difficult to forgive this young former criminal leader especially with her cocky attitude.

"Have you ever thought that maybe she could fall for me if we had more time together?"

Lucy realized that she had hurt her feelings. She apologized but deep inside, she felt she did the right thing.

All remained silent and noticed that Nadia's anger subsided quickly as she let out a deep breath and flopped down on the recliner, no longer staring at the brunette. "I really like her." Nadia said to herself as she looked up the ceiling. "We have a lot in common." She said in her gentle tone.

All wondered how much she knows about the blonde nurse in just 3 days.

"she's funny, she's kind…she's…." Nadia covered her face with both hands. "I thought she likes me." Her loud sigh of frustration could be heard. It was wrong to blame the brunette for being there. She knew that. But that's all she could come up with because after that day, her new friend didn't call her back and didn't pick up her phone. She thought about paying her a visit at the hospital, but decided not to since they only met for a short time.

"does she know you're gay?" Knowing Nadia, Lucy wasn't sure if she told her. Maybe she stopped calling because she found out. That could be the reason.

"No, but I can feel it." Nadia saw the look on their faces and knew what they were thinking. "I know I'm right." Even though she didn't tell her, there were moments where she could tell that the blonde liked her by the way they were looking at each others' eyes for a long time without saying anything. It was the way she laughed when she taught her some common French phrases and it didn't come out right. It was the way her eyes sparkled with interest when she told her what she does for a living. That started the long conversation.

"maybeeee…" Lucy had a thought but was again cut off.

"I know she's like us." As she was about to explain how she knows, her phone rang. Her eyes opened wide in surprise when she found out who it was. "It's her." Nadia quickly picked it up and motioned to all of them to stay quiet. "Hello…hi Holly…uh huh…oh…I understand…" She continued to listen carefully as she paced back and forth. She does that when she's nervous. "mmm….tomorrow night? …Okay. See you then."

She stopped pacing after hanging up and looked at the three curious minds staring at her. It wasn't what she thought. She got it all wrong. "She…was…busy." Her eyes fell on the brunette. "I'm sorry… but please don't…follow me again."

"okay."

"Lucy, I'm serious. I really like her."

"okay…" Lucy responded again in an assuring tone.

Nadia didn't believe her. The only way to be sure is to ask the blonde. "Amy, please…." She believes that Amy is the only one whom the brunette will listen to.

Amy understood the brunette's concern and like Nadia, she didn't believe her either. "How about we do this? Lucy will follow her for one week." She didn't think Nadia would believe her if she simply agreed. "just as a precaution…" Amy held both of her hands. "…and if you feel the time is right, introduce her to us. Okay?"

That night, Lucy slept over because the blonde asked her to. She didn't expect the blonde to slip into bed with her especially after being told that she would be sleeping alone until after marriage. She later understood why.

"So what did you find out?" Amy was quite disappointed to only find out about it today.

"Absolutely nothing." With hands locked behind her head, Lucy looked up at the ceiling, letting out a deep breath. But what she was thinking of wasn't the blonde nurse.

"…and that's not good because…"

"just like how Nadia can feel it, I can feel there's something wrong with her."

Lucy lifted herself up and leaned on her left elbow.

"Do you know what her last name is?"

Amy shook her head.

"same as yours."

"Smith is a very common name."

"exactly." Lucy placed her hands back down and turned to look at the blonde. "That's why people who wanted to hide their true identity would choose that. It would be difficult for anyone to find them."

"…and so you chose Walker-Smith because that's a very common name?"

Lucy thought that Amy would agree with her because she used to be an agent. "Amy, I'm telling you…there is something about that girl."

"From the beginning…please…" Amy wanted to know exactly what happened in detail. It was very short. She was surprised that her lover could sense something wrong.

"Maybe Nadia was right…" Amy reached out with her right hand to gently caress the brunette's cheek. "Do you realize how beautiful you are?" She admitted it.

Lucy didn't expect her to say that.

"It seems like she really likes her, so I hope you're wrong." Amy said as she continued to softly rub the brunette's cheek.

"I hope I'm wrong too."

"Then I think…you should disguise as a man…cuz there is no way she wouldn't recognize you."

That's what Lucy had in mind.

"You'll need a fake beard…and hair..and brows." Amy smiled as she gently touched each part of her face, wondering what the brunette would look like as a man. "…and you'll probably need to wrap these up…"

Lucy gasped inward and closed her eyes for 2 seconds when she felt the blonde's hand on her breast. She wasn't sure what the blonde had in mind when she felt warm wet kisses on her neck. "I thought you said not until marriage."

"mhm…."

"Then what are you doing?" Lucy isn't complaining but would like to know why.

"Making out…don't you want to?" Amy asked between kisses and continued to glide her hand under the brunette's pajamas top.

"mmmm….I like that." Lucy rolled on top of the blonde and captured her mouth in a deep kiss, sliding her tongue inside her mouth. "mm…." Her hand glided down underneath the blonde's pajamas, cupping her breast, gently kneading it.

"I think that's enough for today." Breathing heavily, Amy quickly got off and left the bedroom in a hurry before it got any further. That's not what she had in mind but had trouble controlling her own sexual desire.

Meanwhile, Lucy wasn't disappointed and thought that it would be better not to sleep together until marriage. Nadia still had not told her what she said in her sleep during the trip. She was afraid that if the blonde were planning to sleep with her, Amy would hear her talking in her sleep again. She made a mental note to ask Nadia tomorrow.

* * *

Next day

Lucy didn't realize how uncomfortable it would be to disguise as a man. Her plan was to have Scud follow the blonde nurse from her house to work and she'd take the other shift. Tonight, Nadia and Holly went out for dinner before heading to the cinema. Since it was a small restaurant, she didn't go inside.

Amy was anxiously waiting for the brunette to come home. When she saw her disguise, she couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably. It's not because she did a bad job of disguising herself. It's actually the opposite. With the fake hair, beard, thick brows and blazer with the shoulder pads, she did look like a man.

Lying tiredly on the bed with her shirt untucked, Lucy took off her wig and tossed it on the table next to the bed.

"What did you find out?" Amy asked, sitting next to the brunette on the bed.

"Nothing…they were having a good time." Lucy was happy for Nadia but was disappointed that she couldn't find anything.

"that's good." Amy said as she helped the brunette unbuttoned her black shirt.

"yea…I guess…but I still think I'm right." Lucy said as she scratched the beard. "Is my face red?" The beard was making her uncomfortable. She had been scratching it all day.

"no…you look good….as a guy…"

"I'm thinking this is bad idea." Lucy didn't think this through. She should have just let Scud take care of it.

"Why? Are you…that tired?" Amy had been on stakeouts before. She found it extremely boring not exhausting.

"I had to go to the men's bathroom." Lucy winced in disgust.

"You didn't?" Amy didn't think of that.

"It's disgusting."

"You saw their pe…."

"No! I meant the toilets are disgusting." It's not like Lucy hasn't seen it before. She is after all the leader of a criminal organization. There was a time when she had her men hunt down one of her followers who betrayed her. She was so furious with him, she went to his apartment to get him herself. When her guys kicked the door open, she found him having sex with a prostitute. She was disgusted at what she saw and wanted to turn away but she can't do that because that would only show her weakness to her followers. It's just a male body. That's all it is.

Lucy had planned on a different disguise each day. She's not sure if she could continue. It's boring and it's uncomfortable.

Amy squeezed the tensed muscles from her shoulders and arms. "I didn't think Nadia would get over Alexis that fast. What does Holly look like?"

"she's okay…not as hot as Alexis." Lucy realized that she said the wrong thing when the blonde stopped moving. It's true. She's not. "I mean…not as hot as you." Lucy smiled wide and hoped that blonde wouldn't get upset over such a silly thing.

"Then I think Holly would be better for her."

"mhm" With her eyes closed, Lucy responded in a tired tone.

"I think you need to take the wrap off."

"yeaa…" Lucy slowly sat up and allowed the blonde to help un-wrap the cloth around her breasts. "aaahhh..that feels so much better." Lucy took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly before lying down again, stretching her arms and legs.

"What's…that?"

Lucy looked up and saw the blonde wincing in disgust.

"Last time I checked, you didn't have that."

Signs of discomfort were shown on Lucy's face as she unbuttoned her jeans. The moment she lowered her underwear, an object of tanned color immediately sprung up, causing the blonde to cover her mouth in surprise followed by loud laughter.

"I had to make it look real." Too tired to take off her jeans, Lucy flop her back down on the sheets.

"you look weird." Amy scanned the brunette up and down. She had never seen that before but knows it exists and knows what it's used for.

"you should see the way the cashier was looking at me…she was probably thinking I'm weird…cuz why would I need this when I already have one."

Amy again couldn't contain her laughter, laughing more loudly than before. It was a long moment, but she finally was able to control herself. Her face wore a shade of pink from laughing so hard.

"She's going to thank you for doing this." Amy placed a kiss on the brunette's bearded face and found it not as kissable as the brunette's baby smooth skin. The hair made her skin itchy. She grabbed a bunch of hair from the beard with her thumb and finger and pulled it to see if it would come off but realized how real it was when the brunette yelped.

"Sorry…" Amy kissed her on the lips to apologize and winced in discomfort when her beard again touched her chin. "Is that glued to your face?"

"Yea." Lucy said as she scratched her chin.

"take it off" Amy was worried that it would do damage to her face.

"…later…." Lucy said in a fatigue tone.

"take it off…" Amy said in commanding tone. "I don't want to kiss you if you don't…"

Lucy grabbed the blonde by the shoulders, pulled her down, and crushed her lips against the blonde's soft lips. "How does that feel?"

"Itchy."

Lucy deliberately pressed the side of her face against the blonde's again.

"owww…"

Her reaction caused both to chuckle. As both of their laughter came to a halt, Amy leaned down for an open mouth kiss to show the brunette that no matter what she looks like, she still loves her. She continued to kiss the brunette's bearded face as if it didn't bother her but it really did. She would rather kiss her without the beard. While kissing the brunette, Amy rolled on top of her lover and realized it was a mistake when she felt the object pressing against her core.

Lucy smiled tiredly as she watched the blonde helped her take her jeans off as well as that thing. She's not into kinky stuff and knows her lover isn't into it either. After that thing was tossed on the floor, she was confused with the blonde's action. Her lover was crawling on top of her.

"Amy, I'm tired."

"Are you feeling okay?" Amy was planning on just kissing her.

Lucy nodded once and assured her with a quick kiss. Even though she wasn't sure what the blonde had in mind, she knew that she couldn't allow the blonde to sleep on the same bed with her, at least not until marriage. What she found out from Nadia had her thinking. She would be lying if it didn't bother her.

Cheating. Lucy once witnessed what a person is capable of if he or she found out that their lover was sleeping with someone else. She had never seen that person before until that day. It was a bloody scene. Three dead inside an apartment, two women and a man, two were naked. She knew what kind of person that man was. With his good looks and body built like a boxer, it didn't surprise anyone that he would have more than one woman. But the one who believed that he only has one was none other than his girlfriend. That girl was hopelessly in love with that man, a follower of Lucy's. Other than looks, he had power, money, and followers. It drove that girl insane, to the point where she couldn't think of anything else when she saw him with another woman, so she did what her jealous mind told her to do, kill that woman. But she was naïve to think that her lover wouldn't shoot back to protect himself. She was also naïve to think that he didn't have a gun hidden under his pillow.

* * *

1 week later

Her hands clasped together. Her knees shook nervously like never before. It wasn't the day of the wedding. It was the day they were going to take their wedding pictures. Her heart pounded out of control, not because of it. There was something more serious than taking wedding photos at this moment. Her fiancée didn't show up. Her cell phone could not be tracked. It was shut off. There were no signs of her anywhere. Sitting in the living room were Nadia, Janet with the baby, Scud and the bride to be. Amy had contacted Alexis to see if she knows, but it was a dead end.

"I knew there was something wrong…I knew it." _She was too tired to make out. That isn't like her. _

Amy blamed herself for not confronting the brunette. After that night, Lucy didn't sleep over nor did she show up as often as she used to.

"Scud, I want to call my former boss." Amy could no longer sit and hope that the brunette had a good reason for not showing up and not picking up their calls. She needed someone with authority to help.

Pacing back and forth, Scud ran out of ideas himself. At this moment, he wished the brunette still had a tracker in her.

"Wait…let me call Uncle Nick." He wanted to make sure and he was right. After hanging up the call with Uncle Nick, he called Anthony to see if he could provide any assistance. Last thing he wanted is to alert the government officials. There is a possibility that she was kidnapped. Calling the government officials wouldn't be a good thing if that's the case. "Damn it, where is he?" They were hoping someone would call them, whether it's the kidnappers or the brunette.

Silence and nervousness filled the living room until Nadia spoke her thoughts which shocked all of them.

"Amy, I know it's not Holly. It's not." Nadia still believes that Holly isn't the reason for the brunette's disappearance but couldn't help thinking that there could be a chance that it is. Tears brim her eyes.

Amy snapped her head towards Scud. "Holly…"

Scud stopped pacing. "…maybe…Jean Claude…"

"Oh god." Amy didn't think of that because the brunette reiterated many times that he won't be looking for them. The thought of Holly working for Jean Claude appeared in her mind. But it didn't make sense. If he wanted to get them, he didn't need Holly…unless…unless she works for "…Jehan?"

Nadia and Janet covered their mouths in shock. Jehan had always wanted to know who her friends are. Just because he's in prison, it doesn't mean he can't have someone else do the work for him.

"Oh god…" Amy was beginning to feel lightheaded and immediately sat herself down on the couch. The thought of Jehan being the culprit made more sense. In fact, it made perfect sense as she thought more about it. "She must have gone to Paris…to tell him about Lucy…that day."

Nadia gasped loudly when she realized that it could be true because Holly didn't contact her for 2 days. She couldn't be reached. "She said she was busy…" Nadia herself needed to sit down. At that moment, she realized Lucy was right_. You cannot tell by the way she looks. How many times did she say that?_ Nadia blamed herself for not listening, for being so naïve.

Scud could see that they were all panicking. He was the only who could think. "Nadia, call Holly, see what she says."

With the speaker on and volume on high, all remained silent for the other end to pick up. Their hearts pounded nervously at each long tone. Nobody picked up which meant to them that Holly is mostly likely the one.

"we have to do something. I can't just sit here."

Scratching his goatee and hair, Scud was feeling the same way. If Jehan found out who she is, then he knows he had been set up.

"We have to go. It's not safe here."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 53**

Scud decided not to call the Head of Division 16 yet, not until he tracked the location of her car. It was a good idea but it's not going to be easy to find the brunette if it's parked in the streets. It would be worse if the car is still in the brunette's home.

"Scud, is this one of Lucy's surprises? Because if it is, you better tell me right now" The thought just occurred to her as they were driving to the destination.

"no.." Scud responded calmly. He understood why she would think that. Even though the destination wasn't what they thought it would be, it didn't put him at ease. There could be a lot of reasons for the brunette to be there although the car being there doesn't mean that she is. Janet and Nadia were told to stay at the restaurant in the meantime as a precaution.

Standing inside the extravagant 5-star hotel, they could only wonder how the brunette got here, by force or willingly. Scud called her cell phone again but there was no response. After asking the receptionist, he realized it was no use because the receptionist won't give out the guest information without permission.

"Shoot…." He had no choice but to go back and tried to see if he can hack into their system, while Amy stayed behind. She's not sure how she can find the brunette even if she booked a room since it's such a big hotel. More questions entered her mind. What is she doing here? Did someone kidnap her? It's not possible. There are cameras everywhere. Is she even here? Her car may be but she might not. She couldn't help thinking of the worst. What she wanted to do is close her eyes and think of all the events that happened in the last 2 weeks but she couldn't because she was afraid that she would miss the brunette coming in and out. There were a lot of people walking around in the lobby.

"Focus…focus…" Amy said to herself as she scanned the area for anybody suspicious, anything out of the ordinary. Those 2 guys there standing near the revolving door, another guy on the phone in the corner looked suspicious to her because he was looking around. Is anyone dressed in a way that they shouldn't be? It's getting cold at this time of the year. Nobody was wearing short sleeves or shorts. Most were wearing jackets. There were a lot of them wearing suits, some in casual attire with jeans. Amy suddenly bounced up as a thought occurred to her. _Lucy could still be in disguise_. One week of surveillance of Holly was a time limit she set for Nadia. But knowing the former criminal mastermind, she would still continue the stake out to prove that she's right. Her fiancée would do anything to keep her friends and family safe. "Lucy, where are you?" The thought of her fiancée being captured while on stake out crossed her mind. She had no idea when it happened. It could've been last night since she didn't talk to her last night. Maybe it wasn't her that texted her this morning. Maybe she was forced to text her so they wouldn't think she's missing, so they would have time to do something. Do what? Amy quickly picked up her phone to find the message that the brunette sent her this morning to see if she left some kind of code in the message, something only she would comprehend, but what? As she scrolled down the message, her phone rang. Her heart suddenly began to pound rapidly because she didn't recognize that number. What she had been waiting for almost 2 hours is finally here.…a call from the kidnappers.

* * *

Inside a large room filled with objects in different sizes that nobody has ever seen before, their eyes locked on a metallic object with the size of an adult arm as they walked around the table. It was something she had never seen before. It didn't surprise her who invented it. Scud always had these crazy ideas.

"What is it?"

"What does it look like?"

"…some sort of gun…" It was black with a shape that they were all too familiar with.

Two men were also in awe of the sight in front of them. "laser gun?" One of the men guessed.

"no"

"Well, it's not a machine gun." That would be too obvious even though it looks like one.

"yes it is."

Knowing how Scud is, nothing he invented is simple. "Let me try…"

"No! Don't touch it!"

Nobody could see it but Lucy felt it.

* * *

Current

Her entire body felt as though she had been hit by a lightning bolt. She should be. Someone zapped her with a taser gun from behind.

"ahhhhh…." Lucy groaned in pain as she lifted her head. Sitting in a chair, her hands were tied behind her back. Her feet were bound by…a shirt?.

The moment she lifted her head and saw who was sitting in front of her, she realized her plan had failed miserably. Curiosity once again got her in trouble just like the time she was flirting with a beautiful redhead in her bar. She couldn't resist and used her charm to lure her in. She's never attracted to redheads but this one was different from the rest. She had the smile of an angel, a body of a swimsuit model, and the sweetest voice that she couldn't get enough of. But what she didn't know almost got her killed. That redhead belonged to someone else, someone as powerful as she was. That redhead was sitting alone in the bar because nobody dared to touch her or talk to her, knowing who her owner is. As a result of it, she got a warning. Her expensive car was damaged beyond repair. But that was nothing compared to what he did to the redhead. He imprisoned her. Scud had warned her not to interfere with someone like that, but she wouldn't listen. She can't just stand by and do nothing, knowing that it was her fault for putting the redhead into that situation. If she can't have her, the he can't either. That was what he said to Scud in her lair. To this day, she could still remember his reaction. He gave her a gun and asked her to kill him now because he didn't want to be tortured and die a slow painful death later. Lucy still thinks about her from time to time, wondering where she is now.

"Maybe we should call the police." A gentle voice was heard.

"let me ask him a few questions first"

Lucy looked around and realized she was still in the same place she was at, a very expensive hotel suite.

"you tased me?" Lucy was deeply hurt by it. All she had wanted was to protect the one standing in front of her.

Pictures were thrown on her lap. Some fell on the floor. "Where did you get these?"

"I can't believe you tased me." Her tone sounded surprised more than upset.

"If you don't answer my question, I'm going to call the police."

Lucy stared at the tall man with dark hair, in a blue shirt and black khakis. "Go ahead, then everyone will know what a bastard you are."

"You know very well that these are fake." He picked up one of the pictures and showed it to her girlfriend. "See here…it doesn't line up, it's been photoshopped." He was surprised how real it was, one picture after another. If anyone else saw these, they would believe that it was him with another girl.

Lucy didn't like what she saw. The blonde was nodding in agreement. "Don't listen to him. He's only after your money."

Lucy was confused when the man laughed loudly including the two men standing behind them except the blonde who wore a sympathetic smile.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?"

"you're a rat, a gold-digger, a scum, a bastard, a cheater…" Lucy could go on and on but didn't want to get slapped by that guy who suddenly raised his hand. Luckily, the blonde stopped him from doing so.

"I still can't believe you tazed me…after everything I did for you. You don't want to be with this guy. He's a liar." Lucy was trying to stall as long as she could to wait for her energy to come back, to wait for her muscles to stop vibrating. "I really like your music…especially the one about…" Lucy continued to talk at a slower pace to stall.

Her plan was to drop off the pictures at the front desk but curiosity got the better of her. So instead she booked a room inside the same hotel and waited for the right moment. It was difficult to talk the blonde into letting her inside since she had 2 bodyguards with her. But as a woman herself, she knew just by showing her a picture of her boyfriend kissing another woman would do it. But what she didn't expect was when she was about to leave, she was zapped with a stun gun or a taser gun. Whatever it was, it caused her to black out.

The pretty blonde with pinkish lipstick took one step forward and bent down in front of her. Lucy was memorized by her hypnotic blue eyes the moment she saw her. _She's even more beautiful in person_.

"Promise me you're not going to do this again…to anyone and I'll let you go." After hearing him talk about the love for her music, how he admired her as a person for the things she did, she was convinced that 'he' meant no harm.

Her boyfriend was the first one to object to the idea. "We can't just let him go."

Lucy realized not only her disguise fool all of them, her voice changer was also working too. "That's right. Don't let me go. I want to go to the police so everyone would know what a douche bag you are. Some won't believe it but millions will." Lucy felt she succeeded when she saw how upset he became. It could happen since people tend to believe in the bad things even if he was proven innocent.

"Do you have family here? Do you want to call them?" The blonde spoke in a gentle tone as she stared at her obsessed fan.

This wasn't the first time it happened to her, having an obsessed fan doing crazy things just to meet her. So she had to have protection ready. But it wasn't her that tased the man with a beard. It was her boyfriend's bodyguard. This is, however, the first time anyone went that far to spend so much time creating pictures of her boyfriend kissing another woman to get her attention.

_Oh shoot_. Lucy didn't think of that. She realized she must have missed the wedding photo appointment and all of her friends must be panicking right now. What surprised Lucy even more was what she read online about the famous blonde was true. This was definitely not what she expected the famous megastar from USA to say. She wasn't mad which she should be. If it happened to someone else, Lucy had no doubt she would be behind steel bars now….and if that happens, her true identity could have been revealed….her true identity as a female.

"You're not seriously thinking of letting him go. Are you? Next time, he might come back to do something else, he might bring acid and pour it over my face…he's a stalker"

He could see the blonde was frightened by that comment. It's not unheard of. Obsessed fans might not do that to their idols, but they might do that to the ones they don't want their idol to be with.

"He's dangerous. Look at him."

His comment caused the blonde to look at him with a face full of confusion. She then turned back towards the man who's nowhere near as big or as strong as her boyfriend. She tilted her head to the left, then to the right as she looked at her obsessed fan who's shorter than her.

Lucy couldn't help but smile wide. What she saw later made her heart pound faster. She remained still as a hand slowly moved towards her face, inch by inch.

"What are you doing?"

Damn it! Lucy missed the chance of being touched by the one adored by millions when her boyfriend grabbed hold of her hand.

"He could've bit you." He said as he pulled her girlfriend a few steps away.

"seriously?" Lucy shook her head in disbelief. _If you touch me, I'll bite your fingers off_. But Lucy didn't think that was the appropriate thing to say in her situation.

"Can you let me handle this?" He didn't want to call the police yet and certainly didn't want to let the bearded psycho off so easily.

It seems like her plan isn't working so Lucy decided to go to Plan B. This wasn't her plan, pretending to be an obsessed fan. But she had no choice. She needed to get out of there right now. The only way to do that is to talk sweetly to the famous star.

* * *

When Amy picked up the call and learned what happened to the brunette, she yelled out so loud, she caught the attention of hotel's security guards and hotel guests. "What!" It was a female voice she heard. She knew who she was the moment she introduced herself. How could she not? Her brunette lover is into her. She just didn't realize how much until now. As she was escorted up by one bodyguard, she wasn't worried that this was all a hoax. She could take care of the man without any problems. Besides, this is a hotel with cameras and security, what could possibly happen? The moment she entered the door, the megastar introduced herself politely. Amy could see that she isn't mad for what her 'boyfriend' did. It was the megastar's boyfriend who gave her a hard time.

"You're…his girlfriend?" Not only the megastar's boyfriend was scanning her up and down, the bodyguards and the megastar were also staring at her in surprise. They were expecting an average looking woman, not someone as pretty as the megastar, in her own unique way, and definitely not someone who, at this moment, looks like she could beat up a man twice her size.

"You really should look after your boyfriend." He continued to explain what he did and showed him the pictures but Amy has heard enough and walked passed him towards the disguised brunette who was tied to the chair. Just seeing her brunette lover here is enough proof that the megastar to her isn't just because she is a fan of hers, it's more than that.

"Hi…honey…" Lucy said with a smile but her smile quickly disappeared, swallowing hard at the sight of her blonde lover whom everyone could tell is furious with her. It was her clenched fists and tightened jaw, her fierce eyes glaring at her, and the red color of her face slowly climbing up to her head as if smoke was about to burst thru her golden hair. Plan B didn't work. The guy was adamant about calling the police. So she had no choice but to tell them that she has a girlfriend and engaged. It's the only way to convince them that she's not a stalker and she's not after the megastar in that way. When she told them that she missed the appointment for her wedding pictures because of this, she was surprised to see the megastar feeling sorry for her. Lucy didn't expect Amy to be here so fast but realized that Scud must have found out by the location of her car. She expected Scud to be behind her but was confused when she didn't see him.

"**What**…**are you doing here**?" With clenched jaw, Amy spoke as calmly as possible. She knew it wasn't the right time to ask, but she couldn't control herself. What she wanted to do is yell at her but not in front of these people.

"can I go home now?" Lucy asked the megastar, standing behind Amy in a polite tone.

Amy was shocked to hear the sound of her voice. It sounded like a man's. No wonder it fooled all of them.

After Lucy was set free, she took the blonde's hand and kept on pretending. "Can I get your autograph?"

Amy has had it with her. It was the way the brunette looked at the superstar that drove her nuts. She wasn't going to stick around to watch her lover drooling over someone else. "Let's go!" Amy pulled her hand like a mommy pulling her child away from candy.

"Wait…" Lucy pulled back and took her hand away from Amy's grasp. "Who tased me?" Lucy followed the megastar's line of sight and realized it wasn't her. She wasn't sure if the bodyguard still had the taser gun, so she stayed in her current position, away from him. "I'll pay you back for that. So you better watch your back." While pointing to the bodyguard and slowly stepping back, she said it in a non-serious tone like she was bluffing, so nobody cared. "oh….and Lucas…stay away from her…I'm warning you." She couldn't see herself, but she realized that nobody believed her because they all laughed, including the megastar. It must have sounded funny to them. That was her intention, to make them believe that she is harmless, that this is all the doing of a harmless obsessed fan. Obsessed, she is not. But what she does know about herself is that she will not let anyone, especially the tall average looking guy named Lucas, get near the famous blonde.

* * *

Lucy felt that she deserved it, scaring the heck out of everyone. So she remained silent while sitting on the center of the couch as she allowed the blonde to yell at her. She knew her lover wanted to do so in the hotel and in the car but it wasn't the right place or the right time. She wasn't the only one. Scud allowed the blonde to go first. Sitting a few feet away between the tv and the coffee table were Nadia, Amy in the center, and Scud while Janet sat in another couch.

"Well?" Amy had wanted to yell so loud at that moment in the hotel, but her anger slowly subsided during the ride from there all the way back home. Her mind was at ease because the brunette is safe. She had time to think. There has to be another reason other than what she was told by the megastar. _She would never do things like that._ That's what she kept telling herself.

"I'm sorry."

Janet, Nadia, and Scud had no idea what happened. They were told that it was safe to go home so they did. After Amy received the call, she called Scud to let him know that the brunette is safe without giving him the details.

"What happened?...and why does your voice sound like that?" Janet said.

There was a moment of silence as all of them waited for the brunette to speak. But when the brunette didn't, Amy couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Lucy!"

"I'm sorry."

"Can you take that off and talk to me in your own voice?" Her manly voice was driving the tall blonde nuts.

Not wanting to upset the blonde more than she already has, Lucy did as told and lowered her black turtle neck and reached in the back of her neck to pull off a thin film of flesh colored material around her neck. Nadia was very surprised. Scud wasn't because that came from him.

"I want to know the reason and don't tell me what they said is true." Amy said in a quieter tone than before because she didn't want to wake up the baby who's sleeping in Janet's old bedroom on the first floor and because she knows that being loud will only make the situation worse.

Lucy was trying to think of a reason other than the truth but couldn't seem to think of one that's believable. It was quite difficult to lie to the perfect score, especially Scud.

"Is there something you want to tell me? " All noticed Amy's tone had changed into a softer one. "…tell me now…bcuz…I don't want to find out after we get married…"

It was what she said that had everyone snapped their heads at the brunette. Nadia had a thought and hoped she is wrong. Scud also had another thought…_hotel…marriage…who was she with in the hotel?...what were they doing in the hotel?...what did Amy see?_ The only thought that came to his mind was that Amy must have seen her with another woman in the hotel.

"it's not like that."

"Then what!" Amy kept her voice as low as possible, but let the brunette know she is furious.

On that day she met Nadia's new friend Holly, she also saw the woman in the magazine in person. Those people in the hospital were surrounding the blonde. She caught a glimpse of her as she exited the building. She wasn't entirely sure until she found out why she was at the children's hospital after doing some research. The megastar was visiting sick children. One search after another, she became even more curious about the one the famous blonde is currently dating. The more she found out, the more she didn't like him. How they met, when they met, where they met, what he does for a living; his life is like an open book to the public. That's what happens when you date a celebrity. Not just that, Lucy dug deeper into his life, into his companies he owns. So while Scud was staking out Holly, she was staking out the other blonde and her boyfriend.

"…he's a fake…"

All were even more confused when they heard the pronoun.

"Do you know him?"

When the brunette shook her head, Amy was even more convinced that what they said was true.

"I just don't want to see her get hurt." Lucy said truthfully.

"Who? Who?" Janet was more confused than before.

"Is it really…that simple?" Amy remembered the way the brunette reacted towards the superstar the day she woke up from her coma.

"yes." Lucy said as kept her eyes locked on her lover.

Janet was getting frustrated that nobody was answering her question and immediately stood up. "Who are you talking about? What happened?"

"All I want to know is are you going to keep doing this?" _Stop it now and I will forgive you._

"yes." Lucy responded immediately without hesitation and stood up. She's not going to lie because she can't. The blonde is no average girl. If she said yes, the blonde would never believe her.

That wasn't the response Amy was expecting. She expected her to say something else but not that. What she could have said was she'll let Scud or someone handle it. It sounded like she won't give up until she succeeded in breaking them up.

"They don't live here." Amy had no idea what the megastar is doing here and she doesn't know much about her but she knows that she's from the US.

"whatever it takes."

The brunette's response shocked her, sending her mind and body into a completely frozen state. Those were irresponsible words. She realized that the young brunette hasn't changed at all, still has the mind of an 18 year old who thinks that she has no responsibilities to anyone, who thinks she can do anything, anytime she wants to.

"Why are you doing this?!" Amy said in frustration. She could guess why but would like to hear it from her.

"I know what you're thinking, but it's not like that…I just don't want to see her get hurt by that guy." Lucy extended her hand towards Nadia. "…just like Nadia, I don't want to see her get hurt. Do you understand?"

"Nadia is our friend. Do you even know her?" It seemed to Amy that the brunette was infatuated with the megastar, like a football fan to his favorite team. If his favorite team is playing, he will ignore everything to watch the game. If someone trash talked about his favorite player, he will defend him even it means getting a fight with them. It's an addiction, an illness, and worse…it could even be love.

"no, but…."

Lucy was trying to find the right words. What she told Scud over a year ago about the megastar, she can't tell the blonde. It was a feeling in her heart. How can she tell her that? She felt it in her heart, a similar feeling she felt for the blonde agent.

"I just need some time."

_Time? What did she mean by that? It sounded like she wanted to postpone the wedding._ The thought of their future together seemed to have vanished into thin air. It was too much to handle. Amy hoped that by tomorrow something else would happen that would change what she's thinking of right now…canceling the wedding. Amy didn't want to listen anymore.

When Amy ran up the stairs, Lucy wanted to follow but Scud prevented her from doing so.

"What…on earth…happened? Who is she?"

Lucy didn't think it would be this difficult to make the megastar see who she's with. Now that they know about her, 'him' rather, it would be even more difficult. So what she needed now is time. Two days isn't enough. In 2 days, the megastar will go back to her hometown. That's what she learned while being detained in the hotel room. That's also the reason that guy agreed to let her go. If she doesn't do anything right now, she is afraid that it would be too late. Getting evidence to show the megastar that her boyfriend is only after her money is nearly impossible. Who wouldn't want to be with the stunning, young beautiful singer with a good heart? He's probably after the whole package, her body and her money.

"Does this have anything to do with Holly?" From what she heard, Nadia didn't think so but would like confirmation.

When Lucy shook her head, Nadia let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

Lucy didn't want to tell anyone but knew that Scud would eventually find out. Besides, she needed his help to think of a plan. Two days isn't enough time.

Sitting on the couch in his side of the duplex, Scud was completely stunned by the information. The first thing that came to his mind is if he should tell her about her relationship with the megastar. Telling her that won't make her change her mind, it would be the complete opposite. So Scud decided not to say anything to anyone.

"What makes you think that he's a 'fake'?

That wasn't the question she expected him to ask. She expected him to yell at her. She expected him to say she's crazy for protecting someone she doesn't even know and getting her lover upset as a result of it.

"I just don't like him." Lucy couldn't find any evidence but was hoping that Scud could.

"Lucy…"

"I know…I know….I'm crazy. I'm nuts. I'm…going…absolutely insane.." Lucy covered her face as if in shame of what she is willing to do for a stranger.

The only thing to do is to help the brunette resolve this situation so she can get back to her own life. He understood why but he wasn't sure if the taller blonde would if he told her the truth. Telling her the truth would lead to more questions which could possibly lead to a breakup, even though technically the brunette didn't cheat on her. He just wasn't sure the former blonde agent would see it that way. However, he is certain that Amy wouldn't believe him if he told her that they were just friends and nothing more. Another thing that he is certain of is that the brunette wouldn't want anyone to know about her relationship with the megastar. "What do you want me to do?"

* * *

2 days later in Lucy's apartment

Scud thought about giving the megastar a note with Lucy's initials on it. He thought about telling her himself without letting the brunette know. Would Alyson believe him without providing any proof? Then what would she do after that? She would probably ask to see the former criminal mastermind. He just can't let that happen.

"From the surface, it seems he's rich, but not nearly as wealthy as she is, though."

"any history of drugs, women, violations….anything?"

"no, but even if he did that in the past, I don't think she would mind…"

"Of course she will"

_If you only knew, you wouldn't say that. _"Lucy, he seems like a nice guy, better than her exes."

"You don't understand. I can feel it. He's not right for her." Two days of surveillance and research, Scud couldn't find anything wrong with Lucas.

He's beginning to think it was jealousy that caused the brunette to act this way. _If she can't have her, then nobody can. _

He could still remember that time when they were younger, going against a more experienced and powerful crime boss. Because of her interest in the crime boss's woman, a redhead, it got the redhead in trouble. Like a slave, she was not allowed to talk to anyone or go outside of his home. Lucy deeply regretted for flirting with the redhead. So they came up with a plan to save her. The plan was to get the redhead out of his house first. How? Well, it was a crazy idea but they had no doubt that it would work. Lucy offered five hundred thousand dollars to buy the redhead. It would be crazy for the crime boss not to accept since she is only an object to him. That night, Lucy was heartbroken, Scud was shocked, and so were her followers. What she saw was not the same redhead she flirted with in the bar. What she saw was a woman with bruises all over her face, black eyes, cut lip, swollen beyond recognition, being carried and laid on the floor like a carcass. Sleeves and top were rolled up to allow her buyer to take a good look at her.

_"you…bastard!"  
_

_"That's what you get for five hundred thousand dollars. If you had offered one million, I would have left her alone." _

_Lucy didn't expect that. Scud didn't either. Lucy bent down to see if the girl was still alive. I'm sorry. She blamed herself for bringing more pain to her. It was a lesson learned. She realized how inhumane a person could be. All were staring at the brunette as she took off her jacket and covered her top portion of her body and face._

_"What are you doing?" The man stood up immediately when he saw the brunette leader pointing a gun down on the body of the redhead._

_"If I can't have her, nobody can." Lucy said as she fired two silent shots. He wanted to let him know that the redhead was never interested in her. It was a casual conversation between them. Lucy tried but the redhead isn't into woman._

_All watched in disbelief as they saw red dark blood flowing from the body across the floor._

_At the end of the negotiation, Lucy gave half of what she promised since the redhead was delivered 'damaged'. Even though Lucy spent $250,000 for that redhead, it was well worth it because after that night, there were whispers and talks about what she did or rather what they believed that she did. 'She's insane', 'Why did she do that?' 'She killed her in front of them.' But they had no proof because nobody cared what they did with the dead body. This was part of her plan to show everyone what she is capable of and to show everyone what kind of person she is; unpredictable and a crazy one because nobody expected her to do that. After that incident, more came to believe that she did in fact killed Schaeffer. It was a gun that she shot the redhead with but that gun only fired shots powerful enough to pierce through her jacket which had been altered to store fake blood. It was Lucy's plan to save the redhead, but it was Scud's plan to use the opportunity to show everyone that she isn't just any ordinary girl. What they didn't expect was the redhead being delivered in that way. Making everyone believe that she was dead was the only way to save her from that bastard who probably would not have kept his part of the bargain to leave her alone. That incident was probably the reason why none of the girls that she dated dared to break up with her, knowing what could happen if they did. It was always Lucy the one doing the breaking up._

* * *

A few days later, Lucy made a decision. It wasn't easy but she knew she would regretted if she didn't follow her heart.

"Amy, I'm sorry."

"Are you out of your mind?!" It wasn't Amy who spoke. It was Scud. Nadia and Janet heard what happened and they too could not believe it. He didn't think she would go this far, follow the megastar back to USA. Even though Mr. P knows about her, it would still be dangerous to go back because others like her enemies or the former DEBs who hated her like Petrie, Amy's former boss, may recognize her. "Lucy, we can't find anything on him."

As Lucy was about to respond, Amy beat her to it by speaking first. "Everything is a lie, isn't it?"

Lucy wasn't sure what she meant by that.

"You don't want to get married. You don't want to start a family with me." It hurts just saying it. But she came to realize that may be the reason.

"Of course I do. Amy, I just need…"

"You haven't changed at all. Why did you propose if you're not ready?" From the past few days, she had time to think about the brunette's behavior. What she came up with was that the brunette was having doubts because the wedding was getting closer. Some people experienced cold feet weeks before the wedding. It's not uncommon.

"I love you, you know that."

"but you're not ready…"

"I am ready. I just need some time."

"Time to do what!...to break up a couple whom you don't even know." It sounded illogical to everyone who heard. Amy's breathing began to quicken as she became more upset. "There will be others. Are you going to keep doing that?...for her?"

Lucy can't deny the fact that her blonde lover is right. There will be others and she will keep doing that, keep the megastar safe.

"You don't love me anymore, do you?" Her heart felt a sharp pain as the words came out.

"it's not like that." Lucy said in sincere tone. "I'll be back, I will. It's just something I have to do."

"No, you don't." All snapped their heads at Scud who sounded confident that his idea will work. If anyone can help, it would be Anthony and he is certain that Anthony will be happy to interfere with the megastar's relationship.

"Anthony?"

It was a long conversation between Anthony and Scud. While all were listening to Scud's conversation, Amy and Lucy, with 5 feet of space between them, stared at each other in silence. Seeing the blonde's sadness, Lucy wanted to hold her in her arms but knew that the blonde wouldn't allow her to do so at this moment. She wanted to beg for forgiveness for postponing the wedding. She wanted to assure her that she's not getting cold feet. What's more important, she wanted to convince her that she will come back. Whatever Anthony says, Lucy has decided to go regardless. She can't leave that task to someone else.

"Anthony has problems."

"What?" Lucy didn't expect him to say that.

"He's being framed for murder."

Scud didn't get all the details but heard enough to sense that Anthony, as powerful as he is, couldn't get himself out of this one so easily. There is evidence against him. Surveillance camera inside the hotel caught him going inside a room with a woman. The next day, the woman was found dead inside the room.

"Scud, you can't go." Scud wanted to but Lucy didn't think it would be a good idea for both of them to go. "You stay here. I'll see what the situation is."

Amy didn't like the idea at all, knowing that the brunette has other reasons to go. But it would be selfish for her to suggest that Anthony could take care of himself. So the only other option is to volunteer to go with the brunette. "I'll go."

"no" Scud and Lucy said simultaneously as they snapped their heads towards the blonde.

"why?" She is in the same boat as them. If they said it would be too dangerous for her, she's not going to take that as a reason.

Lucy moved in front of the blonde.

"If you think I'm going to let you go by yourself, then…"

Lucy grabbed hold both of her hands. "You have classes. You're almost graduating. I don't want you to miss this opportunity again." Knowing how much graduation meant to her, Lucy knew that the blonde would think twice about it.

"Is that the real reason you don't want me to go?" Amy can't help thinking there might be another reason; the megastar.

"Let me help Anthony. Let me take care of a few things. I promise I'll come back after that. Then we can start our new life together."

It was her sincere tone. It was her teary eyes. Amy couldn't see anything but genuity.

Lucy wrapped her arms around the blonde in a tight embrace. "Pleeeeeease, I need you to trust me."

Trust.

Amy was only a young teenager when she had the lecture about sex from her mother. Her mother felt that she should have that talk with her because she found her more mature than kids at her age in the first year of middle school. Amy was quite embarrassed about it when she heard it the first time. She was reminded often during dinner time. Love, she had no problems understanding what that is because her parents love to display their love for each other in front of her and in public which she had told them numerous times not to do that because her friends saw them. During one summer, her father had to go on a long business trip. It was nothing out of the ordinary. But that summer, she learned that one of her friend's parents were getting a divorce because her mother found out that her husband was actually with another woman on his 'business' trips. Amy couldn't help thinking that her father could be doing the same thing. So when she told her mother what was on her mind, her mother was very surprised. Amy didn't expect to get another lecture because of it. She was convinced, though, that her father wasn't cheating on her mother not because she has proof, but because of what her mother told her. Trust. Love and trust go together like peanut butter and jelly. That's what her mother said which didn't make sense to Amy, not even now. Peanut butter and jelly tastes disgusting together. But what she did understand is that without trust, a relationship won't last.

"I'll call Max."

Lucy immediately pulled back, realizing that she had succeeded in convincing the blonde. Contacting Max is a great idea. Saying 'thank you' wouldn't be appropriate. Knowing how the blonde doesn't like to kiss when there are others around, Lucy gave her a kiss on the cheek and hugged her firmly. "I love you."

* * *

Day of departure at the airport

"call me when you get there."

Holding the blonde in a tight embrace, Lucy sniffed in the scent of her lover. "I will. I promise." Last night they didn't spend the night together. Lucy could understand why the blonde didn't want to. Amy wasn't in the mood and her heart wasn't in the right place. But Lucy is certain that after all this is over, they would be back to the way it was before. "I love you."

Wrapping her arms around the brunette's waist, Amy closed her eyes and tried not to think of the reason of why her lover would want to go back to the US, but instead focus on the reason that she had to go to help her friend.

"Be careful."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 54**

Lucy let out a sigh of relief after getting passed the immigration checkpoint in New York. She was told that there shouldn't be any problems since Lucinda Reynolds and her sidekick were confirmed dead over a few years ago by the Head of Division 16. But it wouldn't surprise her if her picture is still in the database because processing in America can be very, very slow. It could be possible that the process of taking her picture down is still in the middle of being processed…after so many years. Mistakes can happen especially in the government because most of the people who works there aren't very intelligent. That's because the US government simply does not have the budget to hire people of high quality. Intellectuals usually work for private companies where pay is a lot better. It is because of this fact that they were able to escape from the FBI numerous times.

"Good old USA…" Lucy inhaled a deep breath of freezing cold air outside of the John F Kennedy's international airport.

First task, Lucy called Amy to let her know she made it safely without problems. She then took a taxi to her destination, a four star hotel in the city of Manhattan. After settling down inside her room, she called Anthony. Anthony didn't expect her to be there and was shocked to get a call from her. It wasn't a good idea to go to Anthony's penthouse since detectives and reporters are probably staking him out at this very moment. Next, she called one of Amy's best friends, Max who knew why she came and was asked to help any way she could. Max doesn't live in New York and is using her vacation time to help out the one whom she owed her life to.

Last time they talked was at Janet's wedding where she asked the brunette to stay with Amy. Sitting on the coach in Lucy's room, Max learned that nothing has changed for the brunette in terms of her memory. It was the way she talks that gave it away, very different from the mature Lucy she once talked to. Every word that came out of the mature Lucy was love for Amy. But this 'Lucy' didn't talk much about the former DEB agent. After a casual conversation of talking about Amy, Janet, and mostly Janet's son, Lucy got right down to business and she was surprised to see that Max was prepared for it.

"Here's what I found." Max lay out the pictures of the dead young blonde lying naked on the bed with wrists tied together by a thin rope behind her back. Bruises on her arms, wrists, and thighs were apparent. If Lucy had not seen things worse than this, she would have wanted to vomit at this moment. It was sickening.

"Proof?"

"hotel camera, fingerprints, hair, semen…."

"where?"

Max was confused. All the evidence was pointing to Anthony. She couldn't find any loophole in this case that could prove that Anthony didn't do it. She knows who Anthony is. If Amy did not assure her that he was framed, she would agree with the detectives that Anthony did in fact kill the woman after raping her. "Where…what?"

"Where did they find his semen?"

"Where do you think?" Max winced in confusion.

Lucy resisted rolling her eyes. She didn't want to make a guess. She needed facts. "Can you answer my question, please?"

Max took the file and took a moment to scan through the forensic report again. It was obvious to her where they would find the semen, but since the brunette asked, she wanted to make sure.

"..semen was found…on the sheets…vagina…oh…" Max winced in disgust, realizing she missed that part. "…and mouth…"

"Did they find a condom?"

Max again tried to find the answer in the report. She was unsure why the brunette asked. The answer was obvious to her.

"no mention of condom…" Max looked at the brunette who began pacing back and forth. There was a short moment of silence. Max then jerked back when the brunette suddenly pointed her finger at her.

"I want you to know…there is no doubt in my mind that he is framed." After Max nodded twice, Lucy again paced back and forth with her head down, deep in thought.

"Who do you think did it?"

"I don't know, only he would know that." Lucy stopped and turned towards Max. "I already asked. He doesn't know."

Max nodded again and Lucy continued pacing back and forth.

Lucy just wanted to make sure that all the obvious questions had been asked.

"The video hasn't been tampered with?"

"no."

"Who found the body?"

"cleaning lady."

"Did they check her out?"

"nothing there."

"I want a copy of the video."

"I'll try but there's nothing there…." Max reiterated again in a way to let the brunette that she's wasting her time. "I have done this before, you know." She expected the brunette to trust her.

Lucy didn't respond to that comment and kept on asking the obvious questions. After Max left, she confirmed with Anthony and learned that he did use a condom. The first thought that came to her mind was that it was probably flushed down the toilet by whoever came afterwards. There is a side door that leads to the next room so the murderer could have come from there. It could also be the cleaning lady. She could have done a lot of things inside the room. Without seeing the video, Lucy can't rule the cleaning lady out as a possible suspect.

Now that she got a better picture of what happened, Lucy called Anthony to get more details. Anthony was embarrassed to hear the question being asked. "No, she didn't give me a blowjob…and I'm not into that kind of thing." Lucy sensed that he was frustrated with all the questions. As far as how the semen got into various parts of the victim's body, she could imagine how it could be done.

"I believe you. I'm just trying to see if they made any mistakes."

Lucy could hear him sighing in frustration. "Lucy, my image is tarnished."

"We'll find who did this." Lucy assured him, but knows that it isn't the only thing he's worrying about. Unlike the old days, nobody would care if he did a one-night stand. He's a businessman now. Those he dealt with will know what he did even if he is proven innocent. They will look at him differently than the way they used to. Women will stay away from him. The possibility of getting someone to truly love him for who he is…now seems impossible. "Do you love her?"

Anthony wasn't sure where she was going with this but responded anyway. "I…like her."

Lucy could sense that the woman was only a one night stand for him. The relationship wouldn't have gone far even if this didn't happen.

"I have an idea." After telling him her suggestion, she waited and waited for him to respond. It was a lot to take in. He will have to decide if he's willing to take the risk. If he decides to take her advice, he could become more famous than the megastar.

"If I do this, it might lead to you and Uncle Nick."

"You're already out in the news. I don't see how this could get any worse."

_She's right_. Those who watch the news probably know by now. His friends and employees already knew about it. "She…probably knows."

"Who?"

Anthony let out another bigger sigh of frustration and didn't respond to the question. "Let me think about it." What he was thinking about was the megastar. Even though he wouldn't have a chance, he still didn't want the famous star to know about it.

Lucy's plan wasn't unique. It had been done before by those accused. Anthony had been trying to stay low, only responding to questions from the law enforcement officials with the lawyer by his side. Most of the time, he stayed in his penthouse away from public eye. He wanted to keep this as low as possible, so when the truth comes out, the incident will die down quickly. But if he went with Lucy's plan, it will be the complete opposite. Her plan was to do a public announcement to let everyone know what the woman meant to him even though it was only a one-night stand which the public doesn't have to know about. Then he will announce an offer of $1million to anyone who could provide any information. What he will get from it is sympathy and understanding from some viewers. But there is a negative effect. More people will know about it. People will remember the case for years. He will have more people following him trying to dig up the dirt on him. And this is definitely not what he wants.

On the next day, Lucy let Scud know everything she knows and see if he could come up with anything. Having known Scud for years, Lucy found that Scud's brain works differently than all of them. What seems impossible to them doesn't seem impossible to him.

"What's her story?"

From what she learned from Anthony, he met the young blonde in a restaurant. While he was having dinner with a business associate, the young blonde, sitting in the bar area by herself, caught his eye. After the dinner ended, he introduced himself.

"That's it?"

Lucy was confused with Scud's question. "That's it."

"How does he do that? How come he always gets the girl so easily?"

"Scuuuuuddd…." Anthony may be older than them, but he's a good looking charming guy. Good looks have its advantages.

"Do a thorough check on her. Other than that, I'll have to see the video first."

"okay. Max is going to try to get that."

There was a moment of silence. Lucy waited to see what else he can come up with.

"So…there's…semen in her mouth…huh…" Scud was shocked by it.

"He said and I quote…'I'm not into that kind of thing'." Lucy said in the same frustrated tone Anthony did.

"Oh reallyyyyyyy…hmm….Looks like whoever did it really hates him…does he think it could be one of his ex girlfriends?"

Lucy had no idea. That thought never occurred to her. It could be possible that his exes might be the culprit. "She has to be mentally ill to do that, don't you think?"

"No."

His response confused her.

"I know you don't remember but I have to remind you that you almost blew up Australia after you got dumped….so saying that she's mentally ill would mean that you're even more mentally impaired…more insane…more psychotic"

Lucy still doesn't believe that she was capable of acting that way, blowing up millions of innocent people because of a girl.

"Besides, I don't think this is done without thinking it thru. It could be her own enemies and Anthony just got caught in the middle of it."

Lucy again never thought of that. She was certain that this was a setup to frame Anthony. But now hearing it from Scud, it does sound possible that this has nothing to do with Anthony at all. Anthony could be in the wrong place at the wrong time and whoever did it found the opportunity.

"So what do you think of my suggestion?"

Lucy wondered what was so funny when she heard loud laughs on the other end of the line.

"You're nuts. You know that."

He wished the old Lucy was back because the old Lucy would never make such a suggestion. This young Lucy is still inexperienced. "It's not going to work, Lucy. It's going to get us all captured….and it's going to bring him even more problems."

"But he's already in the spotlight."

"…and that's why he's trying to keep it low…It's suicide."

Lucy asked him to clarify since she didn't see it that way.

"Announcing to the world meant he's giving permission to everyone to interview him. They're going to ask him a lot of questions…and not just questions about the case, there are going to be questions about his involvement with criminal activities. He can deny that but people aren't going to believe him. People tend to believe the bad things. It's only natural. Do you really think Anthony can go thru one interview after another? And do you really think he can keep his cool for that long?"

Lucy thought it would work because she saw a similar case where the parents were investigated for the murder of their own child. Detectives didn't believe them so they came out to offer money for any information. It got Lucy's sympathy.

After listening to Scud's explanation, Lucy decided to call Anthony back. The moment he picked up the phone, Anthony told her that he didn't agree with her suggestion. But Anthony did find Scud's points of view interesting and find that it could be possible that he was at the wrong time at the wrong place. "I'll have someone check her out."

What they can't find, Max probably can with her government access. She wanted to ask one more thing at the last minute but decided not to since she didn't want to bother Anthony with her own problems.

What she did do instead was have Max check the megastar's boyfriend out.

* * *

Next morning in New York City known as the city that never sleeps

Inside the dining room on the top floor of an apartment complex with 7 storeys , each person on the table complimented on the blonde's cooking as each took a bite of the delicious oven baked chicken breast covered with parmesan crust.

"This is delicious." A 6ft 4in young man with dark brown hair and eyes complimented as he watched his girlfriend of 6 months lay down a bowl of sautéed green beans and cherry tomatoes on the long dining table with 8 seats.

"Have you tried the fish? It's even better." Sitting next to her daughter, a slightly overweight woman in her older 50's responded.

"How about tomorrow?" Sitting across from the older woman, the cleaned-shaven young man asked his girlfriend and took a bite of another piece of chicken.

Alyson took her apron off and sat at the end of the table. "I…like to cook, but I don't cook for just anyone…you know." Alyson took the fork and knife and began cutting the chicken on her plate into pieces.

"…I know…and I just wanted to say how much I appreciated it." He said as he dug his fork into a cherry tomato and extended towards the blonde's mouth.

"I don't…mean you." Alyson teased as she pushed the fork back to him, causing the older woman to let out a laugh.

This is the second time the megastar's mother met the young man. The first time she met him, she didn't get a good look because it was at night time and he was getting inside his car. Now sitting across from him, she could see everything that she wanted to know. She didn't expect to see the new love of her daughter today. She came to see her daughter since she had not seen her for months due to her daughter's busy schedule. Seeing reporters, papparazies, strangers of young and old with cameras, sometimes she wondered if she made the wrong choice of letting her daughter take this path. Being popular has its disadvantages; no privacy, life under a microscope viewed by the public.

"So Luke…"

"Mom, it's Lucas." Alyson immediately corrected her while giving her a frown.

"You can call me Luke ...some of my friends call me that too….I don't mind."

"…do you have any brothers, sisters? Do you live alone? What do you do?"

Alyson didn't like her mom asking all the questions on their first meeting but also didn't want to embarrass her so she just left it alone.

"I'm the only child. I live alone….and I hope that would change soon." He said as he stared at the blonde who didn't seem to be paying attention to him. He let out a smile towards the older woman and continued to tell her that he owns a software company and a restaurant here, other places and London.

"London?"

"Yes, my mother lives there and she helps me take care of a restaurant there."

"So…you met his mother?" The older woman wondered where their relationship is at. She knew that Alyson went to London for work but didn't know that she had other plans.

"No, ma'am…my mother is traveling right now…on vacation."

"Oh…then we should definitely get together some time." When she saw her daughter looking at her without smiling, she realized she said the wrong thing.

The only person who's smiling is the young man. "I'll let her know."

"mom, the chicken is getting cold." Alyson said as she raised her eyebrows, hoping that her mother gets the hint.

As Lucas was about to speak, he was cut off by the megastar who requested silence as she stood up, staring at the tv several feet away.

Alyson quickly walked towards it and turned the volume louder. Both Lucas and the older woman followed to see what captured her attention. After the news broadcaster was finished, Alyson turned to another channel, then another.

"Do you know him?"

It took a moment for her to respond to her boyfriend because she was still thinking about what she heard. "no..but he looks familiar." She said as she returned back to the dining table. She didn't see the necessity of telling anyone that she knows the wealthy man accused of murder, but it did get her wondering what really happened. Rape and murder? She doesn't know Anthony that well, but didn't find him to be that type of person.

"This is exactly why I don't want you to stay in this city." The older woman said as she followed the blonde from behind.

"Mom, my friends are here."

"But it's so crowded here. Did you see those people downstairs?" She said to Lucas. "It's worse than California."

"I have bodyguards." They're not there right now, but will be there when she needed to go out.

The older woman reached out to hold her daughter's hand. "Do you like this…your career…because if you don't, you can quit anytime and your father and I will be behind you all the way."

This isn't the first time Alyson had this conversation with her mother. She understood why she would be worried. As she was about to respond with the same answer she had given her before, she was interrupted by her boyfriend. It was something she didn't expect him to say but what he said brought back memories.

"she can't quit." He turned towards the blonde. "I know it's hard. But think of all those people who helped you, who supported you so you can be where you are now, think of all those people who look up to you…millions of fans….are you going to disappoint them?" He reached out to hold her hand. "If you're tired, then take a long break. But don't quit, not now…I will help you…whenever you need me." He gently caressed her hand. "You've worked too hard to quit now."

Alyson was listening and looking deeply into his dark brown eyes. But what she was hearing wasn't his voice. What she was thinking of wasn't him. As memories of that day the brunette made her cry in the Venice hotel flowed back into her mind, she let out a gentle smile and wondered where the brunette is now.

"I'm worried about you."

Her mother had always had a hard time letting her go, flying from one state to another to perform, when she was younger. It seems that she still couldn't get used to the idea that her daughter is an adult now. "This is what I want to do." Alyson assured her as she held her hand firmly. "It's not about money. It's about making a difference….and I can now…mom." Each word that came out reminded her of what she said to the brunette that night. "okay?"

The older woman patted her daughter's hand. "okay."

Alyson later realized it was hopeless because her mother continued to try to persuade her to move back to California with her.

"I know what she can do." Lucas placed his fork down and gently held onto the blonde's forearm. "You can move in with me…then your mother wouldn't be so worried." He noticed that both women didn't like what he said when he saw them narrowing their eyes at him. "no?…Then how about letting me move in?"

It was only a joke but later realized that the older woman didn't take it as a joke. Alyson's mom cleared her throat loudly while glaring at the young man.

"Luke, I think I said this before but just wanted to remind you. Not before marriage…and right now it's definitely too soon for marriage."

"mom!"

Her jaws dropped wide open. Blinking a few times at her mother, Alyson realized what her mother was thinking of. "Lucas, didn't you say you have something important to do?" Alyson raised her brows, hinting to him that he should leave now if he doesn't want to be embarrassed by her mother.

After Lucas left, Alyson stood at the end of the table. "This…is exactly why I don't want to introduce him to you….You're embarrassing me…"

"Sweetie…I just want to remind him that just because you two have known each other for years, it doesn't mean it's okay to…" Before she could continue, she was cut off by her daughter whom she could tell was really embarrassed and upset by the color of her cheeks.

"mom!…just who do you think he is?"

"He's…Luke…the one you told me about a few years ago…" the older woman trailed off when she saw her daughter giving her a confused look. "Isn't…he?"

"Nnno!"

The older woman covered her mouth in surprise and at the same time felt a bit embarrassed about what she said to the young man. "OHhhhh…no wonder"

"What?"

"I hate to say this, but even for an old woman like me, I think he's….okkkkkay…and definitely not…'gorgeous'…"

"momm…."Alyson rolled her eyes, then let out a smile at her mother who shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't believe her mother could still remember what she said. She admitted that Lucas is not as attractive as any of her exes. He's an average looking guy, kind of like the guys she works with. They met at a charity event when she accidentally bumped into him and spilled the drink all over his white shirt. That started their first conversation. The second time she met him was at a restaurant. She wouldn't have recognized him if one of her friends didn't notice that he had been looking at her. The third time was when they really started talking freely. It happened in the night club when she was being bothered by this guy whom she later found out was actually a reporter trying to get her to talk so he could write something about her. Lucas came to the rescue and pretended to be her bodyguard, preventing him from bothering her. After that night, she found out more and more about the average looking man and found that they had a lot in common. Both knew how to play the piano. Their taste in music is similar not wild hard rock with explosive sounds that could cause rupture in the eardrum. She didn't find him as captivating as the last guy she dated and definitely not the former criminal mastermind. She thought for sure that the last guy she dated would be the one because she found him very interesting due to the fact that they had absolutely nothing in common. Too much of a difference wouldn't be a good thing and that relationship ended in a disaster. That might be the reason she was attracted to Lucas because she wanted to settle for a more normal guy with similar interests this time around.

At this moment, both suddenly snapped their heads at the direction of the big window when they heard a bang.

"What's that?" The older woman said.

All the windows were closed. What it sounded like was a rock hitting the window. Her apartment is a penthouse consisting of 2 floors. It would be impossible for anyone to throw a rock up that high. There is a building across from the street but that building is not as high as her apartment complex so anyone throwing a rock at her window from across the street would be impossible unless they use some sort of bb gun. Alyson approached the window and noticed a crowd waiting downstairs. There was nothing unusual. She got used to seeing strangers and paparazzis waiting for her. However, the first day she lived her, she was surprised by it. She didn't expect it at all. Back in California where she lived in a large house surrounded by acres of land, she didn't have this problem. But New York City has a totally different environment. The only good thing about this place is that her friends who are celebrities live here and they got to have a lot of fun together.

She looked down to see where the sound came from but all she could see were people with cameras taking pictures of her apartment windows and the busy streets of the Big Apple.

* * *

Night time

Max spent the whole day digging into the background of the young blonde victim and getting the video. The possibility that the cleaning lady could be the one became impossible because the cleaning lady went inside the room for less than 10 seconds and came out screaming. What Lucy also thought was possible was that a person might be hiding in the cleaning lady's cart but ruled that out because the cart was in the hallway the entire time. The only other possibility left is that someone tampered with the video. It will take a whole day to watch that, from the moment Anthony left in the middle of the night to the afternoon when the victim was discovered.

"She's 29, has a daughter 5 years old, single, no family." The victim is a single mother, living on government aid which caused Lucy to wonder if Anthony knows about this beforehand. "no ex-husband, not sure about boyfriend…"

"What's going to happen to her daughter?"

"they're looking for the father."

"bastard…." Lucy can't help herself. She hates those kinds of guys especially those who don't pay child support.

After Lucy told Max about the possibility that it could be the victim's enemies, Max was surprised with her thoughts.

"could be….but most likely it's not."

Max saw the unpleasant look that Lucy was giving her.

"Look, I've been in this field for many years, I can't prove it but I know it's not what you're thinking."

"You think Anthony did it." Lucy said in a strong tone, ready to defend her friend when needed.

"I'm not going to lie to you. That's what I thought. But if Amy believes that he didn't, I believe that he didn't. So…if he didn't, there could only be one reason, somebody wants to get him into trouble."

It made perfect sense. Anthony has a lot of enemies. That's why Lucy thought that could be it too. But his enemies also know that he is not to be messed with. If he finds out who set him up and he will, it's just a matter of time to find the truth, he will do more to them than what they did to him. So she doesn't blame Max for not agreeing with her since she probably is ignorant of Anthony's capabilities.

"Why are you so sure that somebody is after the girl?"

Lucy can't comment on that. "Can you just check her out a bit more?...check her lifestyle, her friends, what she did in the past months,…"

"I get it." Extending her palm out, Max said in an obvious tone to let the brunette know that she doesn't like to be told how to do her job, especially by her.

After that discussion was over, Lucy sat down and placed a picture torn from a magazine on the table.

"Who's he?"

"no one that concerns you." Max narrowed her eyes at the brunette. At that moment, she felt like the old Lucy, the one she dislikes, is back.

Lucy didn't mean anything by it. It's true. It doesn't concern her. But she realized she could have said it in a better way. "Can you do me this favor?" Lucy changed her tone.

Max frowned at the brunette and wondered why she was being so secretive. "Does he have anything to do with this case?"

"No…and I need you to keep this confidential."

"con..fid..ential..? You mean…between you and me…" Max became even more curious when the brunette nodded. "Does Amy know?"

"Yes."

Max could tell that the brunette was getting more frustrated with each question. But she needed to know. "So…this is between you…me…and Amy?" She had to make sure because if Amy asks, she's not sure if she should say anything to her.

"no!" Lucy responded in a frustrated tone. "She knows what I'm doing. This has nothing to do with her. I just want you to find out about this guy cuz I can't find anything on him."

"So if Amy asks, what should I say?" At this moment, Max saw the brunette glaring at her. It was a legitimate question. She's trained to ask questions before doing anything. "Alright, alright…just between you and me…" She owed her her life. This is the least she could do.

* * *

With her hands locked behind her head, Lucy laid on the king size bed. The lamp on the table next to her was on. She had trouble getting adjusted to the time difference, 5 hours behind London. The moment she stepped into New York, she had no idea the megastar would be here until she searched online because the famous blonde had a lot of houses in other states. Lucy didn't think the megastar would want to live here since it's so crowded and definitely not as clean as many other places where her real estates are located. It was very easy to find her expensive place since it's all over the internet and was very easy to know if she was inside because there were a lot of strangers waiting outside of her apartment complex. She didn't know if they were waiting to catch a glimpse of the superstar or some other celebrity who could be living in the same apartment complex until she noticed someone familiar, the megastar's mother. What Lucy wanted to do is solve Anthony's case first, then work on the megastar's case. That was her plan, but somehow her mind had a different thought when she stepped inside a taxi.

"How can I make you see he's not right for you?" Knocking him out and taking a picture of him lying to a naked woman crossed her mind. "She won't believe it." Pictures can be fake, but videos can't. "that won't work, he would definitely get the police involved_." How? How_? What she was afraid of was that even Max can't find anything about that young guy who's about the same age as the megastar.

Lucy let out a frustrated breath of air, feeling extremely useless and helpless in both situations and hoped that ideas would come to her by tomorrow.

* * *

One week later

It didn't. No ideas. Nothing and worst, she got a nightmare that kept her awake for hours.

"Anything, Scud?" Lucy said as she took a bite of the chicken and vegetable wrap.

"Nothing."

Lucy spent 2 days reviewing the video and also found nothing odd. "So nobody went inside, there's nobody in the next room…then the only possibility could be…" Lucy licked her lips before responding. "Someone was hiding inside the room before they went in." Lucy suddenly jerked back, startled by the loud response from the phone on the table.

"What!"

She didn't realize Amy was there too, listening on their conversation until now.

"that's not possible." Scud said as he shook his head towards the blonde who felt the same way as he did.

"Why not?" Lucy mumbled with a mouthful of food.

"Hide where?!" Amy said loudly in a tone to let her know it's the most ridiculous thing she has ever heard.

"closet, bathroom, under the bed, inside the cabinet…" Lucy got a few more ideas but stopped to take another bite of the wrap.

"the whole night?!"

"Are you feeling okay, Lucy?" He heard a lot of crazy ideas from her before and this one is as illogical.

She took a gulp from the water bottle. "Scud…don't think impossible…think…possible...don't think big…think small…"

At this moment, Scud and Amy were looking at each other, shaking their heads again. Both disagreed with her.

"I'm not saying what you're thinking is not possible, but…" Lucy could hear Scud saying 'impossible' in the background. "don't you think it's more possible that she killed herself?"

Lucy never thought of that. "Amy, she has bruises all over her body" Lucy waited for her to comment but didn't hear anything. "She has her hands tied behind her back." Lucy paused again but there was silence on the other line. "She has sperm in her mouth." She took another bite of the wrap, waiting for them to agree with her but no sound came from either one of them and realized it was a bad idea to talk about that while eating. "Okaaaaay, I guess it could be possible….but I still think I'm right."

"mm…Luce…did you see Max today?"

Lucy wondered why Scud would ask about Max. If anyone should ask, it would be Amy.

"No."

"So Max didn't tell you what she found out about the victim?"

Lucy repeated what she learned and realized that she had been left out of the loop because what Max told them gave them a reason to believe that it was very possible the blonde victim killed herself to make Anthony look like the murderer. She wondered why Max didn't tell her.

"Do you think you're still right?" Her guess of someone small hiding inside the room all night to murder the blonde didn't make sense to him because nobody came out of the room after the body was discovered unless he's a magician and hid himself somewhere where nobody would notice. The possibility of that happening is very very slim, like impossible, just like Kristin can't be Amy's twin.

"Yes." Lucy said in an obvious tone. It's possible that they could be right but it doesn't mean that they are. Everything that was done to the victim was enough for Lucy to believe that the murderer is most likely the victim's ex. "So how do we prove it?" Lucy asked the million dollar question.

"We can't."

That's not what she expected the genius with an IQ above 140 to say.

"whoever did this must either want Anthony in prison or want something from him. Now with Anthony's abundance of expensive lawyers, do you really think they're not going to drag it out…it's going to take a long long time…you know how the system works in America…"

Scud could be right. It is also very possible that the FBI might interfere with this case and make a deal with Anthony in exchange for his freedom. But knowing Anthony, he definitely won't break omerta. Others might, but he won't.

"My guess is whoever did this is just waiting for the right moment."

"Are you saying we should just sit and do nothing?" It was only a guess. How can he be so sure that he's right? Lucy expected an explanation not another story of her life that she can't remember.

Patience. Not many of us have that. Some are born with it. Others learned from the mistakes they made and Lucy was one of them. It was a detailed plan designed by Scud to steal one of the priceless artifacts once owned by the Forbidden City of China. It shouldn't be difficult and it wasn't…for the former criminal mastermind with the help of his genius sidekick. What went wrong was Lucy's greed. The plan was to steal a jade artifact. But what captured her attention while she was inside the museum was another imperial treasure encased in a glass box. It was right there in front of her. Lucy didn't agree with Scud's advice to steal it another day because it would be difficult to get back inside once they found out what was missing. More security would be in place and she would have to wait a long time for another opportunity. So she ignored Scud's advice and realized it was a big mistake once she lifted the glass cover.

"You could've been caught if I didn't have a Plan B."

Sitting next to Scud, Amy could only wonder what other jobs that her lover did because she couldn't remember this one.

Lucy crossed her arms, placed her feet on the coffee table, slump her back against the couch and let out an exhausted sigh. Waiting and do nothing, she didn't like that idea one bit. A few years ago, if she had waited and hoped that Schaeffer wouldn't be able to find her, she would've been dead a long time ago.

"Lucy…" said a soft gentle voice

"yes"

"Are you okay?" Amy wasn't sure what the brunette was thinking of when she didn't hear a response.

"fine…just a little tired…" It's the truth. She didn't have enough sleep. In the middle of the night, she was awakened by a nightmare. Thinking about Anthony's case and the megastar's situation in the past few days had somehow confused her mind. What she saw in her nightmare wasn't the blonde victim, it was the megastar lying dead on the bed just like the victim; bruises, assaulted, and tied. It frightened her in such a way that she had to keep the lights on the rest of the night.

"have you…seen her?"

"Who?" Lucy had no idea who she's talking about until the blonde explained that she heard it from Max. _Damn it_…_can't trust her_. "Did Max find anything?"

"She didn't." Amy expected her lover to stop what she was doing. She had no idea that the megastar is living in NYC until Max told her. She had no idea Max was asked for help on this case. "are you coming back for Thanksgiving?"

"I want to but…"

"You still think you're right about him."

Lucy didn't know how to respond. She had said numerous times it was a gut feeling. Not getting any evidence doesn't prove that he's not a bad guy. "Amy…I…" Lucy let out a big sigh of frustration. Apologizing for her stubbornness wouldn't help in this situation. Telling Amy that she loved her wouldn't help either. So Lucy thought it would be a better idea to ask her for suggestions to let her know that she wanted to come back home too. "I…don't know what to do…to make her see that." For the past week, all she did was follow the megastar and her boyfriend. She found out where he lived and where she goes daily and the people she hung out with.

Amy was very surprised with the brunette's response. She didn't expect her lover to ask her for suggestions to split up the couple. She didn't want to end the call with an argument either so she had been speaking in her calm gentle voice and at the same time, tried to be understanding. Asking her lover why she would want to continue wouldn't help in this situation because she knows what the answer will be. So the only thing she could do is put herself in her shoes and give her lover some suggestions. "get close to them." Amy hated the idea, but knows that it's the only way to find the truth.

"What?"

"You heard me."

Lucy did hear her, but was shocked to hear it from her. The idea did cross her mind but she needed more time to think about the consequences and what she needed to do to prevent her true identity from being revealed. She needed to think of all the possibilities and be ready for all the questions that will be asked.

"Don't…Lucy…find another way…not this way." Scud was shocked that Amy was allowing her lover to get close to the megastar. So he had to think of something quick to change her mind. "there's going to be a chance that they could find out who she is….think about this, she's a celebrity, she has bodyguards, she's going to have someone check her background, she's not just going to let anyone walk into her life, especially what you did last time….and if she finds out who you really are….Lucy, I can't help you…"

There was a long moment of silence. Scud could see that Amy was thinking about it. Not hearing Lucy's voice, he knows that she's also thinking about it.

"I don't want her to do this as much as you do. But I can't persuade her not to." Amy said it with so much emotion, even Lucy felt it. "Even if I didn't suggest it, I know that's what you would do."

Hearing her tone of sadness, Lucy hated herself for hurting the one she loves. She requested the blonde to put the speaker off. In the background, she could hear Scud shouting. "Don't do it. Lucy. Don't do it!"

"I love you." Lucy wanted to assure her lover that she's not into the megastar.

This is not how Amy expected the conversation to turn out. "I…know." Amy tried to hold her tears in. "I also know you won't give up no matter what I say." The thought of threatening to break up with her crossed her mind but she knew the brunette wouldn't have listened regardless. The only thing to do is to support her. "All I ask from you is to tell me everything."

_Everything? _Lucy isn't used to doing that, explaining everything she did. But she promised her lover anyways for being so understanding.

* * *

3 days later

Dressed in a black jacket and blue jeans, with the same disguise as last time, except this time, she chose not to wear glasses, Lucy casually took a seat in the corner inside the large dimly lit night club where it's known as the place where celebrities hang out. Without reservations or connections, this place is difficult to get into. She wasn't sure if the megastar will come tonight but hoped she will. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible so she could go home to spend Thanksgiving with her fiancée. She had been here a few times to get familiar with the surroundings and the nightlife. It's a Friday night, so she expected a large crowd today and a lot of people getting loose and wasted. It's not something that she hasn't seen before so she knows what to expect, but this time is different because she's pretending to be someone else. As she scanned the people sitting at booths, Lucy took a sip of her non-alcoholic drink. It wouldn't be a good idea to drink alcohol being alone all by herself even if she is disguised as a man.

"mhmm…that's the actor in that movie ..what's that called?" Lucy said to herself as she tried to remember. In the past year with a lot of spare time on her hands, Lucy was able to watch a lot of movies she had missed and got updated with the most recent entertainment news. Her eyes moved towards the area near the bar. "huh…what is she doing here? Shouldn't she be with her kid?" Lucy noticed the tall brunette with the long hair who had only a small part in the fast car movie chatting with a few friends. "c'mon…where are you?" Running out of patience, Lucy decided to walk to the other side to take a look. On the other side was the dance floor with a fairly large crowd. They weren't kidding about this place being a celebrity hangout because Lucy recognized a few of them. "Patience, Lucy." She reminded herself and walked back to her seat and ordered a plate of fried chicken tenders. Even if the megastar is here, Lucy has no idea how to approach her. She didn't want her to think she followed her from London to the US. Nobody would trust a stalker. Holding her head with one hand with her elbow leaning on the table, she couldn't help thinking that Scud might be right. It's dangerous to be so close to the famous blonde. Even if she is able to befriend her, having her picture taken with the megastar would be inevitable. There might be a chance that her picture could be posted in a magazine and her enemies might recognize her, a very slim chance, but still a chance. "What am I doing here?" She said as she covered her eyes in frustration.

"What are you doing here?"

Lucy pulled her hands away from her eyes and looked up to see who was repeating after her and was shocked to see who was standing in front of her.

"Are you following her?"

Standing in front of her were the megastar, her boyfriend and a young female.

"What?" Lucy pretended to be as confused as they are.

"You see, we should've never let him go. He's stalking you." Dressed in a blazer and blue jeans, Lucas was more furious than all of them.

"What are you doing?" The megastar said when she noticed her boyfriend taking out his phone.

"I'm calling the cops."

Lucy didn't expect the megastar to be stopping her boyfriend from doing so.

"You don't know that." Alyson was hoping for a night of fun, not this. When she saw who was sitting in her favorite booth in the corner, she was surprised by it. Coincidence or planned? It looked like it was a coincidence because what she saw was a man filled with worries and frustration, wanting to be drunk. "You're not following me, are you?" They had no proof that he is. That incident happened in London not USA. The police would never believe her even if she is famous.

As Lucy was about to give her the most obvious response, she was surprised to find who interrupted her.

"What's going on?"

Max stood next to the megastar's female friend while Lucy tried not to show that she was surprised by her presence. _Amy must have told her._

"I'm not." Lucy said in an assuring tone.

"Hey…aren't you…." Max pointed to the megastar while pretending to remember her name.

"They're lying."

"Did I…miss something?" Max said as she looked towards Lucy.

"He thinks I'm stalking her."

Max let out a laugh and noticed that nobody was laughing. "Seriously?"

Lucy nodded in embarrassment.

"I can see why you would think that. But I can assure you that he's not stalking you….."

"She's lying. They're both lying. We should call the cops" Lucas repeated.

"…and tell them what? " Max took a seat next to the disguised brunette. She could've said she's a cop but didn't want to blow her cover so soon.

"Look, I'm sorry about last time." Lucy didn't see any other way to get out of this except to apologize. "I'm just a fan of yours. I'm not stalking you. I'm not following you. I have no idea that you were going to be here. I'm just here on vacation because…" Lucy pretended to let out a big sigh of frustration. "…because my girlfriend broke up with me…"

Max had no idea what the plan is but played along.

Lucy took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly, pretending to be hurt by it. "If you still don't believe this is a coincidence, I'll leave." She motioned Max to get up from her seat but Max was unwilling to go.

"Do you know how hard it is to get in here?"

"let's just go somewhere else, I'm really not in the mood…right now." Lucy took the last gulp of the drink and put it down hard against the table.

With frustration on her face, Max slid over to the end and was surprised when the young man stood in front of her as if preventing her from leaving. She thought it was believable and didn't think anyone could see thru them.

"They're pretending."

"If you want to call the cops, then go ahead." Lucy pretended not to care, sat back down and waved her hand for the waiter to get her another drink, this time with alcohol.

Max didn't like this at all because it wasn't working. She decided to tell them the truth.

"You're a cop?" The question came from the megastar and Lucas simultaneously. But the megastar was asking the disguised brunette.

"She is."

"Look, I'm just here on my vacation, here with a friend who…desperately needed someone to talk to." All could see that the brunette wasn't in a good mood as she took another gulp of the drink as soon as the waiter handed her the drink. "I'm not supposed to expose my identity to anyone but this is just getting ridiculous. If you still don't believe me, then you can call the cops. We're just going to sit here. Okay?"

With an unsatisfied look, Lucy stared at each one of them and internally let out a sigh of relief the moment she saw them leaving.

"What are you doing here?" Lucy whispered, keeping her look of frustration for everyone to see. She could still see the megastar and her boyfriend looking at them from the table across the room.

"to rescue your ass…what do you think I'm doing here?"

"How did you know I'm here?"

"What do you think I do for a living?...ballet dancer?"

This is why she hasn't seen Max for a week. She had been following her.

"Didn't I tell you this is confidential?" Keeping her pretense, she looked at the blonde's best friend with the short hair.

"Sorry, but I tried. You know how she is."

Lucy didn't expect that. She thought Max told her. "How did she know?"

"I don't know. She knew I was lying. Sorry." Max bit on a piece of chicken tender. "You look good. I wouldn't be able to recognize you if she didn't tell me." Max placed her hand on her shoulder, pretending to be consoling her. "So what's the plan?"

"Later…" The music was loud. The lights were dim. People can't hear them but she still didn't think this is a good place to talk.

"You didn't have to expose yourself, you know."

"I know…but maybe he'd think I'm on to him…if…he has anything to hide , then you wouldn't have to do a thing."

Lucy never thought of that, but realized it could happen. "I hope you're right." She gulped down the last drop of the drink and realized it was a bad idea for drinking so much. "Shit.."

"What?"

"I have to pee."

"well…good luck…keep your eyes closed…" Max smirked and slid out of the booth to let Lucy out.

* * *

_Shoot_. Lucy was hoping that nobody else was in the men's room. But there she saw two men taking a leak at the urinal. _Gross._

She was planning to use one of the stalls, but when she felt a hand on her shoulder, her reflex kicked in. She grabbed the hand and as she was about to make the next move, she didn't expect the person from behind her pushing her back, forcing her to move a few steps forward. When she turned around, she was surprised to see who attacked her from behind.

"I'm warning you. Stay away from her." Lucas said as he pointed at her while two men using the urinal were watching them.

"I told you. I'm not following her." When the two men were done, they went back to their own business and left the restroom.

"If I see you near her again, I'm going to call the police."

_He's smarter than I thought._

"I'm sorry. How many times do I have to apologize_?" _Lucy said in a genuine tone. _You dickhead. _She regretted for saying that in her own mind because what she saw disgusted her. _Geez…why do guys do that? _Lucy turned towards the urinal at the other end and pretended to do the same thing that Lucas was doing. She unbuttoned her jeans and stopped. With one hand pressed against the wall, her other hand covered her mouth. Letting out sounds of vomit, Lucy quickly went inside one of the stalls and pretended to be throwing up.

"Stay away from her, you hear me!"

_Bastard._ Not wanting to hear his voice, Lucy flushed the toilet not once but twice.

* * *

Meanwhile

Since her boyfriend isn't around, Max thought it would be a good opportunity to convince the megastar that they're not stalking her. She was uncertain if they're still thinking about calling the cops, not that it would matter, but it would be better not to get the cops involved.

"I've known him for a long time. I assured you he meant no harm." Max told her stories of the good deeds the former criminal mastermind did such as donating money anonymously.

It was heartbreaking to hear that they've dated for years and because of what happened broke them apart. Alyson could still remember how angry the blonde was.

"he's really regretting that he didn't mind his own business, but that's how he is, he has these 'intuition', these inexplicable feelings…you know...like a psychic…he helped me solve some of the most difficult cases….and that's why he did what he did in London…and because he's a fan of yours and he didn't want to see you get hurt." Max learned from Amy what happened in London. It surprised her too what the brunette did. Her first question to her friend was 'Is she on drugs?'" Fans do crazy things but she didn't expect the notorious criminal mastermind to do that.

"He's a psychic?" asked the megastar's friend who had been paying full attention to Max who then laughed.

"He wished, then maybe he would still have a girlfriend." She could see the megastar was feeling sorry for the disguised brunette. "He said he's sorry and he won't bother you ever again."

At this moment, Max excused herself and went back to her seat when he saw the megastar's boyfriend coming back.

After the brunette came back, Max couldn't resist. "See anything interesting?"

Lucy ignored the comment and tried to get that grotesque image out of her head. "he's no average guy, I can tell you that." Lucy told her about how he was able to respond to her move.

"he probably took a few self defense classes, that doesn't mean anything."

"So what now?" Max knew what the goal is but wasn't sure what the brunette had in mind to achieve that goal.

"Well, I just got dumped, so what would a man do if he just got dumped?" Lucy knew what most girls would do; stay home and binge on favorite snacks. "besides drinking…"

"that's an easy one…" Max got out of the booth. "have fun, meet other women to take your mind off her." She extended her arm out, motioning the brunette to follow.

Lucy played along and reluctantly followed the black fearless US government agent to the dance floor on the other side of the nightclub. It has been a long time since she's been in a night club. Last time she went with was with the blonde back in London. Amy, however, didn't enjoy it as much as she did and called it quits after an hour. The music was too loud and was giving her a headache and she wasn't interested in dancing in the crowded floor, bumping bodies against strangers. Lucy smiled at the strong sexy black woman in front of her, moving her butt and curvaceous body. For an agent, she looked pretty damn good just like the Perfect Score, even better looking than some of the celebrities on the dance floor. Her sexy moves caught the attention of a guy nearby who turned his body towards the agent and danced freely in front of her. Smiling wide, Lucy tilted her head, motioning the shorter woman to look to her right. No words were spoken but Max understood what she meant. The black guy dancing next to them was definitely interested in her. Lucy suddenly shifted to the side to balance herself when she felt a body bumping into her from behind. It was none other than the average looking guy, the megastar's boyfriend.

"Lucas, stop it."

Lucy was surprised that the blonde was defending her after everything she did. _Doofus. Try that again and you'll regret it. _Lucy apologized again but later realized that it wouldn't be a bad thing. It could be the only way to get the blonde to see what kind of jerk Lucas is. _Bring it on. _What she didn't expect was getting the sympathy of another person, the model, the friend of the megastar's.

"I'm Blythe."

"I know who you are." Lucy shook her offered hand and quickly raised them in surrender. "I'm not stalking you. You're just famous and I see you in the news, magazines and everywhere. I swear." It wasn't supposed to be funny but she was glad that the thin brownish blonde hair model who's as tall as the megastar, found it funny. When she saw Max was also laughing, she realized how funny she must have looked at that moment.

It was the way Blythe was scanning her up and down. Lucy can't read her mind but could sense there was something odd with Blythe.

"I didn't get your name."

Lucy expected that and was prepared for it. "David." She even had the fake ID to prove it if necessary.

"Where are you from?" The music was loud, so they had to speak a little louder.

"I'm from California originally, but moved to London a few years ago."

Lucy turned to look at the megastar who was listening to her, so was the doofus.

"What do you do?" Another expected question.

Lucy wiggled her fingers to come closer since she didn't want anyone else nearby to know. She whispered into Blythe's ear. Blythe then whispered into the megastar's ear. What she told them was she was in the field of finance and taking a long break from it. Giving them too much detail wouldn't be a good thing. She had no idea it would be this easy to get their trust again. _Phase 1 complete._

Screaming, talking, bodies dancing, everyone was having a great time. Lucy was never good at dancing. Her odd dance moves caused the model, an inch taller than her, to laugh at her. "I'm not good at this!" Lucy admitted loudly.

"I know!" Blythe responded back and covered her mouth from laughing hysterically. She wiggled her finger and Lucy leaned forward. She was quite stunned after hearing what the model had to say, but tried not to show it. All she could do was smile back and kept on moving as if nothing unusual happened. It wasn't appropriate to respond back with the same comment since she didn't want to give her the wrong idea. So she played along as if what she heard was only a casual compliment, nothing serious. _Amy was right. I do look adorable._

After a long moment, they decided to head back to the seat to take a rest. Leave it to Max, she could get a conversation going on and on because what got everyone's attention were the stories she encountered while being a DEB without giving them all the details, just a general description of the jobs she was assigned to.

"So ladies, don't think the government can't go after you…."

"I'm not into that." Blythe was the first one to defend herself.

What Max told them was that citizens were getting fined for downloading copyrighted porn. Those viewers had no idea that some of them were illegal. In order to avoid going to court, those people paid the fine.

"no? what about strip clubs?"

"NNNO!"

Max was having a fun time teasing the young famous model.

"Oh I know, you must have those chippendales personally go to your house." Lucy said, causing everyone to laugh except for Lucas and Blythe who began hitting Lucy's arm playfully. "I'm just kidding.."

"I can see why they would do that." All turned their attention towards the blonde megastar. She wasn't surprised that the government is invading citizen's privacy to catch people in possession of child pornography. However she was surprised to learn about the Ransomware scam which locks people's pc, accuses people of viewing child porn and tells them to pay the fine to the Department of Justice to unlock the pc that they're using.

"everything you do on the computer, on the phone, if they want to know about you, they can find out." Max said in a serious tone. Her intention was to scare the boyfriend who had been extremely quiet, staring at the disguised brunette.

"Any more stories you can tell us?" Blythe, being younger than the rest of them seems to be the most interested.

"mm…well, I can't tell you what happened because it's confidential, but what I can tell you is without him, I wouldn't be here today." Max said in a sincere tone.

"What happened?" Blythe asked, more curious than ever.

"Sorry, I can't tell you."

"but you can" Blythe asked the man with the beard sitting next to her. "You're not a cop."

"I would if I can remember."

"What do you mean?" The megastar asked in confusion.

This wasn't part of Lucy's plan but didn't see the point of lying to them. "I have…partial memory loss."

"What?" Blythe and Alyson said simultaneously, frowning in confusion at the same time.

Max's purpose was to let them know what kind of person 'he' is. She wasn't sure why Lucy was telling them about her memory loss, so she remained silent.

Lucy skipped the details of how she got into a coma. "When I woke up, I don't remember anything, not her, not my friends, not even my girlfriend."

The famous women were in shock. Lucas displayed no emotion, just staring at 'him' in a way as if determining if 'he' was telling the truth.

"But you remember now?" Alyson asked.

Lucy shook her head. "I remembered everything up to the age of 18."

All noticed that Blythe was more in shock when she gasped out loud. "So you think you're…18 now?"

"No."

Lucy could see that both were somewhat relieved to hear that.

"20" Lucy smiled when she saw their dropped jaws. "That happened a couple of years ago." Lucy reached up to rub her beard with her thumb and finger. "I know I'm not 20…but…" She pointed to her temple. "this here..is…but I'm learning…quickly…"

Seeing Blythe's puppy dog eyes looking at her, Lucy knew she got her sympathy.

"Wait…is that why you did that in London?" For a 30 year old man to display that type of obsessed fan's behavior seemed odd to Alyson but now it made more sense. "…Is that why your girlfriend broke up with you?" She had previously thought it was because of what she did in London that caused their breakup but now realized it could be more than that.

With sadness shown on her face, Lucy gave one slight nod. "..and…she's ready to start a family…and…I'm not." Lucy had no plan of telling them this but somehow the responses came out naturally and it made sense.

Both girls were covering their mouths in shock and all snapped their attention towards the young man who suddenly spoke loudly. "That…is the most ridiculous story…I've ever heard."

It was an immature thing to say. Alyson didn't think it was appropriate even if he didn't believe it. "Lucas…"

"He's lyinnggg."

Lucy let out a sigh of frustration to let them know she was getting tired of this conversation with him. "…and why would I lie about that?"

"I don't know. Only you would know that." His eyes moved towards the blonde for a moment and not only did Lucy noticed, the megastar understood the meaning of it.

"Lucassss…." Alyson didn't think it was necessary to be so blunt. It's not unusual that her fans would fall in love with her. What he just did created an embarrassing moment for her and her fan and she didn't like to embarrass anyone, especially her fans.

"I have a beautiful girlfriend who loves me, who stood beside me…nobody knows if I would ever wake up, but she stayed with me regardless…and when I did wake up…even with this…" She pointed to her own head. "She still wants to be with me." Lucy said in a tone to let him know that he was getting fed up with his behavior.

Lucas's condescending smirk caught all of their attention. "This is why I said you're lying. What you just said contradicted everything you said before. Maybe you should have just kept your mouth….shut."

Lucy could see the ladies were staring at her in confusion. She understood why. Previously she had told them she was dumped and just a minute ago, she gave them the idea that that didn't happen. Lucy reached for the drink on the table.

"Lucas…have you ever been in love?"

Lucas heard enough but wanted to know how 'he' will get out of this one.

"Have you ever been in a long relationship?"

There was no response. Lucy was certain that he never had that type of relationship. "If you have, you should know that it's not that simple…" Looking at Lucas, Lucy took a gulp of the drink. She wanted to let them know that it didn't make sense to them because she didn't tell them everything. They've only met for the first time. It would be too soon for her to tell them everything. Lucy placed the drink down on the table and put her hand up to call for the waitress who was passing by.

"Can you get me the bill?"

"Of course." The waitress responded in the same polite tone.

Max wasn't sure if the mastermind was prepared to pay by credit card. Getting the bills out will definitely let them know something isn't right. Who pays by cash these days? Some still do but not by hundreds.

"Let me." Max took out her wrist wallet.

"Are you sure? Because I was going to pay for all of us."

Both turned towards the megastar who immediately rejected 'his' offer. "…you don't have to…"

"..I want to…." Lucy said in a serious tone and left out the reason but knew they would understand why.

After Max gave her credit card to the waitress, Lucy took a moment to look at each of them including the guy whom Lucy could tell looked more pissed than he did two hours ago. She stood up and extended her hand to the model. "It's nice meeting you." She then did the same to the megastar. Knowing that the jerk would give her a hard time, Lucy didn't bother to shake his hand. She had been in similar situations like this. No matter how she didn't like them, especially the crime bosses, she knew that she had to shake their hands. But in this case, she didn't feel she had to so she just nodded. "Lucas." She then stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets and turned around to head towards the exit. She's not afraid that Lucas would give him a push from behind because he wouldn't be stupid enough to do so in front of the megastar. Besides, Max was behind her. She took each step slowly and pretended to be looking around. But what she was really thinking about was when her name would be called. "one…two…three…four…five…."

"David!"

_Bingo._ Lucy stopped and slowly turned around. Whom she wanted to call her wasn't standing right in front of her. Whom she was expecting is.

"I just want you to know that…I believe you."

Lucy looked down at the hand that was extended to her.

"If you like, I can show you around." Blythe glanced at the man with the short beard and full head of dark brown hair and took a glance at the black woman to let them know the invitation was for both of them.

Lucy turned to Max who took a short moment to understand what was expected of her.

"Thank you. We'll definitely give you a call." Max quickly took the card from her.

The spot they were standing at was quite dim, so Lucy couldn't see the model's facial expression clearly. She could only see the young woman standing still, without moving an inch of her body. Behind her several feet away, she could see the megastar and her boyfriend looking at them. She had no doubt in her mind that it's going to take some time for the young blonde megastar to believe her, unlike the model. "Good night." Lucy expected her to say the same so she can leave but when something else happened instead, she was surprised by it. Her body froze when the young model suddenly gave her a hug.

"Have a good night." Blythe then turned around and walked back towards her friends.

Standing in front of the megastar and her boyfriend, Blythe asked them both to see if they were still behind her.

"They left." Alyson said.

Blythe did a quick turn of her head and let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding.

"why did you do that?" The question came from the most obvious person.

"He's cute, don't you think?"

"Blythe, he's lying, he's a stalker, you can't trust him." Lucas said in frustration, wondering why nobody believes him.

"I don't think he is." Blythe said as she sat down and finished her drink. "What do you think?" The question was directed towards the blonde.

When Lucas saw the blonde taking a sip of the drink as if she's still thinking about it, he wondered if her girlfriend felt the same way. "you too?"

Blythe could see the blonde was deep in thought. "Lucas…." She wiggled her finger, motioning him to come closer. "It's a woman's intuition, you'll never understand."

"He's making it up. What he said doesn't make sense. Can't you see that?"

"It's not only what he said…it's what I felt…" Blythe looked around as if making sure nobody was eavesdropping on their conversation. "He's not a stalker and…he's…very….different…" She nodded her head as if agreeing with herself. "…different…"

"Blythe, just because he didn't try to feel you doesn't make him a gentleman."

"Lucas, are you jealous of him?"

"What do you think?" Lucas said in a mocking tone as he crossed his arms.

"I think…someone is afraid of competition." She said as she glanced at the famous megastar.

Alyson heard and grabbed the only thing she could find on the table and threw it at her friend without hurting her; a used napkin.

Both women laughed loudly as they continued to throw the crumbled napkin back and forth. Lucas rolled his eyes and went to the bathroom because their silliness caused a lot of people staring at them.

With Lucas out of the way, Blythe spoke freely. "Don't tell me you didn't notice the way he looked at you?"

"20 is too young for me." Alyson teased, causing Blythe to laugh even louder.

"That didn't stop you from dating before. You have a record of dating younger guys." Blythe took another napkin, scrunched it up and threw it at the blonde.

Alyson didn't like that comment and with one strong throw, she hit the target, Blythe's face. Their loud laughter caught the attention of others nearby. This is exactly why she wanted to move to NYC, to be with her friends, to have fun on her day off.

"I'll take him if you don't want him."

"…what makes you think he would want you?" Alyson ducked and avoided being hit.

There was only napkin left on the table. Others were on the floor. When she saw Alyson reaching for it, Blythe leaned forward and grabbed her hand, preventing her from taking it.

"Don't you remember what happened last time?" Blythe reminded her of the last time that both saw someone they liked. Alyson was too shy to make the first move so Blythe did and she succeeded in getting herself a date.

"I don't remember." Alyson did remember but didn't want to be reminded of that. It was all about timing and she missed the window of opportunity. Even though Blythe and that guy didn't work out, it would be too odd to try to have a relationship with her friend's ex. From that experience, she reminded herself that she had to go for it when she sees someone she likes….so she did…with the brunette, letting the former criminal mastermind know how she felt.

* * *

Meanwhile

It wasn't safe to talk in the streets or inside the taxi. So they waited until they got to Lucy's hotel room.

"I can't believe I just spent $3000 for appetizers and drinks." Sitting on the sofa, Max shook her head. She is not an obsessed fan of any celebrity, but she is curious to know how the rich and famous live. Now she knows

"I'll pay you back."

Max knew she would. Those drinks cost more than what she earned in one month.

"So what's the plan?"

Lucy was wiping the sticky glue off her face.

".. it looks like she's into me…so let's go with that…"

Max was expecting a more detailed plan, not play it by ear.

"More detail, please…"

Sitting on the other end of the couch, Lucy finished cleaning her brows and threw the wipe on the coffee table. "Well…. I was planning to get close to her…but she seems smarter than I thought…"

"but not smart enough to be dating that guy…"

"right…" Lucy was about to continue with her thought but was interrupted.

"even if we have no proof that he's a bad guy…even if it's just a feeling from your gut…no matter how much Amy doesn't want you to…you still want to break them up."

Max could see that the brunette didn't like what she just said.

"Is this worth risking your life for?...Is **she** worth risking your life for?"

"It's not what you think."

"It isn't?" Max said in a mocking tone.

"no." Lucy said in an obvious tone.

"Then why?" If this is the mature Lucy, Max wouldn't think this way about her. But this is the young Lucy Diamond and the young Lucy was known to have a lot of women.

Lucy stared at her lover's friend. She didn't want to explain nor felt the need to explain. With or without her help, she will continue with the plan. "As I was saying, my original plan was to get close to her and get her to trust me…and since that's not going to happen as fast as I want to and Blythe seems to like me, so let's get close to Blythe instead.

"Define…get close to Blythe."

Lucy was tired and wasn't in the mood to play games with her. She stood up. "You know what I mean."

Max did the same and stood up. "I know what you mean and I don't agree with your plan."

Lucy let out a long tired breath. "Let's talk about it tomorrow….I'm tired." Lucy said as she headed for the bed. "You can sleep on the couch if you want." It's a king size bed but Lucy had no intention of sharing it with her.

Max walked closer as the brunette slipped into bed.

"What?" Lucy wondered why Max was staring at her in an odd way.

"Your..hair? Is that…real?" As Max was about to touch it, Lucy blocked her hand from touching her hair. "My God…you've gone totally nuts" A moment ago, she had wondered why the brunette didn't take off her hair piece. In the nightclub when she first saw her, she had wondered why it looked so real.

Lucy pulled the blanket over her shoulder and closed her eyes. Cutting her long hair wasn't a big deal. She did it before. In fact, she shaved it all off once before because it was necessary to prevent her enemies from recognizing her.

"Does Amy know?"

Not wanting to talk anymore, Lucy sighed loudly and turned herself to the other side.

_It's just hair._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 55**

Lucy wanted to thank her lover for asking Max to help out. Because without her, she could just imagine how difficult it would be to gain Blythe's trust. Lucy called the model the next day and had her showed them around NYC. It had been a long time since she went to the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and Times Square. The megastar didn't go with them and Lucy wouldn't be surprised if her boyfriend was the reason. What better way to gain their trust than by inviting them to her place, a penthouse suite in a five star hotel in NYC with a panoramic view of the Hudson river, Manhattan, Empire State Building and downtown.

"Lucas, Blythe likes him, so behave…" Standing in front of the panoramic window, Alyson had to warn him because she's there to have fun, not watch her boyfriend getting jealous over a stranger whom she has no interest in. She turned around to look at her friend who was helping the thin bearded man lay the aluminum trays of food on the dining table. That night in the nightclub, Alyson did have doubts about the man with partial memory loss. Those doubts are still there but she is starting to believe that Max does work for the government. Max didn't prove it by showing her ID or badge. Even if she did, she wouldn't know if it was fake or real. What was real was when Blythe saw how Max prevented a serious fight from happening between two drivers who were having an argument over a car accident. The driver in the front car took a bat out from the trunk and began smashing the windows of the car behind him. The car behind him had 2 passengers sitting in the rear and one of them was a little kid. There were a lot of people watching but nobody had the courage to interfere except for the black woman who claims that she is a cop and the man who claims that he has partial memory loss. Max didn't need David's help though and was able to get the situation under control before the police arrive. It was a frightening scene according to Blythe. If her mother had been there, Alyson is certain that her mother would again try to persuade her to move out of the dangerous city of NYC.

"Game is about to start!" Sitting on the couch with a remote in one hand and a plate of food in the other, Max turned the volume on higher.

Max thought it would be a good idea to use this as an excuse to invite them here; one…to show them how rich the brunette is and two, to show them that they're just normal citizens who are interested in watching Sunday night football. Lucy took her plate of food and drink and sat next to Max. Blythe did the same and sat next to her while the other couple sat on the other couch. As they were eating, Max was playing her part perfectly, screaming when the San Francisco 49ers succeeded in getting a touchdown and yelling when the football was intercepted by the NY Giants.

"I hope you guys don't mind, but I'm rooting for the other team." Max could see the rest didn't care for it.

When the first touchdown was made by the 49ers, it made Lucy wonder if Max wasn't acting after all because she was screaming in celebration like a fan would.

"So...a touchdown is 6 points and they get 1 more if they kick it over that thing?" Blythe said as she raised both hands. Lucy just realized that Blythe was clueless about the game and probably wasn't interested in it.

"Right…and if they didn't get a touchdown and just kicked the ball between the uprights...and over the crossbar." Lucy raised her hands up like she did. "…that's a field goal and it's worth 3 points." Lucy continued to tell her what the general rules are. "I'm not into football myself. I just know a liiiiittle….bit more than you do." Lucy said jokingly as she gestured with her finger and thumb. It was a joke and Lucy succeeded in making the young model laugh.

After the 2nd quarter ended, all were already done with dinner. Since it was halftime, Max needed a bathroom break. It wasn't just because she needed one, she noticed that Lucas had left the living room area way before halftime. While Max headed to the bathroom, Lucy began picking up the plates and cups.

Letting out a sigh, Blythe kept her eyes at the man wearing a black sweater and a blue collar shirt underneath it. "I can't find anything wrong with him."

"It's only been a week, Blythe." Alyson wanted to let her know that it's not a good idea to fall for someone so fast.

"I know. I don't know how long he's going to be here."

"Did you ask him?"

Blythe shook her head. "I…don't think it would make a difference…I don't think I can make him fall for me."

Her eyes locked at the bearded man who was cleaning up the dining table.

"He's been asking about you."

It wasn't a surprise since they all knew from day one that he is a fan of the megastar's. "What did he say?"

"He asked about your relationship with Lucas, how long you've been dating. I told him he wouldn't have a chance."

Alyson turned to look at David who disappeared from view. "How did he take it?"

"He said he just want to be friends and nothing more. I'm not sure if he meant me or you." Blythe let out a gentle smile but deep inside she was disappointed.

Alyson took a seat next to her and wrapped her left arm around her. "That's how all relationships start out…by being friends first." Alyson reminded her of the guy she dated last time. It was love at first sight but it didn't work out in the end and that relationship ended very fast.

**Meanwhile**

Lucy was wondering where Lucas was. Feeling something wrong, she left the kitchen area and headed down the hall towards the bedrooms. Standing just inside the bedroom door was Max. Lucy didn't have to see who was inside Max's bedroom to know who it is.

"I've never been in this hotel. I just want to take a look around." Lucas said as he looked around.

Lucy wondered how long he's been inside the bedroom. Luckily, she predicted that this would happen so she hid everything that would reveal their identity.

"It's nice. Isn't it?" Lucy played along. She was glad that he did because it gave her a reason to believe that she was right about him.

"Beautiful" Lucas complimented and exit the bedroom.

"Can I see this one?"

"Sure." Lucy opened the door to her bedroom for him.

Max stood at the door entrance while Lucy stepped inside. Both were watching Lucas from behind as he knocked on the wooden dressers. It surprised Lucy to see that he went as far as opening some of the drawers. Knowing that this would happen, Lucy planned it ahead of time, having only men's clothing and necessities inside the drawers and on top of the dressers.

"Nice wood."

"I'm sure your place is much nicer." Lucy hinted that he should invite them to his place next time.

At this time, the two famous ladies also showed up to see where everybody went.

"Is this your room, David?" Blythe asked out of curiosity. "Wow…it's big" The bedroom had a range of unique lighting, warm, soothing, and relaxing colors, panoramic windows, and a door that leads to a large modern bathroom.

"bigger than yours?" Lucy said.

Smiling, Blythe shook her head. Without asking for permission, she sat at the edge of the bed. "Is this comfortable?"

"Try it."

Blythe laid her whole body on the bed and rolled on it back and forth. "It's okay but mine is definitely more comfortable."

"oh yeah…what brand is it? cuz I've been having backaches lately."

"I'm not sure…but you can certainly come over and try it out before you buy." Blythe didn't realize how it sounded until she saw 6 pairs of shocked eyes staring at her; the famous blonde, the man she liked and the cop.

Lucy didn't expect that coming out from the young model. Her mouth instantly dropped a little. Did she mean that literally or did she mean it the way it sounded?

What Alyson was thinking at the moment was '_oh Blythe, why did you say that_?'

What Max was thinking: '_stop it now before she gets hurt_.'

Lucas wasn't paying attention to any of them and was still looking around.

"I mean…I…I…that's not what I meant." With embarrassment shown all over her face, Blythe quickly headed towards the door, pulling the famous blonde with her.

"Are we here to watch the game or the bedroom?" Max was finally able to get Lucas back into the living room.

It turned out to be a short night of fun that Lucy didn't expect. During the 3rd quarter, Lucas had an urgent business issue and wanted to leave. He suggested something that shocked all of them, especially the megastar who had to pull him aside to talk privately.

"We knew he was up to something." Lucy said loudly so that Amy could hear on the other end of the phone.

"That wasn't too smart of him."

When Lucas announced that he had to leave, the megastar was going to leave with him. It's only natural since she didn't feel safe to be in a penthouse with 2 strangers even if one of them is a female and since they've only known each other for a week. Out of all the people, Alyson didn't expect her boyfriend to ask her and Blythe to stay behind.

Lucy suggested to do something else next time since nobody was interested in football except for Max. What she found after they left were bugs hidden in the living room.

"So…maybe he's just trying to protect his girlfriend...from you two." Amy hated to admit that her brunette lover could be right about Lucas but still there could be other reasons.

"a normal civilian wouldn't do that. If he doesn't trust us, why would he leave his girlfriend here? My guess is he's probably hiding something and wanted to know if we're here to get him."

"It's a good idea that you let them know you're a cop."

"thank you." Max was quite surprise to get another compliment from the young criminal mastermind.

Amy had been listening and was quite surprise that they were getting along.

"Then what happened?"

"We played along." Lucy said in an obvious tone and didn't felt the need to describe in detail of what they did or said.

Amy knew this would happen. The only way to get her lover to tell her everything is by threatening her.

"Lucy, do you want a sexless marriage?" Amy said in a frustrated tone.

"Ammmyyyy…." It wasn't the appropriate thing to say, especially in front of Max. Lucy rolled her eyes and saw that Max was looking at her in confusion. That confused look quickly turned into a chuckle.

At that moment, Max realized that everything she heard about their relationship was true. The Perfect Score had Lucy Diamond under control and not the other way around.

"We told them what they wanted to hear." Lucy said.

"which is…" Amy expected more than that. When she didn't hear anything coming out of the brunette, she had no choice but to ask her friend. "Max…"

"Well…it went like this."

* * *

_After Lucy closed the door, she gestured with her hand, pointing to various places. But she didn't have to. Max knew exactly what she was thinking. While Max went back to watching the game, Lucy got the bug detector out. It didn't take long to find where the bugs are with the powerful detector that Scud invented. There was one underneath the couch and one underneath the dining table._

_Both pretended to be watching the game and spoke during commercial break._

_"She is sssso….into you."_

_"She's a nice girl." Lucy said as she poured herself and Max a glass of wine. _

_"So…what are you going to do?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I mean…are you going to give Blythe a chance?"_

_Lucy groaned loudly, making sure that whoever was listening could hear her frustration. "I don't want to do this now. It's not fair…for anyone."_

_"I talked to her a few days ago."_

_"How is she?" came the fast reply._

_"She…miss you. "_

_"If you…talk to her again, tell her I'm sorry…."_

_"David. This is not your fault. If anyone should be blamed, it should be me. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be in a coma…then you would still remember her…you two would be happily married now….I hate to see you like this. Both of you." _

_There was a long moment of silence until Max screamed at the tv again._

_"No!...what are you doing?!" _

_There was only 20 seconds left in the game. The 49ers lead by 4 points. The Giants had the ball. A flag was thrown for interference and it gave the Giants another first down closer to the end zone. After the snap of the ball, it was over with 10 seconds left on the clock. _

_"NO!" The Giants won. Max spilled the glass of wine all over the couch and floor on purpose. They needed an excuse to have the cleaning lady come up to clean the mess and take the bug out. "Oh shit! Get a towel."_

_"Did you bet on the game?" Lucy wondered why she was so disappointed. It was just a game. _

_"Betting is illegal." _

_"People do it anyway."_

_"Oh…shoot…it's not coming off…it's staining the carpet. Call room service!"_

* * *

There was a long moment of silence. Lucy wasn't sure what the blonde was thinking. "Amy?"

Amy heard and was surprised that the brunette told them a true story.

"Why did you tell them about your memory loss?" She didn't think it was necessary. She could come up with lots of reasons why they broke up.

"umm….to get her sympathy…to make them feel sorry for me…" Looking at Max, Lucy shrugged her shoulders and wondered why her intelligent lover couldn't think of that. It was very obvious.

"she had to, otherwise, they wouldn't believe why a 30 year old would do that unless he's crazy. I still don't know why you would do that."

Lucy glared at Max for adding the last line. There was no need for that. It would only get Amy more upset.

"Where are you?"

It wasn't safe to talk in the penthouse since there was one more bug in the dining area. It would make sense to leave that alone for another day. Destroying both bugs so soon would be too suspicious. So they went down to use a bathroom inside the hotel restaurant.

"How's Nadia? Did Scud find anything on Holly?"

"He didn't and Nadia is very happy."

"..that's good…but still keep an eye on her.."

Amy disagreed but didn't want to talk about this at this moment.

"Alexis, she asked about you." Lucy didn't expect that. "She wanted to know why we cancelled the wedding. So….I told her the truth."

"The truth?" Lucy wondered which part.

"I told her about Anthony. I think she wants to talk you."

"Is she okay?" Lucy wasn't sure how Amy feels about Alexis after what she did to Nadia. "Can you talk to her?" After hearing her sigh of frustration, Lucy changed her mind. "I'll give her a call." Talking on the phone isn't the same as being there. She was hoping that Amy could forgive Alexis.

"I miss you." Amy hasn't decided what to do yet but most likely she will pay Alexis' a visit. Max took the hint and left the bathroom to give the lovebirds some privacy.

"I miss you too." Lucy said in a genuine tone.

"So you're not coming back for Thanksgiving?" Not hearing her plans for next week, Amy didn't think she has any plans on coming back.

"I'm sorry…"

Lucy could hear another loud sigh of sadness from her lover.

"Put the video on. I want to see you."

Lucy did as told since she wanted to see her lover too. Max had told her about her new haircut, so Amy wasn't surprised by it. She was however surprised that the brunette was willing to do that.

"You look tired…"

"jet lag"

"Still?" Amy didn't think that would be the reason since she had been there for 2 weeks.

Telling her about the nightmares she has been having wouldn't be a good idea, so Lucy kept it to herself. She placed a kiss on the phone display. Amy did the same. It's moments like these that make her reconsider what she's giving up. But after each call to her lover, her mind would automatically switch back to the purpose of being there.

* * *

London

Even after Nadia's breakup, Amy still visits Ashley from time to time. Alexis was there a couple of times and they pretended everything was the same as before in front of Ashley. But the intelligent Ashley did notice that something was wrong because Nadia had not been at her house since that night. She came to learn and understand that her sister has broken up with the woman with the gentle voice whom she had grown fond of. Not only Ashley, Michel and his ex were also very shocked. Today, Amy had planned on going alone to have a talk with Alexis. Nadia insisted on going as well.

Sitting on the couch in the living room, both clapped their hands after Ashley performed a solo, singing one of the megastar's hit songs.

"umm..Ashley, how about singing another song?"

This is the last thing Amy was expecting, being reminded of the megastar whom her lover is trying to get close to.

"Okay."

With a fake smile, Amy internally sighed when Ashley began singing another one of the megastar's songs.

In the middle of the song, Amy was glad someone came to fulfill her wish. Nadia didn't expect Alexis to be home so soon. Both could see that Alexis was surprised to see them.

All greeted each other with one word. "Hi"

Being the fearless woman that she is, Alexis made the first move and gave the blonde a hug. She then turned to her ex and stared at her for a moment. What she saw completely surprised her. Nadia hasn't changed a bit in terms of appearance but she noticed the way she was looking at her. There was no sadness, no hatred, just a look of concern for the one who didn't want to be with her. What surprised her even more was when Nadia made the first move in hugging her. "How are you?"

It sounded very sincere. Alexis didn't expect anything less from the woman with the angelic soul. Holding in her tears, Alexis held her ex in a tight embrace. She wanted to apologize but this isn't the right time to do so with her father, Ashley and Amy watching. "Fine. How are you?"

"good…" Nadia pulled back and scanned the beauty up and down. "Are you sick?" She noticed the redness in her nose, probably due to blowing it too often.

"Just a cold."

"Alexis, do you want something to eat?" Michel didn't know why she came home so soon.

Alexis shook her head. She wasn't feeling well and wanted to come home to take a rest but now seeing both her friends here, she wanted to do something else. Alexis excused herself to change into more comfortable clothing and headed upstairs.

Seeing the opportunity, Nadia later headed upstairs without asking for permission.

"Do you want to hear another song?"

"umm…how about we do something else?" Amy used to like the megastar until she learned about the brunette's obsession.

Waiting at the door, Nadia gave Alexis a moment to change. Looking around, the place brought back a lot of memories. She had been there numerous times. She remembered the time when nobody was in the house except for them and Ashley. Ashley was already sleeping. What she had planned that night was cook for her lover and her sister, then a night of watching a movie together. But after Ashley headed to bed, she realized that Alexis had something else in mind.

"Hey" Alexis was a little startled to see her ex leaning against the wall in front of her bedroom.

"Hey….can we…talk?"

Alexis was wearing a new casual outfit that she hasn't seen before. After getting to know the fashion designer, Nadia came to realize just how much clothing she has, not even a walk-in closet would fit all of her clothing. After stepping inside the familiar bedroom, she found that nothing has changed. The bed still has the same colored sheets that they slept on that night. The color of the duvet isn't the same but everything else is.

"Nadia…I want to apologize."

Nadia expected her to say that but that's not why she came. "Did you regret it?"

Alexis didn't expect that question. She didn't want to say that she regretted breaking up with her because she had no intention of being back together but at the same time, she didn't want to hurt her by being so blunt. "I should have told you what I was going thru.…I…"

"What I mean is did you regret starting this relationship?"

"of course not"

"me neither…" Nadia took her eyes away from the beauty and pretended to be looking around before stopping 5 feet from her ex. "It's my fault."

"No, it's not." Alexis wasn't sure why she was blaming herself.

"Yes, it is...because I knew this would happen." Nadia remembered the moment when it all began in the brunette's master bedroom. "We're completely different." That's what the brunette said and she herself knew that from day 1. "I'm older. I'm the mature one. I always think about the consequences before acting on it." She moved one step closer to the one who captured her heart a long time ago. "Do you remember that night?"

How can she forget? She was the one who initiated it. She was the one who persuaded the shy woman to go for it. She was asked numerous times if she was sure. She didn't have regrets being with her but felt sorry for not being able to be with her.

"I knew it wouldn't work but I couldn't resist and I…..couldn't control myself and now…" Nadia looked up to prevent her tears from flowing down. "…I lost...a friend.."

When she saw one drop, then another flowing down her ex's face, Alexis immediately wrapped around her ex in a tight embrace. "Nadiaaaa...I'm sorry…I am so sorry."

Meanwhile

Downstairs in the living room, while Ashley occupied herself with drawing, Amy had a talk with Michel who asked about the cancellation of her wedding. No reason was given to him, just a notice that the wedding will be postponed without a date. After learning that the brunette had to go back to USA to help out Anthony, it still didn't make sense to him.

"What can she do that Anthony cannot? Is everything okay with you two?"

"Fine." Amy said with a smile but wasn't sure if he believed her. The deep furrows on his forehead told her that he didn't. "I have to talk to Alexis." There was a reason why she came and it's not to talk about her own problems.

The door to Alexis's bedroom wasn't closed. Amy was surprised to see the ex-lovers hugging each other. She knocked on the door twice to get their attention. Nadia was crying and laughing at the same time and she could now see that Alexis was too when she turned around. Amy moved closer when Nadia waved her hand. Noticing the situation, she had an idea of what happened. It's the reason Nadia came along.

With one arm around her ex and the other around the blonde, Nadia hugged both tightly. "I'm so lucky to have you as my friends."

"Nadia, we're the lucky ones." Feeling a burden has been lifted, Alexis said as she wiped her tears away. "I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that." Nadia thought she understood by now. "From this moment on, I don't want to hear you say that again." Her arms hung around the two women. "Amy, I love you but not in that way."

"I know that." Amy responded in confusion.

"Alexis, I loved you once but not anymore, not in that way."

Alexis nodded in understanding.

"Can we be back to the way it was before?" It was a question directed to Amy. She knew Amy had been avoiding the fashion designer because of her. Two pairs of eyes stared at the blonde, waiting for a response. Nadia didn't think it would be this difficult since she had already forgiven Alexis. She realized what Amy was thinking after she spoke.

"Did you cheat on her?"

"No!"

That thought never occurred to Nadia. Whether Alexis did or not, it didn't matter anymore. But she realized that it mattered to Amy. "Amy, it doesn't matter."

"Nadia, I didn't." Alexis hated being accused.

"I believe you."

Both turned to Amy who was looking deeply into Alexis' eyes as if to see if she was telling the truth. Their relationship ended and it shouldn't matter anymore. But Amy couldn't find it in herself to be friends with someone like that. "See you at the gym tomorrow?"

Letting out a sigh of relief and a smile, Alexis made a mental note to never let her know about what she did that night with her lover.

* * *

NYC

It worked out as planned because the next day after that football game, Blythe asked them out to join them to watch the Thanksgiving Parade held in the 34th street of NYC. Unfortunately the megastar had to work that day. Without the megastar, they would never be able to get a seat in the booth in front of a famous clothing store with a perfect view of where performances would be captured on camera. Sitting in between two women, Lucy was dressed warmly in her thick winter coat, gloves, scarf and sunglasses. It was colder than they expected. Lucy allowed the model to cling her arm around hers. What else could she do? Say no.

"This is awesome. Isn't it?" Max was enjoying the moment. Lucy did too but it would be better if Amy was sitting next to her. "Here she comes!"

Hearing loud screaming and cheers from the crowd everywhere, it was obvious who was coming. Dressed in long leather pants and red shimmering jacket, the megastar stood on the top of a huge float decorated with Christmas ornaments, waving to the crowds.

"She must be cold." Lucy said to Blythe who noticed 'his' concerned look.

That day after she left the penthouse, she found out why Lucas was being so mysterious. If it wasn't for the megastar who noticed that there was something wrong with her boyfriend, she would have never found out what happened to the man who's sitting next to her right now. It was heartbreaking to hear the real reason for their separation. Years of love and all of it was destroyed by an accident. Not only her, the megastar was also shocked when she heard what Max said. It was wrong to eavesdrop on them. It was wrong to plant a bug in their penthouse. But she was curious to know the truth. Lucas was 100 percent certain that he would be able to prove that they had been pretending from day 1. The megastar was also curious. There were no more doubts, at least, not for her. As for Lucas, she wasn't so sure if he would do that again. Her heart poured out for the one with the mind of a 20 year old. Her friend, the megastar, told her not to pursue because there is a possibility that he could get his memory back and when that happens, he will go back to his girlfriend. At that moment, all Blythe could think about was one thing.

_"No matter how it ends, you go for it anyway. Isn't that what you said?"_

_"Ohhhh Blythe…"_

Using her own words against her, Blythe was able to make her friend see how serious she is about this stranger. It might not work out, but she is willing to try. Seeing him looking up at the megastar, she realized how difficult it would be. _David, she's taken._

"David" Blythe had to pull his arm to get his attention away from the megastar. "Do you have any plans tonight?"

Lucy shook her head.

"Do you want to come over to my apartment for dinner? I'm hosting tonight."

Blythe expected one fast response because nobody has ever rejected her before; not reporters who wanted to take pictures of her apartment to see how a famous model lives and not her past boyfriends.

When she noticed his hesitation, she pointed upwards towards the megastar who was singing a Christmas song. After clarifying that the megastar and a few other friends will also be there, she could see his eyes instantly lit up.

The crowd was really noisy, so Lucy had to speak closer into her ear. "Are you sure it's okay?"

Blythe nodded and saw his whole face lit up into a smile. If the smile was for her, she would have the same expression.

* * *

London

Sliced vegetables, sweet potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil, and baked ham were already done and placed on the dining table. Standing in front of long dining table, Ashley was in awe of the sight in front of her. She wasn't the only one. On the dining table were a bowl of roasted brussels sprouts with pancetta, caramelized onion with potato gratin, glazed carrot strips, mashed potato, turkey stuffing, dinner rolls and croissants, a small bowl of cranberry sauce, and many more bowls on the counter. The only plate missing was the turkey.

"Here it is." Ethan entered the dining room with the main dish.

Michel's family was invited. Alec was on vacation with his girlfriend.

"Where's Keira?" Alexis still couldn't get used to calling the brunette by her fake name and definitely not by her real name. She knew where she went but was unaware that she wouldn't be coming back for Thanksgiving.

"New York." Amy tried not to show any emotion while setting the table. She was disappointed but there was nothing she could do about it.

When the doorbell rang, all snapped their heads towards the living room since they weren't expecting anyone else.

"You're joking right?" Alexis said.

"No." Amy frowned in confusion but then realized that maybe it could be her lover, giving her a surprise. She quickly went to open the main door with Scud and Alexis following from behind. The thought of the brunette at the door caused her heart to beat twice as fast. She didn't even look at the peephole first to see who it is before swinging the door wide opened. Her heartbeat immediately went back to normal when she saw who it was. "Hi…Holly." Amy had no idea she was invited.

"Hi Kristin…sorry…I'm late."

Amy met her a few times. Unlike her lover, she didn't find anything wrong with Holly. She loudly announced who was at the door to let everyone know to get back to calling her by her fake name.

"Holly…" Nadia quickly approached her friend whom she invited since she didn't have any family in London or the US.

Amy could tell that Alexis had no clue. _She will later. _

"It's apple pie. " Holly handed Nadia a box.

"You made it?" Nadia realized why she asked her for the recipe weeks ago and Holly shyly nodded.

Taking her hand, Nadia pulled her towards the curious group behind her. "Everyone, this is Holly Smith."

Nadia deliberately introduce her to Alexis last. Alexis realized that Holly had no idea who she is when she asked a question, a question that she gets numerous times from strangers.

"Are you…a model?"

Nadia remembered the first time she saw Alexis up so close and noticed that Holly is probably having the same feeling she had then. It's only natural. Having dated Alexis, she got used to having strangers look at her in that way.

"I'm a fashion designer."

"Holly is a nurse."

"Let's eat before Janet and Ashley eat all of it." Amy had been looking at Alexis to see her reaction. Meeting your ex's new girlfriend is a difficult thing to deal with but it shouldn't be for Alexis since she was the one who ended it. But she couldn't help wondering what Alexis was thinking at that moment.

After Nadia took Holly to the dining room, Alexis took the opportunity to find more about the new girl. "How long?" Alexis said while keeping her eyes at the dining area.

"…a month…"

"She doesn't know about us."

"Doesn't look like it."

"Does she want her to know?"

"I think it's too soon." Amy responded while looking at Nadia who pulled the chair out for her friend next to her seat.

"What do you think of her?"

"she's happy…she can't stop talking about her…but.."

Alexis turned to look at the blonde. "But?"

"I'll tell you later."

Alexis grabbed her arm preventing her from walking away. "tell me now…"

"Let's just say…Lucy found her a little…odd…"

That didn't answer her question and it got her more confused.

Being the oldest, Michel sat at one end of the table with Ashley and Scud sat at the other end with the baby carriage next to him. The table has eight seats but it was enough to fit 9 people. It began with a casual conversation about the dishes Nadia and Ethan made. Alexis had been looking at the new girl the entire time and tried not to be so obvious. Amy sat between Alexis and Ethan while Holly sat between Janet and Nadia. All were a little surprised when the questions came from Michel who asked about Holly's background.

"How do you usually spend Thanksgiving?" Knowing that Holly came from the US, Michel was curious to know where her family is. They don't celebrate it here or France because Thanksgiving is a US holiday but they do know what it is from watching from US movies.

"I used to go to concerts with a few friends. I had no idea that London doesn't celebrate it the first year I came…so when Nadia invited me, I was a little surprised"

"Concert?"

All didn't expect the little girl to be paying attention to their conversation since she was busily gobbling up the sweet corn and mash potato.

"mhm…"

"Whose concert?"

"I…went to a few of them."

Even before Ashley spoke, Alexis knew where her little sister is going with this. She had been nagging her father and her about taking her to the megastar's concert. It's not their fault if the megastar isn't coming to London.

"She was here a few years ago. Did you go?" Holly spoke in a gentle tone.

All could see that Ashley was disappointed when she pouted her lips.

Holly continued to describe the atmosphere that night. Scud remembered that night but kept quiet. He did what the brunette wanted him to do and has been following her on his spare time.

"There were so many people. I've been to a few concerts but that one tops all of it." Ashley was the only one who's interested but all were paying attention except for Amy.

"What's wrong?" Alexis said in a whisper. She found Amy's behavior extremely impolite when she continued with her own meal and not paying attention to the guest.

"One minute everyone was cheering and screaming, then all of a sudden, everybody became quiet…because she was preparing to sing her next song. I've never seen that happened before in any of the concerts I went to."

"She was crying." said Ashley.

"How did you know?"

"Kristin was there."

All turned their attention towards the blonde except for Alexis who was wondering how in the world her sister could remember that. That happened so long ago.

Amy still couldn't remember that night but was told by Kat that she was there with her.

"It was spectacular, wasn't it?" Holly asked and was expecting the blonde to say a few more things about the concert but all she got was a smile and a nod.

Then all of a sudden, nobody expected the little girl to be singing the infamous Number 1 hit.

All Amy could do was hold her forehead. _Not again. _

"Are you feeling okay?" Alexis said.

"Fine" Amy lifted her head up and focused her attention at the little girl like everyone else. After she finished singing the song, everyone clapped their hands. She expected Holly to compliment on Ashley's singing and she did. What she didn't expect nor did anyone else was for Holly to ask about the person she met only once.

"Where is…Skye?"

Amy turned towards Alexis, her back facing Holly so she couldn't see the expression on her face. "..that's…what's odd…." She mouthed and could tell that Alexis was still confused.

At this time, Ashley finished eating and excused herself to watch tv in the living room. Nadia didn't go into detail and just told her that the brunette was spending Thanksgiving with friends in the US.

"Is she spending Thanksgiving with her boyfriend?"

"see what I mean." Amy mouthed again while shielding half of her face from the new girl.

"…she's…" Nadia glanced at Amy to see if she wanted to respond to the question. When Amy didn't respond, she made the decision herself. "Yes, she is.." Her intention was to tell Holly that the brunette isn't available. She didn't see any harm in lying to her about that.

Everyone was full. Janet left room for dessert since she knew what Nadia made. Unlike Janet who still had trouble getting back into shape, Amy and Alexis knew when enough is enough. As Ethan placed a cup of lemon soufflé in front of the blonde, he was a little embarrassed to hear the comment from the guest and at the same time, he realized that he had been doing the same exact thing he did years ago; paying more attention to the former DEB agent and taking care of her needs.

"…we're just…friends." Ethan cleared his throat and placed the tray on the counter.

"Ethan is single." Nadia quickly jumped in to clear the air. "Do you know anyone who's looking..and who might be interested in my brother?"

"Nadiaaaa…." All noticed that Ethan was a bit embarrassed.

"Actually I do know someone…I've known her for a year…she's a nurse too." Holly continued to talk about her coworker in excitement. Her eagerness to play matchmaker was apparent. "What do you think?"

"umm….I…"

"Ethan…it's okay if it doesn't work out, you should at least try…isn't that what you always said about me?" It has been a few years now. Nadia could still see that he hasn't fully gotten over the blonde.

Letting out a smile, Ethan stared at his little sis whom he noticed has changed quite a bit, blurting out what was in her mind. Even her tone has changed. The Nadia he knew would never put anyone in an embarrassing situation, at least, not in front of strangers. She could've had this conversation with him in private.

"Ethan..I think it's a good idea." Came the gentle voice from the one whom he couldn't get over.

Having lived next to the blonde for a few years, it was quite difficult to see her with the brunette together. He tried not to show it but sometimes he couldn't control his own feelings. It hurts. So most of the time, he would stay in his own side of the duplex. When he was invited for dinner, he would make excuses when he knows that the brunette would be there. He had thought about moving out but it would be lonely to live alone and the worst part of it is he wouldn't be able to see her as often. All he wanted to do is see her and take care of her until she gets married; He would be satisfied with just that. When the wedding date was set, he knew the time has come to actively search for an apartment. There was no need for him. She has someone else to take care of her. But when he learned of the cancellation, it made him wonder if there is something wrong with their relationship because the reason Nadia gave him didn't make sense. It wasn't just that, it was the arguments he overheard by accident.

"okay…" Ethan agreed with a smile. All noticed that Nadia had the biggest smile and Amy too.

"Kristin, what about you? I know a few doctors who would love to meet you…and you too, Alexis" When she saw both of them staring at her and not in a good way, she quickly added. "I mean…not that any of you would need any help in getting a date or anything…I know a few people at work who's looking."

"umm…Holly, Kristin is unavailable." Nadia could see that Holly was only trying to help but looking at both of her friend's faces, they didn't seem to see it that way.

Holly nodded in understanding. Her eyes then turned towards the one with the brownish reddish hair.

"…and Alexis is…" As Nadia was about to say she had a lot of options and she didn't need any help, she got cut off.

"I'm a lesbian. Do you know any doctors or nurses who are lesbians?"

Nadia instantly dropped her jaws. She wasn't the only one. Alexis was being herself again, but did she really have to say it in that tone? It sounded rude.

"oh…umm…"

All could see Holly was surprised by this information, so surprised, she didn't know how to respond. It made Amy wonder if Nadia had told her about herself. _Does she know? Does she see her only as a friend_? She later realized she wasn't the only one who saw it that way.

"Nadia is a lesbian too. Did you know?"

Nadia instantly dropped her fork on the table. Her whole body froze.

Amy gasped inward when she saw the shocked look on Nadia's face. _Nadia, you didn't tell her? _ Alexis didn't stop there.

"Are you a lesbian?"

All turned towards the new girl except for Nadia who kept her eyes locked at her ex. Amy wondered what she was thinking of at this moment. She would be upset too if her ex blurted out something like that. That's why to this day, she never told her college friends that she's engaged to a woman because she didn't want them to know. If they found out by accident, then so be it. But she understood why Alexis did that. Knowing how shy Nadia has always been with coming out, it was her way of helping her but still Amy didn't agree with her method.

"No"

The one word response elicited a sharp pain in her heart. Even though they never talked about their past relationships, Nadia had no doubt that her new friend is into woman, into her, but she now realizes it's all in her own mind. Her eyes remained locked at her ex but she isn't upset with Alexis. That's how Alexis had always been, not afraid to announce to the world that she's a lesbian. Alexis had tried numerous times to make her see that there is nothing to be ashamed of. But Nadia could never get herself to that point where Alexis is, where she wanted her to be. Nadia was upset with herself from thinking that there was more to it than what it really is, a friendship.

"It's funny…how we humans…separate ourselves into…I guess you can say…groups…heterosexuals, gays, lesbians, bisexuals…but people seem to forget that we are all the same. I always see myself as…straight…because that's how it is, that's how the environment around me is." Everyone was paying attention to her except for Nadia who was staring into the table like a superhero trying to burn a hole through it with her eyes. "As I grow older, I found that everything that I've been taught is not that simple. There are things that can't be explained…as advanced as we are in the field of science…we still don't understand how a lot of things work and why we feel the way we do when certain things…happen."

Nadia remained unmoved.

"So…if someone asks me if I'm a lesbian, I would tell them that I am not…because I have no idea what that means. " She could see Nadia was slowly turning her head towards her. "If someone asks me if I am a human, then yes, I am."

Ignoring everyone around her, she looked deeply into Nadia's eyes.

"It's inexplicable. I…never thought that it could happen until I…felt it…until…she shows up right in front of me…out of nowhere…it confused my mind…because that never happened to **me**…before…" Her eyes darted at Nadia's pupils from left to right and again. "…and as a human, it's only natural that I would try to figure it out…because what I thought before…no longer…makes sense…nothing…makes sense…so it's only natural...to accept it as what it is, accept…what is in front of…me." Her smile slowly grew but she couldn't tell what the chef was thinking because there was no reaction. "Do you…understand what I'm trying to say or...did I just made it more confusing than it already is?"

Ethan understood and was ecstatic for her little sis. "I'll get the apple pie."

He wasn't the only one. Amy was happy for Nadia for finally finding someone who loves her for who she is. Hearing Holly's speech, she came to like her even more because like her, she didn't think of herself as a lesbian or as a bisexual. Those inexplicable feelings, she understood what she was referring to because she felt the same way towards the brunette. She wondered what Lucy will think about Holly now if she heard.

What Nadia wanted to do right now is kiss her but she didn't think that would be appropriate. She wanted to hug her but contained her happiness within. "Is the apple pie made with natural ingredients?"

It was a joke. It wasn't to make fun of her. It was meant to make the atmosphere back to where it was before. Nadia knew her new girlfriend would understand her intention and she did.

"Some…."

* * *

The disadvantage of being so famous is that it's impossible to walk around NY without being recognized and followed by paparazzis taking pictures of you. Even in disguise, people will still know that is her because people waited hours for her to come out of her apartment. She tried it once and it didn't work so she stopped trying after that. There is basically no escape even driving on the streets because NYC is so crowded.

"…Thanks Stan…Happy Thanksgiving." Alyson thanked her bodyguard for escorting her up to Blythe's apartment on the 31st floor of a high rise with 41 floors located near the Hudson River. Having just got off work 2 hours ago, she was able to take a short nap before coming here.

"hey…"

Alyson jerked back, surprised to see the one who opened the door for her. She was expecting her friends if not Blythe. She didn't have to ask and knew why Blythe invited her. She made a mental note to advise her friend not to trust people so easily even if the black woman claims she is a cop.

As soon as she walked in, she could see 2 of her other famous girl friends had already arrived and were sitting on the couch, watching tv.

"Where's Lucas?"

"He's spending thanksgiving with his mother."

"Oh…._finally free_…" Max said the last 2 words in a whisper.

"what's that?"

"nothing."

Alyson heard but wasn't sure what she meant by that. After greeting her friends, she wondered how long they've been there since she could see that Max had already made herself comfortable on the couch, sitting next to her friends and socializing with them. Since she didn't have time or the energy to cook, she just bought dessert. Inside the 2200 sqft condo, Alyson walked towards the long dining table that had dishes of classic Thanksgiving meal covered with aluminum foil, dishes with plastic cover over it and a bottle of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. That's exactly what she was expecting for Thanksgiving from the 24 year old model; restaurant takeout.

Unlike hers, Blythe's condo had a more modern design; recessed lights, hardwood floors, floor to ceiling windows with a view of the Hudson river and sunset, combination of beige, brown and light colored tones to create warmth and calmness.

Alyson suddenly stopped at the opened French doors that lead to the kitchen with a modern aluminum design. What she saw caused her lower jaw to drop wide opened. She couldn't believe it because having dated 4 guys in the past, she had never seen any of them doing what Blythe's new love interest is doing now. Not only that, he had never seen any of his exes not even the one she's dating now wearing an apron.

"Blythe, turn that off!" Lucy pointed at the stove and immediately turned her eyes back to the oven. The ventilator was on so she had to shout. "I think it's ready. Get Max in here." Lucy pulled down the oven door and stepped back to let the warm air flow out.

Holding a dish with both hands, Blythe then noticed the megastar standing still at the door. "Isn't he great?" Blythe said. She had planned on cooking herself but realized how difficult it was. "I want to marry him." She wasn't afraid to admit it. In fact she wanted him to know. She turned around and called out before leaving the kitchen. "David, I want to marry you!"

Lucy wasn't embarrassed to hear that from the model. Since the moment she started helping her in the kitchen, Blythe had been thanking her, complimenting on her cooking skills, and displaying an obvious liking to her. Lucy had plenty of experiences with girls like that, so she knew how to handle it by joking around.

"Shocking, isn't it?"

Max's voice from behind startled the blonde.

"Shocked me too." Max had once learned from her friend that the notorious criminal leader can cook, she at that time couldn't picture it. But now, she believed everything Amy told her is true.

* * *

As she was slicing the turkey, Lucy could see everyone was staring at her. She knew it wasn't because if her beard is falling off, otherwise Max would have told her. After she was finished cutting, all waited for her to sit down at the end of the table as if she was the host. Lucy didn't expect this to happen, showing off her cooking skills. It surprised herself how much she could remember. Everything turned out better than expected because the one she didn't want to see isn't here and the one she wanted to protect is sitting next to her. From the way she was looking at her, Lucy knew that she was finally able to get the megastar to see her in a different light other than a stranger or a stalker.

"To…friends." Lucy said as she raised her glass of Chardonnay.

"Hear hear." Sitting at the other end of the table, Max seems to be having a lot of fun with her current task.

"To…love" Blythe couldn't resist.

"Hear hear." Max and the other 2 female celebrities repeated.

_Oh Blythe_…Alyson could see her friend has fallen head over heels.

Since nobody has anything else to say, Lucy said the obvious. "Cheers!" Everyone stood up and clunk their glasses against one another. With the panoramic view of lights lighting up the city of New York, all could see how beautiful it was as they enjoyed a home cook meal. As they were eating, she expected questions about her cooking skills and what she used to do from the 2 girls who had not heard her story.

"Finding a man who can cook is very difficult." One girl said after giving compliments on the turkey.

"Finding a man who doesn't smoke is even harder."

All laughed at the other girl's comment and Max nodded in agreement. "Hear hear."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh at the government agent. "Finding a woman who loves you for you are, who understands you and trusts you…is as difficult." Lucy said as she glanced at each one of the girls before landing her eyes on the megastar. It has a hidden meaning behind it and she was certain that the megastar understood what she meant.

"Trust…takes time" Alyson said as she glanced at Blythe, hoping she gets the hint and not blindly fall in love with someone whom she hardly knows.

Lucy smiled and gulped down the last drop of wine in her glass. She then stood up and took the bottle of wine from the center of the table.

"Do you know…why people clink their glasses before drinking?" The question was directed to the owner of the condo who shook her head. She turned towards the megastar to see if she knows.

"Why?" The girl sitting next to Max asked.

Lucy glanced at Max and wasn't sure if she knows.

"Well, a long..long… time ago…in the medieval days, people like to drink wine because water is often polluted." Lucy told the story in a slow pace as she popped the cork and sat down. "A host would pour some wine into his cup." Lucy said as she poured the Chardonnay into her empty glass halfway. "He would then…clink it against his guest's… so hard so that some of his wine would spill into his guest's." She demonstrated by clinking her glass against the megastar's glass lightly. "Then…he would drink from it." Lucy took a sip while keeping her eyes at the famous blonde. "…to prove that the wine….isn't….poisoned."

The girls seated closer to Max let out a sound of understanding. "ohhhh"

"In today's world, we used the term…'spiked'" Lucy deliberately stressed the last word out loud to see the reaction on the megastar. Her intention was to let the blonde know that there were many things that he could have done if his plan was to hurt her. There was no movement from the megastar.

_Damn it…_Alyson blamed herself for letting her guard down. She had no idea who bought the wine but came to realize that it could be him. The word 'spiked' brought back happy memories but now all she could think of was the possibility that the two strangers could be psychos. They had this planned from the beginning, intruding their lives, getting their sympathy, to drug them. Lately she had seen a lot of cases on the news where women get assaulted after being drugged. And recently, hearing Anthony's rape case, she couldn't help but think of the situation that she's in now…that all of her friends are in now…the possibility that they could end up like the victims and it's not just the wine…it could be the food….

"AAHHH!" The girls screamed. Alyson was one of them. Alyson stepped back so quickly, her chair fell on the floor. Her body was a few feet away from the dining table. It was a spontaneous response. Her heart was jumping out of control because she couldn't see anything clearly. All she could see was darkness. For a split second, she thought the poison in her body was beginning to take effect, blinding her sight.

"What happened?" Max said.

"shoot…it's a blackout." It's not uncommon in this high-rise. However, this time, it's not just the building. All could see the buildings outside were completely dark. The only lights were from vehicles.

"Do you have any candles?" Lucy said as she pulled out her cell phone from her back pocket, typed in the password, spoke into the cell phone to turn the flashlight on. A little light is better than total darkness. Max did the same and others followed suit except for Alyson who needed time to think. It would be too late now. She knows that. What she is thinking about is how to escape, how to get all her friends out without causing suspicion, or better yet, how to get them out. Knocking them out with a bat comes to mind…but she cannot knock them out at the same time. Even though Blythe had seen Max interfering a fight, that doesn't mean that she is a cop even though she acts like one. It could be a setup.

Blythe didn't think that this night could get even better. With three short flickering candles on the middle of the table, the atmosphere was even more romantic with the lights out. She let out a long low sigh of happiness as she stared at the man in control while holding a glass of Pinot in one hand.

While her friend had a lovesick puppy look on her face, Alyson was feeling the complete opposite. With lights out, she found the atmosphere to be even scarier like she was in the middle of the forest with 2 strangers pretending to be their friends, just waiting for the right moment to do something or maybe waiting for them to be knocked out. _Oh God_…_ Sleeping pills…Is that why I feel so tired? _Her eyes suddenly turned to her friend sitting across from her when Blythe let out a yawn.

* * *

Since there was nothing to do and electricity was out, the hostess suggested a game of fun. The two young friends of Blythe sat on the left couch. Alyson sat on the recliner. Blythe and Lucy sat on the couch across from them as they watched their teammate, Max, acted out the phrase.

"eat, you're eating!" Blythe shouted and Max waved her hand and pretended to be holding something in her hand before placing it in her mouth. Lucy scratched her head in confusion because it could be anything.

Max then extended four 4 fingers out to indicate the fourth word. Blythe and Lucy immediately called out the word at the same time when Max pretended to be walking with a cane one step at a time.

"Old!"

Max clapped her hands and extended her hand out to indicate the fifth word. She drew something in the air but nobody could understand what it is. Blowing out a breath of frustration, Max tried something else. She drew a rectangle in front of her, then walked towards it, then immediately jerked back.

"Hit!" Blythe shouted and Max shook her head. When that didn't work, Max did some karate moves. She was glad the brunette finally guessed it.

"Chip off the old block!"

Each one on her team had a turn already. Alyson drew a piece of paper from a paper bag. Inside the paper bag were 6 pieces of paper with a phrase written by the other team. Unfolding the pieces of paper, she turned to look at the one whom she thinks wrote it. It couldn't be anyone else but Blythe. It didn't take long for the girls to guess this one because Alyson had acting lessons before and the phrase wasn't that hard. The phrase was 'falling head over heels.'"

Last one up is Blythe. She reached inside the bag and pulled a piece of paper. Her face instantly turned red after reading it. Thank goodness for the darkness, nobody noticed. She turned to look at each one of the girls on the other team and asked who wrote it. Since they each wrote their own, Alyson was clueless at what she was referring to. "Acted it out, Blythe" One of the girls said.

"No!"

"You didn't state any rules….so just do it." The loud laughter from her friend made everyone wonder what was written on the paper.

"c'mon, just do it, I want to play something else." Max had fun but was getting bored of it. Lucy wondered what Max has in mind since the undercover agent doesn't look like someone who is interested in playing any games, but she has to admit that Max was playing her role perfectly.

After Lucy encouraged her, Blythe had no choice but to proceed. She first pointed at her teammates.

"you….want..." Max and Lucy said simultaneously.

Blythe pretended to be kissing someone.

"kiss" Lucy said. "no?"

"Fifth word…you" Max said when Blythe held out her hand, spreading all her fingers and thumb, then pointed to David. "him?"

Blythe let out a deep breath and held out four fingers. This time, she acted out with more movement, more feeling.

"sex!" Max shouted out so loud, the girls on the other team burst out laughing. "no?"

"hug...make out...make love?" Lucy said without thinking it thru. She was surprised that wasn't it.

"It's almost time." The young woman on the other team warned as she looked at the timer in her phone. Alyson could only roll her eyes and smiled at the young woman who was giggling and laughing out of control.

With 3 seconds left, Max was able to guess it when Blythe made a cross with her forearms and raised her middle finger towards the young woman who wrote the phrase. "Fuck!"

It took a very short moment for Max to put together the entire phrase. "you want to...fuck...him?" Max pointed at Lucy who cleared her throat in embarrassment.

"we won!" While Blythe was jumping in excitement, everyone else on the other team was laughing uncontrollably not because of her actions but because of the answer. Blythe had planned on acting out the scene in a different way but the thought occurred to her at the last few seconds. It would be embarrassing if she had done it the way she had envisioned it towards the man whom she's interested in. She believed that was her friend's intention to make fun of her.

Next game Max suggested was poker. A game of poker wouldn't be fun if there's no bet involved.

"What should we bet on?" Max asked and immediately added. "I don't have much…so…"

"I'll take care of it…Max….if you win is yours and I'll take care of the loss."

Max didn't expect that but knowing where her money came from, she didn't feel the need to thank her but played her part. "Thank you….you're so generous…"

From the look on her face, Lucy sensed that there was another meaning behind that comment.

Lucy and Max sat on the same couch with 2 feet between them. Even though Max has nothing to lose, she still would like to win. Her goal is to win against the brunette.

Alyson sat on the recliner while the 3 girls sat on another couch across from Lucy. She had played this game before. How can she forget? She lost all her clothing that time. Remembering that moment caused her to laugh.

"Good cards?" Blythe asked out of curiosity.

"maybe…" Alyson had gained more experience in the game of poker after that time and she was certain if the brunette played with her again, she wouldn't be so easily defeated like last time. She continued to laugh to herself, causing all to wonder if she was bluffing.

The pot started off with $1000. To Max, it's a lot of money. To the ladies, it's spare change. Pieces of paper with the dollar amount were placed in the middle of the coffee table. Lucy started off first.

"$2000" Lucy wrote the amount on a piece of paper with her name on it and tossed it in the middle.

The others followed suit. Max of course will continue even though she has a very bad hand. Not only winning, losing the former criminal mastermind's money is also her goal. After each got a chance to change their cards, it was back to Lucy.

"hmm…" Lucy tapped on the table. "check"

'Checking' at this point could only mean that she doesn't have good cards. Blythe placed a thousand dollars in the pot and the rest followed except for Alyson who raised it to $10,000. $10,000 is the maximum on each bet. Ten thousand is not a lot but is it worth losing? That was what Blythe was thinking of since all she has are low cards. She turned the cards over.

"I'm in." Max said without hesitation. She has nothing to lose so why not. She chuckled to herself when she saw the brunette giving her a dirty look.

Lucy quickly realized the mistake she made for making the suggestion. When everyone else folded their cards, Alyson thought she had won until she saw what Max had.

Jumping up and down, Max couldn't contain her excitement and did her crazy dance moves which caused a loud laughter from the girls. That's more than half of what she gets paid a year. She didn't expect to win with just one king of diamonds.

For the second round, Lucy allowed others to go first. All were surprised that Blythe bet the maximum.

"ummm…Blythe, let me give you a tip…if you want to win more money, you should start off with a lower amount so others won't know what you're holding." Lucy advised in a gentle tone.

"I'm in." Max again said which caused Lucy to glare at her. "and I'll raise you $10,000 more."

"Reallyyy…Max…"

Max nodded vigorously with a big smile plastered on her face. It was too soon to tell since they still have a chance to change cards. Lucy changed three of her cards while Blythe only changed 1 which led her to believe that she was holding two pairs. The possibility that she was holding four of a kind is possible but slim.

Lucy bet $5000 and Max again raised it to $10000 which Lucy predicted that she would. Max's smile quickly disappeared after all the cards were shown because she lost all of what she just won in the first game and more.

"Let's make this more interesting."

Lucy was surprised who suggested it. "What do you have in mind?"

"…winner gets the money and gets to ask a question."

"a question?" Her left brow lifted up in confusion. "If you want to know something about me, you can just ask, Blythe." Lucy said as she passed out the cards after shuffling them in a way that all could tell that she isn't a beginner.

"But it's…personal and I want to know the truth."

"Blythe, even if he tells you, you won't know if he's telling the truth."

What Alyson just said sounded rude as if implying that 'he' had been lying to them. Lucy was certain that she got the megastar's trust after making the home cook meal, but now she wasn't so sure after hearing that comment. It's a good thing to know that the megastar doesn't trust anyone so easily, but at the same time she was frustrated with not being able to get her trust.

After the first round of wager, all were in for the second round. It was no surprise that Max would bet $10,000. But what surprised everyone was that the megastar had a last minute request. About an hour has passed since dinner time. Alyson realized that the food and wine were not spiked after all. If it were, she would have felt something by now other than being a little tired. Seeing the rest of her friends with no change, she did feel better for not calling the police but that doesn't mean the strangers didn't have any other motive.

"If I win, then you do whatever I want."

"whatever…you…want?" The seriousness of her tone made Lucy wonder what the megastar would want from her besides the obvious. "What if you want me to run butt naked around NYC? I'm not going to do that."

Her comment made everyone laugh except for the megastar. It's not uncommon in NY. It happened before in the underground subway and a few other places where lunatics run around naked and flashing in front of women.

Lucy then stopped laughing when she suddenly felt a dull stomach pain, sort of like the feeling that she gets when she's starving, except this time is more painful.

"stop joking around, are you in or not?" Alyson said in a serious tone.

"I'm in!" Max raised her hand up high. It doesn't matter to her. Besides, she got a good hand.

Holding her stomach, Lucy leaned forward. "As long as…" Holding her breath, Lucy closed her eyes for a moment when she felt another round of pain which felt like a worm squirming thru her intestine. "whatever…"

All focused at the only man in the condo as he quickly ran from the living room down the hall in a flash.

"What's wrong?"

"probably ate too much…" Alyson responded, smiling internally. She turned towards the black woman and wondered why it didn't affect her. Since there were no sleeping pills, she used what was on the shelf…powdered laxatives...lots of it…buried between the layers of the cake that she served after dinner to the 2 strangers and Blythe. She knew exactly where she put it. What she had planned on doing was using a taser in her purse that's sitting right next to her if she finds anything wrong with her friends and herself. That would at least give them some time to get help from the next door neighbor.

Lucy went to the nearest bathroom and quickly locked the door. "oh goddd…." It had been a while since she had this type of pain. The first time she had it was a week after she woke up from the coma. Nobody informed her that she was lactose intolerant. She just thought the ice cream was bad. It happened twice before she realized what caused it.

"David, are you okay?" Blythe asked in a concerned tone.

"…fine.." Lucy groaned loudly. She wasn't sure if the owner of the house heard other sounds coming from her body. At this moment, that was the least of her concern.

Back in the living room, Max shouldn't be happy because she didn't win but she is because the brunette did.

"Are you sure four of a kind beats full house?" Alyson asked Max since her friends had no clue. She was positive that she could win with a full house.

Max nodded as she separated the pieces of paper to see how much each celebrity owes the brunette. _Holy Jesus. _She was surprised to learn the brunette won over $100,000 in less than an hour. "Is he okay?"

"Fine…I think." Blythe pointed the flashlight in front of her as she walked towards the table. "Is everyone feeling okay?" When all replied with a yes, she wondered what he ate.

Max decided to check up on her friend's fiancée. "David?"

"yeaaa…" Lucy mumbled in a low voice. Her legs and bum were starting to feel numb from sitting so long. She could feel the weakness in her body as a shiver ran down her spine and all thru her veins. The same thing happened the last two times.

"Do I need to call an ambulance?"

It was a joke but Lucy wasn't in the mood. "What I need is pepto bismo."

"I'll see if she has any."

After a long moment, Lucy felt it was finally safe to come out after making sure her beard and brows were intact with the flashlight from her cell phone. Walking slowly towards the living room, she could see all were standing in front of the panoramic windows looking down at the dark city of NYC. Even if the power comes on, Max didn't think it would be a good idea to leave right away, knowing what could be happening on the streets. Besides, she didn't think the brunette can when she saw her walking like a 90 year old. "geez…you don't look good…"

Lucy slowly sat her painful butt down on the recliner.

"Sorry…I don't have any pepto bismo. What I have is expired." Blythe apologized for not stocking up.

"Can I get some hot water?" Lucy said in a soft polite tone, feeling as though she had no energy left in her. Her stomach is completely empty but she doesn't have the appetite to eat. What she wanted now is to get some rest.

"no electricity…I don't think tap water is good for you…"

Lucy had totally forgotten about it. Everything runs on electricity in the condo.

"you won…" Max informed her with a smile. She wasn't smiling because of the winnings. She was smiling because of the last minute bet that the megastar suggested. If the megastar sticks to her promise, she could use what's left on her vacation to go back home to spend it with her relatives and friends.

If Lucy had the energy, she would be more excited than just letting out a small smile.

"You won over a hundred grand!" Max played her part, being excited for her friend.

"I don't have my checkbook." One of the girls said.

Lucy waved her hand from side to side as if she was too weak to talk. "Donate it…use your name…any charity…"

Everyone was very surprised especially Max and the megastar who totally didn't expect that. The megastar had no idea how wealthy he is but the thought of him pretending to be wealthy to get close to her friend crossed her mind. A hundred thousand dollars compared to millions is worth giving it up. She could see that Blythe was totally mesmerized by 'his' generosity. _Oh Blythe…_

"So…what do you want to ask me?" Sitting at the end of the couch, Blythe asked the generous man.

Lucy never thought about it nor was she interested in the young model's personal things. "ummm" She glanced at each one of them who were waiting for her. Nothing comes to mind because she didn't want to know anything about Blythe or the other 2 girls, but she did want to know about the megastar.

"okay…this question is for everyone…" It got everyone's attention and all were quite confused. "Would you want your partner to sign a prenup?"

"Not if he's richer than me" Max responded and all laughed, knowing why.

"I would." One girl said.

"me too." The other responded rapidly. "…and it's not because I don't trust him…."

"it's not? Then why?" Max asked. The whole purpose of the prenup is to make sure the other half isn't marrying her for money and to make sure he's not going to fool around. It's insurance.

"if he's not willing to sign it, then it just shows he doesn't believe that our marriage will last"

"oh good one…you just turned it all around…" Max said as she twirled her finger in a circle. She's just not sure if her boyfriend would see it that way.

"I won't." Blythe said.

"Blythe, it's protection…." Lucy advised the naïve young model.

"If I don't believe in him, then I wouldn't be in love with him. If I don't love him, then I won't marry him."

"…but people can change…" Lucy again tried to convince the young woman whose net worth is over 50 million according to the internet.

Max nodded in agreement and informed her of how many couples ended up in divorce. "The divorce rate is actually higher for the ones who didn't have a prenuptial agreement…and especially for you girls…prenup is definitely necessary…"

"So you would want a prenup?" Blythe asked out of curiosity.

"no"

All were quite confused especially Alyson who thought that his other motive was to get close to Blythe but that no longer made sense.

"…but you just said…."

"I guess it's different for a guy." She didn't have an explanation.

What she just said got Blythe scratching her head. "But would you if I ask you too?...I mean…if she asks you to."

"If she asks me to, then yes…if that's what she wants." Lucy saw the smile on Blythe's face. She wondered if the megastar got the point of the conversation, the point of her question. "What about you?"

"no"

Lucy was very disappointed with the fast reply. _What can I do to make you understand_? Lucy's thought was if she can't get her to stay away from Lucas, then at least get her to protect her wealth.

"If he loves you for who you are and not for your money, then he will sign it." Others could tell that he was frustrated by the tone of his voice.

"Did your ex fiancée ask you for a prenup?"

"no"

"Then why didn't she?" _Is it because you're not rich? Is it because she really isn't your fiancee? Do you really have memory loss? _

Lucy realized it was hopeless to get the blonde to understand. She let out a big sigh, feeling defeated, feeling as though her mission was impossible just like what her lover said. Feeling weak and no longer had the energy to talk, she decided to take a rest in the guest room.

"…this does feel more comfortable…" Lucy said as she lay her head down against the pillow.

"It's beautyrest firm pillowtop." It was very dark. With the lights from the flashlight, Blythe could see the smile on 'his' face.

Leaning against the door the entire time, Alyson couldn't control herself from thinking that maybe she could be wrong about the stranger who came into their lives. What 'he' said before about the prenup made her wonder if his ulterior motive is what he had said the first day she met him in London. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she thought of the day at the bar. It made her wonder if it's not a coincidence, after all. It made her wonder if some if not everything that he said that night was a lie just to get close to her…like what an 'obsessed' fan would do. But this 'obsessed' fan seemed to be different from the rest. He never once said he loves her. Most of her fans did. He never once asked for a hug. Most of her fans, whether male or female, did. The only crazy thing he did was trying to get her to leave her boyfriend which it's the first time that has happened to her, in person; although there were a lot of articles and internet posts telling her that Lucas isn't right for her, but that happened with all her exes.

"So what do you want me to do?"

If she had won, she had planned on telling 'him' to leave ASAP, so Blythe wouldn't fall too deep for a complete stranger. She walked closer to the bed and pointed the flashlight at 'his' face which caused 'him' to immediately shut 'his' eyes. She couldn't see Blythe's face but knew she didn't like what she just did because Blythe grabbed her hand and forcefully pushed it down.

"Can we not talk about this now?" Blythe said in a tone to let her know she didn't appreciate that.

"Sure…" Alyson turned around and began walking as she spoke. "If you don't let me know by tonight, then bet is off." She knew that would get 'his' attention. It was a faint voice but she heard it.

"wait"

* * *

Power came back on after another hour. Thank goodness. Otherwise, Blythe will have to throw away everything in the refrigerator. Alyson and the girls stayed behind in Blythe's condo since they saw what was on the news, chaos, looting, fighting, and people running around the streets. Max and Lucy left after she regained energy. In the next morning, the two young women left the condo while Alyson stayed behind since they didn't have to work.

Sitting in the kitchen, Alyson was eating her breakfast, looking at the pictures of the event from last night in Blythe's phone.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you." She warned Blythe who was about to pour skim milk in a glass. Even though the power was out for 2 hours, she didn't think it was safe to drink it.

"hmm…I wonder if this is what made David sick." Blythe took the milk bottle and chuck it down the sink.

"what?"

"the cake from last night"

Alyson immediately froze, thinking that Blythe might have found out. "What…do you mean? There's nothing wrong with the cake."

"The power did go out before we ate it…and I only ate a little."

"I ate it and I'm fine…and Max is fine."

"hmmm…that's true.." Blythe said as she sat down while placing a glass of water on the table. "Putting a fork full of scrambled eggs in her mouth, she let out a big sigh while thinking about last night. After hearing the conversation between David and her friend, she came to believe that her friend was right all along, that there wouldn't be any chances of getting him to fall for her. "I trust him."

The stranger's request was plain and simple, exactly what 'he' wanted from the first day he showed up in her hotel. It was the way he said it and what he said. It was none of his business. He knew that. All he wanted her to do was take time to get to know her boyfriend before making any life changing decisions. She didn't find his words out of line. He spoke in a caring tone as he was her family member. Alyson asked why he cared so much about her and she expected the same response her fans would say…that he loves her…but he didn't. What he said didn't make sense to either one of them and he himself knew that. _It's just a feeling._

"Do you still have doubts?"

Alyson would be lying if she said she didn't. She still has doubts but not as much as before especially when she saw Max showing the two young women how to defend themselves against attackers. They learned that he did have another purpose in coming to NY. She wanted to know more about him, which part is true and which isn't, but all he said was that his intention of being there was just that, to warn her about her boyfriend whom he has never met.

"I still can't believe Michelle wrote that. Do you know how embarrassed I was?"

The change of the subject caused Alyson to suddenly spit out the food. Michelle, a model, had a tendency to speak what's in her mind which included cursing at any moment at any time she felt like it.

"You really should try...not to be so obvious."

With a big smile in place, Alyson dodged the scrambled eggs that was thrown to her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 56**

Two days later

"Are you sure you don't need my help?"

Both were standing outside the airport. After that Thanksgiving night, Lucy found out that the cause of her diarrhea might be the cake and not because of the cream. It could be something else because Max had the same symptom in the middle of the night. Both thought about the events that happened that night and realized why the megastar volunteered to get the cake as well as cutting it. When Amy learned what happened that night, she was furious because she expected both of them to be smarter than that not outsmarted by a civilian. She was adamant about going to NY to take care of the problem herself. Her words were 'You could've been poisoned.' _Poisoned? Really…Amy_? Amy was exaggerating and understood that the megastar was merely trying to protect herself and her friends because she would have done the same and possibly more if she was in the same position. It surprised her that the brunette was finally willing to stop the charade.

"I'll let you know if I do."

Since Max did whatever she could to find out about the victim, Lucy didn't want to waste any more of her vacation time. Max held out her hand and Lucy shook it firmly. "Well, thanks for a great time, I really enjoyed it…except for the diarrhea…" She blamed herself for letting her guard down.

After Max left, Lucy headed back to the hotel, a different hotel, not a penthouse. It costs way too much for one night, even for her. That wasn't the only reason for her to move out. Now that Lucas knows where she lives temporarily, it wouldn't be a good idea to keep living there. She wanted to take extra precaution in case Lucas hired PIs to follow her.

"Hello" Inside a taxi, Lucy spoke into the phone. "I'm on my way…yes…okay…okay."

It had been almost 3 weeks since she last talked to Anthony. Not getting any calls meant there are no new findings. Not getting any new news on tv meant the person responsible did a heck of a job. Getting a call from Anthony that Thanksgiving night, Lucy wondered what he found out. His tone was serious. It was something he didn't want to talk about on the phone. His instructions were to dress warmly and meet him in his office building. With hundreds of people going in and out of the high rise, it would be difficult for the cops to track who is going in and out unless they have undercover agents infiltrated into Anthony's company.

Lucy was led inside a huge conference room by Anthony's assistant. She expected Anthony to be there but was told to stay put and don't go anywhere. Why so secretive? Sitting at the end of the long oval shaped conference table, dressed in a suit under a long coat with a scarf and hat like a regular businessman, Lucy couldn't help thinking of how much has changed over the years. It made her wonder if she could have done as well as Anthony if she didn't elope with the former blonde agent. "probably…" She said in an obvious tone to herself as she leaned her head back against the leather executive chair. All that power and wealth would definitely make a lot of people jealous. With his wealth and fame, he easily became a target. She's just not sure who is stupid enough to target him.

"yes…okay." Lucy pressed the mute button on her phone and placed the earphones into her ear. There were muffled noises, then complete silence. Lucy didn't have to wait too long to hear the first voice. What she didn't expect was a female voice of an older woman. Hearing the first sentence spoken, she realized that this isn't the first time they met.

"did you contact her?"

_her? _Lucy wondered who she was talking to._  
_

"I told you last time. I…haven't seen her for years and I don't know where she is. I don't know if she's dead or alive." Anthony said in a calm tone.

"Anthony, he always liked you. He once told me that one of these days, you will be more powerful than him…and he was right. He said to me…you're a man of integrity…Nick…and you…are someone who can be trusted…and if I ever need help, I should go to Nick but I don't know where he is. That's why I came to ask you."

_He? Who's he? _The more Lucy heard, the more confused she got.

"This is your family affair." Anthony said in a uncaring tone.

"Anthony, do you think I deserve part of the inheritance?"

"It doesn't mattter what I think."

"Put yourself in my shoes. I had nothing after he was murdered. All I have is my son. Do you know how hard it is for a single mother to raise a child? Do you know how scared I was at that time? I couldn't sleep, thinking that his enemies might know about us. Every time I see someone looking at us, I thought it could be his enemies. Do you know how many times I moved to make sure nobody is following us?" The tone of her voice showed frustration.

It was becoming clearer to Lucy but she hoped she guessed wrong.

Anthony took out a checkbook and scribbled something down. "You know this is none of my business. But I understand your situation." Anthony slid the check towards her.

The sound of a check being torn could be heard.

"I don't want your money! I want what is rightfully mine! I may not be his wife, but he is his son!"

Her voice was loud and clear. It wasn't her angry voice that made Lucy's heart suddenly pound faster_. _It's the thought that her father had been lying to her for years.

Lies. Lucy understood that sometimes you have to lie to your love ones to protect them. But this lie is unforgivable. Crime bosses are known to have more than one woman. She knew that. With their wealth and power, having one woman is very unlikely. But she believed that her father was not one of them. Through the years, she never once felt that her father could be cheating on her mother because she saw the way he treated her. It was love, respect, thoughtful, and caring. Sure, they have arguments like all couples do. But those weren't arguments about him having an affair. At this moment, she wondered if her mother knew. At this moment, she wondered if there was another reason for moving her to somewhere else to live other than to protect her. H_ow could you do this?_ She understood why some men would have affairs. It happens all the time. It's because his wife couldn't give him another child, more importantly a son. At this moment, she had lost all respect for his father as a man, a husband, and a father.

"Where is Lucinda? I want to talk to her."

"Look, I don't know what you've heard, but I…"

"I know you know where she is! People talk…Anthony!"

There was a short moment of silence.

"I may be old. I may have once been his mistress. But I am not that same woman whom people see as nothing but a blonde bimbo gold digger. All I ask…is for you to deliver this message to her. I am not here to beg. I am here to get what is rightfully mine…and my son's…..half of her inheritance. Two weeks. I'll give you 2 weeks to contact her….."

She slid a card towards Anthony.

"He's her brother. He's her only family."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside the conference room on the other side of the floor, he saw a bearded man holding his head in deep thought. The first meeting he had with the old woman, Anthony did not recognize her because that was so many years ago and he had only seen her a few times. His first impression of her was what she had previously mentioned, nothing but a gold-digger. He knew she would come back after the first meeting even after telling her that he has no idea where the brunette is. So he thought it would be a good idea to call the brunette over so she can listen for herself.

Taking a seat next to her, Anthony understood her frustration because it was a lot to take in.

Lucy looked up at the ceiling and blew out a deep breath before leaning her head backwards against the leather seat. He had seen her with this disguise but with the new colored brownish haircut, brows and beard, the brunette looked very different from last time. It was not only that, he was surprised with the change in her voice too.

"you knew…about her?"

She was angry but not with Anthony for not telling her. It was none of his business. There was no reason to tell her.

"I've seen her a few times. Boss knows."

Lucy blew out another deep breath. Her cheeks were red from anger. If her father was still alive, she would have yelled at him. "Did my mother know?"

"I…don't know."

Then another thought hit her. "Does Scud know?"

Anthony again had no idea. "It's not something we would talk about." Besides, Scud was very young then and they've only got to know each other more after her father was murdered.

Lucy quickly pressed the speed dial to Scud. Scud was as shocked as she was.

Even though it wouldn't matter at this point, she would still like to know that her mother lived a happy life without the knowledge that her husband had been cheating on her.

"Scud, I have a brother." She wasn't sure what to think of all of this; accept him or hate him. As far as money is concerned, she had enough to last for several generations. She didn't mind sharing the inheritance even though a large portion of her wealth was earned by her and Scud.

"You want to give her what she wants?" Half of her inheritance is a lot of money. It makes him wonder why their names weren't on the will. Was it to protect them from enemies or was it to prevent his family from knowing? Wanting hundreds of millions of dollars sounded greedy. If she had asked for 10 million or 20 million, he wouldn't have any problems with that.

"Why now?"

"She recognized me on tv and…it seems that she might have gotten in touch of others…that's how she knew about you"

"who?"

Anthony had no idea and Lucy was once again in deep thought, thinking of what to do….keep on pretending or show herself. "Do you trust her?"

"of course not…" Scud said on the phone at the same time as Anthony.

"you can't let her know." Scud continued to tell them that it could be a trap to get her to show herself or she could be working for the FBI.

Lucy agreed that it's a possibility even though she believed that the reason her father's mistress came was more likely for the inheritance.

"I…don't think she's working for the FBI but I agree that you shouldn't let her know about you. I'll just keep on pretending…unless…you want to meet him." Unlike Scud, he believed that the woman came for her share of the inheritance and nothing else.

Lucy had been without a family for many years and she considered Scud as her own brother. She wasn't sure how she would feel seeing her step-brother. But she knows for certain that it would remind her of how her father was once unfaithful to her mother. And with that thought, it would be difficult for her to accept him.

At this moment, Anthony's assistant entered the room with permission and handed Anthony a folder before leaving.

"She came last week, so I had someone checked her out. I haven't seen it." Nothing but seriousness on his face, Anthony handed her the folder. Lucy expected that he would and understood why he told her to come. What he could have done was to keep pretending, but it wasn't his decision to make.

When Lucy opened the folder, the first picture she saw was a woman elegantly dressed in a business suit. It wasn't what she expected his father's mistress to be. She was expecting a picture of a woman holding bags of clothing in both hands, someone who loves shopping more than anything else. The next two pictures were similar. As Lucy flipped through each page of legal documents, her frown furrowed deeper.

"She's rich?"

Not as rich as she is, but could be considered as upper class. She handed each document to Anthony to take a look. "If she has this much money, then why?"

"How rich? " Scud asked.

Lucy continued to scan each document and told Scud what she was looking at, a document of a real estate property, restaurants, a bank statement, a company, another bank statement, then another real estate property. She handed each document to Anthony when she's finished scanning each one. But what she failed to notice was the name on the documents until she saw the picture of a man with dark hair, dressed in a business suit. She had to make sure Anthony's assistant didn't accidentally place the picture in the folder by mistake, so she quickly took back one of the legal documents from Anthony. Her eyes moved along with her finger as it touched each word on the document. She then took another document and did the same thing, reading it carefully, and making sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. That gut feeling that she couldn't explain finally made sense.

"Scud, you won't believe this." Lucy said in disbelief.

"What?"

"His name is…Lucas."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 57**

"Whaaaaat?" Scud wasn't screaming. He was confused. It took him a short moment to finally understand why the brunette was acting this way. In the field of science, it has been proven that twins can feel each other's pain and emotion. They might not be twins but they have the same blood and genes. It's not impossible. It's science. The animosity she felt towards that stranger now makes sense, especially when that stranger, her half-brother is dating the woman she loves. "oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" Scud could no longer sit.

"What?! What?!" Anthony was anxious to know what they know.

"Zander is crying. I forgot to feed him. Lucy, I'll call you later." Scud hung up in a hurry. His baby wasn't crying. He needed time to think this thru. After hanging, he kept pacing back and forth. "Should I tell her?" _If she knows, then she'll definitely go back to her previous plan of breaking them up_. _She will yell at me for not telling her and Amy will again be unhappy_. It would lead to arguments because they can't tell Amy the real reason. All they could tell her is that he's her half-brother which would not be a logical reason. _And Anthony_. The thought of Anthony telling the brunette about their brief encounter with the megastar crossed his mind. _Is he still keeping tabs on her_?

* * *

It was a lot to take in. Lucy didn't go anywhere and headed straight back to the hotel. She was so consumed with the new information, she didn't even ask about Anthony's case. She expected Scud to tell Amy and he did.

"What are you thinking right now?" Amy was as shocked as Scud was by the news. She had always thought that her lover was obsessed with the megastar. _Why else would she be trying to break them up? She wanted to protect her from him. She always said._ Protect someone whom she doesn't know from someone whom she's never met didn't make sense to her. But now, she's beginning to understand.

"Amy…I…" How can I tell her it's not about the money? How can I tell her about the nightmares she's been having?

"Lucy, do you want him in your life?"

The question sounded simple, but to Lucy, that isn't what's bothering her. "I don't."

It didn't surprise Amy but she would like to know the reason. "Why?"

"because you're my family, Scud, Janet and Zander…they're my family…"

Amy was touched by those heartfelt words. They're not married yet, but the way her lover said it sounded like they were.

"Amy, do you think I should give her what she wants?" If giving her half the inheritance will get Lucas away from the megastar and away from her, then she is willing to do so. She is afraid that it's not that simple.

"Scud said she could be working for the government, if not the government, then somebody. It could be a trap."

Working for somebody? Who? The descendants of Schaeffer? "What do you think?"

Amy didn't think it's the government, at least not from the US because she called Max to make sure that their files had been closed. "Why would she be working with your enemies?"

"maybe she's being threatened…"

Lucy didn't know Nadia was listening until she heard her voice. "Nadia, threatened?" This thought could only come from a person who thinks everyone is as innocent as her.

"maybe they want money, lots of it…and the only way for her to get it is…"

"Nadia, I think she would have said something about that, don't you think?"

"She's being threatened not to…" Nadia said in an obvious tone.

Lucy let out a frustrated breath. "Does anyone else agree with her?"

There was no response, but Lucy could hear background noise from Scud who was trying to explain to Nadia what he believes.

Amy gathered all the information and wrote down all the possibilities in a white board. "She's rich." She pointed out on the board. "She wants the inheritance because she's greedy." Lucy and Scud responded with a 'mhm' and a nod. "Someone could be threatening her." Lucy rolled her eyes which nobody could see. "This is a trap to get Lucy to show herself." Lucy agreed that this is a possibility. "Does Lucas know?"

"he has to!" came the loud response from Lucy. She didn't stop there and continued to tell them what she thinks of the guy.

"that's because he thinks you're stalking her girlfriend." Nadia reasoned and Amy wrote on the board.

"I'm telling you. Nadia. It's more than that. I'm sure he's after her money."

"um…I'm sure that's not the only thing he's after." Nadia said in a tone as if there's nothing wrong with that because the megastar is hot.

"I mean he's bad news!"

All could hear that Lucy was getting frustrated.

"okay…let's take a step back. Lucas hates Lucy because he thinks she's stalking her girlfriend. He's rich and we don't know if he knows what his mother is doing. Lucy thinks he's bad but she has no proof…just a gut feeling…right, honey?"

"Yesssss." Lucy said as she rolled her eyes.

"Since we don't know if this is a trap, then I think it's better off not to show yourself."

Scud and Lucy agreed. But Nadia felt differently.

"I understand what you're feeling, right now. But do you remember what you told me a long time ago?" She remembered that moment they spent on top of the red double-decker in Canada. "You told me to get to know Alexis. At that time, I thought my father died because of her grandfather." Nadia paused for a moment to let her words sink in. "It's not Alexis's fault….just like now…It's not Lucas's fault. Why won't you give yourself a chance to get to know him?"

Amy and Scud didn't encourage or discourage the former leader. It would be her choice. The silence lasted longer than they expected which made them think Lucy had already hung up.

After a short moment, Lucy spoke before hanging up the phone. "I can't…Nadia. I'm not like you."

In fact, she is the complete opposite of Nadia. When she became the leader of the organization, there were others who didn't know about her. There was a time when one of her followers got himself into trouble by not paying for drinks in a bar. The owner had no idea who she was at that time. If he had known, he may have thought twice about beating the man up. It was just money. There was no need to give the guy a lesson he'll never forget. His face looked like a boxer with swollen cut bloody lips, black eyes, and bruised cheeks. Before she left the bar with her followers carrying the injured man, she let everyone inside the bar know she is not to be messed with ever again by paying back the guys who beat up her man.

* * *

Gray clouds covered the early morning sky. At 4:30 AM, the crowded streets of New York City were the complete opposite at this time of the day. Lucy couldn't sleep because she couldn't stop herself from stop thinking of what Nadia texted her.

"What would your father want you to do?"

There was no doubt in her mind that her father would want her to take care of his son. Bundled up in a warm winter coat, hat, gloves and scarf, Lucy walked slowly with her head down, with her hands in her coat pocket. She had no destination in mind but her feet somehow brought her there. It was quiet throughout, but what caught her attention was a man dressed in a long coat hurriedly walking down 3 steps of stairs of the apartment complex. Half of his face was shielded by his own hand as he kept walking in a rapid pace towards the opposite direction.

"Lucas?" Lucy said in a low volume. "Lucas!" Her voice was loud enough to capture anyone's attention if there were people nearby, yet that person didn't turn back. She looked up and saw the only lights that were on were on the seventh floor. Her body on its own reacted when she saw the main door was about to close. Lucy jumped up the 3 steps of stairs and blocked the door from closing. Inside the elevator, her heart began to pound out of control as a thought consumed her. She had never been here before but she knew where to go because there was only one door on the 7th floor. In fear of what's ahead of her, Lucy pushed the slightly opened door and took one step inside. She knocked once first but there was no response. "Hello" She expected a response but didn't get any. Unlike Blythe's condo with modern design, the interior of this large penthouse was homey yet elegant. Getting caught for intrusion was the least of her concern. She quickly ran up the stairs and entered the bedroom that she had never been into. "no….no….NNNO!"

On the bed sprawled a slightly covered half-naked body with one arm dangling over the edge and the top half in ripped clothing.

Her eyes opened wide as her heart pounded fiercely. Sitting up straight and gasping for air, she lifted the blanket off her hot sweaty body. This isn't the first nightmare she had but it was different from the previous ones because this time, she saw Lucas and the inside of the megastar's penthouse apartment.

"Hello" What woke her up this time was the non-stop ringing of the hotel phone. "Yes…I am." After hanging up, she quickly headed to the bathroom. This time, the nightmare was so much more real, she wasn't sure if she screamed out loud but it caused her to sleep pass the alarm that she set before she went to sleep.

After opening the door, Lucy could tell that she was upset and quickly apologized for not picking her up from the airport. That was the front desk calling to see if she was expecting someone before allowing Alexis up.

"Sorry…I…overslept…"

"overslept?"

While Alexis led herself inside, Lucy assisted her with the luggage. Lucy had reserved a room next door for her but it wasn't ready to be checked in.

"I know you don't need one, but you really need to get a job." Alexis said as she exhaustedly flopped down on the couch. She had been waiting for an hour at the airport for the brunette to pick her up. After calling numerous times, she decided to take a taxi to the hotel. "Not having any responsibilities will numb your mind….and your body will slowly get used to not doing anything…the less worry you have, the more you can sleep, the more you sleep, your mind becomes more empty…and you will soon feel that life is meaningless."

"Alexis, I just overslept. I don't always sleep this late." It was like getting a lesson from her father. It has been almost 2 years from the day she came out of her coma. She is still not used to hearing people talking to her in that way.

After she hung up on Nadia that night, it turned out that Amy had something else to say to her. She learned that Alexis booked a one month vacation trip to NYC to visit a friend. As much as she loves Amy, she really hated being told what to do, especially about the part about booking another room for Alexis. Of course she wasn't going to let Alexis sleep in the same room. Last thing she wants is to have Alexis hear her talking in her sleep.

"So who are you visiting?"

Exhausted from the plane ride, Alexis had her eyes closed and mumbled which Lucy couldn't understand and asked her to repeat.

"Dana…my friend from college."

"Ohhhhh…..so you've decided?" Lucy understood why. It's because Nadia had forgiven her and moved on.

"I'll regret it if I don't." Alexis got up and walked towards the refrigerator. Lucy expected her to be thrilled about getting a second chance to be with the one who can make her feel alive again, but what she saw isn't that.

"Does Nadia know?"

Lucy wondered what she said that caused Alexis to immediately spit out the cold water that she was drinking from the bottle. It's just a simple question.

"**no**…" Alexis said in an obvious tone. "I don't want her to think that I don't want to be with her is because of her."

Lucy sensed her frustration and tried to lighten the mood with a humorous response. "Okaaayyyy…" It's understandable and she believes that Nadia, as forgiving as she is, wouldn't want to hear it.

Alexis then let out a big sigh of frustration and took another gulp before sitting down on the couch. "I feel…guilty." She blew out another deep sigh.

"You shouldn't. Nadia is fine. She's happy now….even though I still think there's something wrong with Holly."

"What's wrong with her?" All Amy told her was the brunette thinks Holly may be into her. But that night clearly showed that she wasn't.

"I…don't know. Scud can't find anything….it's just a feeling….hungry?" Having missed breakfast, Lucy's stomach was growling.

* * *

Lucy did not plan on telling Alexis about Lucas but since she needed her help to play along, she had no choice.

"Nnnno…" Sitting on the coach, Alexis had been listening to the brunette's story and disagreed with her ridiculous plan.

Several hours earlier after eating inside, they went to a shopping mall to get some things since Alexis wasn't comfortable using the hotel's pillow. Who they bumped into the expensive store shocked her. What she would like to know is how the brunette came to know the famous megastar and the model which Lucy avoided the question by saying it's not important.

"Pleeeeese." Lucy knew how absurd her plan is but it's the only plan that she could come up with.

"What if Dana finds out, it's going to ruin my chances with her. Besides, it's not going to work. What makes you think I can take him away from her?"

Alexis wasn't sure if their meeting at the store was planned or a coincidence because Lucy won't tell her. She was extremely shocked to see the famous megastar in person. What she was also shocked to find out was that the famous model was interested in the disguised brunette. It was the way she stared at her…those jealous eyes…that gave it away.

"Because you're Alexis…you're charming, you're beautiful, you're funny and you have that…attractiveness that guys go for."

"Is your eyesight okay? Because what I see, she has all of that…and she's rich too. " Alexis had a chance to see the megastar up close and found that she is as genuine as they say. When she told her about Ashley, she didn't have to ask. The megastar offered to have her picture taken and a signed autograph to Ashley.

"Alexis, please…" Lucy ran out of ways to persuade her.

"I can't believe what you're asking me to do. Keira would never ask me to do that." She let out a frustrated huff of air as she crossed her arms.

"I'm not asking you to date him, I'm just asking you to flirt with him…get him interested in you…that's all"

Lucy hoped it would be as simple as that. If she had known it would be so difficult to get the blonde's trust, she would have used herself as bait. But at this moment, thinking about using herself to lure her own half-brother sent a shiver all over her body.

"This is very important to me." Lucy said in a serious tone as she held her hand over her heart. There is no other way. She felt as though her nightmare is getting closer to reality.

"Maybe if you gave him the money, then he'll leave her." What the brunette told her didn't make sense to her. Lucas may be her half-brother but that doesn't mean he isn't a nice guy.

"maybe…but what if he won't?"

"what if he will?"

* * *

Same day at night time

On the 39th floor penthouse, Lucy and Alexis followed the hostess to the corner table. Lucy had never been there before and was very pleased with the elegant décor, intimate lights, and the floor to ceiling windows with a spectacular view of NYC. With the low key music, amazing view, and warm and welcoming service, this place already deserves a 4 star.

Lucy looked at her watch and saw it was a little past 7. She hoped it was just traffic that was keeping them from being there on time. If this doesn't work, she will have to go to plan C which she doesn't want to.

"damn it…he's not here." Lucy whispered when she saw the party of two walking towards them. Previously, at the store, Lucy invited the megastar and Blythe to join them for dinner at a well-known place for Korean BBQ. She specifically asked the megastar to have Lucas join them which caught both of the celebrities by surprise. Lucy got up and pulled the chair for Blythe who sat next to her. She wanted to do the same for the megastar but the megastar had already taken a seat on the round table next to Alexis.

"Sorry we're late." Blythe apologized for being 10 minutes late.

"paparazzis?" The question was directed towards the megastar who, unlike Alexis, was dressed warmly in a v-neck gray sweater.

"no, we just have trouble finding this place." That wasn't the real reason. The real reason was Alyson didn't want to go but Blythe was adamant about going with or without her. No matter what she says to persuade her model friend to give up, nothing seems to work. Last thing she wants for her friend is to get hurt by not having her love returned. Previously in the men's section of the store, both of them were surprised to see David. She wasn't sure if it was another one of his planned 'coincidences' because what they saw was that his beautiful friend was touching his hair as well as his beard. The way they were being so close together looked like they were a couple. Seeing the beautiful young woman, Alyson suddenly had a second thought. It could be a good thing that they came because it might just convince her model friend to give up.

After having a small talk about the décor of the place, Lucy found out it was their first time there as well as having Korean BBQ. "Really?"

Blythe nodded in embarrassment.

"Then we'll just have to try everything." Alexis said.

Lucy was thinking of the same thing. "Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"no…why?" Blythe was thinking of something but wasn't sure if he was thinking of the same thing she was.

"I was wondering if you want to try some of the Korean drinks…it has some alcohol in it…"

Blythe was disappointed to hear that it wasn't what she was thinking. With the beauty next to him, her chance of getting him to fall for her seems to be even more impossible.

"So how long have you known each other?"

Lucy was surprised that the question didn't come from Blythe.

"many years…" Alexis said as she hung her arm around Lucy's shoulder. "Don't move."

Lucy did as told and allowed the straightforward girl to pull something out of her hair.

"Are…you two…together?" It was a valid question because they seemed to be closer than she and Lucas.

"No.." Lucy said.

"I tried, but he didn't want me."

"oh…" Blythe was surprised by it and was still confused about their relationship. The way she was touching him looked as though they were together. The way they were talking to each other sounded like they were friends. Hearing that it was a one-sided love, she wasn't sure how they could still maintain that type of close friendship.

"Now we're just friends." Smile still in place, Alexis held him closer for a moment before letting go.

"that must be difficult for you…." The megastar said in a genuine tone. She was disappointed to find that their relationship wasn't what she thought.

"Honestly, it was difficult in the beginning, but not anymore. How can you hate this adorable face?" Alexis said as she held onto 'his' chin which caused Lucy to pull away in embarrassment. Their cute behavior caused both celebrities to laugh.

After Alexis excused herself to the bathroom, Lucy noticed both women looking at her differently from before, especially the megastar. They were both smiling which it's a good sign. "She's…always like that."

"She's funny." Alyson found their behavior extremely adorable. "It's difficult to have that kind of friendship, especially with a guy."

Blythe nodded in agreement. "If I do something like that, he would probably think I'm hitting on him."

When all laughed at Blythe's comment, Lucy realized it was working.

After a moment, the waitress came with plates of uncooked meat, vegetable, Korean bean paste and many small dishes of popular Korean cuisine and placed a grill in the middle of the table. Both women were in awe of the sight in front of them. Alyson had performed in South Korea before but never had the chance to sit down in a restaurant to actually try the traditional cuisine. She was on tour. Trying new foods was not recommended since she had to be up and ready to perform the following day.

After all the dishes have been placed down, Lucy placed the meat on the grill and others followed suit.

"This is fun." Blythe said as she flipped over one of the pieces of meat she placed earlier.

Lucy grabbed the small piece of grilled meat with a pair of chopsticks and placed it into her plate. "Try it with this sauce."

Blythe blew it to cool it down first before putting it in her mouth. Nodding her head as she chewed, she moaned in pleasure.

"good?…" Alexis asked.

"mhmm…"

"first time is always good…then the next time, you might think that it's not that great or it's better than the first time…bcuz now you have the experience to compare it to.." As Alexis continued to talk about her first time trying Korean BBQ, Alyson found her choice of words…strange…as if she's not talking about food anymore. Alyson herself is talkative and found Alexis to be the same but more open. The more she listened, the clearer it became that Alexis was referring to something else.

"…the first time you dated, first time you kiss, first time you have sex…first…"

"Alexissss ..We're eating." Lucy wasn't sure why she started that conversation but knowing Alexis, she probably has a reason.

Blythe couldn't resist and burst out in laughter at the young woman's boldness. As for Alyson, she is little surprised but not shocked. Having been in the entertainment industry for years, she had a lot of experiences with situations like this where people can say anything without being embarrassed about it. She had been on shows where interviewers asked her all types of personal questions such as personal relationships with her boyfriends and questions regarding her virginity. Interviewers threw out words that people only use in moments of anger, yet they say it as if it is only a word and there was nothing wrong with it. That's a trick used by interviewers to get her reaction on the subject. That's what she was told by her coaches who taught her how to act and speak in front of the media. So she came to understand that and tried not to show any type of emotion to let anyone know what she's really thinking. But in this particular situation, she believes that the goal of the blunt girl is to get everyone laughing. Finding their behavior extremely funny, she laughed along with Blythe.

Alexis stood up, grabbed a piece of thinly sliced marinated prime beef ribeye and put it in the grill.

"Don't you agree? First time is always great." Alexis glanced at the megastar who only smiled in response. She then turned to Blythe who confessed that she wouldn't know which caught everyone's attention. Blythe wasn't embarrassed to admit to the one she's interested in that she had never done it.

"I think it's great and you should definitely wait until you find the right person."

Hearing 'his' words of encouragement, Blythe found herself falling deeper for 'him'.

"Second time was even better." Alexis hung her arm around her shoulder. "I know you don't remember, but you were great."

Lucy wasn't expecting that. Her jaws dropped as well as everything that she was holding onto, the chopsticks and the meat. She wasn't sure if Alexis was pretending. If she is, what is the point of saying it?

"oh…." Blythe was surprised that their relationship was more than that. From the look on his face, she could tell that David was not aware of it.

"We?"

"Eat…" Holding the meat with the chopstick, Alexis extended the chopsticks towards Lucy's mouth.

"hot…hot…hot…." Lucy immediately opened wide and quickly grabbed the cold drink and gulped it down.

"mhm…it was definitely…hot."

Knowing she was referring to something else and not the beef, Blythe again couldn't contain her laughter causing other guests sitting at other tables to stare at them. Even Alyson couldn't resist at this point, looking at the bearded man who had 'his' tongue sticking out, panting heavily like a dog.

"What's so funny?"

All turned towards the direction behind the megastar. As the young man dressed in a suit and tie took a seat between Blythe and the megastar, Lucy was surprised of his presence and locked her eyes at the one whom she's been waiting for and took in every detail of his facial features, the eyes, the nose, the lips, the jawline, and the chin. She could now see that Lucas has more of his mother's genes except for the dark brown hair and eyes.

Previously Alexis had seen a picture of him and wondered why the megastar would be interested in him, an average looking man. She was expecting the megastar to be dating someone famous, if not famous, then someone who has the looks of Adonis. The man sitting across from her is neither.

"I'm glad you can make it." Lucy said in a genuine tone and introduced Alexis who filled him in what they were laughing about earlier, just the part about Lucy burning her tongue with the hot chili paste.

As they continued eating, Alexis and Blythe did most of the talking since they had more in common talking about the latest fashion.

"Have you considered being a model?" Blythe came to like her more and more as she find Alexis very open, outgoing, and easy to talk to.

Alexis seems to have a story about everything. She talked about the time being approached by someone who asked her if she wanted to be a model while she was shopping. Lucy had never heard the story and it did sound like a true story. _It's working_. At least, that's what it looked like when she noticed how Lucas was paying full attention.

"I really like what I'm doing now."

"but you could make so much more money…like me…" Blythe couldn't understand why anyone would want to turn down the chance of making millions.

"umm…Blythe…she doesn't need money…" Lucy said.

That could only mean one thing and Blythe was very curious to know why. She wasn't the only one.

"What does your family do?"

"Business" Alexis left it at that and grabbed a piece of cooked meat, dipped in another kind of sauce, and extended it towards the brunette's mouth. Lucy shook her head and stuck her tongue out to show everyone that she was still feeling the burning sensation. The way she stuck her tongue in and out in a rapid pace caused the celebrities to laugh again.

"What type of business?"

Alexis was prepared for the questions. The more he asked, the more Lucy felt she was right about him.

After getting his questions answered, Lucas was curious to know about their relationship when he noticed how attentive Alexis was to 'his' needs. "just friends?" The tone of his voice told them he didn't believe them.

"yes….and if you know anyone who's looking…" Lucy was then cut off.

"David, I don't need any help in getting a date…"

"Yes, you do."

"no, I don't."

"yes, you do."

"no, I don't."

As they were talking back and forth, Blythe found him even more adorable for having concern for his ex.

"I'm sure Alexis wouldn't have any problems." It didn't make sense to Alyson why he would be worried about the young attractive woman who seems to have it all, wealth, intelligence, looks, and sense of humor.

"You don't understand. She's picky."

"…and what's wrong with that? I don't want to go out with just anyone who's nice to me. I want someone who can make me laugh, someone who is willing to risk his life for me, someone who can take away all my problems. I want love. I want fireworks…."

"You see what I mean?" Lucy said as she rolled her eyes. Lucy had to stop her from continuing. The plan was to get Lucas interested in her and she wanted everyone to know that Alexis is available. She's not sure why Alexis was saying all of those other things.

Her reaction caused the celebrities to laugh again.

"I agree. There's nothing wrong with that at all." Lucas caught everyone's attention when he placed his hand over the megastar's hand. "…I think that's what every woman wants…"

"How long you have two been dating?"

"about 7 months…"

"was it love at first sight?" Alexis noticed the megastar didn't feel comfortable with the conversation when she took her hand away from Lucas' grasp.

"It was for me." Lucas admitted to everyone and all waited for the megastar to respond.

"Sorry…but not for me." It wasn't only what she said that made everyone laugh. It was her movement when she lightly tapped his face.

"I know…I'm the luckiest guy on earth."

Hearing the way they're talking to each other, Lucy realized this isn't working at all. She turned towards Alexis to see if she has any other ideas.

"awww….that's so sweet…" Alexis pretended to be touched, but actually wasn't. She couldn't understand what the famous beautiful megastar sees in the guy, not that she could feel there was anything wrong with him. "That's how I felt when I first saw him. Do you remember when we met the first time, David?"

"No, but you told me dozens of times." His wise remark caused Blythe to chuckle.

Alexis continued to tell her story of the first time they met at the restaurant. "He was so polite…so good looking…." She said while keeping her eyes at the disguised brunette who continued eating as if he wasn't paying attention. "But he never called me."

"awww…." Knowing exactly how she felt at that moment, Blythe let out a sound of sympathy. She expected him to call her after Thanksgiving but he never did. She thought he went back to London until she saw him at the store.

Alexis placed her chin on the palm of her hand with eyes locked on the bearded man sitting on her right. "It was love…at first sight."

Blythe found herself doing exactly the same thing as Alexis with elbow on the table and chin pressed on the palm. Both were deeply concentrated on the person, sitting between them, who gulped down a cup of soju and let out a sigh of satisfaction. "At that moment, I…wanted to get to know him. I…wanted…to touch him. I…wanted to kiss him. I wanted to be with him…and nothing else matters."

Alexis then turned her attention back towards Lucas.

"Is that how you feel?"

"Exactly." Lucas said as he focused his eyes at the megastar who remembered the moment like it was yesterday; the moment when she told the brunette she wouldn't have any regrets before making love to her.

Lucy became even more confused with the plan because it looks like the megastar is falling for him even more.

"What about you? Have you ever experience 'love at first sight?'"

"no."

Alexis continued with the questions because she has a point to make. It wasn't love at first sight but she knew that the megastar had plenty of relationships. "Are you still friends with any of them?"

Alyson hesitated for a moment to think about the question being asked and didn't see any point in lying since everyone already knows. "yes"

When she was then asked if she keep in touch with any of them, one person came to mind. The last time she talked to the brunette was years ago; the time she told her about the fraudster. She had not heard from her ever since. Having heard about the capture, she had no doubt in her mind that the brunette was involved. Whether she's dead or alive, she had no idea. But something inside of her told her that the former criminal mastermind is alive. Sometimes, she wanted to put out a message just to get the brunette to call her. But she controlled the urge to do so. If she had maintained that type of relationship, the same relationship Alexis had with David, she's not sure how she can move on. "How do you do it?"

Alexis was confused with the question and needed clarification. "Do what?"

"It seems that you still have feelings for him. How do you maintain the friendship? How do you keep yourself from...getting jealous…when you see him with someone else?"

The question wasn't difficult and Alexis responded truthfully. "It was heartbreaking at first. But I don't want to lose him as a friend." She placed her hand on the brunette's back.

"I applaud you for being able to do that." Alyson said in a sincere tone. If she was in the same situation, she wasn't sure if she could do the same thing, seeing the former criminal mastermind with someone else.

"well…life must go on…right?" Alexis said, taking glances at Lucas and the megastar who let out a gentle smile. "I…will continue looking until I find…the one…." She deliberately locked her eyes at Lucas for a moment, then stared at the megastar. "….and...I'm not…going to settle for anything…less…"

It took a long moment but Lucy finally understood her point. She hoped the megastar does too.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 58**

One week later

It seemed that the plan did not work because after that night at the Korean restaurant, Lucas never contacted Alexis. Plan A was to flirt with Lucas which she did when they had a chance to talk one on one alone. Plan B was to make up a story about how wealthy she is after inheriting a fortune from her deceased grandfather. Alexis didn't think the brunette's plans would work so she had her own plan instead and that is somehow, make the megastar see that her boyfriend isn't right for her.

"I told you it wouldn't work." Alexis said, staring at the frustrated brunette sitting across from her.

Lucy continued to worry as each night passed by without any phone calls from Lucas.

"Let's just wait." Came the voice of Scud at the other end of the phone. When he heard about Lucy's plan, he could not believe that he got Alexis involved. It was a stupid idea. If he knew about it beforehand, he would have convinced her that it won't work. _What were you thinking? _He's not going to give up someone who's worth more than $300 million for someone whom he has no knowledge about. And he's definitely not going to allow himself to make a mistake of being caught with another girl especially when that girl is a friend of hers. "he probably thinks it's a trap."

Lucy could only blame herself for thinking that Lucas is like those types of men who couldn't control himself to take advantage of a woman who is willing. She did not get in touch with the megastar for a week since she couldn't come up with an excuse to do so. After that night, she may have gained a bit of her trust but finding an excuse to get close to her is still difficult.

"Alexis, stop having any contact with them." Amy said in a commanding tone. She was as shocked as Scud was when she heard.

"Lucy, let's talk later." Amy said calmly but she was furious with her decision in getting Alexis involved. She wanted to tell her lover what she did wrong but decided that it should be done privately not in front of others. If Alexis hadn't told her, she would never have known about it.

"He's calling." Lucy picked up the phone. Today is the deadline that was given by her father's mistress. They were waiting for Anthony to call her so they can listen in on the conversation between them. "Okay…" Lucy said to Anthony and put the mute on, then the speaker and placed Alexis' and her phone side by side.

"You are wasting my time." Anthony said in an impolite tone.

"You didn't call her?!"

"I told you…I don't know where she is. "

"Stop lying to me!"

The older woman was no longer in the same calm manner she was before in the first meeting.

"I can't help you."

The long moment of silence that came afterwards made Lucy wonder what was happening. What else can she do? Lucy expected the older woman to continue to yell but the opposite happened instead.

"Anthony, I'm having financial problems."

The new information caught Lucy by surprise. None of Anthony's findings show that. There could be only 2 possibilities. Either his men didn't dig deep enough or the woman is lying, trying to get his sympathy.

"Everything I have will be gone. Everything I worked so hard for will be gone."

Lucy could hear the sigh of frustration from Anthony as well as the sound of finger tapping. If she were in his situation, she probably would offer some assistance.

"How much?"

Lucy expected the older woman to respond with a huge number.

"What I need, you won't be able to help me. What you can help me with is call Lucinda." It was back to the same purpose that she came for….half of the inheritance. Lucy would be shocked if Anthony wasn't getting upset because if it was her, she would have thrown her out at this moment. Sounds were then heard inside the room. Anthony was calling his assistant to escort the woman out.

"Anthony!"

The shouting surprised Lucy. What the older woman said later sounded like she had no choice. She wasn't begging. She wasn't asking politely anymore. It sounded like she was fed up with the lying and waiting. What she said caused Lucy to curse and jump out of her seat. "That bitch!" Lucy was certain that Anthony had the same reaction by the loud pounding noise on the table.

"You killed her?!"

"No, but I know who did it." The older woman said in calm tone.

She didn't admit to it but when she offered assistance to the case, only one thing came to Lucy's mind. _It's a setup from the beginning. She came prepared._

"Now, call Lucinda…when I get my inheritance, you'll get your freedom." The older woman spoke in confidence as if she was in control.

Anthony was upset, not because he was being framed, but because an innocent woman died.

"thank you for your generosity. But what I want is not charity. I want Lucy."

With her fists clenched tight, Lucy was fuming. She understood the feeling that Anthony must be feeling right now because she too had been in a position where she was being framed for something she didn't do. Back in the old days, she was being blamed for stealing a shipment of guns. With the evidence provided by the follower who betrayed her, the owner of that shipment didn't believe her. With Anthony's help, they were able to find the real culprit.

"I…don't…know…where she is." Anthony said clearly in a frustrated tone. There was nothing else he could say. The woman came prepared and he knew for sure that she must have documented the last 2 meetings to protect herself. Besides, her son is Lucy's half-brother. If he wasn't, Anthony could think of a lot of ways to force her to tell the truth.

"Tomorrow, Anthony. I want to hear her voice tomorrow."

Even Lucy doesn't know what to do. But Anthony knows and he made his decision quickly.

"No…if you want her, find her yourself. Nobody…and I mean nobody can threaten me. So you listen up, give me the evidence…or "

"I told you it's not me, but I know who…"

"Then tell me! If you don't, then I suggest you look carefully every time you cross a street, look carefully every time you enter your apartment and every time you buy a cup of coffee from Sophia's coffee shop."

One corner of her mouth lifted up into a smile. Lucy had forgotten how powerful Anthony is, no longer the same Anthony she used to know. Yes, he's frustrated with the situation he's in. But he's not going to let the old woman take advantage of him.

There was a long moment of silence as all waited to hear from the older woman. Then all realized the old woman was on her way out when Anthony spoke.

"…and one more thing…" The tone of his voice sounded like he has control of the situation once again. "Get Lucas to stay away from his girlfriend…"

The edges of her lips turned up into a wide grin. After the last meeting, Lucy found out Anthony is a fan of the megastar too. Lucy sat back down on the couch, feeling as though all her problems have been resolved.

After the woman left, Anthony wanted to hear everyone's thoughts. The first one to speak was of course Lucy who complimented on his quick thinking. Second was Scud who agreed with his decision. The third person who spoke with concern was Amy. Contacting Max and Mr. P was her first thought but was surprised that nobody else agreed with her.

"Scud?" Anthony asked the one with the highest IQ for his thoughts.

Scud thought it's very possible that this was her plan to get the inheritance, but it's also possible that she's telling the truth. Framing Anthony. She must be out out of her mind...unless she knows for sure that he's not going to do anything to her and her son because of their connection with Lucy's father.

"I don't think he can help us."

Mr. P is, after all, the leader of a US secret service and he has no reason to help Anthony who is known to be involved with criminal activities.

"Besides, she's going to deny everything if the police gets involved. What she wants is money. She's not going to do anything until you give in or something happens."

Anthony agreed and decided to have his men keep following the older woman and Lucas which he has been doing.

Lucy had forgotten that her blonde lover had wanted to talk to her privately until she spoke. Placing the phone into her ear, she expected a calm conversation from the blonde, but what she got instead caused her to pull the phone away from her ear.

"It was just to get her to see he's bad. That was all. I wasn't going to let him take her out." _Not alone anyways. _But she doesn't need to know that_._ Lucy rolled her eyes as she paced back and forth while she continued listening to her lover talk about the possibilities of getting Alexis hurt.

Alexis had been watching the brunette's movement. From the brunette's responses, she understood what they were talking about and noticed how different she is from Keira. The brunette may be listening but her reaction told her she didn't like what was being said on the end of the line.

"Alexis, no matter what she says, don't listen to her….and Lucy, promise me…leave her out of this."

"okay…" Lucy responded like a teenager who hated being told what to do.

A 20 year old trapped in a body of a woman in her 30's. Alexis expected the brunette to be more mature by now. But it doesn't seem that way especially when being told what to do by her fiancée.

"Lucy, she could be dangerous and he could be dangerous. I know you won't come back until this is resolved, but can you at least tell us what you're going to do before you do it?"

Alexis could see frustration on the brunette's face and couldn't understand why. It was a concern for her safety. She shouldn't even have to be told to do that.

Not hearing a response, Scud sensed that the brunette may be in her 'Lucy Diamond' mode again. At her young age, she had her own ways of thinking. If she believes in something, she's not going to let anyone stop her from talking her out of it, just like the time when he told her it was a bad idea to go into the DEBs house to look for the blonde. Regardless of what he said about the numerous security and cameras around the house, she didn't listen.

After hanging up the phone, Amy let out a sigh of frustration. She didn't get a response from the brunette and didn't continue with the previous conversation with her lover because she could tell she didn't want to talk to her afterwards. She couldn't have said what was in her mind in a better way because she was furious with her decision. "What is she thinking?" Alexis is a civilian without any training. How could she put her in that situation? She needed to get her point across, so she had to yell to let her lover know that she's upset.

Holding the baby in his arms, Scud remained silent. He had an idea why the brunette would do that. There was only one reason. It's because she ran out of ideas. She did that numerous times in the past, the time she shaved her head so her enemies wouldn't recognize her, the time she left him in Paris to protect him, the time she fought with a man twice her size to prove to every one of her father's followers that she isn't weak, but every time she did it, she put herself at risk, not her friends. That's how Lucy Diamond is. Others may think she would do whatever it takes to achieve her goal but that is simply not true. If she believed that Alexis would be in danger, she wouldn't have done it.

It was in the afternoon on a weekday. Amy decided to skip class after learning about the meeting Anthony was having with the older woman. Nadia, who took a day off to spend it with her girlfriend, was surprised to see both Scud and Amy inside the house. She didn't expect anyone to be there.

Amy greeted Holly with a smile.

"Don't you have class today?" Nadia had planned on watching a movie and having lunch at home with her girlfriend.

"something came up…"

Seeing Scud there as well, she knew something must have happened so she decided to ask later. "Do you guys want lunch?" Holding a bag of groceries, Nadia headed towards the kitchen with Holly following from behind.

Scud, of course, nodded happily without a second thought. Amy did the same. That wasn't the response Nadia was expecting. She expected them to get the hint. But they didn't, so there's only one thing to do…make lunch with the girl she's in love with.

Within half an hour, lunch was ready. Nadia didn't plan on making anything that requires too much time since she wanted to spend more time cuddling with her lover while watching a movie. Besides, she had something planned for dinner.

Scud let out a sigh of satisfaction after taking a bite of the turkey sandwich with cranberry bread. Even with the simplest ingredients, Nadia could somehow make the flavor come out better.

As they were all happily eating their sandwiches and vegetable wrap, Amy noticed how happy Nadia was as she was talking about her day with her girlfriend. They didn't do much, just shopping. That's what people usually say when they go shopping. But Nadia went on to describe which shop they went, the outfits she tried on and what Holly thought about the outfits she tried on. It sounded boring to Amy but to the lovers sitting across from her, it looked like they enjoyed every minute of it. She was surprised to learn that Nadia even tried the cosmetic counters in the shop which she never liked to do.

"I told her I wanted a natural look." The cosmetics lady in the counter put so much make up on her, her cheeks ended up being so red, it caused others to stare at her which it's the reason she didn't want to do it.

"She looked like a monkey's butt." Holly added and all laughed loudly at her comment.

"Never again." That was the second time Nadia tried the cosmetics counter. She came to believe that they're not professionals at all and all they wanted to do is get her to buy the expensive cosmetics without caring how she looked.

"Have you tried asking for Skye's advice?"

Amy stopped chewing and laughing. Nadia did the same. _Where did that come from?_ They were quite confused why she suddenly mentioned Lucy's name. What she could have said was ask for Alexis' advice.

"She looked very good the last time I saw her. Where is she? Is she back yet?" Holly took a bite of the pickle and waited for a response.

"She's not back yet." Amy responded in a casual tone but deep inside, she couldn't help wonder if Holly has another motive to getting close to Nadia.

"oh…when will she be back?"

_"_maybe Christmas…not sure yet." Amy hoped so because she really wanted to spend Christmas, if not Christmas, then the new years with her lover.

There was nothing wrong with the questions being asked. It's only natural to want to know more about her girlfriend's friends. But Amy, with her agent sense, couldn't help thinking of what the brunette once told her. _There is something strange about Holly._

"How did you all meet?"

Since Amy was unsure what Nadia told her, she let her come up with a lie.

"Yoga class."

_Oh good one. Nadia. _Nadia continued to explain that she was looking for an apartment and Lucy had 3 spare bedrooms and that's how they all ended up living together.

"So she owns this house?"

"No, I do." Scud's explanation was that he and the brunette had been friends for a long time and he let the brunette live here for free.

They never talked about this, but the explanation they gave seems to make sense.

"What does she do? For a job, I mean…"

"she helps me out in the restaurant..." Scud thought that would be believable even though Lucy only goes there for lunch and dinner when she didn't have any plans with the blonde. Sometimes she helps out by trying new dishes. Nadia even created a fruity drink and named it after her; the Diamond Escape.

Smiling, Holly nodded in understanding. "I would like to meet her…I want to get to know all of your friends."

"sure…I'll let you know when she comes back." That's all Nadia could say and tried not to show her true emotion. Keeping her smile in place, she turned to look at Amy and knew exactly what she was thinking.

After lunch, Scud took his baby back to the other side. Nadia expected Amy to leave or go somewhere else but instead she stayed behind to watch the dvd rental with them. Nadia sat on one couch with her girlfriend while Amy sat on the recliner. She wanted to put her arm around her girlfriend but didn't feel it was appropriate to do so in front of the blonde since she's not sure how Holly would feel about that. Her eyes locked at the former blonde agent, hoping to send some kind of signal telepathically to get her attention. When that didn't work, she could only do it in a human way.

"Kristin, when is your next class?"

Amy looked at watch. "in another hour."

"Don't you have to be prepared for that?"

"no, I don't have a test."

"maybe you should go now to avoid the traffic."

"it's still early…"

Nadia wasn't sure if she was playing dumb or if she really didn't understand what she was trying to do.

"So Kristin, when do I have the pleasure to meet your boyfriend?"

When Amy saw Nadia was also confused with the question, she felt it was safe to respond with a question.

"my boyfriend?"

"mhm…"

"I don't have a boyfriend."

Holly explained that she recalled the last time at Thanksgiving, Nadia said she was taken. Amy quickly came up with an explanation that she recently broke up and wasn't interested in a relationship at the moment. That response seemed to satisfy Holly's curiosity because she didn't ask any more questions afterwards.

When Nadia was about to ask Amy to talk privately for a moment, she felt Holly's hand on her lap, gliding slowly back and forth. She took that as a signal and hung her arm around her younger blonde girlfriend who snuggled closer. It wasn't until she felt the blonde's lips on her jaw did she realize that the blonde didn't mind at all being intimate in front of her friends. Either that or it was her way of getting rid of the other blonde because it made Amy uncomfortable.

Amy cleared her throat but that did nothing. She was surprised to see both of them, especially Nadia, whispering, giggling, and giving each other pecks on the cheeks as if there was nobody else inside the room, as if she was invisible, as if they had been dating for a long, long time. She had never seen the shy girl doing that when she was with Alexis.

"I'm going to school." Amy said as she stood up.

As Amy headed up the stairs, giggles and laughs could be heard in the living room. That ridiculous thought that the brunette had about the young nurse doesn't seem to make sense again. But she had a lot of experience to know that it could still be a façade. Just as a precaution, Amy locked all the doors to the bedrooms and the master bedroom and reminded Nadia to be alert at all times via instant messaging.

* * *

As each day passed by, Lucy hoped she would get the news she was waiting for; news about the megastar's breakup or news from Anthony. But each day ends with disappointment and each night, her nightmares continued to haunt her. It got to the point where she was screaming so loud, it woke Alexis up in the other room.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Sitting on the edge of the bed, Alexis gave the brunette a bottle of cold water and a hand towel to wipe the sweat off her forehead.

Each nightmare had a different location but the ending was the same. All ended with the megastar on the bed unconscious after being sexually assaulted. But this time, it was different. This time she saw it happened. It scared her so badly, she yelled at the top of her lungs to try to get help.

_Captured, tied at the wrists and hung up in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing, all she could see was darkness. When a narrow slit of light from 30 feet away appeared, she could see a bed with the megastar tied at the wrists by something shiny, like handcuffs. Room was dim. Her eyes followed the one who was crawling on top of the megastar from the end of the bed. Lucy tried to pull her wrists down, hoping her weight could break whatever the rope was tied to. But it was useless. All she could do was scream. "Lucas, stop it! STOP IT!..." She could hear her own voice echo through the room but to the other two, it looked like they heard nothing. Lucy continued to scream with threats. "Let her go! I'm going to kill you if you don't!" Her legs flung back and forth, kicking whatever was in front of her, to break whatever was in front of her because it seemed that they were separated by an invisible barrier. She pulled again as hard as she could but it was hopeless. "Lucas! Let her go!" Sweat dripped down her forehead, mixed with the tears that ran down her cheeks. She had never felt so powerless in her life. "let her go…" Threats didn't work, so she could only beg. "I'll give you everything, just let her go."_

"Nothing, just a dream." Lucy took a drink, then another, then a longer one, trying to calm her beating heart.

"a dream? You mean a nightmare. This isn't the first time I heard you scream."

Lucy stopped to take a breath, then lifted the bottle and continued gulping down the ice cold water. She wished she knew what was happening to her. Nightmares usually happen when her mind is not at peace and when something is bothering her just like the last time after she shot Schaeffer. She woke up soaking with sweat that time and this time was no different. It was too late. Her screaming and begging could only be heard by herself. She could see him rolling off the blonde after he was done.

"It's not Lucas." In her other dreams, she assumed that it was but realized now that none of them showed his face. If Alexis did not wake her up at that crucial moment, she would have been able to see his face more clearly.

"What?"

Lucy lifted off the blanket, headed to the bathroom without responding and when she came back, she realized Alexis wasn't going to leave until she gets an answer.

"So?"

"It's nothing, just a dream." Lucy said as she slipped back into bed.

"What's it about?"

"I don't remember. Go to sleep." Lucy laid her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes. After a moment, when she felt presence crawling over her, her left eye opened, then the right eye. Lights had already been turned off. "What are you doing?"

"I can't sleep."

"Then count sheep. You can't sleep here." Whatever she said, Alexis wasn't listening because she was making herself comfortable.

With her hands locked behind her head and her eyes closed, Alexis began telling her about the days she spent with her first love. Dana couldn't get any time off during the busy season so they could only meet at night after work hours and on weekends. It was great the first few days. They had a lot to talk about, their careers, their lives, and their family.

"I don't think she wants to be with me."

It was a dead giveaway because after hearing her friend's failed relationships with guys, Alexis wondered if she was experiencing a temporary mentality thinking that she would be better off with women. It wasn't just that. It seems that Dana isn't ready to take that first step, to be out and open with her. She understands that it's too soon and she is willing to give her more time. But the fact is Dana is a workaholic, trying to climb up the corporate ladder of a well-known company.

"She said she needed more time."

Their relationship has not even started yet but Alexis could already see where it was heading. Career first, then love. That's usually how it is for professional women who want to be in upper management position. And after they succeeded, they'll realize that it wasn't worth it.

Lucy was under the impression that everything was working well for her, seeing her smile, in the past few days. She wasn't in the mood but since Alexis needed to talk with someone, she might as well listen. "Did you tell her that?"

"I did…but…you know how it is." People like her will never listen because they know about it, they read about it, and they believed that they won't be one of them. For a woman to juggle between careers, love, and family is difficult. For an openly gay woman to achieve a high status would be as difficult as a 50 year old woman trying to get pregnant. "she doesn't want anyone to know."

"hmmm…" Lucy couldn't think of anything else to say.

"She thinks if word gets out, it will prevent her from getting to the top."

"yea…." Lucy agreed because she herself had been in that situation. "Unless she opens her own company, it's going to be a tough ride ahead.."

In this day and age, even though most of the companies support LGBT, there are people who say they supported but in reality, they don't. It's just politics. That's how businesses are. That's how people are. Some would do whatever it takes to get to the top including giving in to the one who could make that happen for them. Sex. Lucy remembered one time being in a negotiation to buy arms from another leader. At the moment when the deal was being made, he wanted to jack up the price after learning how important the deal was to her. The price was so ridiculously high, it caught her by surprise until she learned his real intention. Original price plus sex. It was demeaning. She had no doubt that if she were a guy, he wouldn't have that request. What she said after that got him confused. She agreed to it but not with him but with his girlfriend who wasn't there and that was to let him know that she checked him out. He had no idea that she is a lesbian but that didn't matter to him. He and his followers laughed at her suggestion and so did she, more loudly than he was. At the end, Lucy got what she wanted at the original price without sacrificing her body. How? Well, she simply told him that it would be a good idea to make friends than enemies.

Alexis let out a sigh of unhappiness. Before she came, she had hopes of getting together with her first love. But now, it seemed that they were never meant to be. "Why am I having such a hard time finding someone?"

"because you're picky…" With hands over the blanket, eyes looking up at the ceiling, Lucy responded in an obvious tone. That wasn't a lie when she said that in front of the celebrities.

"I am not."

"Yes you are."

"how am I picky?"

"because what you're looking for is someone like yourself, someone who's not afraid to speak up, someone who doesn't care what others think…I hate to tell you this, but there aren't that many out there with the qualities that you're looking for…"

Alexis hated to admit it that the brunette is right. There's one lying next to her and she's already taken.

"Sometimes you have to overlook those imperfect qualities...and focus on those other qualities that you like about her…"

As Lucy was thinking about her lover's imperfect qualities such as unwillingness to let her college friends know about their relationship, she decided to tell Alexis a story.

"I went to her school." Dressed in her disguise outfits, she was waiting for the blonde in front of the school one day. When the blonde came out with some friends, she didn't like what she saw. Her lover was chatting and walking side by side with a male friend she had never seen before. "She didn't notice me and walked right by me. I expected that." It just shows how her disguise looked so real, not even her fiancée could recognize her. She called the blonde on the phone and asked her to turn around. As expected the blonde was very surprised to see her. "Do you know what she did later?" Amy did something she didn't expect. "She kissed me in front of her friend and everyone nearby…and it wasn't just a short kiss." She's not sure if it was Amy's intention to let the male friend know that she's taken, but it probably was.

"So she won't kiss you as a girl in the open, but she would kiss you as a guy." Alexis let out a short laugh to indicate how ridiculous that is.

"If she feels good about that, then that's fine with me. It was fun…different…but fun." The memory of that day caused her to smile wide.

"What is so fun about that? So every time you go out, you can't kiss her. And the only time you can is if you're disguised as a man?" It seems illogical and stupid to Alexis.

"That night, …we…made out…in the car." Lucy never liked to kiss and tell but she felt this experience could teach Alexis a little something about life. That night, they went to a movie. After the movie, instead of heading home, Lucy drove to a nearby park where they could see the London Eye from a distance. Her plan was to hold the blonde in her arms as they watched the full moon and stars inside her heated car. But that slowly turned into kissing and touching and nipping. With the darkness outside and the tinted windows, Amy felt it was safe to do more than that. It was uncomfortable but fun because they tried different positions and when those positions didn't work, they laughed about it.

"What?!" Alexis was very shocked to find the blonde who's more conservative than all of them allowed herself to participate in such an act that only young adults would do. Even she hasn't done it.

"That's what I love about her. She knows what she wants and doesn't want…and she's…unpredictable."

Alexis is beginning to understand how the former blonde agent was able to capture the heart of the former criminal mastermind.

"You just have to overlook…those imperfections." Lucy said softly as she closed her tired eyes. Feeling sleepy and tired, she was about to doze off only to find that Alexis wanted to continue with the conversation.

"Then why were you upset with her that day? She's just worried about you. She's right, you know. You should've talked to them first."

Pulling the blanket over her head, Lucy mumbled something Alexis couldn't make out. "What's that?"

"I…hae…bng…to whdu..whah cansstt…mm.."

Alexis had to ask again before getting a clearer response. It wasn't distinct but she understood why.

* * *

Downstairs in the hotel restaurant, Alexis was enjoying the breakfast but noticed that the brunette was deep in thought. She didn't think it was a big deal sleeping on the same bed with her. It's not like they did anything. Well, maybe just touching, but she couldn't remember. She couldn't help but let out a sly smile. A few years ago, she had always wanted to sleep with her and never thought that it would actually happen…in this way.

"it's not a big deal. We didn't do anything. She's not going to be mad at you."

Lucy's head shot up. That wasn't what she was thinking of because she had said everything she needed to say upstairs in the hotel room. But it seems that Alexis still didn't understand what she was trying to say.

"You can't tell her."

"I'm not going to tell her. I'm just saying she's not going get mad even if she finds out."

"She…cannot…know about this. Do…you…understand?"

Not hearing a response, Lucy repeated what she said upstairs. "I'm serious. Alexis."

Alexis saw the seriousness in her face and stopped playing around. "okay." She believed that Amy would have forgiven her even if she finds out.

It was Anthony's call that woke her up. Lucy thought that he had great news, but after he told her to call her back at her convenience, she didn't think it was important. That's when she found Alexis lying next to her on the bed with one arm hanging over her abdomen. What he wanted to know was how she was able to get close to the megastar as 'David' because his men took pictures of them. Lucy made up a lie about how she prevented the megastar from getting her wallet stolen in a nightclub. It was a stupid story but that was all she could come up with in such a short time.

"Where should we go today?" Since Dana is working and it seems that her goal of coming to NYC is most likely a complete failure, she might as well enjoy what's left of her vacation.

Taking Alexis to tourist sites wasn't what Lucy had in mind. Lucy was thinking of what to do; follow the megastar or follow Lucas. The megastar has bodyguards with her all the time. Is there a point of following her? The only people who could get near her is Lucas and her celebrity friends. If it's not Lucas, then who else could it be? Her enemies? Her crazy obsessed fans? Possible. Lucy took out her phone to see who her exes are and if she offended anyone recently. It's not uncommon these days that a celebrity would hire someone to do the dirty job for them. It happens all the time. Some were just lucky that they weren't exposed.

"c'mon…I want to go somewhere." Standing next to the brunette, Alexis took the brunette's arm.

"I can't. I have things to do."

"Like what?"

"Things…" Lucy said, keeping her eyes at the phone.

"Did you tell her what you're going to do or should I tell her what you don't want her to know?"

Lucy immediately looked away from her phone. "Did you…just…threaten me?" It sure sounds like it.

Threaten? That wasn't her intention but realized the brunette was referring to last night. With a sly smirk in place, Alexis lowered her head next to her ear and whispered. "We have done more than sleeping together….but she doesn't know that….unless…you want her to…" Alexis couldn't resist and placed a kiss on her bearded face before walking towards the door, leaving the stunned brunette frowning in confusion.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 59**

Standing across the high rise, Lucy tilted her head up. It's time for plan C. She didn't want to but couldn't come up with any ideas. Previously she went to the megastar's apartment, just standing across the street, thinking of what to do. Ringing the bell to her apartment crossed her mind but would the megastar let her in? Definitely not. She was hoping to get some sort of sign that would tell her that they had broken up but there was nothing out of the ordinary, just paparazzis and strangers waiting at the doorstep of the apartment complex. She thought long and hard and decided she couldn't wait any longer. So she gave Blythe a call. As if the Lord approved of her plan, Blythe was available and invited her to her apartment which Lucy made a mental note to remind the famous model not to trust people so easily after all this is over.

Inside the high rise, as soon as the elevator door closed, her brows knitted together in confusion. She remained silent until everyone got off the elevator except for them.

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Go back to the hotel."

"Then go back with me."

"Alexis, stay out of this." Lucy said as she took one step closer.

"Whose apartment are you going to? Blythe's?" Alexis had thought that her threat would work. When the brunette didn't follow her out the hotel, she made the decision to follow her. "You can't do this to her. She doesn't have anything to do with this. She's going to get hurt."

The thought of using Blythe to get close to the megastar crossed her mind but Lucy ultimately decided not to. Knowing how stubborn Alexis is, she told her about her plan.

"…and you think she will believe you?"

"I have to try. I can't just sit here and wait for something to happen."

It sounded crazy to Alexis. It would sound crazy to anyone who heard. "You don't know what's going to happen.."

Lucy knew she wouldn't understand. When Alexis pulled her arm to stop her from leaving, Lucy reiterated that she has to do this no matter what. There was nothing Alexis could do but to follow.

"She won't have other thoughts if I come along." Alexis explained why she has to be there with her.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Lucy rang the doorbell and as expected, Blythe was surprised to see Alexis with 'him'. It caught them by surprise to see there was someone else in the apartment. Her plan once again hit an obstacle. Lucy had wanted to talk to Blythe privately, hoping she would spread the word to the megastar. Seeing the megastar there, she's not sure how to tell her personally.

"Sorry, did I come at a bad time? Maybe I'll come back later." That's all Lucy could think of to get out of the current situation, but that didn't work because Blythe clung onto 'his' arm and pulled him to sit across from the megastar.

"Hungry?"

Lucy didn't turn to Alexis for her thoughts and asked Blythe if she wanted to go out for lunch instead. It was her way to get Blythe alone since she had a feeling the megastar won't be able to join them. It would be difficult to go anywhere in public with the famous singer. But that again didn't work because Blythe already ordered lunch. "I ordered Chinese. Do you want anything in particular?" Lucy decided to just wait for the right time and ordered her favorite spare ribs and General Gao's chicken while Alexis requested a vegetable dish with lo mein.

"No msg." Alexis and Lucy said in unison. They didn't plan on it but what they said caused them to laugh and Lucy could see a smile from the megastar whom she noticed wasn't smiling the moment she came in.

"I don't think that matters even if I tell them. There's going to be msg in it." Blythe warned them since she wasn't sure if they are allergic to it.

"If I've known that you would be here, I would have brought my album with me…for Ashley."

It surprised Alexis that she could still remember her sister's name. Never one to miss an opportunity when an opportunity is given, Alexis immediately asked if she would be going home later so she could get it from her.

"umm…How about giving me your address? I'll send a few things to her."

While Alexis was disappointed that it didn't work but played along and asked for another photo, Lucy tried not to stare but couldn't help it as the images of her nightmare flashed in front of her. The difference between that and the happy lively face in front of her elicited a sharp pain in her heart as if what's going to happen will happen and she will have no way of stopping it.

"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Her stare then got broken when Blythe came back to sit next to her.

Lucy didn't expect her to ask the question in front of everyone. She quickly came up with a lie about taking Alexis to tourist attractions. But that didn't work because Blythe asked the megastar to come along.

"'c'mon…it'll be fun…when's the last time you've been there?"

It had been a long while. The last time Alyson went to the Empire State Building, the place had to be closed for an hour. It would be absolute chaos if anyone recognizes her. It just wasn't the same not having anyone else around; the price of being too famous. While she was still thinking about it, her jaws dropped when Blythe said something she shouldn't have. From the reaction of the 2 sitting across from her, she realized that they must have heard.

"He asked you to marry him?" _It didn't work. It didn't work_. Lucy was certain that they would do as Anthony said.

_Oh David. _Blythe noticed that he has completely lost it when it comes to the megastar. She simply said 'Don't promise him if that's not what you want.' It could mean a lot of things. "no"

"oh"

Blythe could see 'him' immediately relaxed as if 'he' still got a chance. "He wanted her to invest in his company."

"Blythe!" That was private information. Alyson didn't think it was appropriate to let the 2 strangers know about it.

"maybe they're interested"

It made Lucy wonder just how much Lucas was asking. She asked for more information like she was interested, but the megastar stopped her friend from giving more details than she already has and asked them to keep this quiet away from the media. Instead of asking for more details, Lucy did the appropriate thing and offered assistance if needed. Her immediate thought was to make a bargain with him if he asks. _That would work._

"My father may be interested to." Alexis spoke freely like a friend to friend. "I know it's none of my business, but I don't think you should."

Alyson wasn't surprised to hear her reasoning since she too had the same thought. It would cause a lot of problems if their relationship doesn't work out. The amount is not small either. If the media finds out, it would do nothing but harm to their relationship.

"I'm sure he'll understand why you can't." Alexis didn't feel the need to explain any further.

Leave it to Alexis, she somehow can turn a serious situation into a fun one. Previously she sent the photos to Ashley's cell phone and as expected, Ashley was calling.. "Do you want to talk to my sister?" Lucy realized what the magazine said about the megastar was right. No matter what mood she's in, she always tries not to disappoint her fans.

Putting on a smile, Alyson tried not to think about the problem and focused on her biggest fan on the phone. Everyone laughed when they heard long screams of excitement.

"Is it really you?"

"Hi Ashley."

"Alexis, is this a joke?"

Ashley's question caused another round of laughter from everyone. Then all remained silent when the megastar proved it by singing a few lines of a song. It was fun. Everyone was laughing at Ashley's reaction. Lucy didn't think it was possible to make the megastar laugh like that as if all her problems just vanished. The speaker was turned on to the maximum and everyone remained silent to listen to the intelligent, courageous, little girl who's not afraid to show off her talent.

Alyson was surprised and touched that even a little girl would be interested in her award winning song which instantly brought back memories. "That's really, really beautiful…Ashley."

"You're beautiful."

Sounds of 'aww' filled the room, hearing the outspoken little girl's immediate comment. If it wasn't for Michel, Ashley would have kept the line on as long as she could.

"She's adorable."

"She's a brat." Alexis couldn't resist and spoke truthfully, causing all others to laugh.

It was clear to Lucy what Alexis was trying to do when she continued to tell the famous celebrities about her half-sister Ashley. Anyone who heard would feel sorry for Ashley who lost her mother the moment she came to this world. It was a sad story and Alexis made sure that she ended the story with a different mood by telling them how Ashley drove her nuts sometimes. The famous women burst out laughing after hearing a story of how Ashley caught Alexis making out with her 'boyfriend' in the living room. It made her wonder how they will react if she had told them that it was Nadia she made out with.

_Xxxxx_

Blythe never thought that her day would turn out like this. She was expecting another normal day spending time with her friend who needed someone to talk to. But instead, here they are at the 86th floor on the observation deck of the Empire State Building at 10 PM. It's cold. It's dark. But she felt warm inside because of the person whom she was currently clinging her hands to. Previously, while they were eating lunch, she learned a lot about David from 'his' friend. She learned that David is the only child and because of this, Alexis claimed that 'he' has a controlling behavior which is one of 'his' qualities that turned her off. She came to understand what Alexis meant because after lunch, David made all the plans, where to go and when to leave. But she didn't mind because she had fun skating around the rink at the Rockefeller Center, holding hands with the one she's interested in. It was a perfect day for her, as well as her famous friend who finally got to have some fun in public without anyone recognizing her. Bundled up in a winter coat, winter cap, gloves and scarf, they were unrecognizable and nobody at the rink seemed to care.

Just a moment ago, she came to understand what it was he wanted to tell her, the reason why he called. The way that he spoke with concern, it must have bothered him to the point where he had to tell her. He again told her that it was just a feeling that he couldn't explain and he would feel better if she could relay the message to the megastar. For whatever reason, she was glad that he came into her life because what she experienced was nothing but happiness.

"I'm really glad that we've met." Blythe said as she held onto 'his' arm closer and leaned her head on 'his' shoulder.

Lucy blew out a sigh of relief, satisfied that she finally got to say what was in her mind. But she knew that the only way for her mind to rest is when Lucas is no longer part of her life and the megastar's life. Looking at Alexis who seemed to be having a lot of fun with the famous megastar, smiling, talking, snapping pictures, she was glad Alexis came along. Maybe all it takes is a girl to convince the famous celebrity. Maybe all it takes is Alexis to talk to her. And maybe…._what the… _It may be dark and she could be wrong. But she doesn't think so. It looked like there could be another reason Alexis was having so much fun. Her eyes fall on the hand wrapping around the megastar's waist.

"Let's go."

"But…." Blythe realized this is what Alexis was referring to in regards to David's controlling behavior. He didn't even ask if she wants to leave and just left.

"Alexis, it's getting late."

"In a few more minutes." Alexis snapped another selfie of herself with the megastar.

Lucy didn't like it all one bit because it looked like Alexis found another target.

"David, come over here."

Lucy was surprised by the megastar's request. She didn't think the megastar would ever be able to trust her fully and definitely not trust her to stand next to her to take a selfie. Standing between Blythe and the megastar, Lucy kept her hands to herself, with one hand holding the selfie stick. Each had a turn to snap the picture after alternating positions. She was again surprised that the megastar was willing to take a picture with her without anyone else. At that moment, she felt as though there was no longer a barrier between them when the megastar hung her arm around her shoulders. Lucy was even more shocked when Blythe gave her a kiss on the cheek as soon as Alexis snapped the picture. Surprises didn't stop there. As soon as she turned her head, her head was pulled in for a kiss.

"I wanted to do that for a long time." Blythe didn't care what anyone thinks. She was afraid if she didn't, she wouldn't have a chance, not knowing if today would be the last time they would meet.

Looking deeply into Blythe's eyes, Lucy had no idea what to say. Even if she could think of something to say, she wouldn't be able to because Alexis took control of the situation once again, interrupting at the right moment.

"Wait…" Alexis said as she gave her phone to the megastar.

All Lucy expected was another picture but what she got was another surprise….her cold bearded face was sandwiched between the lips of the famous model and the fashion designer.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Next day

Anthony was furious to learn that his words did absolutely nothing. "I wanted to do something, Lucy." If Lucas wasn't her half brother, he could think of a lot of things to intimidate him. He could get him in trouble by planting drugs in his apartment. He could have someone beat him up as a warning. Even that plan seems to be difficult since Lucas has bodyguards with him most of the time.

Lucy agreed with his plans but asked him to wait for a few days to see if Lucas would call her. It took a lot of convincing and she noticed that Anthony, like her, was feeling the same way; Time is running out. She didn't understand why until she learned that he got a visit from a man who claimed that he works for the US secret service. Her first thought was 'Mr. P' but realized later that it was a different group. The reason he came wasn't a surprise to her since she predicted that it would happen; information in exchange for his freedom. But the information that the secret service wanted wasn't what she thought.

"Do you know anything about that?" Lucy was curious to know.

"You know how it is."

Lucy knows very well what he's referring to. She had done it many times herself. That's the way it is in the Underground. You get a buyer, you get the money and you don't ask questions. Just like a store selling guns legally, what the buyer is using it for, that's none of the seller's business.

"Even if I know, I can't say anything."

It's a rule passed down from generation to generation. Not many followed it. Those who didn't would usually end up dead. With Anthony's current status, it surprised her that he won't give any information out to protect himself. _Maybe he doesn't know or maybe he knows and those who are involved are even more powerful than him. _Either way, she trusted Anthony to make the right decision.

"Okay." Lucy internally thanked him for providing more men to look after the megastar.

That night, Lucy thought she would be able to drift off to sleep quickly after having a successful night with the celebrities. But with the new information she learned, it got her even more worried. A few years ago, after she woke up from the coma, she was shocked to find how much the world has changed. She once asked Scud what had caused the economy to change so much so fast; stock market crashed, rise of unemployment and crimes, and leakage of private information due to outsourcing to other countries. Greediness. He said. Upper management knew the outcome, but they do it anyway to expand their own wealth. It's impossible to stop it now.

"impossible to stop it now.." That's the same thing Anthony said. Knowing something is going to happen and not knowing when, how or where caused her to have another night of restless sleep.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

This morning, Alexis woke up at her usual time and found that the brunette was still sleeping. It wasn't until she didn't get a response after calling her name multiple times did she realize that the brunette was sick.

After sleeping thru most of the day, Lucy finally woke up at 5 PM. Sitting on the round table in her hotel room taking one small bite of chicken soup after another, Lucy found the energy to respond back to Alexis who did not appreciate the attitude she was given from the moment the brunette found out that she had been seen by a doctor.

"You had a fever of 105 degrees." Alexis didn't realize how stubborn the brunette could be until now.

"It's not going to kill me. You should have woken me up."

"We tried."

"We?"

"Amy called earlier. She…"

"She knows I'm sick?" The more Lucy heard, the more upset she got because Amy knows that she doesn't like to be seen by a doctor. "Did she tell you to call the doctor?"

"You were sick." Alexis reiterated how sick she was. But it seems that whatever she said, the brunette didn't like the decision she and Amy made without her permission.

Lucy doesn't blame Alexis for not knowing how much she hates doctors. But she expected her blonde lover to know. What's done is done. There's nothing she could do about it except tell her next time don't…unless she finds her bleeding. The fact that she had been seen by a male doctor without her knowledge made her even more upset.

Sniffing in her stuffed up nose, Lucy took some medicine after finished eating her early dinner. With the rain outside, Alexis didn't feel like going out. Both sat on the couch to watch a movie.

"She's really hot." Alexis had been looking at the pictures she took from last night.

With brows furrowed, Lucy turned her head slowly, narrowing her eyes at the one sitting at the other end of the couch.

"I wonder if she's into women." Alexis said as she resized the images on the phone with her thumb and forefinger.

Lucy's eyes remained focus at the young woman with the silky smooth chestnut red hair. The thought that she had last night, she realized that she may be right.

"I think she could be. Look how many failed relationships she had in the past …." Alexis said as she swiped her finger over the phone. "She supports LGBT and she has a lot of lesbian friends. Did you know that?"

If her nose wasn't stuffed up, her nostrils would be flaring up at this moment. Instead, she had to breathe through her mouth.

"Look at this picture." Alexis turned the phone towards the brunette. "Isn't she hot?! She almost exposed herself." The picture was taken at a famous award show where the megastar wore a sexy outfit showing a lot of skin at the shoulder and upper chest.

The more she heard Alexis talking about the megastar's body, character and sexiness, Lucy again couldn't control her anger boiling up inside. She's afraid that Alexis would actually try to get close to the famous blonde and wait for the right moment just like what she did with Dana, her college friend. She didn't get Dana to be with her, but she did get a chance to sleep with her. With that thought, Lucy couldn't hold it in anymore.

"What…are you doing?"

"I'm thinking if I should try." Alexis said as she kept her eyes at the photos in her phone.

"You're not serious."

"Why not? Dana doesn't want to be with me. I'm free again…and after we get Lucas to leave her, she'll probably need a friend to talk to. Who would be better to comfort her than me?"

It sounded like Alexis had it all planned out from the beginning. _That's why she wanted to help me…she has a motive. _Her plan may seem impossible to others but not to her.

"…She's not gay. Alexis."

"You should know by now, I'm very persuasive and I don't give up easily…" Alexis continued to look at the photos in her phone. "all it takes is give her a shoulder to cry on, some comforting words, a night alone, some drinks and..…"

"Alexis!" Her plan sounded like what a man would do, what Lucas would do. "I think you should go back to London tomorrow."

"I extended my stay this morning."

"What? Why?"

Alexis showed a picture of herself with the megastar to the brunette who instantly dropped her jaws. As if getting Lucas to stay away from the megastar wasn't hard enough, now she has to worry about Alexis. And Alexis being a girl, it would be easier for her to get the megastar's trust. Having read numerous articles about the blonde singer, some believed that the megastar could be bi. Pictures of her partying with her lesbian friends have been circulating the internet. Their closeness got people speculating.

"Stay…away from her." Lucy said in a commanding tone.

"don't you think she would be happier with me than Lucas or any other guys?"

That did it. Lucy reached out and snatched her phone away. "Alexis…I"

"You're into her." Alexis said as she pointed at the brunette. It didn't make sense to her why she would try to break up the megastar's relationship with her half-brother even before she found out her relationship with Lucas. Only one thought came to mind and she believed she just proved it.

Both turned towards the ringing of the phone.

"Tell her I'm sleeping." Lucy wasn't in the mood to talk to her blonde lover.

"…Hi…she's fine…mhm…she said she's sleeping."

Lucy snapped at her head at Alexis after hearing the last comment. She expected her to say exactly what she told her. Alexis shrugged her shoulders in response to the brunette's glare and put the speaker on.

"Lucy, how are you feeling?" Amy said in sweet concerned tone.

"just a flu, it's not going to kill me. "

A sigh of frustration from Amy could be heard. "I'm sorry, but we tried to wake you up and you weren't responding…so I got scared."

Alexis was totally confused at why the blonde was apologizing for doing the right thing. Looking at the brunette who's sitting at the end of the couch, with legs on the coffee table and arms crossed, Alexis had never seen this side of her.

"I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me." Lucy didn't want to sound too upset but she couldn't control how she feels.

"Are you coming back for Christmas?"

"no"

Hearing her quick response and the tone of her voice, Amy knew her lover was still upset. She wanted to ask when but knowing what her brunette lover's response would be, she decided not to. She wanted to ask if there were any news, but didn't feel that the brunette would want to talk about that at this moment.

"Alexis, when are you coming back?"

"after New Year's."

Amy did feel better knowing Alexis would be there to take care of her lover. Knowing that the brunette wasn't in the mood, Amy ended the call with three words of love. She expected the brunette to respond with the same but when she didn't get a response, all she could do was hung up.

"What's the matter with you? She's just worried about you."

Still feeling weak, Lucy wasn't in the mood to argue and kept looking at the tv as if she heard nothing.

"Don't blame her. Blame me. I wanted to call the doctor." If that's what's really bothering her, Alexis is willing to take the blame. When Alexis continued talking for the blonde, Lucy couldn't ignore it anymore.

"Can you go to your own room? I want to watch this." That was her way of telling her to shut up and sit down or leave.

Doctors. Scud knew that she had always hated doctors but he doesn't know why. In fact, nobody knows because she never told anyone. Scud thinks the reason is because she's afraid of needles. Afraid of needles? Definitely not. Like any other person, she just doesn't like them. It happened many years ago. At that young age, anything that she said would be considered 'misinterpreted' information. Who would adults believe, a doctor with many years of experience or a kid claiming that she had been 'touched' inappropriately?

"What do you think Amy would do if I sent her this picture?" Alexis turned the picture towards her.

"you wouldn't"

"…maybe…maybe not…"

"If you want her to break up with me, then go ahead." It would take more than that to threaten her and Lucy knows that the only way to get out of it is act like she doesn't care.

"I'm going to do it." Alexis said as she moved her finger closer to the phone.

"Go ahead."

"Are you sure you don't care?

Alexis was only trying to prove it point but realized that it didn't work when the brunette closed the bathroom door. "I sent it!..."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy decided that it would be best to move to another hotel just to be safe even though the doctor had no idea who she is. The less people know about her, the better it would be.

"Ashley is going to be so jealous." Alexis expected her to be because she was sitting in the middle row of 20 seats in a filled room of about 200 audiences, watching the megastar's live performance. With her social skills and open-minded personality, she was always able to make people notice her and make friends easily and being friends with the megastar definitely has its advantages. They were offered two free tickets to the live show.

Lucy would have been enjoying herself too if she wasn't there for another reason. Her eyes had been scanning nonstop up and down and across to look for anyone suspicious. All audiences had to pass a security checkpoint so she felt better knowing that. But she didn't rule out that the impossible could still happen. All it takes is one crazy audience to hide something sharp in his shoes and jump up the stage. It could even be an insider. Even Lucy wouldn't be able to help at that point. Fans were standing up, singing, screaming, and crying as the megastar walked through the aisle to shake hands with her fans. It was difficult for anyone, even security guards to protect her if something did happen. Luckily, the show ended successfully without anyone getting hurt, just obsessed fans getting sore throat from all the screaming.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Lucy did not think it would happen, having waited for more than a week, and was surprised to finally get a phone call from Lucas. Actually, he called Alexis and invited her for dinner to talk about business. If Amy found out, she will never approve. Lucy, of course, went with her uninvited.

"Do you think he'll agree?" Alexis said as she took a bite of the broccoli. Nothing is more comfortable than eating dinner in her pajamas on the round table in the living room of a 2 bedroom room suite with floor to ceiling windows, 2 bathrooms and a fully equipped kitchen.

"$50 million dollars is a lot of money." Lucy said as she took a bite of the grilled salmon.

What Lucas needed was investors because he failed to get government funding. For years, his company had been working on a medical device that could detect various diseases in-house so clinics and small medical centers wouldn't have to mail the blood work to the labs. Without government funding and new investors, he will have no choice but to sell it and that's not what he wants to do just yet because he believes that his company could be worth more than $500 million. The way he said it with such interest, it sounded very convincing.

Lucy wasn't interested. Scud might be, though. She was, however, curious to know how the megastar rejected him. 50 million dollars may be a lot of money but to the famous blonde, it wouldn't be a problem. His response sounded like what any guy who's not after his girlfriend's money would say. But did Lucy believe him? Absolutely not.

"if his company is worth that, then he's richer than her."

Whether he's the truth or not, the end result will still be the same. Her lips lifted up slightly in a smirk as she thought about that moment. Lucy didn't think Lucas would be surprised by the offer but he was. The catch is not only does he have to break up with the megastar but he also cannot tell the megastar about it. Seeing his reaction brought back memories of how she used to be when she was the leader; in complete control.

"What would you do?" Alexis asked out of curiosity.

Lucy lifted her right brow up. It sounded like a trick question. She knew better than to answer that.

"I…would definitely go for the girl…get the girl, get the money…no brainer."

"no money, no girl, no brainer"

"she's not that shallow…" Alexis said with uncertainty.

Noticing that the conversation somehow changed to talking about the megastar, Lucy didn't respond and continued eating her dinner. Her left eyebrow lifted, her mouth dropped slightly, her fork fell on the dish after hearing the next comment.

"There's only one way to find out."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Christmas day

On this joyous occasion, many were celebrating with their friends and family inside the house away from the freezing weather. Like the day on Thanksgiving, Ethan and Nadia prepared another memorable meal. But this time there were enough seats with plenty of elbow room. Christmas music in the living room could be heard in the dining room. Ashley was the center of attention this time. She was showing Holly pictures of the megastar and telling her about that day when she got to talk to the famous blonde via video chat. Not only that, Ashley was showing off the bracelet that the megastar sent her.

"Isn't it cool?" Ashley said in excitement.

"Wow…how did Alexis get to meet her?" Ethan was as surprised as Holly.

"Isn't she beautiful?"

"no" It was a mumble, softer than the music in the living room. Amy had no idea that everyone heard until she looked up, holding a spoon in her mouth. "What?"

All eyes turned towards the little girl who walked around the table to show the blonde the picture.

"Look Kristin, she's as beautiful as you."

What could Amy probably say to that? Hearing that was like hearing it from her brunette lover. That's what Lucy would have said to make her feel better. "She is beautiful." Amy said softly as she stroked Ashley's golden hair. Remembering the moments with her lover brought a smile to her face. That is until Holly mentioned her name.

"When is Skye coming back?" When she noticed a moment of silence as if nobody knows, she asked again in a concerned tone. "She is coming back, isn't she?"

Two thoughts instantly appeared in Amy's mind. One; why is she always asking about her? Two, the way she asked caused her to worry about the brunette even more. It sounded like she's never coming back. It had been more than 2 months now since her lover left. Calls and messages got less and less. She had not heard from her since the day she got sick. Scud heard from her, though. She learned what Lucas was up to. She had tried to call but the brunette didn't pick up. She texted her and her lover responded with the same statement as last time. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me.' At the end of the message was a heart emoticon and that was enough to cause her to smile. At that moment, everything seemed to be back to normal, the way it was before. But as days passed by without any messages, she came to understand why people say long distant relationships never work.

"She'll be back after New Years." Amy noticed that Holly was happy with the response. Seeing Nadia feeding her girlfriend, Amy felt happy for her because it seemed as though the one with toned abs had finally found someone she wants to spend the rest of her life with, without worrying about being placed into situations where she doesn't feel comfortable in. Amy once asked Nadia if there was anything about Holly that she doesn't like. She was surprised with the response. _She's Perfect? Nobody's perfect. _Nadia went on to describe the good qualities about her girlfriend, thoughtful, considerate, gentle, and kind. Like any relationship, they don't agree on everything but those disagreements never turned into arguments. Amy came to believe just how thoughtful Holly could be when she volunteered to stay behind to help clean up even though everyone had left early because snow was falling more rapidly. After dishes were done, Nadia assisted her girlfriend with the coat and escorted her outside but not before giving her a kiss under the mistletoe hanging from the door entrance. Nadia did that and Amy found it quite pointless.

After eating a full meal, Amy stood by the window. The beautiful sight of snow shower brought back memories of that night. She remembered it as clearly as if it was yesterday; that day she and the brunette spent more than half an hour building a snowman in the backyard when they should be helping Scud shovel the snow out of the driveway. After the snowman was done, she threw one ball of soft snow towards her lover's back. That playful act then turned into a more serious snowball fight which ultimately ended when the brunette got distracted by Scud and was unable to avoid being hit. Her throw was so hard, it left a purplish bruise on her lover's gorgeous face. That night, her lover stood behind her with her arms wrapped around her waist. Both swayed from side to side as they listened to the soft Christmas carol and watched the snowflakes melt against the window. It was a romantic night with dim lighting inside, soft music, and dancing that slowly turned into hugging and kissing. Remembering how disappointed her lover was with her adorable pouted lips when nothing else happened after that brought a smile to her face.

"What happened?" Amy asked the two girls covered with snow.

"her car won't start." Nadia said as she took off her coat. "She'll be staying here tonight." She said as if asking for permission from the blonde.

"Are you sure? I can call a taxi."

Nadia was waiting for a response from the blonde. But when she didn't get one, she made her own decision. "Sure, you can sleep here in Janet's room."

Amy was speechless. What else could she say? Saying no would be rude. Driving would be dangerous for anyone.

As they sat in the living room to watch a movie, Amy was happy to learn that her wish may have come true. Ethan's blind date, Holly's friend, was very much attracted to Ethan. What Holly wanted to know was what Ethan thought about her friend.

"I didn't…ask…" Nadia shrugged her shoulders apologetically. She turned to the blonde to see if she knows. Amy had no clue either. She had been occupied with schoolwork and worrying about the brunette. "Let me call him now."

Amy could only hope that Ethan would be able to find someone he could fall in love with. But she really had not notice anything different about him. She again came to understand what Nadia said about her girlfriend is true being considerate because Holly stopped Nadia from calling seeing how late it is.

Amy said good night but what she really wanted to do is give the brunette a call. It is Christmas, so she expected her lover to talk to her.

Holly also decided to go to sleep seeing how tired Nadia was from cooking all day. Standing outside the doorway of the first floor bedroom which used to be Janet's room, Nadia took a moment to look at her girlfriend, dressed in long sleeve pajamas. She heard 'good night' from her girlfriend. That was a hint for her to leave but she couldn't get her legs to move. She leaned forward and her girlfriend gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night." Holly repeated in her gentle voice.

Nadia was satisfied with that but again didn't move, still looking deeply into her girlfriend's blue ocean eyes. She had wanted to say something but wasn't sure if she was moving too fast. Moving too fast would backfire. She learned that from her last relationship. But this is different. She could feel that this time would be different. She could actually see her future being with the one standing in front of her wearing the same smile as hers. Would it be too soon to express how she feels about her? Would it scare her away? She remembered the first time Holly expressed her love during the Thanksgiving meal, the first time they kissed her and the first time they hugged each other. It had only been a few months but it seemed like she knew everything about her. While they were together, she had never felt being pushed into a situation where she didn't want to be in. This time is different. She was being herself. There was no anxiety. There was no pressure. It's past that point where she felt completely comfortable with her.

"I…want to…" Nadia bit her lip and she knew she was doing that. She noticed the former blonde agent does that from time to time and she herself somehow developed that habit. Should I tell her that I've never been happier? _But that's not true. I was happy with Alexis at one point. Should I tell her I want to be with her_ _forever? That sounded like a proposal. _

_"_I think it's too soon."

For a moment, Nadia thought Holly could read her mind. It took another two seconds before she realized what prompted that response. It was the 3 words that she said. It was her eyes that wandered towards the bed behind her girlfriend while she was trying to think of what to say.

"no…that's not what I meant…" _Oh god…what have I done. She thinks I want to sleep with her. _In situations like this, there was only one thing to do. Hug her girlfriend as tight as she can and apologize for the confusion and tell her exactly how she feels without holding back. Feeling the strong hold Holly had on her waist, she knew her girlfriend understood. No more words need to be said. Nadia said good night and happily walked up the stairs, aware that her girlfriend of over 2 months was watching her from behind, but unaware that her smile was no longer there.

"No…you don't. You don't know anything about me."

Amy was glad that the brunette was finally in the mood to talk to her, even while she was exercising. But she wasn't happy to learn that the brunette's attitude hasn't changed since the last time especially after she found out Alexis wasn't there with her.

Lucy was in the gym working out to get back into shape since she had been sick with the cold for more than a week. Her cold has yet to clear up. In the middle of kicking the punching bag, she received a call from her blonde lover.

"You let her go alone?! It's New York City. You can't trust the taxis there. It's too dangerous for her to go alone. Lucy, you have to make sure she's okay."

"She's at a Christmas party with a friend." Lucy didn't want to say too much about Dana.

Amy was getting frustrated that she wasn't able to get her point across. Things could happen before the party, at the party, and after the party especially now that Lucas knows about her. "I would feel better if you can just call her to make sure she's okay." She expected the brunette to understand why. Having been an agent, she had seen a lot of cases that happened to foreigners. It's because they're not familiar with the surroundings, criminals picked them as their number one targets. It's also commonly known that criminals wait outside hotels to look for the right target and wait for the right moment.

Lucy thought that would satisfy the blonde after confirming that Alexis was indeed okay. But nope. She was told to pick up Alexis at the party.

"Please Lucy, I would feel better if you're there with her." Amy noticed her lover's frustration throughout the conversation, so the only way to get the brunette to do as she said was by using the same tone as Nadia. That seems to always work and it did. That wasn't the conversation she had in mind with her brunette lover. Now it got her even more worried…about Alexis and Nadia because before talking about Alexis, Amy told the brunette about Holly. Lucy didn't like the fact that Holly was staying in their house for the night. It could be part of her plan. A plan to do what? That was Amy's question. If she wanted to do something to Nadia, she would have done it a long time ago. There is nothing valuable in the house for her to steal. There is nothing in the house that would reveal their true identity. As she listened to her brunette's reasoning, Amy kept shaking her head in disagreement. It was the last statement from the brunette that got her worried. 'You don't know what she's thinking.'

"She's right about that. Just because she didn't do anything, that doesn't mean she's not going to do anything now." Amy got off the bed and opened the door. She had previously warned Nadia to lock her door before going to bed. She felt she needed to remind her again but realized that it was useless because she saw Holly going into Nadia's bedroom.

"Now what can I do?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Standing one foot in front of her blonde girlfriend, Nadia let out a gentle smile. It's understandable that her girlfriend wouldn't be able to sleep in someone else's bed but she could tell there was another reason.

"What's wrong?" Nadia said as she took one step closer.

"I…"

The expression on Holly's face told her that something was bothering her. It was the way she looked into her eyes for a moment then looked down the floor as if she had done something wrong. Nadia had seen that look before….in Alexis. _No…please…no_. A moment ago, she confessed her love. At this moment, she felt that she shouldn't have. _It was too soon. I shouldn't have said anything. Now she's scared. _"What?"

"There's no heat in the bedroom…downstairs."

"Ohhh…." Nadia didn't expect that. "umm…there's a master bedroom upstairs.." She wasn't sure if that's the truth. _It could be. Either that or she doesn't know how to tell me that she doesn't feel the same way, at least not yet. _As Nadia walked towards the door with her smile slowly disappearing, she expected her girlfriend to follow her but what she heard and saw brought that smile back to her face.

"I think it would be warmer…here." Holly said while sitting on the edge of the full size bed.

The thought she had earlier was no longer there. As she took each step closer, she could see her girlfriend slowly standing up. Not understanding what her girlfriend was thinking of, Nadia remained silent and still to let her girlfriend make the first move. She allowed the blonde to gently caress her cheek with her thumb. She allowed the blonde to move her to sit on the bed. Her mind was curious to know what the young blonde would do next. There was no sound in the room except for the rapid beating of her heart. Looking up at her young lover who wore a shy small smile, she waited patiently for her to open up to her. It's too soon. That's what she said. So she wasn't expecting the blonde to go all the way with her tonight. That assumption disappeared when she saw the blonde slowly reaching up towards the top button of her pajamas. _No. That's now what I want. _Having sex so soon would change everything. She's not going to make the same mistake twice and quickly stood up. As she was about to stop her, the knock on the door stopped both of their movement.

"Yes" Nadia peeked her head out, not wanting the blonde to know who else was inside, but realized that her actions already gave it away. All she could do is talk in whispers and using hand signals so her companion can't hear them talking about her. She let her know the former agent know that she was getting frustrated with her constant reminder that Holly could be here for another reason. She couldn't take it anymore and shut the door. _If she had wanted to do something to me, she would have done it a long time ago. If she only knew what Holly was about to do, she wouldn't think that of her. _

"Is everything okay?"

"Fine." Nadia didn't bother to come up with a lie. "It's late. I'm so tired." She deliberately let out a yawn and internally thanked the blonde for interrupting at the right moment. "…is this side okay?" Nadia said after slipping into the right side of the bed. There were no doubts in her mind that Holly is not what they thought. They just don't know her that well, but she does. Having spent weeks with her, she saw nothing but a normal person with a good heart, with a love for kids and pets. Every time, they go shopping at a mall, Holly would stop by at the pet store to look at dogs. She had no intention of buying one but one look at the small white maltese poodle looking back at her each time she was there, Holly couldn't resist. She bought it the next day after getting permission from her roommate.

Just a moment ago, Nadia could tell that Holly wanted to tell her something. She didn't find anything abnormal about it. Everybody has secrets. She never told Holly about Alexis because she didn't feel there was a need to. That's the past. Telling her would only make the situation awkward, so she decided not to. Questions about past relationships never came up. Holly didn't ask, so she didn't either. What they usually talked about is each other's hobbies, likes and dislikes, the future, and of course the cute, lovable white maltese poodle named Cocoa.

"Nadia…." Holly said, lying on her side with the back facing Nadia.

"yes"

"Hold me…"

Two simple words somehow didn't sound so simple. It was the tone of her voice. She could hear the trembling within. Nadia wanted to ask what was bothering her. But this isn't the right time. She shifted closer, placed a kiss on the golden hair and hung her left arm around her lover' waist. The only thing she could do is hold her close, hoping that it would give her some comfort.

* * *

Amy had difficulty sleeping. It wasn't until her tired body couldn't take it anymore were she able to get a few hours of sleep. The first thing she did when she woke up was check on Nadia. Seeing nobody in the bedroom, bed neatly made was a good sign. Seeing both girls in the kitchen preparing breakfast, she let out a deep breath. "Damn you, Lucy." That was for scaring her.

After getting dressed, Amy thought it would be a good idea to let her lover know what she did last night. She took a picture of the couple happily feeding each other breakfast and sent it to the brunette with a message. 'I have a headache now because I didn't get any sleep last night.' She wanted to write something nasty too but decided not to and sent it off.

It never occurred to Amy that Nadia would be that open when it comes to sex. She had always thought that the shy woman was like her.

"So what happened last night?" Amy was curious to know. She felt that Nadia owed her an explanation. If she had listened to her and got Holly to sleep in another room, Amy would have been able to sleep better. Nadia didn't appreciate being asked such a personal question. She was surprised that Holly gave the same explanation that she gave her last night. It made her wonder if it was true. Is there really no heat in Janet's bedroom?

"Oh really…you know, we have a master bedroom upstairs. Nadia, didn't you tell her?"

"I don't think Skye would like anyone sleeping in her bed. That is her bedroom. Isn't it?"

Amy didn't expect that. It's a good answer.

Feeling that Amy had something more to say, Nadia felt that it was best to leave. After driving Holly home and to work, she was surprised to find Amy, Ethan and Scud waiting for her.

"I changed her battery." Scud felt better knowing that Holly's car did in fact have a problem. "But…she lied about the heater not working in Janet's bedroom."

Nadia had a feeling that it was a lie. Why did Holly lie? She could only think of one reason…and that is she changed her mind and had planned on sleeping with her. "I know." She said as she sat on the couch.

"you know?" Amy said, waiting for her to explain. But when no explanation was given, Amy came to the conclusion that she was right. "oh…you could've told me last night what you were doing. I would've…."

"Kristin!" If Scud and Ethan weren't there, then it would be fine. It wasn't appropriate to talk about things like that in front of the guys especially her brother.

A smile spread across Ethan's face. He was happy to learn how serious their relationship got to.

"No, we didn't." Talking about this with her brother was absolutely embarrassing. Nadia didn't want to say anything but felt the need to clarify since she didn't want anyone to think of Holly in a negative way. "She couldn't sleep, so we talked until we got tired." This would make more sense if it did happen. If she had told them what happened last night, how she found Holly to be acting strange, it would only confirm that they were right. And that's not what she wants them to think of her blonde girlfriend. However, she did find something strange, especially the times when Holly wanted to know more about the brunette. She would then ask her about her other friends. But Nadia knew what she was trying to do. The only person her girlfriend wanted to know about is the former criminal mastermind. But what happened last night confused her even more. If she was interested in the brunette, she wouldn't have planned on making love to her or was this part of her plan to get inside the house like Amy said. _Did she do something in the middle of the night?_

"So..why lie about the heater not working?" Scud was paying attention as he was feeding the baby. It made sense until Nadia claimed that nothing happened.

"It's only an excuse, Scud." Amy explained.

"Oh…" It still didn't entirely make sense to him.

"Speaking of Holly, she wants to know what you think of her friend." It was a better time as any to divert the conversation. All could see that Ethan was a bit embarrassed about it, especially in front of the blonde.

"good" His eyes glanced at Amy for a short moment before his attention was taken away by what Nadia said. "She said that?" They went out a few times but he was not attracted to her as he was to Kristin who was taking the baby from Scud.

"Ethan, you should give it some time. She may not look like the one you're looking for, but you might be attracted to her inner qualities…and that takes time. Look at me…" As Nadia kept talking about how Holly makes her feel, Ethan couldn't control his eyes from following the blonde who was holding the baby and walking towards the window. I _get it. I do. But I just…can't stop thinking about her. Seeing her all alone makes his heart ache. _He had thought that she would be happy with the brunette but it doesn't seem that way. Not once, not twice, there were numerous occasions where he had seen her in the same state she's in now; quiet, unhappy, in deep thought.

He couldn't hold it in anymore and stood up. "What's wrong, Kristin?" It took two tries to get the blonde's attention.

"Nothing's wrong." Standing next to the window, Amy rocked the baby in her arms back and forth. That's what she had been doing during the times when she felt unhappy. Looking at Zander seems to take all her unhappiness away.

"If you miss her, then tell her to come back." Ethan heard about Anthony's situation but couldn't understand how the brunette could help him.

"She can't." Looking at the baby, Amy said softly as she held the baby up to her face.

"She can't…" Ethan repeated in confusion. "…but you can…"

"Ethan, she can't." Nadia said.

"Why?"

"because it could be dangerous…" Scud said.

"Why? What is she doing there?" He realized he was once again left out of the loop just like last time. The silence confirmed it. "Then why did you let her go?"

It took a moment for him to realize what he just said when he noticed each one looking at him, except for the blonde who kept looking at the baby. _Nobody can stop her from going, not even her._

It's at this moment he finally knew the answer to his question he once asked her. _Would I have a chance if you never met 'him'? The answer is no. _He came to understand what it is about the brunette that captured the heart of the strong and independent former agent, her shy and insecure sister Nadia, and the direct and spirited Alexis. And he, himself…will never be able to learn from her or be like her…because he would never leave the one he loves to help a friend.

….but she would.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the city that never sleeps, Alexis came to understand where the name came from. It's as crowded, noisy, loud and alive as it was in the morning. She didn't think people would still come out in this freezing weather to enjoy the last night of the year. Broadway show billboards and advertisements light up one of the most visited tourist attractions. Hundreds of people were walking, talking, dancing and standing at Times Square, singing along with the singers on the stage as they waited to celebrate the beginning of the New Year.

"This is crazy!"

"I know!" With a scarf wrapped around her neck, Lucy scanned the area for anything suspicious. It was useless, she knew that. With so many people around them, they could hardly move. From where she stood, she could see police men surrounding the stage and standing at several spots, surveilling the area. She wouldn't be surprised if some were disguised as civilians. From what Anthony said and she hoped he's wrong, it would be absolute chaos if it happened here and now. She did feel better knowing that nobody can enter the barricaded streets with a bag. But still anything can happen. All it takes is one shot from the roof of any of these buildings.

"Maybe we should go." Lucy didn't think it would be a good idea to come here, especially with Alexis. She, however, would come regardless.

When Alexis heard the reason the brunette didn't want her to come, she agreed to stay in the hotel. But she became confused when the brunette insisted on going alone. If she thinks that something is going to happen, then why still go? It didn't make sense to her until she found out who's going to be performing. She wasn't going to let her go alone so she again used Amy to threaten her and this time it worked. "Here she comes…."

Screams were heard as the megastar, dressed in tight black leather pants, a black top and a black jacket with sparkles, walked up the stage. Lucy could feel people pushing from behind as they tried to get a closer look at the megastar.

"She looks so cool." Alexis said as she held on to the brunette's arm. She had planned on recording the performance for Ashley but found it difficult to do so with so many people around.

"Alexis, stay away from her." Lucy warned her again. She learned that Alexis, on her own, paid a visit to the megastar without her knowledge. If Anthony didn't tell her, she would've never known. What she learned from Alexis was that the megastar had no clue that they met with Lucas. Alexis could feel that she was able to gain her trust more and more. The topic of conversation is, of course, fashion which Alexis had a few suggestions for the famous singer. "You are so luckyyyy…."

"Can you delete that now?"

That night at the Empire State building, Alexis and Blythe weren't the only ones who kissed her. Alexis had been using another picture to threaten her. It was only a kiss on the cheek but she had no doubt Amy would have a fit if she saw that.

"What does it feel like? Was it soft? Does it make you…"

"….give me your phone"

"I'll delete it later, I promise." She held on to the brunette's arm tighter and sang along with the rest of the people standing next to them.

Soft? It was. It happened so fast, Lucy was surprised by it. She didn't think she would ever get the megastar to trust her, let alone kiss her. As soon as it happened, her whole body stiffened followed by the pounding of her heart. Blythe did more than that but it didn't have the same effect. Did it make me want to kiss her? It sure did. Who wouldn't?

_She must be freezing._ Even with the winter coat, Lucy still feels cold. She was glad that all the megastar had to do was sing two songs. _C'mon get off the stage. _If someone were to hurt her, she was an easy target. "Not now." Lucy glared at the host of the event who suddenly stopped the blonde from leaving and chose this moment to ask questions.

"Are you cold?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Lucy couldn't resist saying it out.

"I'm freezing…." The megastar said as she hugged herself.

Each step that an unknown man took to walk up the stage to put a coat on the megastar made Lucy nervous. If that guy were to do something, there was nothing Lucy could do. _Hurry up. Get off the stage. _She looked up at the buildings to see if she could see anything suspicious. The only way she could tell is if she's the cousin of the Man of steel. As the crowd got louder and more performers got on the stage, Lucy realized what was going to happen next. The countdown.

_No. Get off the stage. Get off the stage._ Even if she said it out loud, nobody would be listening. She willed her heart to stop pounding. She grabbed Alexis' hand as if ready to run. There was no way and nowhere to run. She hoped someone did a thorough check underneath the stage. Hundreds waited for the countdown to start, waiting for the New Year's Eve Waterford Crystal Ball to descend. Millions of eyes at home and here were focused on the large crystal ball with thousands of lights. Voices united in the last minute of the current year. As it got closer and closer, her heart jumped at each amplified sound. While everyone was looking up, Lucy could see she wasn't the only one looking elsewhere. Ten….Nine….Eight. The last time she felt this way was running for her life. Seven…Six…Five. She held onto Alexis' hand tighter and stared at the megastar. _Please God. Not now._

Four….

Three…

Two…

One...


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 60**

Her heart ached like never before. It hurt so bad, she needed to stop to take a breath.

"Go! Go!"

"What about you?"

"They don't want me. They want you! Now…go!"

Panting heavily, Lucy turned her head back. Go? Go where? There was nowhere else to go. Awakened in the middle of the night, she only had time to put on her sneakers and jacket. She knew this day would come, so she had been sleeping in regular day clothes instead of her comfortable pajamas which she didn't have.

"Run! They're coming."

Lucy heard the banging of the door which her follower was trying to prevent the others from opening. Standing at the edge on the rooftop of a five story building, she could see the rooftop of another building. It was impossible to jump across. It was too far.

"where is it?"

She ran towards the other edge, finding the fire escape, she felt a sense of hope. As she was about to take the first step down, that hope disappeared when she saw others on the streets looking up, waiting for her. The building was surrounded by her enemies. There was no escape. "…damn it…." What else could she do except yell for help. But if she yell, who would help her in the middle of the night? Who can help her at this moment?

"Jump! Jump! I can't hold on!" That was the last warning from her father's loyal follower.

After throwing her gun towards the other building, she ran back as far as she could. There was no time to think of the best way to do this. There was only one way, once chance to prolong her life and that is to run as fast as she could and jump at the right moment. Running at full speed, with her strong foot, she pushed herself off the edge as hard as she could with her eyes focused on the destination, more than 20 feet away. "aaaAAHHHH!"

It didn't work. It was farther than she thought. Her hands reached out to grab anything she could reach, but all she could grab hold of was air.

* * *

"Sshhh….it's okay…you're okay…Shhh…"

Panting heavily, with eyes shut tight, it took her a moment to hear the gentle voice from the one who's holding her. With her heart pounding out of control, feeling the warmth of the body holding her tight, she managed to open her tired eyelids slowly one at a time. It's only a dream.

"It's okay…Shh….shhh…"

Feeling the soft rub on her spine, Lucy began to feel more relaxed, still thinking of what just happened. Even though it was only a dream, she once had to do it for real, jumping from one rooftop to another to run from her enemies. Her father's loyal followers weren't so lucky. Thinking of all of those who died protecting her brought all those emotions back. Her eyes shut tight to prevent tears from forming. She took in a few deep breaths to control herself and hugged her lover tight which it's exactly what she needed now. With her eyes closed, with her arms wrapped around her lover, there was nothing else on her mind except the person holding her. How long has it been since they held each other like this? It felt so good, she didn't want to let go. The warmth, the closeness, and the tight hold her lover had on her caused her heart to pound as fast as before but for a totally different reason. Feeling comfortable, she placed a gentle kiss on her neck. But something didn't feel right when all her senses started to kick in. It wasn't the blonde hair. It wasn't the room she's in. It was the fragrance. More importantly, it was the woman standing at the door 10 feet away. Amy? Quickly pulling back, she realized it's the famous blonde.

"What….what….." She had a lot of questions but that's all she could get out from her confused mind. "Wait…Amy…I can explain…" She could see her lover, looking very upset, walking rapidly towards her… "I can explain…"

* * *

Her eyes opened and immediately squinted at the bright light. With one intake of air, she suddenly felt the need to cough, coughing out whatever it was in her throat that was blocking the passageway. She noticed Amy on her right but couldn't think of anything else right now except trying to breathe. With the help of her lover patting her back, Lucy finally managed to stop coughing and took a moment to look around the unfamiliar surroundings. As the top of the bed was being slowly raised up, she leaned her back against the pillows after taking a sip of water. The moment the bed stopped moving, she was met with a tight hug from her lover. This time, she was certain that it was the former blonde agent hugging her and not the other blonde. The color and the feel of her hair may be the same but the scent is different. The feel of her body may be the same but her voice is different.

"You should've listened to me."

"I'm sorry." A quick apology escaped her mouth as she tried to think of how she ended up there. It can't be good. Hospital. Amy…here..why? Aside from the surprise sitting in front of her, she was confused at why her body suddenly felt so painful. "ah…ah…ahhh" She couldn't feel the pain before but now she could feel as though every muscle in her body is falling apart. Questions…later….bathroom…now. Lucy lifted off the blanket as fast as she could but realized it was a bad idea when she tried to get off the bed. Her legs didn't move as if it had been frozen in place. She reached out to touch her own legs, pinching, poking, hitting various parts, but the only thing she could feel is the rapid beating of her heart and her upper body, weak and painful as if she had been hit by a car. She continued hitting her right leg, hoping that it was just sleeping and hoping whatever she was feeling, in this case, not feeling, would go away. Another dream? She wished. Something told her that she wasn't. It wasn't until her lover wrapped her arms around her did she stop doing any more damage.

"It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay." Amy said as she held her tighter.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. After having the conversation with Ethan that night, Amy decided to go to New York. He's right. There was no reason for her not to go since the semester ended. She came to surprise her lover but was shocked to learn the news. After calling numerous times and not getting a response from the brunette, that's when she realized where her fiancée might be. It was all over the news, news about the megastar. The first thing she did was call Max, then Scud. There was nothing she could do except pray that nobody will get hurt. _Let them get the money and leave. Don't try to be a hero. Lucy_. She wished it was that simple. But she only found out the truth after getting a call from Max. It wasn't just about money.

The waiting area is a familiar place. Amy has never been in this hospital but had been in the waiting rooms in other hospitals too many times in her life. Sitting on her left is Alexis. It's at this moment she wished she could turn back time. She wished she could convince the brunette not to come. It was a selfish thought.

What she learned from Max disgusted her. They had been on missions to rescue hostages in bank heists before. But these criminals were different from the rest of them. They came prepared and they used the megastar as a bargaining chip. Why used this method? Why not threaten to kill the hostages to get what they want? Amy didn't understand until Max told her the news regarding the US committing a series of human rights violations against the prisoners of war which included torture, physical and sexual abuse. It was for revenge as well as to get what they want. The megastar refused to take her clothes off in front of the camera until they threatened to kill a child. Lucy wouldn't be able to sit there and do nothing. If she was there, she wouldn't be able to either. With 4 armed males and 1 female, the only thing Lucy could do was offer them money to try to stop them. Lucy succeeded but what she got instead was a severe beating. They kicked and punched her so badly, it frightened the hostages. They didn't stop until the FBI acquiesced to their demands. If Mr. P was in charge, the outcome may have been different. The bruises all over the brunette's body, forearm, legs, face, eyes, and the cut on her lip showed what she went thru to save the famous blonde. _But Lucy, you couldn't save her. You should have listened to me. _It's too late now. The only thing Amy could do is pray.

"Amy"

"Max"

Max quickly approached and gave her friend a comforting hug.

"How is she?"

"She's getting an mri now. Max, she can't…her legs…she can't…"

Seeing those tears about to form in her red-eyes, hearing her trembling voice, Max understood and again hugged her. With everything else that happened, Max was glad that Amy contacted her at the right moment. If she had contacted her after the negotiation was done, it would have been too late. This case would be out of her hands and there may be a chance that their true identity could be revealed, the brunette's and the Perfect Score's. At least now, the only ones who know about the gender of the disguised brunette are the doctors and the ones who rescued her.

"She's going to be okay. She's a fighter. I know she will." Max said with confidence.

Wiping her tears away, Amy managed to think about someone else besides her lover. "How is she?"

Amy understood when Max shook her head. It was a question that she knew the answer to, but was hoping that it would be different. How else would one feel after being sexually assaulted? It would be like, if not worse than, losing the ability to walk again.

* * *

**Hours later**

"Doctor said you can be discharged tomorrow."

Lucy heard but did not acknowledge. Looking down into blank space, she opened her mouth as each spoonful of food was fed to her. There was nothing wrong with her hands or her other senses. She should be thankful for that. But somehow finding herself without the ability to move her legs the moment she woke up sent her into a state that she had never been before. She didn't think it would happen to her because she escaped death numerous times from more dangerous situations. But now, she came to believe that she is just like everyone else; when the time comes, she won't be able to escape it. She can't remember how it happened. But one thing she knows for sure is that she…may never be the same person she used to be.

It was exactly what Anthony said. But nobody expected that it would happen in a bank, with the megastar in it. Was it a coincidence or did they plan this from the beginning? Lucy didn't speak her thoughts and allowed the blonde to continue telling her what happened with Max filling in the missing pieces.

That day, the megastar had planned on taking something out of the safe deposit box. The moment she entered the room where the safes are, four men and one woman pulled out handguns, announcing a takeover. Everyone was surprised they weren't there just for money. What they wanted took hours for the government to agree with their demand. Terrorists, that's what Anthony told her about. That's what the secret service asked him about. The last thing Lucy remembered was following the famous blonde. That's what she had been doing after New Year's.

The more she heard, the more certain she was that the plan was to use the megastar to force the government to release a prisoner. Using a regular citizen wouldn't have the same effect. Using someone as famous as her will capture their attention.

Noticing that the brunette had been staring into blank space and not hearing a single word from her, Max tried to comfort her with this information. "They don't know who you are. They just think you're a transgender."

That made sense to Lucy. Even if she was caught in the middle of a regular bank robbery, she and the rest of the hostages would need to be questioned by the police. She would have no way of getting out of it. Giving them her fake ID would pose a lot of questions.

Lucy was a bit confused when Max continued with the story until she learned what happened inside the bank wasn't broadcasted to the public. The only ones who know were the FBI group that was in charge and the hostages. Her heart ached after hearing the details of what they wanted the megastar to do. It made sense. It would be suicide if she fought back. She would have done everything she could to save the megastar from being humiliated. She was disappointed to learn that the terrorists got away with what they came for, the money from the bank and one of their own. Despite the condition she was in, she was glad that she was able to save the famous blonde until she learned what happened afterwards.

The FBI provided them a helicopter but was not able to fulfill their second request on time. It was clear to Lucy what the FBI was trying to do, stall. The terrorists weren't stupid to fall for that either. As a result of their unfulfilled demand, what happened later made her want to kill them. What hurts even more is realizing that she had failed to protect the one she came here for. Despite all the nightmares, given to her as a hint, she still failed_. It wasn't Lucas. It was a terrorist_. _Oh God_….She didn't want to listen anymore.

Her eyes looked up into her lover's. "nnno…." She reached out to hold her lover's wrist. Shaking her head, she didn't want to believe that it's true.

Amy placed the bowl down and motioned Max to stop talking. She knew this would happen. Wrapping her arms around the brunette, she spoke softly over her shoulder. "She's alive." She could feel her lover shaking her head. "You did all you could." She could feel her lover's upper body shaking. "Lucy, don't blame yourself. Please…don't." She extended her hand to the side, motioning Max and Alexis to give them some privacy. "calm down…calm down….please…" She was afraid that her lover might go into shock. She had seen it happen before when patients wake up finding themselves to be different. _But in this case, it was finding out what she wasn't able to do_. She realized just how important the famous blonde is to her when an earsplitting scream of agony echoed through the VIP hospital room.

* * *

A day later

Amy pushed the wheelchair inside the hotel suite with Max and Alexis following from behind. Lucy instructed her to go towards the tv instead of the bedroom. She wanted to hear what the news is saying about the incident, but more importantly, about the one whom she could not save.

Bending down next to the brunette, Amy spoke softly while placing her hand over the brunette's thigh. "Are you hungry?" Amy didn't think it would be wise for the brunette to dress as 'David' again. So she thought it would be easier for the brunette to dress as herself, avoiding the public eye.

Lucy shook her head and continued flipping through the channels. When she noticed her lover was taking off her shoes, she stopped her from doing so. "I can do that." She could see her lover letting out a small smile. She could see her lover leaning towards her. She could see that things have already begun to change when her lover, for no reason, gave her a kiss on the cheek which it's something the blonde would never do in front of others. Unlike the blonde, Max and Alexis weren't treating her like a helpless individual.

After the blonde left the area, Max took a beer from the refrigerator. "Do you want one?"

"any wine coolers?"

With a quick warning, Max tossed the bottle towards her. Lucy didn't expect that but was able to catch it. Max then tossed a bag of Doritos and nuts which Lucy was able to catch with ease. Lucy wasn't surprised that the news channels were still talking about the incident. But what surprised her was that nothing negative was said about the FBI. According to Max, there were 2 FBI officials who watched the assault as it happened and did nothing until it was too late. One woman thanked the megastar for saving her child and mentioned 'him' as a hero for standing up against them. The hostages talked about the assault, yet nobody mentioned how the FBI failed to protect a citizen of the US, the megastar. This is what is confusing to her until Max told her that the megastar had not yet talked to her and none of the hostages know exactly what happened after the megastar was taken away to another room.

Anger boiled up inside of her once again. "Do you know who did it?"

"He was wearing a full face ski mask."

_Damn it. If he was wearing one, then all of them would be as well. _"Max, destroy the tape." If anyone else gets their hands on it, the outcome would be disastrous, especially a sex tape involving a famous person. News will spread like wildfire just like right now. But at least now, it's only a speculation from the hostages.

"We destroyed it already."

"What? Why?" Lucy was more confused than ever. That was evidence.

All eyes turned towards the blonde who suddenly called out. When Amy came out of the bedroom, she was a bit surprised by the atmosphere, seeing Max sitting on the armchair and Alexis sitting on the end of the couch next to Lucy who was holding a bottle of wine cooler.

"Lucy, you can't drink that."

"Why?"

It was obvious to her but when she saw everyone staring at her like she's the one with the problem, it made her think twice. "..your bruises…" She could see that it didn't make sense to anyone.

"It's okay."

Everyone could see that the blonde was a bit confused.

"they don't want any more problems from the public…they know they made a mistake." Max continued.

Lucy didn't like what she was hearing. _They destroyed the evidence to save themselves. What about her? _

"That's why they assigned this case to us."

Her brows furrowed in confusion until Max clarified how Mr. P convinced his superior to let him take over the case. It was an idea Max pitched to Mr. P. She lied about her friendship with the megastar to make them believe that she will be able to talk her out of exposing the truth. And the truth is the megastar would not have been assaulted if the FBI gave them what they wanted in the first place. "I know this isn't right, but it's the only way to help you."

_Help me? _Lucy was disgusted with the reason, even though she agreed that the megastar should not tell anyone about the assault, but for her own benefit and not for the benefit of others. She came to understand why Max wanted to talk to the megastar. Getting more detail of the incident isn't her only purpose.

"If those idiots are still in charge, they might not find out so soon, but might eventually find out what they should be looking for is a woman."

Lucy had no recollection of the events that happened. Finding out that she had was rescued in the ocean near the New York/New Jersey lines 80 miles from where the heist took place confused her even more.

"Something happened and you're the only one who knows."

As Lucy was trying to remember, something else caught her eye. Her brows furrowed again when she saw her lover bending down next to her. "I can do that."

This time Amy wasn't helping her take off her shoes. She was picking up her shoes up from the floor. Lucy leaned down, grabbed both pairs and placed it on her lap. Pulling the wheels back one feet, she stopped, then rolled the wheels forward. All noticed that she had done it before by the way she skillfully maneuvered the wheelchair. She rolled it back into her previous position next to the couch as if she was driving a car, smoothly and perfectly. Looking up at the blonde, she couldn't tell what she was thinking but could see that she was tired by the redness in her eyes. She extended her hand out towards the blonde expecting her to take hold of it. Amy did without hesitation, took one step forward and bent down.

"Go take a nap. I'll let you know when dinner's ready." Lucy said in a gentle voice and hoped that her lover can get some sleep. This is the least she can do for her now. Not knowing when she will be able to walk again, she wanted the situation to be as less stressful, less worrisome, and less of a burden.

The results of the tests didn't seem obvious. Usually when a person could not feel her legs, the cause is an injury to the spinal cord. But what separates her from others with the same injury is that she is lucky that there is no damage to the nerves that allows her to control the elimination of waste. What she wanted to hear isn't words of hope and encouragement. What she wanted to hear is the truth. And the truth is doctors don't know if it would be possible for her to walk again. Hearing that didn't make her regret the decision in coming here, it made her regret the decision for acting alone. She could have asked Anthony for more help. She could have asked Scud.

Watching the blonde giving her another kiss and heading towards the bedroom, Lucy tried not to think of the future because at this moment, she couldn't see anything but unhappiness. Even now, she couldn't see how she can bring that wide smile back into her lover again. Lucy cleared her thoughts and returned her attention back to the agent.

"Max, I don't think you should talk to her." Lucy didn't think the megastar would want to see her because after all, Max is a cop and they're not that close. Besides, she didn't think Max is the right person for the job.

"Alexis, you go talk to her." Seeing how well they bonded in the last few weeks, Lucy thought Alexis would be more appropriate. If anyone can, she believed that Alexis could. Lucy expected her to agree. But what she saw was hesitation and indecisiveness. "Alexis, you're not doing this for them. You're not doing this for me or Amy. You're doing this for her. Think of what will happen if everybody knows about it. It will get worse. It's going to get so bad, she won't be able to go out without hearing about it. Everyone will be talking about her and they're not going to stop. Do you understand?"

Alexis understood the first time she heard but felt that the public has a right to know what the FBI did or rather didn't do. It could have happened to anyone, even her. Putting herself in the megastar's shoes, she would want everyone to know what the FBI didn't do. It will capture the attention of millions and only then would the system be forced to change. As ridiculous as it sounds, it takes a tragedy to make people aware that there are problems with the system and those who worked there. But that's her own opinion. _What would she do?_ Lucy's explanation made her think twice. After having spent a few days with the megastar, Alexis found her to have a very strong personality. Seeing her interviews on the web, she found the megastar to be eloquent, smart and can handle herself in tough situations. _But would she be able to handle this?_

"I want to ask her what she wants to do." Alexis felt it's the right thing to do.

That was not the response Lucy was expecting but understood that the megastar may be like Alexis, not easily persuaded.

_shoot_…. She placed the bottle down and pulled the wheels back. Both Alexis and Max were wondering where she was going until they saw where she was heading to.

"Do you need any help?"

"no." Lucy wheeled herself in and closed the bathroom door.

"You should know the answer to that." Max didn't understand why Alexis even bother to ask.

"She will if she wants to take a shower."

When Alexis heard about her injury, she was as shocked as the blonde. Why? She asked the Lord why he would do this to her. She was only trying to help. When she saw how the brunette acted a while ago as if it didn't bother her, she felt better knowing that the brunette didn't succumb to it, like many others have.

* * *

Max did not plan on staying with them but since it was so late and her hotel is in New York, she decided to call it a night and went back to her room after dinner. It was a good idea to move to a hotel in New Jersey. Even though the FBI is no longer in charge of the case, those who are curious might still be searching for 'him'. The farther away they are from where the helicopter was found, the less risk of 'him' being found. The sooner they leave; the better. That's what Max is hoping for. But from the conversation she just had with the brunette, she sensed that the former criminal leader might have other plans and leaving the US is not one of them.

Lying on the king size bed, with eyes staring at the ceiling, Lucy is in deep thought, thinking about what just happened. Taking a shower wasn't possible without the help of her lover and Alexis. She would need a different setup so she won't have to rely on anyone. Her eyes turned towards her lover who just stepped out of the bathroom. If she is not in this state, her lover would be sleeping in another room, not next to her. _Not until marriage. _At this moment, it seems that it will never happen…marriage.

"Do you need anything?" Amy said in a gentle voice.

Lucy shook her head in response. Amy thought of something and got off the bed. Lucy had forgotten herself until the blonde put some night cream on her face. After the night cream, her lover placed moisturizer on her legs, body and arms. It made her wonder if this is what happened every night when she was in a coma. It made her wonder if this is what it's going to be like in the future.

"I'm sorry." Lucy felt the need to apologize for putting her thru this again.

Hearing those words, seeing those apologetic eyes, Amy understood why she was apologizing and regretted saying those words the moment she woke up. _You should've listened to me. _At that time, she didn't know about her legs. She didn't mean it the way it sounded and felt the need to clarify.

"Lucy, listen to me. Everything is going to be okay. We're going back to London. Nothing is going to change. You understand?" Several hours ago in the living room, seeing the brunette's behavior, she had thought that was what the brunette was trying to tell her; that things aren't going to change. But right now, hearing the tone of sadness and regret, Amy wanted to reassure her. She leaned down and kissed her gently on her lips and realized later that she shouldn't have.

"Owww"

With a smile in place and her upper half body rolling on top of the brunette's, Amy kissed gently on her cheek before speaking softly into her ear. "I love you."

_I'm sorry_. Lucy repeated in her own mind as she wrapped her arms around her lover's upper body. _ I can't go back, not now. _

"Amy…" Knowing what would happen if she told her now, Lucy decided to wait. "it hurts."

Amy immediately lifted herself up and apologized. She gave another kiss on her cheek before saying good night and snuggled close to her like all those nights when they slept together.

_Nothing is going to change_. Lucy wished that's true. One thing she knows for sure is going to change is that she won't be able to love her the way she used to.

Several hours passed. Lucy regretted more and more of drinking the wine cooler. There was one thing she did need and she totally forgot about it. The wheelchair wasn't next to the bed. She turned to her left and could hear the soft breathing from her lover. She decided not to wake her up and see if she could do it by herself. The first thing she did was rolled her lower body down on the floor. Since that worked, there was no need to crawl on the floor because that would require a lot of her upper body strength. It was a short distance to the bathroom and she applauded herself for finding a way. Once inside the bathroom, she knew exactly what she had to do. She was unsuccessful the first time and she needed Max to help her. It was more difficult than she thought. The moment she tried to stand up, her knees bent on their own. She was able to transfer herself from the wheelchair to the toilet but by the time that she did, her arms were too tired to push herself up again to pull her pants down. But this time is different. She didn't have the wheelchair. Even with her knees on the floor, she found it difficult to pull herself up, especially at this time of the night when her body is not fully awake. _Damn it_. She internally cursed for not being able to do so and for waking up her lover who was standing at the door.

After getting her business done, she was carried back to the bed on her lover's back. Lucy felt helpless, awkward, and more than that, embarrassed.

Amy deliberately turned the bathroom lights off and closed the bathroom door. That way, if the brunette tried that again, she'd know immediately. She understood the brunette's intention but believed that it was too soon. Her body has not fully recovered and she's already trying to prove to everyone, to her especially, that she could do it on her own. This made her realize that the talk they had earlier didn't work. She slipped under the blanket and snuggled next to the brunette.

"Ow!"

"Does this hurt?" There was no other way. Amy again poked her bruised abdomen.

"Ow! Amyyyyy…."

The room was dark. She couldn't see her lover's face. "Can you wait until you get better first?" She didn't wait for her lover to respond and leaned down, burying her face into her lover's neck. "Tell me if you need me. I'm here for you. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I love you…and I always will." If that doesn't get thru to her, she's not sure what will.

With both arms wrapped around her lover, Lucy held her closer against her upper body. She failed in her attempt to prove her point but realized more and more what she needed to do.

* * *

She had been waiting for hours. The last time she felt this way, nervous and anxious was when Janet gave birth to Zander. That day was full of happiness. But what she waiting for was the complete opposite. If she could walk, she would have been pacing back and forth near the door right now. Instead, all she could do was roll the wheels back and forth as a way of exercising and to keep herself busy.

"Lucy, stop it. Come over here."

Breathing heavily as if she had been jogging, Lucy stared at her lover sitting on the couch. It's the fourth day since the incident. She blamed herself for not being able to remember. There was nothing she could do except wait for Anthony to find those bastards first before the police does.

"Come here…" Amy called out again.

Lucy did as told and rolled the wheels forward. She looked up at the blonde and wondered what she had in mind. She could see that the blonde was in a better mood than the days before.

"Does your back hurt?"

It hurts but she would be rather moving around than sitting on the couch.

Amy wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist and assisted her to lie on the couch on her front. She then lifted her sweater up and placed a heating pad on her spine and began massaging the brunette's calves and shoulders.

"We're going to leave on Friday."

_Friday?...3 days from today…I have to tell her._

While squeezing the brunette's calves, Amy contemplated on whether this is the right time to tell her. She had been thinking about it since last night after hearing the brunette's apology. She thought about the consequences of telling her now and later and came to the conclusion that the outcome will be the same regardless…because the fact is nobody knows if the brunette can walk again.

"A few weeks ago, I went to see a doctor." Amy said as she began massaging her upper back.

That got Lucy's full attention. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine...She's…a fertility doctor."

_oh._ Lucy couldn't think of anything else to say but a lot of things were running through her mind. It's not what she expected her lover to be talking about at this moment.

"She said it's better to do it sooner than later." Amy said as she gently massaged her shoulders in a slow pace. She placed a soft kiss on her lover's neck before speaking in a soft tone. "I..." Amy again couldn't understand why it's so difficult for her to say it. It's not like she's proposing. The brunette already did that. "I want to get married now." She wasn't sure why her heart starts pounding every time those words come out of her mouth. When she didn't get a response and saw her lover's eyes were closed, she became even more nervous, thinking that the brunette might not be ready, especially now. "Lucy?"

"ow!…ow!…"

Amy immediately pulled back.

"my back…hot…."

Amy quickly took the heating pad away and noticed her back was a bit red. For a moment there, she thought the brunette could feel her legs.

As Lucy tried to turn herself around, Amy helped her in flipping her body over, then took the offered hand that was extended towards her and sat on the edge of the couch next to the brunette's hips. With her hand held over her lover's heart, from the look on her lover's face, Amy could feel what the response was going to be.

"I…" Before Lucy could continue, she was prevented from speaking by the finger on her lips.

"Nothing is going to change how I feel about you. We can do this. We have Scud and Janet and Nadia…they can help us…you'll see, it's…" Amy trailed off when she was interrupted by the brunette. "What?"

Lucy took the blonde's finger away from her lips. "after graduation" The thought just occurred to her. Saying anything else would definitely have a negative effect. Giving her a good reason would be better. "Give me some time…I want to see if I can. And by that time, if I still…can't…" Lucy didn't want to say it but knew it could be possible that she might never be able to walk again. "we'll get married…and we can start our family." She thought it would work but realized it didn't when she saw the blonde shaking her head.

"Don't you understand what I'm trying to say? It doesn't matter..."

"but it matters to me, I want to walk down the aisle with you. I want to give you everything you want. I want to marry you…but not like this…not without trying first." Lucy held the blonde's hand closer to her face. "five months, after you graduate, that's all I need…." Lucy said with such confidence, she expected anyone who heard to believe her, but could see that her lover isn't convinced. "You can concentrate on school, I can concentrate on what I have to do."

"I don't need a wedding. We can just sign the papers and…" Before she could finish with her thought, Amy was surprised by a sudden hug.

"please…Amy…."

The outcome isn't how Amy imagined it to be. It was either a yes or not now. If the brunette had said not now, she would have responded with 'when'. She could picture that conversation leading to an unhappy ending. But instead her lover had given herself a deadline as if she too knew that this question would pop up. "I just want to be with you. Why can't you understand that?"

"I know and I understand. I won't let you wait any longer than that. I promise."

Amy couldn't understand why the brunette was being so stubborn. She ran out of ideas to persuade her. So the only thing she could say is intimidate her. "If I find someone else before that, don't regret it."

"Then…maybe we should do it one more time before that happens."

Amy didn't expect that and instantly felt that nothing has changed, hearing her lover's horny sense of humor. For anyone in her condition, it would have taken weeks even months to overcome the pain and accept the reality. But for the former criminal mastermind, it took less than a day and she was back to herself. Crying over it won't bring her legs back. Being depressed won't either. Looking at her lover, she couldn't see anything different about her even with the impairment, except a few bruises on her jaws, the corner of her left eye and her cut lip.

"umm..Amy, I was only kidding." Lucy said as she was being pushed down gently.

Not just the comment, the way she said it shocked the heck out of her. Amy wasn't thinking of that either and realized what else was bothering her lover. She leaned down inch by inch closer to the brunette's face and noticed her nervousness. It was quite odd. She had never seen that look before. She herself had that look the first few times they made love but on the former criminal leader, never. It made sense now. The deadline that she gave, it wasn't just about being able to walk. It was about being able to be…intimate. _Oh…Luccccy…_ Her hands slowly reached up towards her cheeks. Her fingers gently caressed her bruised jaws, then slid down her neck, gently rubbing and massaging her tensed muscles. She could see her brunette lover becoming more comfortable with both eyes closed. Her hands continued to squeeze each inch as they glided along the upper arm, then back up. It was peaceful. It was quiet with nobody else around. She could only hope to put her lover's mind at peace, not thinking about anything, not worrying about anything, for a moment. But she realized how impossible that was when her fiancée suddenly grabbed hold of her hand that was lifting up her sweater with the intention of placing the heating pad there. "What's wrong?"

Lucy could see the blonde was startled by her grip. She couldn't think of an explanation. And luckily what she had been waiting for hours entered the door at this moment. The two faces of the ones who just walked in told her that they didn't have good news.

Tossing her purse on the couch, Alexis blew out a big breath. Fatigue showed on her face. She took the heating pad on the table to warm her cold hands and sat on the armchair while Max took the seat on the other couch. Outside was below zero and covered with snow. They had been gone since the morning. Alexis was rubbing her temples. So Lucy gave her a moment to get herself together. Her heart was pounding as different thoughts appeared in her mind. She couldn't help but think of the worst.

After taking a sip of hot chocolate, Alexis explained where they went. It wasn't the apartment in NY because that's where all the reporters are. It was in a house in New Jersey where nobody knows about because the house is not under the megastar's name. It's in a peaceful area surrounded by acres of land, fences, and security guards. Unlike the apartment in NY, it had more privacy.

Lucy was surprised to learn that Alexis received a call from the megastar. It was a good sign. Getting a call from her meant that she's not in an unstable condition. "Is she…okay?"

"She's….how should I explain this?" Alexis said as she rubbed her temples.

Lucy leaned as forward as she could without falling off the couch. _I'll kill those bastards. I swear to God. I'll kill them. _

"She asked about you."

That was unexpected but seems logical since everybody knows she was beaten up to save her from being humiliated and everyone knows that 'David' is still missing.

"I told her we're still looking for you, but she didn't believe me." Before they went to see her, they decided that it's best to continue with the lie.

"Alexis, I want to know how she is. Did she look like she wants to kill herself?" That's what usually happens to raped victims, depressed and suicidal.

"No. All she wanted to know is where you are. She wanted to send out a search party for you."

_Alexis is right_. It's not what she expected at all. Have people looking for her is the last thing she wants.

_It was a huge house enclosed by a wall covered with snow. Surveillance cameras could be seen from the main gate and the main door. Once escorted inside, Alexis was expecting to see the megastar with friends and family, but all she saw were house staffs, security guards, and the megastar standing alone in front of a large window in a large family room with a piano. She doesn't know her that well, but knew at that moment what she would need, someone she can trust, someone she can talk to. She was expecting the blonde to cry on her shoulder but that didn't happen. What happened instead confused her._

"She didn't believe me. She kept saying I'm lying….until…"

"I told her about the helicopter." Max interrupted. What they found were pieces of the helicopter floating on the ocean. They still can't find the engine. How it happened, they still don't know. Luckily, Max found her by searching thru all the hospitals and clinics for new patients.

The more she heard, the more sorry Lucy felt for not being able to tell her the truth. But even if she could tell her the truth, she didn't have the courage to face her. It wasn't her fault but she couldn't help feeling responsible. She was there. She could picture herself doing everything she could to prevent them from taking her away. Why wasn't she able to save her? There could only be one reason. She was probably knocked out. The bump on her head could be a result of it.

* * *

It was very quiet during dinner. After hearing about the megastar, Lucy wasn't in the mood to talk. She prayed Anthony would be able to get those sons of bitches. She prayed for the megastar to be able to get thru this. She prayed…Lucy stopped her thoughts when she heard what Max said.

"I'm going to see if I can tap into her phone records." Max said as she placed a piece of chicken into her mouth.

"Why?" Lucy couldn't think of a reason why she would want to do that.

"Is it because of that phone call?" Alexis asked out of curiosity.

"What phone call?"

Max explained how the megastar was standing in stunned disbelief after hearing about the helicopter and later tried to call somebody but when nobody picked up, she threw the phone on the couch before turning towards the ceiling to floor window, hiding her face from them.

"Who do you think it could be?" It was just a phone call. Lucy still didn't understand her reason for invading the megastar's privacy. When Max shrugged her shoulders, Lucy let her know she doesn't agree. "Unless you have a good reason, don't…" It was a command, not a request.

The familiar tone instantly brought back memories. Max heard that tone before when she called for the former blonde agent at Barcelona many years ago. Each time the brunette picked up when the blonde was in the shower or too busy to pick up the phone, Max would ask for Amy and Lucy would respond with an unpleasant tone. 'Amy, your psycho friend is calling you!' Max could still remember that. She, of course, didn't let that go and let Amy know she didn't appreciate that. That happened a lot. It got to the point where Amy was frustrated with both of them. Something happened afterwards because the brunette stopped calling her names and kept the conversation to a few words. To this day, she still doesn't know what caused the brunette to change her behavior.

"Excuse me?" Her eyes narrowed at the brunette to let her know she didn't appreciate being told what to do. Without the brunette, she would have died a few years ago. But she still didn't appreciate her attitude.

"Don't…invade…her privacy."

_There it is again. _Max took a quick glance at the Perfect Score before returning her eyes at the brunette. "If we feel we need to, we will."

"Max, I'm serious."

Max had learned from past experiences that to talk to people like the brunette, the only way is to remain calm. "I know you are. I'll do everything I can to help you...and her." She was referring to the famous blonde. "…and I'll do whatever it takes to get the job done."

Lucy didn't like the sound of the last sentence. Whatever it takes could mean a lot of things.

Amy could see that the brunette was getting upset. If her lover could stand up, she would be standing up right now.

"Lucy, she's not going to do that."

"If the situation requires it, then I will." Max said without giving a second thought.

"Max!" Amy wanted her to stop talking. She was unsure what her friend was trying to do. There was no reason for her to tell anyone what she plans to do.

"Look, Mr. P and I will take care of this. You go back to London and take care of yourself."

Lucy wanted to respond to that but felt that this isn't the right time.

"You're not going back, are you?"

Lucy was completely clueless at what Max was trying to do, first getting her upset and then this. Lying wouldn't be right. Silence only confirms it.

"Lucy?" What Amy didn't notice, her agent friend somehow did. "You wanted to stay here?" She could see her fiancee glaring at Max as if she had spoiled her plan. "Why?" She understood the reason the first time. But in her condition now, she can't even help herself. She then realized the five months deadline meant 'living apart.'

Lucy knew it might not work, but she tried anyway. With a gentle voice, with a different expression from before, she turned to look at her lover. "Scud said there is a really good doctor here, the best. He treated a lot of patients with the same condition as me and "

"Do you expect me to believe that?" Amy tried to keep her voice as calm as possible. She expected the brunette to respond but all she got was a blank look. "You're hurt. What do you think you can do here?" Her voice was no longer as gentle. She didn't want to sound like she's talking to a child but she had no choice. Realizing that it was a lie from the beginning got her even more upset. When she didn't get a response, she can't hold it in anymore. Amy stood up, pushing her chair back a foot. "tell me..what you're thinking…"

"Five months, Amy…I promise.."

"You're hurt! Lucy!...You can't walk! You almost died!"

"Ammmy, please…."

With a face full of confusion, Amy tried hard to keep her voice down. "You can't help Anthony. You can't help her. Why do you still want to be here?"

"I can't leave now."

"Why?! Because of her?!" Amy could no longer control her anger.

"…Lucas…"

Max started this so she wanted to see if she can end this. "I'll make sure he stays away from her."

Amy wished it was that simple but knew the brunette had other plans. "Lucy, please…come back with me…I don't want to see you get hurt." Amy begged but realized nothing could change her mind when the brunette continued to ask for her understanding and forgiveness. Shaking her head in disbelief, she didn't want to yell anymore. At this moment, she didn't want to listen to her voice or even look at her. Amy did the only thing she could and that is to let the brunette know she's upset and walked out of the room, slamming the main door behind her.

It's her fault. Lucy knew that but didn't appreciate the agent for bringing it up. She glared at Max who didn't care what she thinks. "She booked the ticket. When were you going to tell her?"

Frustrated with the situation she's in, Lucy had no choice but to ask the one person who might be able to persuade her lover. She moved her wheelchair towards Alexis, reached out to hold her hand, hoping what she is going to say next would make her understand why she needed to do this. If she does, then the Perfect Score might too.

* * *

This is the first time they've slept together in the same bed. Her anger subsided after spending an hour in the hotel restaurant alone. She needed time alone to think of how to persuade the brunette. She even called Scud and told him how ridiculous Lucy was behaving and was disappointed to hear that even he wouldn't be able to change the brunette's mind. What she learned from Scud, which wasn't a surprise to her after having been with her for almost 2 years is that the brunette could be very stubborn, even more stubborn at her younger years. She expected Scud to find a way to get thru the brunette, but what she got instead was the opposite; Scud wanted her to understand the former criminal leader. _If she had listened to everyone who thought she was crazy for leaving everything for a DEB, they never would've been together. _Those words somehow kept repeating in her head. Not only Scud, Alexis was doing the same. Lying next to the fashion designer, she found herself hearing a story of her past, Kristin's past.

"why are you telling me this?" It wasn't that she didn't like to hear about the events that happened in her life; she just wanted to know why she suddenly brought this up.

Alexis continued to tell her about the time when Lucy was captured by her former supervisor and how she had forgiven the brunette even after finding out her true identity. As she was telling her the details of what happened in the cell, she expected the blonde to interrupt her and she did. Anyone who heard about her lover making out with someone else wouldn't be able to hold back.

"You…two…did…what?"

Alexis calmly explained her reason for doing so as well as the brunette's reason. "None of us knew what she was thinking. But know this, she has her own reasons." Alexis paused for a moment to let her words sink in. "She said…she feels responsible."

"…responsible? it's not her fault…"

"but she was there…and she couldn't save her…."

Amy let out a big breath as she tried to see the situation from her lover's point of view. But it still didn't make sense to her. _You lost the ability to walk because of her. If anyone should feel responsible for what happened, it should be them, not you. _"I don't understand."

"I do…" Alexis shifted closer. "I met her. I got to know her. I don't want to leave her either…not right now."

It shouldn't make sense. But somehow it's starting too. Just like Annie, Amy found herself wanting to help her. There were people whom she knew for years but never found a connection with them and there were some whom she met for a few days and she felt like she wanted to know more about them. But she had this thought instilled in her the moment she learned what her lover wanted to do. She had this thought months ago and had convinced herself that it's not like that. But two hours ago when she learned what the brunette wanted to do, she couldn't help but think that what she thought before could be true. "do you think…she's into her?"

Amy didn't find it funny at all when Alexis burst out in laughter.

"Can you blame her? Even I'm attracted to her."

That didn't help because it answered her question.

Seeing her frustration, Alexis stopped fooling around. "Do you think that she's going to give you up for her?" She said in a tone to let the blonde know how ridiculous her thought was. "Do you think that someone like her would be interested in your girl?"

"Alexissss" Amy didn't like her response. "She can be very convincing." It happened to her, so getting the megastar to fall for her lover didn't sound impossible, at least not in her mind.

"are you serious? " Alexis was trying to make a point but it didn't seem to work. "She's a singer, she's in the spotlight, everyone knows who she is, she has no privacy, she's into men…" Alexis was waiting for the blonde to say something but when all she saw was a body lying still next to her, she turned the lights on and got off the bed. "If you're not sleeping with her, then I will." Alexis stood still next to the bed, waiting for the blonde to respond. That may be the only way to get the blonde's attention and it did. Amy was staring at her and not in a good way. "She won't admit it, but you know she needs help."

"Don't…she needs to know she can't do this."

"…and you know that she won't give in no matter what…"

"I'm trying to make a point." Amy could see that Alexis was moving a few steps backwards. "I don't want to see her get more hurt than she is now." She could see Alexis near the bedroom door. "Alexis, don't." Amy said in a commanding tone. "I'm not going to forgive you." She realized it didn't work when Alexis walked out of the bedroom. "Damn it." Even though she knows nothing will happen between them, she didn't like the idea of her lover sleeping with another woman especially her on the same bed. Amy quickly got off the bed and ran out the door. Knowing what type of person Alexis is, it wouldn't surprise her if she would do it. "Alexis" She said in a whisper and grabbed hold of her hand, preventing her from opening the bedroom door to the brunette's room.

"Get in there before she gets more hurt." Alexis advised before walking back into her own bedroom.

Two thoughts immediately appeared in her mind. Both she and Alexis had already taken a shower. Her lover might not have and might try to do it herself. _Shoot. _Without knocking on the door first, Amy quickly went inside. The bed was empty. The bathroom lights were on. She had wanted to make a point but that was no longer important. "Lucy, are you okay?" She could've tried to open the door but knocked on it first. Not hearing a response, she became even more scared. Accidents are more likely to happen in the bathroom. She swung the door open and there she was, her stubborn naked lover was trying to crawl out of the bathtub. White wet towels were placed all over the tiled floor. Seeing her lover struggling broke her heart. She tried to assist but was pushed back.

"I can do this."

_Stubborn. _She always knew that about her lover, but just didn't realize how stubborn until now, until she was asked to go outside. It hurts to see her lover, unwilling to give in. It hurts even more to see her in the position she's in, bending over the bathtub in her naked form. Hearing the request again, Amy reluctantly walked out of the bathroom. Letting out a few deep breaths, she wiped the tears away from her eyes. She understood what the brunette was trying to do. Both were trying to make a point and both were unwilling to give in. Hearing the sounds of struggle inside the bathroom, Amy waited for her lover to call her for help. One minute passed, two minutes passed, then when 10 minutes passed, Amy couldn't stand outside anymore. As she was about to walk in, the bathroom door opened wider. Looking down, her lover, fully dressed, was on the floor, lying on her abdomen, with her palms pressed against the floor. She reached out and bent down but was again told not to interfere. No matter how tough her training as a DEB had been. No matter how many missions she had been on where she had seen people in more unfortunate conditions, nothing affected her more than what she is seeing right now, seeing her lover crawling on her two hands with 2 long dead legs dragging from behind. _Lucy, please…let me help you. _She wanted her lover to ask for help. She wanted her lover to admit that she can't do this. She thought she would because there was no way she can climb onto the bed. With knees on the floor, the brunette was grabbing on to the sheets, trying to pull herself up. Anyone could see that it was impossible. The bed was just too high. Amy could no longer stand there and watch. She wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled the exhausted body up on the bed. With her body pressed against the back of her lover, she could hear her heavy breathing. "Please…don't do this." Sniffing in loudly, she needed to let her lover know how much it hurts to see her like this. Yelling at her won't work. Reasoning with her won't either. She was hoping this would but realized the brunette was in pain, physically and mentally when she saw her eyes shut tight. Amy slowly pulled back, then rolled the brunette over, expecting her to say what she wanted to hear. But all she got were eyes full of apology. Not hearing a response, just heavy breathing, she realized that nothing can change her mind. _Nothing. _

Darkness surrounded the room. Lucy wanted to apologize earlier but knew that it wasn't what the blonde wanted to hear. She didn't expect to work out this way, but it worked. She got her understanding. She got the blonde snuggling close to her as if nothing happened.

* * *

Leave it to Anthony, he always comes thru, especially with his status now, it would be easier than many years ago. It wasn't Anthony's men who killed the terrorist they captured but Lucy wasn't sure if Max believed him. What they learned from Anthony confused all of them but weren't surprised to learn that they had this planned for weeks. Lucy believed that Anthony didn't have him killed. There was no reason for him to lie. If he did, he would have told her. One down and five to go…including the prisoner. Anthony let him go in hopes of leading him to the others but along the way, someone, somehow, found out and ended his life a bit earlier. It was his big mouth that got him into trouble. It was the way he treated the prostitute and what he said, comparing her looks to that of the megastar that led him to his death.

"Was it him?" Lucy desperately wanted to know. Anthony had no idea. Since he didn't want the news about the megastar to spread, he didn't have his men find out. Whether he did or not, his fate would've been the same. That's the only way to guarantee that he will never talk about it…ever again.

"If they had this planned for weeks, then they must have someone inside." Lucy said, lying on the couch as her lover bent her legs back and forth.

Anthony had the same thought.

"Who else knows that she was going to the bank that day besides her bodyguards?" When she was a DEB, Amy found herself not liking that job especially the part where she had to go undercover. But completing her mission brought satisfaction and being able to help those in need, she misses that.

"She might have told her friends." The first person that came to Lucy's mind is Blythe.

"…and Lucas…"

What Anthony said made her think twice. "Lucas? Why?" Lucy never thought it could be him. Humiliating his girlfriend in front of everyone and taking her innocence, that doesn't make sense.

"money" It was only a guess.

"no…he needed $50 million"

Lucy thought she was thinking clearly until Anthony told her the other possibility. There may be valuables inside the safe deposit boxes that may be worth a lot of money and it might have been a deal made between the terrorists and Lucas.

"So you're telling me that they did this to get that guy out of prison and Lucas helped them in exchange for money. Anthony, what you're saying doesn't make sense." By no means was she protecting her half-brother.

"Lucy, breathe…" Amy advised when she saw how upset she became.

"Why not?" It made sense to him.

Lucy wished Scud was on the other line at this moment. He may have other ideas. But Scud had other problems to worry about, his baby's health.

"because she is his girlfriend…" Lucy didn't think she needed to remind him what they did to her.

She didn't hear a response from Anthony so she knew he was thinking about it. If Lucas is involved, she wasn't sure what she would do. Would she kill him or just let Anthony do it?

"Amy, have you met him?"

"I have." Amy continued to squeeze the blonde's legs to get the blood flowing.

"What do you think of him?"

The question was unexpected. Her mind on its own thought back to that moment at the hotel where she met Lucas. Back in the Deb days, she had taken a course in profiling. It was a requirement that each DEB had to take. On her missions, she had to report back to her superiors about everyone she met. The way they move, the way they talk, what they talked about and how they act, she could easily tell what type of person they are. It was only a short moment when she met Lucas. He did most of the talking, complaining about 'David'. But from what she can see, he's an average Joe.

That's not what Anthony wanted to hear.

Amy stopped massaging the brunette's legs and stepped out of the living room for a moment. Lucy didn't pay attention to what the blonde was doing until she came back with a pen and a piece of paper.

"Okay, let's recap…. they knew where she was going that day…it could be Lucas or her friends…." Amy repeated what Lucy said about Lucas. "If it's Lucas, then he did it for money." Everyone agreed that could be the only reason. "They could have their own plans." Amy pointed to the brunette to let her know that it could be possible that Lucas is involved. Getting his girlfriend assaulted might not be part of his plan, but it might be part of theirs. "Maybe he found out and have someone kill that guy." Amy reasoned and waited to see if the brunette could think of anything else to say against that. When Lucy nodded her head in agreement, Amy wrote it down on the paper. "Who else might know where she was going?"

"Blythe…but it can't be her." Lucy said in an obvious tone.

"Could they have somehow tapped her phone?"

Lucy responded with another nod. It's not impossible with the advanced technology these days.

"Could it be her enemies?"

The entertainment industry might not be as dark as the Underground but some are involved. Being that famous and successful, the megastar is bound to have enemies. Humiliating her in front of everyone is the best revenge. Lucy nodded in agreement.

Revenge. Lucy couldn't help thinking that may be the reason. Why else would they want the megastar to take her clothes off in front of everyone? All they had to do is threaten to kill her. The explanation that Max gave, she didn't agree. It had to come from a person with a twisted mind, someone who wanted to see her naked, someone who wanted to see her getting raped, someone…._Damn it. Maybe there is another copy of the video out there and that someone could be watching the video right now._

"I think there is another possibility." Amy had been looking over the flowchart over and over. "her bodyguards…"

Bodyguards are paid to protect not the opposite. Lucy realized that it could be possible. Who would know better about her location than her bodyguards? "Where were they?" They're bodyguards. They should be inside the bank along with the megastar. If they had done nothing to protect her, then it could be very possible that it could be them.

"I'll have someone check them out." Said Anthony.

Lucy immediately sat up when a thought appeared. "They're with her now." If they are involved, it would be like having a ticking time bomb next to her. It would be too late if they wanted to do something else to her. "Amy, call Max. Let her know what we think. Have her check her phone." Lucy didn't agree with that idea last night, but now she had no choice. Just thinking about the grave danger she could be in at this moment, her heart starts pounding twice as fast. Max, being there at the megastar's house, right now, didn't put her at ease. She is just one person. She couldn't possibly protect 2 young women without any training.

Amy noticed that the brunette wasn't thinking clearly. If they had wanted to do something to the megastar, they would've done it by now. That's what she wanted to tell her but knew at this moment that the only thing her lover wanted to hear is Max's confirmation.

Max understood why they would think that since she never told them what exactly happened inside the bank. The bodyguard who was with her that day did make an attempt to save the megastar and like Lucy, he was also beaten but to a point where he lost consciousness. In the condition he's in, he won't be able to go back to work until weeks later. Lucy was relieved to hear that but still there is a possibility that the other bodyguards could be involved.

After Max got off the line, Alexis came on. With the speaker on, both could feel that something was wrong because Alexis was hesitating. It was only yesterday when they saw the famous blonde. Lucy wondered what could have happened that would change her behavior after 24 hours?

After getting the unexpected information, Lucy did feel better knowing that Max and Alexis will be staying with the famous blonde for the night. Not only that, it was the assurance from Max that she had her people guarding outside.

Hours passed. Lying on the bed, Lucy was still undecided. A part of her wanted to see how the megastar is and apologize for not being able to protect her. But another part of her was afraid to look her in the eye because she failed to save her. Her thoughts were broken by the arm hung over her abdomen. "What time is your flight?"

"I'm not leaving." Amy snuggled closer.

"Amy, you have school. It's your last semester." Lucy thought her lover understood.

"Then come back with me."

"Ammmmmy…I can't…" Lucy said in an apologetic tone.

"Then I'm not leaving you. School can wait." Amy made the decision the moment she realized that her plan didn't work last night. Especially after hearing about the terrorist, she felt that her help was needed. "Do you really think I can concentrate while you're here?...you're not going, then I'm staying." It ruined her plans of having a baby after graduation, but she had no choice.

"Ammmyyy…" She was unable to talk when the blonde suddenly rolled on top of her and had her cheeks squeezed together.

"No, you listen to me. I know you hate being told what to do. But as of this moment, you need to listen to me. We're going to take care of this together. The sooner we get this resolved. The sooner we can go back. Do you understand?"

With her lips squeezed together, Lucy couldn't speak and could only nod. She hated the idea of putting her lover in a dangerous situation but realized that she may be right. If she had asked for more help, she wouldn't have been in this condition.

"…and the sooner we can start our family" Amy said in sweet voice. Releasing her hands from the brunette's cheek, Amy leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, then another on her cheek. "The doctor said, the sooner the better." Amy continued to press soft kisses from one side of her neck to the other.

"What?" Lucy said with confusion as her heart began to pound faster, her sexual desire was ignited the moment she felt the blonde's body on top of hers. Her body wanted to but she can't allow it to happen, not like this.

"She said…it's good for the eggs…"

Lucy heard but was more confused than before. "Whaaat?"

"She said...it's easier to conceive if we do it more often." Amy responded in an embarrassing tone between kisses on her neck.

Lucy heard enough and pushed the blonde's shoulders back a bit. "Unless your doctor is insane, I don't think she meant…us. Did you tell her who you're sleeping with?"

Amy had the same reaction when she heard and was quite embarrassed to tell the doctor about her partner. "I did…afterwards…." She leaned down again and kissed gently on the brunette's lips. "She said…it's good to keep it active." Amy repeated what the doctor told her. When she saw the brunette looking at her as if she was crazy, she understood why because she too had that same look that day. When she was asked how active she is, she responded quickly to the doctor, but was embarrassed to learn afterwards that the doctor was referring to her sex life not physical activity. She was shy to admit that it hasn't happened for months. That day after she got home, she was curious to know if what the doctor said was true and was surprised to learn on the web that some believed that besides having a healthy balanced diet and keeping fit, a healthy sex life is also important in increasing the quality of eggs. Among the people her age, her sex life could be considered as dry as the Sahara desert.

With her sensitive areas being touched, Lucy moaned louder, calling the name of the Lord. She would love it if she wasn't in this condition. Not being able to move, everything just doesn't feel right. _Oh God...oh God..._It had been so long since she's been touched this way. It had been so long since she's touched her lover. "OW!"

Amy quickly lifted her head up and stopped her all her movements. "What's wrong?"

Lucy contorted her face in pain. She expected it to feel differently and it did. But what she expected was the complete opposite. Somehow having no feelings in her legs made her other areas more sensitive. In the state that she's in now, she just can't. She cried out in pain again, causing her lover to quickly roll off her.

"here?…" Amy said as she placed her hand over her abdomen.

Lucy wasn't pretending. It did hurt a little, but not to the point where she wouldn't want to make love if she was in good health. It would be better this way than telling her the truth. Knowing how much the blonde wanted to have kids, she can't blame her lover believing everything her doctor said. Sex would increase the quality of eggs? That's the craziest thing she ever heard besides the magic weight loss pill but at least this doesn't have any side effects.

* * *

Next day

Snowflakes melted the moment it hit her face. Cold wind blew softly against them. Lucy was undecided until Alexis called her again. The way Alexis described the condition the megastar was in persuaded her that she must show herself. She just didn't expect the blonde to go with her.

Amy pushed the wheelchair thru the main door. They were greeted by Max and an older female staff who led them up the long staircase. There was no other way to go up but to be carried on her lover's back. She was not surprised to see how big the house is inside since she had lived in one of these when she was a kid. Paintings were hung along the walls in the long quiet hall. Lucy could see Alexis walking out of the room at the end of the hall.

"I'm sorry. I had to." Alexis apologized for not being able to keep her secret from the famous blonde who was blaming herself. She was crying. She broke down in front of her when she heard about the death of David.

They decided to declare 'David' as dead to end the search party and mainly to end everyone's curiosity. It was easy to do so since the helicopter exploded in midair in the middle of the ocean.

"How is she?" Lucy wasn't sure what she meant when she shook her head but knew it wasn't a good sign. Dressed in a black winter coat with a blue scarf around her neck, a black cap, and a pair of dark shades, Lucy looked up at her lover who patted gently on her shoulder. Unlike before, Lucy wanted to see the megastar more than ever.

"Wait…" Alexis stopped the blonde from pushing the wheelchair forward. "She only wants to see you."

Lucy understood completely. "Stay here." She said softly to her lover. Not knowing what to expect inside, Lucy wasn't prepared for it. All she wanted to do is apologize in person and hoped that her presence and her words would be able to bring the famous blonde some comfort.

The door slowly opened. Lucy rolled the wheelchair forward and noticed the famous blonde standing near the last window 30 feet away, looking up at the dark sky, pouring snow. With the lights dimmed, an atmosphere of sadness surrounded them. Lucy rolled forward another foot. It seemed like it was only yesterday when she saw the blonde singing and smiling towards the crowd of fans. That happiness, that innocence, that liveliness were no longer there. _ I'll kill those bastards. I promise._ Moving five feet closer, her wheelchair aligned with the blonde's position 20 feet away, Lucy could now see the left side of her face. It wasn't what she expected from a victim of sexual assault. Her tears must have gone dry by now. Her anger, her sadness, all of her emotions must have exhausted her. Now it's time to heal. It will get better but will never go away. Now it's time to think of what to do, how to move on, how to live...

Lucy moved another inch forward, then stopped when the blonde turned towards her. Her heart ached at the sight and began to pound faster when the blonde starts walking towards her in a slow pace. Each step the blonde made, she couldn't help thinking that she made the wrong decision in coming. _Lucy, you coward. _It wasn't the first time she failed. Each time she did, she couldn't sleep for days. Her mind would think about the things that she could have done differently to change the outcome. When it involved the life of her friends and followers, what she did was inflict pain upon herself by working out to the point where all her energy would be drained or have a fighting match with one of her followers or friends where she would end up with bruises to remind herself never to let it happen again. Being in this wheelchair would be a reminder to never…let…it…happen again.

Her heart pounded fiercely as those blue eyes came closer and closer. Not knowing what to say, Lucy remained silent, showing a face full of apology. Seeing a hand slowly extending towards her, she remained still and allowed the blonde to touch her cheek, her bruised bearded face, her brows, and her cut lip. Being this close to the megastar made her feel even more remorseful, especially when the megastar ran her fingers through her dark brown hair, lightly touching her scalp, the bump and forehead. They had never been this close before, only a few inches of space between their faces. Each touch made her feel more ashamed and guilty for not being able to save her. Each touch caused her tears to build up and her lips to curve downwards. Lucy lifted her hand up an inch, but reminded herself that it wouldn't be appropriate to be touching her. Looking into those innocent tired eyes with red streaks, she couldn't stop blaming herself. Her eyebrows then raised slightly when she thought she saw a small lift in the corner of the blonde's lips. She realized it was only in her imagination combined with blurry vision and dim lighting when the left side of her face suddenly met the famous blonde's right palm with full force.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 61**

_Damn, that hurts_. It wouldn't have hurt that much if her face wasn't already bruised. She didn't expect that nor did she expect Amy to barge in at this moment. Lucy quickly took her hand away from her face before turning the wheelchair towards her lover and pretended as best as she could that nothing happened.

Amy stared at the megastar from head to toe as she walked towards her. Previously she had been standing outside the door with Alexis and Max. She wasn't eavesdropping. Her hearing is just more sensitive than others. "Is everything okay?"

Still feeling the tingling sensation on her face, Lucy smiled and hoped her beard would be able to cover any evidence of what just happened. _Why did she hit me? _She didn't think the megastar who is known to the public as a compassionate and understanding person would raise her hand to hit anyone unless she is provoked. Looking up at the 2 blondes standing 2 feet away from each other, Lucy couldn't understand why a feeling of awkwardness suddenly ran through her body from her head to her pelvic.

"This is Kristin." Alexis made the introduction.

"we've met." Amy said, keeping her eyes on the megastar.

"I remember."

There was no handshake, just words spoken in the same tone as if they have no intention of being friends now or in the future. Lucy could see that her girlfriend was in her agent mode, scanning the megastar from top to bottom and back up again. The megastar was conspicuously doing the same thing. If it wasn't for the house staff who informed them that dinner's ready, Lucy wondered how long they would stand there, just looking at each other in silence.

Sitting next to the famous blonde on a long dining table with 10 seats, Lucy had never felt so awkward in her entire life. She shouldn't be. But for some reason, the silence and the other blonde sitting next to her created that type of atmosphere. Her brows furrowed after taking a quick glance at the megastar sitting on her right at the end of the table. She didn't need to follow her line of sight and knew exactly who she was looking at. Lucy took a bite of her dinner roll and deliberately leaned back. Her eyes moved left, then right and saw both blondes looking at each other. She knew why her lover would be staring but she wasn't sure why the megastar was. It wasn't until Max spoke that broke their stare.

"I know this isn't the right time."

"Max, not now." _Damn it Max, this isn't the right time to talk about that. _

"Why are you here?" Everyone's attention was captured by the megastar's voice.

Lucy wasn't sure what she meant by that.

"I mean…everything you said is a lie, isn't it?"

It's time to explain but Lucy didn't know how to explain all of this from the beginning. "no"

"It isn't? So you didn't follow me from London? You didn't know I was going to be in New York? You weren't following me every day…and...she's not your girlfriend?"

It was the same tone that she heard before when she didn't have her trust. Lucy can't blame her. Too many things just didn't make sense. If she was able to save her, then her attitude may be different.

"I am her girlfriend."

Lucy was very surprised when Amy announced herself as her girlfriend. On a second thought, she shouldn't be because she was disguised as a man.

"We never broke up. He followed you here because…" Amy turned towards the brunette as the moment where they had the argument in London instantly flowed back into her mind. "he's…a fan of yours…all he wants to do is…protect you."

_That's all I wanted to do. Amy. _

All remained quiet when the older female staff entered the dining room to put another plate down on the table until the hostess asked the woman to get guest rooms ready.

Lucy wasn't planning on staying until the megastar spoke in a demanding tone as if she would not take a 'no' for an answer. "There's a blizzard outside…and I have a lot of questions."

Feeling that she did owe her an explanation and their conversation wasn't finished, Lucy didn't reject the offer and turned to Max who didn't object to it either because she has yet to say what she came here for.

"Can you get 2 rooms ready?"

"one room would be sufficient" The response from her lover came so quickly, Lucy was a bit shocked by it because there was no need to respond to that. She could see an invisible straight line connecting her lover's hazel green eyes to the megastar's ocean blue ones the moment Amy corrected her. If those eyes could emit fire, she wondered who would win.

Dinner time became very quiet after that. Inside the family room, Max finally got a chance to talk. Before getting to the main point, she offered to have secret service follow her at all times as a precaution. Max hoped by telling her about the death of the terrorist and everything she knows about them which wasn't much, she can gain the megastar's trust and convince her not to make this situation worse than it already is. The famous blonde may not be the President but her status and her power to influence the public should not be underestimated.

Sitting on the couch, the megastar had been listening and was appalled at the request. Cover ups, there are a lot of that going on in the government. "What are they going to do about it?"

"They're going to make sure it never happens again."

"how?"

Max was speaking like a politician. Lucy internally praised the megastar for asking the right questions. "They will make changes in their training. Two people know about this and they've been sworn to secrecy. I assure you they will never be able to make decisions ever again."

All eyes were focused on the blonde. Sitting across from the megastar and Alexis, Lucy could see that Alexis wanted to say something. She was surprised that the megastar wanted her opinion not Alexis's. Lucy rolled the wheelchair forward closer to the megastar, leaned forward and looked straight into her eyes.

"Don't do it for them. Don't do it for anyone. Do it…for yourself." Lucy didn't feel the need to say anymore knowing how smart she is. There was a long moment of silence as they looked at each other. She could see the megastar thinking about it. She could see the megastar's brows knitting close together. The color of her eyes became more visible as they moved closer towards hers.

"Those hostages know about it. People are talking about it. My career will come to an end. But that doesn't matter…because I'm not afraid. Give me another reason…why I should."

It's not what she expected the megastar to say. Many artists would do anything to hide the truth from the public, anything that would do damage to their career. If they keep on denying it, people will eventually believe it.

"Do you understand what's going to happen? This will never end if you don't. Everyone will know…everyone…."

"I'm not afraid."

Lucy didn't realize until now just how strong the blonde really is and she's beginning to understand why Alexis is attracted to her. What else could she possibly say to persuade her? She turned around to see if Amy has any ideas. There was a small movement on her lips, but Lucy understood.

_Yes. Lucas. _"then do it for Lucas." _Where is Lucas? _At a time like this, she expected her boyfriend to be by her side.

"Why?"

_Why? _Lucy was again confused with the question. The answer should be obvious. "because he wouldn't want to see you get hurt…" Lucy can't believe she's speaking for her half-brother when his involvement is yet to be confirmed.

"What would you do?"

All were surprised that the question was directed to the other blonde who had not said a word.

There was no hesitation. Amy told her exactly what she would have done and that is to get the names of those who saw the video because she believed what they also needed is punishment so that they would never put themselves in a situation where they could accidentally spill the truth. Training won't do anything because guys like to talk, especially when they feel that they've been treated unfairly. A court order won't help either because guys tend to speak out of anger even when they know what the consequences are. Firing them would cause them to speak out. Demoting them would do the same.

"you can trust her…" Amy was referring to Max. "But sometimes things can happen and she won't have any control over it." That was to tell her Max's assurance meant nothing. "They need to be warned maybe from a psychotic, obsessed fan."

_Warned?_ Lucy was quite shocked to hear the suggestion from her lover, a former agent. It sounded like she had previously thought about it. It's a good idea. _Psychotic obsessed fan… _That could be arranged. Anthony would definitely agree. She just needed to make sure he doesn't have them killed.

Silence filled the room for a long moment. She could see that the megastar was thinking about it, then taking a glance at each one of them. Seeing her natural face without makeup, lines under her tired looking eyes, Lucy hated Max for talking about this at this time. But knowing Max, she must have a good reason…maybe a deadline or something. They were all waiting for a response but realized that everything that they said wasn't enough to convince her.

"Give me another reason."

Lucy couldn't think of one, nor could Max or Amy. All remained silent as they heard the sound of a click from the door closing behind the famous blonde. Nothing turned out the way she expected. Feeling as though she had once again failed to protect her, Lucy held her forehead, covering her eyes in shame. Confused, frustrated, and out of ideas, Lucy could feel a headache coming on. Not only that, her back was hurting to the point where she could no longer hold it in.

* * *

Lying on her front on the king size bed, Lucy thanked her lover for massaging her back. It was her way of showing appreciation. She didn't realize what she said had somehow caused the blonde to think of something else.

"I'll always be with you."

Feeling a kiss on her cheek didn't make her feel better, it did the complete opposite. It made her feel guilty. Lucy turned herself around, laid on her back and opened her arms wide, inviting the blonde to lie on top of her.

With her head rested against the brunette's chest, Amy could hear her loud sigh of frustration. "It's going to be okay. I'll talk to her tomorrow." She too didn't think it would be this difficult to persuade the famous blonde.

"I…don't think that's a good idea."

"Let me find out what she's thinking." When Amy noticed the brunette was about to speak, she pressed two fingers over her lips, preventing her from talking. "She probably doesn't know what she's getting herself into."

"she…" Lucy was again prevented from talking. This time, her whole mouth was covered.

"She thinks she knows. But I can tell…she has no clue." She continued to tell her about someone she knows, a friend of a friend who found out that her husband had been cheating on her for years. The woman was the breadwinner and the husband had been unemployed for years. Amy advised her friend to tell her friend to get a good lawyer or mediator to negotiate how much alimony she had to pay out. Her advice was however ignored and the woman let her emotions take control. She wasted tons of money trying to prove his infidelity to the court only to find that the state that she lived in is a 'no fault' state which means it didn't matter if her husband was the one who cheated, she still had to pay a certain amount of money each month for spousal support. "That's exactly what she's doing right now. She's letting her emotions take control. She thinks she can make a point but she doesn't know the price she'll have to pay."

She sounded confident. But Lucy still didn't think it would be that easy. "She's not like others."

"Are you doubting my abilities?"

"Amy…I…"

This time, she couldn't speak because her mouth was captured in a soft slow kiss, a kiss that lasted longer than what she expected and made her realize that the second time is here and now when her lover shifted herself comfortably on top of her. She understood her lover's intention but this isn't putting her mind at ease. Feeling gentle kisses on her jaws and neck, it was quite difficult to think of a reason to prevent it from going any further. _Think. Think. _Lucy placed a kiss then another on her lover's neck while trying to think until she realized the reason was surrounding her.

"we're in somebody's house."

Lucy thought that would do it since she knows that Amy isn't comfortable having sex in a place other than their own. Back in London, it was either her apartment or the duplex. They almost did it once in the back seat of her car but didn't go thru with it because they found it uncomfortable. Even in a hotel, Amy once admitted that she wasn't comfortable doing it. God knows how many had done it on the same bed. Lucy herself felt the same way so she always reserved a vip room with new unused pillows, plenty of clean sheets to cover the used bed and a new unused blanket. When she did that a few years ago while they were traveling through the various countries via Eurail, Amy complained about her wasting money like that, but she didn't give in. What she did instead was explained how it would affect the economy if everybody is unwilling to spend it. Those who don't have the money will do that. But can you imagine what will happen to the economy if those who had the money do that too? After that explanation, her complaints stopped.

"…I think you need a shower…" Her nose sniffed in a few times which earned her a slap on her shoulder afterwards.

"you too…"

"You needed more badly than I do." Lucy continued to joke around which earned her a few more light slaps. She was glad that it worked but wondered how long she can keep avoiding this.

While Amy was taking a shower, Lucy decided to take a look around the house. Before doing so, she remembered to put the voice changer back into place at the bottom of her throat. There was nobody in the hallway. All the doors to the rooms were closed. Lights were off except for one. A slit of light could be seen from the last room on the left which was a different room from the one she went to earlier. As she wheeled towards the end of the hall, she stopped to look at the paintings that were hung on the wall. There was nothing special about them, just regular paintings not the ones where she would be interested in stealing. Looking at the large window at the end of the hall, the snowstorm captured her attention. But what stopped her from going towards it was the sound coming from the room on the left. She had no intention of going inside before but the sound became more and more familiar which lured her in to take a peek. The door was unlocked. Not only curiosity, it was the soft and warm music from the piano that pulled her in. She knew what it was. She had heard it many times. Once inside, ten feet away from the black piano, Lucy remained still in her wheelchair while listening to the song of the year. Even without the lyrics, she could feel the sadness in the sound of the piano chords. Her heart ached at each key that was pressed. It was this song that brought millions to tears. It was this song that reeled in millions. It was also this song that gave millions hope because of the profit it earned and the donations that the megastar gave away. But at this moment, she believed that the only thing the megastar was thinking about was the one in the song, the one who once brought her happiness. If that person is still alive, Lucy would do everything in her power to bring that person here because it seems that the megastar has not yet got over him.

Silence filled the room after the last note. Lucy couldn't think of anything to say at a time like this but remembered what the blonde said a moment ago; find out what she's thinking. Watching the blonde moved in front of the large window, Lucy didn't think it would be this difficult to find out what someone like her would be thinking of since the megastar was practically living under a microscope. What she read about her was far from the truth. Her actions were unpredictable. The only one who seems to know is Alexis. _Alexis. Why didn't I think of that before? _Lucy remained in her position for a moment to see if the megastar wanted to talk. One minute passed, then two minutes, after three minutes sitting in silence, Lucy decided it's best to go see Alexis. She wheeled back and turned around, then stopped when she finally heard a voice behind here. It wasn't what she expected her to say and again was confused with the question.

"Why are you here?"

Frowning in confusion, Lucy turned the wheelchair around and found the megastar looking at her as if she had done something wrong. It didn't make sense to say what she said before because she failed to protect her.

"Why did you bring her here?"

Her? It was obvious who she was referring to, but why would it matter if her lover followed her here? _Find out what she's thinking._ These words from her lover kept repeating in her head.

"She wanted to come." She could see the megastar walking towards her and didn't like that response. Lucy leaned back when the megastar grabbed hold of the arms of the wheelchair. There was a moment when she thought the megastar was going to slap her again. If she did, Lucy wouldn't have stopped her.

"Did you even think about how I would feel?"

Lucy noticed she was quite upset, no longer the same person she met in London. _Keep talking. Keep talking_. It was as if she could hear her lover instructing her what to do.

"That's why I came, to see how you're feeling." Lucy said in a genuine tone while trying to see thru those blue eyes in front of her, but it was quite difficult because what she saw were pupils getting darker, bigger, and closer.

"How would you feel if you've been touched by a stranger?"

Lucy didn't want to apologize again knowing that won't help. "I'll kill him…I swear to God, I'll kill him." Lucy spoke what was in her mind and regretted a moment later for saying that because the blonde jerked back immediately, looking as though she was frightened by what she said. "I mean Max will get them." Lucy moved the wheelchair forward, attempting to hold her hand but when the pain in her back prevented her from doing so, she quickly straightened her back, wincing at the pain. It wasn't her intention to get the megastar's sympathy but it did. She was surprised how her attitude suddenly changed 180 degrees in two seconds.

"What's wrong?"

"nothin..just back pain…" Her face contorted in pain.

Not only did Lucy didn't expect her to place her hand on her back, she was unaware that the megastar didn't know about her injuries when she told her to get up_._ Looking up at that face full of concern, she wondered how she would react if she told her the truth. "I'm okay."

"She's not here."

It was another unexpected response. She didn't think the megastar noticed her lover's behavior. On a second thought, it was so obvious, even a blind would notice. "wait…wait…wait…" Lucy had to say it the fourth time before the megastar stopped pulling her hands. "I can't."

Not everything she read about the megastar is true. But one thing that she found is true is her concern for others; Lucy could see that in front of her.

"It's getting late. Let's talk tomorrow." Lucy spoke softly and moved the wheels slowly back inch by inch until she couldn't go any further. Her thighs were suddenly being squeezed and pinched.

"Nnnno…"

Having the megastar's arms around her waist, crying uncontrollably, Lucy realized that she was finally able to gain her full trust. But she wished it didn't happen this way.

* * *

Next morning

Dishes of thick sliced bread, toast, butter, croissant, cheese, scrambled eggs, omelette and a pot of coffee were neatly set on the dining table. Unlike everyone who waited for the hostess before digging in, Max didn't care and poured a cup of coffee for herself.

"Max" Amy didn't think it was polite to start eating first.

"it's okay…she's cool…" Sitting next to Max, Alexis said as she took a croissant.

Since both thought it would be okay, Lucy reached for the coffee but realized her arm is not long enough. Guilt ran through her as she watched her fiancée poured the coffee into her cup. She wondered how long the blonde can stand this because even she herself can't stand being so useless.

"I can do that." Lucy expected her to just put the coffee pot on the table, not slice the croissant into half including spreading butter in it.

Amy froze for a second and realized what she was doing. With her quick thinking, she was able to think of a reason. "I know you can and I…just want to feed my…boyfriend." She placed a piece of croissant in front of Lucy who took the bite with a little hesitation.

"Can you two do that behind closed doors?..." It wasn't just that, it was the kiss on the cheek. Max had never seen her friend display that type of behavior towards her ex in public and realized why the former DEB agent did that when she saw the other blonde walking in the opened French doors.

"good morning." Alexis was the first one who spoke, followed by others, then the megastar who responded in a soft tone and took a seat at the end of the table while taking glances at the blonde and the one in the wheelchair.

The makeup on the megastar wasn't enough to cover the circles under her eyes. Sitting next to her, Lucy could see that she didn't even try. Too much makeup would only make it worse. Lucy again felt guilty: one for letting her know about her injuries; two for seeing her alone last night. If she had not, she wouldn't have found out more than what she wanted to know. She too didn't sleep well last night because of it. It was a kiss, a kiss that lasted too long to be considered just a friendly kiss. That's what she got from the famous blonde, a kiss on the cheek last night, before entering the bedroom.

Chewing on a piece of buttered toast, Max was anxious to know if the megastar changed her mind and decided to wait until after breakfast but learned that the brunette was also anxious to know about something else.

"Where's Lucas?"

Max had people surveilling Lucas's apartment but never saw him going in or out nor could she find any records of him flying out of the states.

"I don't know." Alyson said in an uncaring tone as she put a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth.

One thought immediately popped into Lucy's head; Lucas is involved. But that thought quickly disappeared after the blonde explained that she didn't want him to come since there would be people following him. She looked at Max to see if she wanted to continue with the subject. Knowing where Lucas is would help with the investigation.

"Is he in New York?" Max asked.

That got Alyson's attention. Lucy didn't expect Max to tell her the truth but felt that it's the right thing to do since all along she had been telling her to stay away from him.

"Do you have any proof?"

"That's what we're trying to find." Max responded in a gentle tone.

"Is this why you came to warn me?"

Putting down the coffee cup, Lucy didn't have to think about the question and nodded in response. What Lucy also decided to tell her is the other possibilities, her friends, her bodyguards, her enemies and anyone who knows where she would be that day. All expected the megastar to be confused and she was. Not only Max, Lucy was a bit shaken up when the megastar suddenly stood up, slamming the fork on the table.

"You knew about this and you didn't tell me!" Alyson had thought that she was there at the wrong place at the wrong time. But now with the new information, it sounded completely different. It sounded like what happened could be avoided.

"We're just speculating. I'm just saying it's very possible that it could be Lucas because he needed money and he…" Her jaws dropped and so did everyone else's. It didn't hurt as much as last time but she didn't appreciate being slapped in front of everyone especially her lover who immediately stood in front of her to protect her. Not knowing what Amy would do, Lucy quickly grabbed hold of the blonde's hand. Alexis was also shocked beyond belief and quickly stood in the middle of the two blondes while trying to remedy the situation by explaining as fast as she could. Alexis had never seen her this way before, her fierce eyes, glaring at the disguised brunette.

"I know what we did was wrong. We shouldn't have lied to you. But you have to trust us. We don't know what's going on. That's what we're trying to find out.." Alexis stood in front of the megastar to take her eyes away from the disguised brunette. "My name is Alexis and I have a little sister named Ashley who is a huge fan of yours, the one on the phone…you talked to her…remember. Everything I told you about myself is true. I am a fashion designer and they are my friends. All we wanted to do is help you. We don't know if you are in danger, but we believe…" Alexis reached out to hold her wrist. "... it would be safer if you come with us…" Having heard of all the possible suspects, she took it upon herself to make this suggestion because she didn't feel it would be safe for the megastar to live alone in this big house.

Max didn't expect the situation to turn out this way and felt the need to explain what she found. "Lucas…is on the top of our list but that doesn't mean that he is involved. What we are certain about is that you being in the bank is not a coincidence. Someone knew where you were going that day. It might not be Lucas or anyone you know but without your cooperation, we cannot narrow it down."

Max, like the rest of them, was shocked by her behavior. The silence inside the room lasted longer than she wanted to. With the current situation, she felt she had no choice but to give the megastar more information than she had wanted to.

"From day 1, I told you I was with the law enforcement." Max said to let her know that she had been honest with her. "…and he is my friend…" Max extended her hand towards the disguised brunette and continued to tell her the real reason she was there since she didn't see a point in hiding it from her. "What I'm going to tell you next is because I consider you as my friend." At this moment, all eyes remained at their current position. Alexis, Lucy, and Amy had their eyes locked on the megastar who was looking at Max. "After today, there will be a new group of people knocking on your door. Your house will be surrounded. They're going to be asking you a lot of questions, sensitive questions that you wouldn't want to answer…and they won't care how you feel. Your friends and family will get the same treatment and your lawyers won't be able to do anything about it except cooperate. This is not a regular bank heist so everything they do is not going to be what you would expect. We know this has nothing to do with you. But if you don't cooperate, they will have no choice but to make it look like you're involved." The two young pretty women may not look anything alike, but at this moment, both the megastar and Alexis wore the same expression.

"Are…you…threatening me?"

"I am telling you what's going to happen if you continue to believe what you're doing is right. A lot of people will believe you and you can make this as big as you want to but in the end, nobody will win."

Seeing their change in facial expression, Max could feel the information is slowly sinking into their heads including Alexis'.

"By 5PM today, if I cannot convince you to cooperate with me, that is what is going to happen tomorrow…and I will not be able to help you."

Lucy pulled Amy's hand back, motioning her to step back. Alexis stepped aside to allow the brunette move the wheelchair towards the megastar. Holding the famous blonde's hand, Lucy again let her know what she thinks. "Don't do it for them. Do it for yourself."

Max couldn't resist rolling her eyes. Whether it's for them or for herself, the end result is the same so she didn't see the brunette's point of pointing that out. The information that she just gave, she did exaggerated a bit, especially about the part about making it looked like she's involved with the terrorists. Who's going to believe that? certainly not her millions of fans...

Amy took one step closer, getting ready to protect her lover from the megastar who was slowly bending down to the brunette's level.

"What's the matter with you? You should've just told me…and this…would never have happened"

Hearing the soft tone and seeing eyes brimming with concern in front of her, Lucy sensed that she was no longer upset with her. But what she couldn't understand is why the famous blonde seemed to be more worried about her injuries than her own.

* * *

Back in the hotel

Nothing turned out the way Lucy expected but nevertheless the megastar agreed to hide the truth from the public with the conditions suggested by the former blonde agent.

_Stay away from me. _That's not the only thing the megastar told her. Lucy reached into her pocket and pulled out a card that the megastar gave her. _Go see him and maybe he can help you. _It was all very confusing to see how the megastar changed from one minute to the next. One minute she slapped her and Lucy still had no idea why. The next minute, she was told to stay away from all of this, stay away from her after Lucy suggested that she should stay with them for her safety. It was said out of concern. She could feel that. Just like her blonde lover, she didn't want her to get hurt.

_Stay away_. _How could I stay away not knowing if Lucas is involved? How could I stay away after what happened to you? _Her thoughts were broken by the blonde standing in front of her.

As requested, Lucy laid flat on the couch on her stomach, allowing her lover to massage her aching back. Sitting on the other couch and armchair were Max and Alexis.

"Why did you ask her to stay with us?" Amy didn't understand why Alexis suggested that. She became even more confused when Lucy agreed. "If she stays with us, she's going to know who you are."

"uh…Amy…I think that may be a good thing…" Max said while taking a drink. When she saw all eyes staring at her with confusion, she continued with her thought. "Don't tell me you girls didn't notice. If she finds out your guy is really a gal, you can stop acting like a jealous girlfriend." Max shrugged in response to the glare that was given to her by the blonde.

"She would want to know why she's disguised as a man. So what are we going to tell her then?"

Max again shrugged in response as if she didn't care. She didn't because she could up with a lot of reasons if necessary.

"she's alone right now. I just thought that it would be safer if she stays with us. We don't know where Lucas is. We don't know if he will show up. If he does, it might be too late then." Out of all the people, Lucy thought her lover would understand but realizes her jealous mind might have impeded her from thinking rationally.

"She told you to stay away from her." Amy was expecting a response from her lover but all she got was a blank stare. "She told you that she won't see Lucas until we know what's going on." Hearing no response, she got off the couch. "Lucy, she told you to go back to London!" The long silence told her it was useless. She realized nothing, not even the words from the megastar, would be able to persuade her to leave. _It didn't work. _She knows she shouldn't but she needed the brunette to know that she's upset and she did by grabbing her coat and slamming the main door behind her.

"Alexis, can you talk to her...please." Lying on the couch, Lucy slowly turned herself around as she let out a sigh of frustration.

"I agree with her. Why do you still want to be here?" Now that they know how the megastar is doing, Alexis didn't feel it was necessary for the brunette to be here, especially in her condition.

"Max…"

Max didn't want to but did as told and called the blonde. After 3 rings, Amy finally picked up.

"mhm….mhmm….mhm…okay…mhm…"

"What did she say?" Lucy asked anxiously after Max hung up.

"She said she's really angry right now. She doesn't want to talk to you. She doesn't want to see you. She said she feels like she doesn't know you anymore. She needs time to think."

Lucy pushed herself to sit up after hearing the last statement. "Think about what?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

It's not the first or the second time the blonde said that. Lucy was confident that Amy will be back and when she does, she plans to apologize again. It worked last time so she's not worried that the blonde will leave her. That is until she couldn't get hold of her.

Lucy had been rolling the wheelchair back and forth for what seemed like an hour, waiting for Max to call back. The blonde left at 2 and the last time they heard from her was at 6. It's 9PM. Something must have happened because no matter how mad her lover is, she wouldn't do this just to get back at her. "Amy, where are you?" Lucy quickly turned the cell phone on after hearing a ring. "Is she okay?"

"We found the phone…she's not here..." Max can't think of anything positive to say because the fact is it's impossible to find anyone at this time of the night especially when there are no surveillance cameras anywhere near there. "We're going to look around. I'll call you back."

Her worried eyes looked up at the young woman standing over her. No words could come out of her mouth. Her body was trembling with fear as her mind thought of the worst. She hoped that Amy was only playing a joke on her but knew that was impossible. With Alexis holding her tight, she could only pray for her lover to return safely. One minute passed, then two, then after five minutes her heart jumped at the sound of the phone. Lucy quickly turned it on only to find that it wasn't Max.

"Anthony…" Without hesitation, Lucy cut him off and quickly told him of the blonde's situation.

"calm down, nothing is going to happen to her…."

Lucy didn't know why he was so confident until she heard the reason he called.

"I got one of them…he's a talker. If they have her, we can get to her."

Hearing that didn't make her feel any better. Lucy hung up, allowing Anthony to do his business. _Four more to go._ Saying that in her own mind made her regret the decision to allow the blonde stay with her. Feeling as though she had once again failed to protect the one she loves, her right hand rolled up into a fist and began hitting her own thighs as hard as she could, either hoping to get them to work or just torturing herself.

"Stop it…stop it!" Alexis called out as she wrapped her arms around her, preventing her from hurting herself. "She's going to be okay. You hear me. She's going to be okay."

"Alexis, I want you to go back to London as soon as you can." Knowing what Alexis would say, Lucy quickly cut her off. "You can't help me here." She reached up and cupped her cheeks. "You can help me by going home. You understand?" She knew how difficult it would be to ask her to leave not knowing Amy's whereabouts. "I'll find her. I'll find her." Not knowing what the situation is out there, Lucy could only think of the worst. The more she thought, the more it didn't make sense.

_Why Amy?_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 62**

Small lighted aromatherapy candles filled the room with a comfortable, relaxing scent. Bubbling of water shooting out inside the jacuzzi could be heard. With arms extended out, resting on the sides, he breathed in and out comfortably as he relaxed his entire body and mind. It had been 6 years since he sat in one of these. He never thought he would ever have a chance to use it or get out from the heavily guarded prison, for that matter. His eyes slowly opened, his wet hands wiped over his thin wrinkled face. Slowly lifting up one leg at a time, he walked on the floor covered with clean white towels towards the chair where his pajamas laid. He then stopped in front of the mirror that was hung against the wall. Each time he looked at his 6 feet inches frame, his eyes would land on the bruises all over his 160 pound body and he would wonder if there will ever be a day when his body would return to its original color. They're all slowly healing now. He is happy to see that.

Stepping out in a white robe, he could see the one he barely recognized the first time he saw her and two men looking at him in awe as if it's the first time they met. With the new haircut, the new black dyed hair, the original beard trimmed to a goatee, he too had the same expression when he saw himself with the new look. All he needed now is a couple more weeks and he would be able to regain his strength and health.

"You look good." The young woman with a ponytail complimented.

Taking a seat at the dining table, with a small smile in place, he nodded to each one, once again thanking them in silence for a job well done. He turned to his left and could now see the minute resemblance between his 25 year old daughter and himself. In front of him and to his right, he could barely recognize them, one taller with the scruffy beard, the other shorter with the thinning hair. Now that his mind is much clearer than before after having a few days' rest, it's time to resume what he had planned a few years ago, before he was captured. But before that, he wants to know everything and everyone involved in planning his escape.

It wasn't a coincidence nor was it a plan that takes years of planning. It is, however, an accident that brought them to the one who suggested the idea of the heist. That acquaintance guaranteed that it would work and it did but failed to mention a few important things.

As each picture was shown to him, a description of the person's background was given except for the one who interfered.

"We don't know who he is. He's dead."

"Did you…?"

"No, we don't know what caused the explosion."

When he learned about the explosion of the helicopter, he thought they had put a timer detonator to destroy any trail including the man inside. It made sense. That's what he would have done. His eyes locked on each one for a moment. His brows drew closer together. It was the moment when the man on his right blinked, he knew something wasn't right. "…you?"

The taller man then stood up, cursing in his native language when he realized who might have killed one of their members. "You did it? Why?!"

The older man was confused and wanted an explanation. Hearing the explanation made him want to smack him. If it was 6 years ago, he would've done so and did more than that.

"I didn't."

As the older man listened to the story, he found it odd how the events turned out based on what one person said. "How did you know he was telling the truth?" His eyes turned towards his daughter when he saw the others focusing on her.

"I can tell…"

Moments of what happened that day flowed into her mind. It was his eyes and his concern for the megastar. He begged. He crawled. He offered money. It was his sacrifice, begging continuously to let the megastar go as he was being kicked all over his body. It was the way he defended females in general, the way he talked about woman not having a place in the world and not being treated equally. She had never heard a man talk about woman in that way, at least not from the ones she knows. _Do you love her?_ That's what she asked him before getting off the helicopter. Even though he denied it, it was very clear to her that he does_._

Letting out a sigh of frustration, the older man was thinking of what to do. With their status, with their limited resources, they would be no match against someone with that much power. But he's not afraid. He had been in a similar situation before. What he's frustrated with is that he would have to again postpone his plans a little longer.

"I didn't do it." Looking up at the taller man glaring down at him as though he wanted to kill him at that moment, the shorter man again repeated, shrinking down in fear.

"How can we get in touch with him?" said the older man.

"That would be suicide."

"We could use her…" The shorter man suggested.

"no!" The sudden shout by the young woman stopped him from continuing his thought. Those words of inequality and unfairness to women from the stranger remained in her mind. _Women, being used as an object in any situation, it seems that he's the only one who understands_._ "Do you love her?...I would have done the same if you were in her position." _Those last words were embedded into her mind and heart. She could tell by the sincerity in his eyes that he was speaking the truth and there was no reason for him to lie. "he'll kill us."

"We can use this…." The shorter man pressed a few buttons on the laptop.

In front of him, the older man could see a video of a man wearing a full face mask straddling a young blonde who was crying and screaming for help, with hands tied together around the leg of a couch. "Stop….please…stop…" A desk, chairs, and furniture had been moved against the walls in an office. A warning was given telling the FBI what they were going to do if they do not agree to their demand. Video zoomed in onto the blonde's chest area. Movements made by the masked man was slow to let whoever was watching know what he is about to do. Video was shaky but those are watching could tell what he was doing with his hand underneath the blonde's sweater. Camera was then held up high looking down. One kiss was placed on the neck, then another, and another on her cheek. The tip of his tongue could be seen, gliding up her face, not once, but three times while the blonde continued to beg him to stop. Then when a moment of darkness appeared, the older man thought the video ended but wasn't surprised that the FBI had allowed it to continue. The bare tummy of the megastar could be seen as her sweater was being lifted up, exposing an inch just below the belly button. "...Stop!...Don't...Please" What happened later got the older man's full attention as well his other part of the body. The man was unbuttoning his jeans. Camera then zoomed into the blonde's teary eyes for 3 seconds. Her cry for help was clear, letting those who was watching know that what will happen next will be too late if they allowed it to continue. 1…2…3…4….5….6….7….8….9…10 Ten seconds passed. "no…no…don't…please…don't…help me…please…help…me" Tears were running down the side of her face, her arms were pulling to get loose, her eyes looking down, then at the camera, begging for help. When another 10 seconds passed by, a high pitched scream escaped the blonde's mouth, then another and another as her crying and begging continues.

"Why do you still have this?!" The young woman contorted her face in disgust at the shorter man in his 30's.

"…if we get caught…" He trailed off when he saw the older man's hand signal.

Looking at the shorter man he hasn't seen for years, only one thought came to mind; he is as foolish as he remembered him to be. He looked up at the taller man, then at his daughter and thanked them internally for pulling this off. It wasn't problem free but it was successful. Then all turned to the direction of the door when they heard a knock.

"let's talk tomorrow." As he walked towards the door, he warned them not to do anything with the video and keep it safe.

Once the door opened, all were surprised to see a young woman and not Romie, the other member of their team. After all were pushed out the door, it was quite obvious why she was there.

_Woman, being treated as objects…_She realized that her father is the same as all of them.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 63**

Sleep. With Amy missing, Lucy didn't think she could doze off. But she did. Her mind and eyelids were just too tired to hold on until she was awakened by the sound of her phone.

Confusion, but no longer as worried, crowded her mind as she and Alexis were being escorted to another hotel suite in the middle of the night. She asked questions but no answers were given. The only answer given to her and Alexis was that Amy has been found. That's what Max said before she hung up and that didn't put her at ease. Found? That could mean 2 things; dead or alive.

Lucy had never felt so useless and patience is a skill she has not yet mastered. It drove her nuts for the whole hour she had been sitting on the wheelchair, waiting for Max to call her back. Her instructions were to wait and put on the disguise before heading out. Why? It's 2 A.M. There is hardly anyone around except for the hotel employees. Taking orders is also something she has a hard time with especially not knowing anything.

Her eyelids twitched. Her head then snapped towards the door when she heard the sound of the doorknob being turned. _What the hell?_ Her eyes followed Max, then the blonde and was hoping there was one other person behind them but there wasn't.

"Max, what's going on?" That was the question she had been asking. What she needed was answers in more detail but all she got was a hand raised and the assurance that Amy will be there shortly. "Where is she? What happened?"

Max was too tired to respond. She wasn't the only one. The megastar also flopped on the couch, resting her tired body.

Standing clueless, confused, and surprised as the brunette, Alexis had been staring at the blonde the moment she walked in. She had wanted the megastar to stay with them but didn't think it would actually happen. This is the first time she has seen the megastar without makeup. There is a difference but not much.

"Are you okay?"

"fine." Max replied and realized the question wasn't directed to her after opening her eyes.

Max couldn't resist rolling her eyes when she noticed Alexis looking at the famous blonde walking towards the bathroom like a cat looking at a mouse.

"Max, where is she?"

"she's coming." Max said as she took a look at her watch.

It had been only five minutes since they walked in. For whatever reason Amy didn't call her, if she did that to make her worry, Lucy won't blame her. She needed to see her…herself. Two minutes passed by, then four, she thanked God she didn't have to wait long to hear the knock on the door. Her lips widened into a smile when she saw the blonde walking in. With tears forming in her eyes, ignoring everyone else, she rolled the wheels forward. She tried but she just couldn't get her legs to work. With arms extended out, fingers moving in a 'come hither' motion, she waited for Amy to approach.

"Are you okay?"

Hearing the soft response that she had been waiting for, holding the blonde in her arms, Lucy let a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry." She pulled back, looking at her lover, touching her face, her hair, making sure there are no signs of her being hurt before apologizing again. She had a lot of questions but gave Amy a long moment to get herself together.

While waiting for Amy, Max filled them in with what happened from the moment she received an urgent call from Amy. Once she got to the destination, she was surprised to find cars, suvs, and vans parked in front of the megastar's house. It wasn't until she entered the house did she know why those vehicles were there. The situation didn't look good. The megastar was furious to find that her hiding place had once again been found out as a result of her boyfriend who came without notice, without realizing that he had been followed. So Amy suggested to wait until the time is right, to use herself as a decoy and took off in one suv with Lucas while Max and the megastar escaped in another. Her men did the same to steer the reporters, paparazzis, and strangers to the wrong direction. According to her crew, some still thinks the megastar is inside the house.

Lucy still has a lot of questions. She understood why they had to wait so late before leaving the house but what is Amy doing there in the first place? She glanced at the megastar, then at Amy who came out of the bedroom.

"Give me your phone."

Lucy didn't understand but did as told and punched in the password before handing it to her. It's very late. Who is she calling? Why can't it wait until tomorrow? All were surprised who she called and what she said.

Alexis, Max and Lucy instantly wore a face of confusion.

"She's with us now. They wanted you to know that."

Amy was surprised as everyone else when she was asked to give the megastar the phone.

What Alyson learned from Anthony was exactly what the brunette told her last night. She had no idea there were others, Anthony's men, following her to protect her. "You saved me, Anthony. Thank you." She said in the most sincere tone as she locked her eyes at the disguised brunette. All were wonder what Anthony was saying on the other end. It wasn't until the blonde responded that gave it away. "I believe you. If there's anything I can do, please let me know."

After the megastar hung up, all stood in confusion with the new information and was curious to know how he met Anthony, what their relationship is, and most importantly to Max, why she lied.

"You were lying?"

"No, I wasn't. I didn't know until now."

"What do you mean?" Alexis was confused and so were Max and Lucy.

"She didn't know." All focused on the other blonde who responded in a confident tone as if she knows what happened.

"so what exactly happened?" Looking at Amy who was walking towards Lucy, Alexis was very curious.

With her back a bit slouched, with her face several inches away from her lover, Amy spoke in a sweet tone while caressing Lucy's face gently and moved her thumb over her cut lip. "Does it still hurt?"

"no…" It was quick. It was so fast, Lucy realized whether her response was a yes or no, the outcome would have been the same. D_amn…that hurts more than the last time_. Covering the left side of her face, Lucy winced in pain at the same time gasps were heard from the other girls.

Lucy has never seen her lover this upset before, with eyes lighting up and nostrils flaring up. If her lover has powers like the man of steel, she would have been burnt by them. The explanation was loud and clear.

It was a case of mistaken identity. If Amy had not gone to see the megastar, she wouldn't have found out the truth. She didn't realize how dangerous the paparazzis can be until a suv swerved in front of her, causing Lucas to stop the car. It's at that moment when a woman stepped out of the car did Lucas stopped swearing. It was dark and she was standing at a distance. But what she and Lucas heard, they were both surprised by it. That woman didn't come to take a picture of the megastar. She came to ask the megastar to tell the public the truth.

Lucy couldn't remember but understood why her lover would be so upset. If her face wasn't red from the hard slap, it would have turned red because she came to understand why she couldn't see the face of the one who assaulted the famous blonde in her nightmares. It wasn't Lucas. It wasn't the terrorist. _It's me? _She glanced at the megastar and understood why she slapped her the first time and the second time. All she could come up with to defend herself even though she couldn't remember what happened is this.

"it wasn't real."

"It wasn't real? You kissed her. You touched her. If that's not real, then what is?!" Amy herself didn't see the video but knowing that it fooled everyone including Max, it must have been real to some degree.

Lucy swallowed in fear while looking towards Alexis and Max for help. _Help._ If she could remember what happened, then maybe she could come up with a reasonable explanation. Why would it be me? It didn't make sense until the megastar spoke.

"They were going to do it to someone else."

_That's it._ Lucy knew there must be a logical explanation.

"I didn't know why they would agree to his suggestion until now. We had to make it look real. We didn't know we had to go that far." She turned towards Max. "because your colleagues…didn't respond until much, much later…Seemed like they were enjoying watching me get raped." She intentionally said to let Max know why she was unwilling to agree to her request. She then turned her attention back to the upset blonde. "He had to…to save all of us."

Lucy internally thanked the megastar for coming to her aid but realized later that didn't help.

"Couldn't you have thought of something else?!.. That's the most ridiculous suggestion I've ever heard! You…you…"

Lucy jerked back when the blonde pointed a finger at her. She noticed how mad Amy is because every time she's mad, her face turns red and this is the second time that Lucy has seen the blonde so mad that she was speechless followed by stomping to her own room and slamming the bedroom door. This isn't the first time but it has been a while since she heard her blonde lover curse. "Fuck!"

It sounded logical to Lucy. Her lover might not agree but if she could remember, maybe she'd know if she could have thought of something else to save the megastar. _Like the megastar said, maybe I didn't have a choice_ _because bringing up Anthony's name could go either way_. It was a risk. They might not know who Anthony is and that wouldn't have any effect. If Anthony is their enemy, then the outcome may have been more disastrous than just two unresponsive legs.

"So…now that's all in the open, I can tell my boss that nothing happened." Max leaned back in relaxation, feeling as though one of her problems have been resolved.

"Did you see the video?"

Max did numerous times and was unable to see that it was fake. What she was focusing on was the guy in the full ski mask not what they were doing. She complimented on how she could be nominated for an Oscar.

Walking towards David then gripping tight on the arms of the wheelchair, slouching slightly, she turned her head towards Max. "I…may have acted in a few movies but I have **never** been in that type of role. It looked real because it is." All could tell that she was pissed at Max. "The kissing by force, touching my breasts, my body, my hands tied together while being kissed by a man whom I barely know." She glanced at David while saying the last few words before glaring back at Max. "How would you feel if a stranger lies on top of you, touching you, kissing you…and you had to go along with it because it's the only way to save yourself, to save others from getting raped?"

Max had nothing to say to that and deeply regretted for complimenting on her superb performance while Lucy was desperately trying to remember what happened. Her eyes landed on the blonde's breasts as she tried to imagine what she did. She then looked up, swallowing with embarrassment when she saw the megastar moving her face closer and closer towards her.

"I…felt…violated." Even though it was an act, she did feel violated to the point where her whole body was trembling afterwards. After the performance was over, after her hands were untied, she huddled into the corner, trembling and holding her knees up against her chest, her body reacted in a way as if she had been sexually assaulted. Tears were running down. Those were real tears. David apologized repeatedly but it didn't make her feel any better because the fact is she was touched inappropriately and unwillingly. Her teeth were chattering. Her heartbeat was pounding. Even though she knew what was going to happen, she didn't know how it would feel until it actually happened. It's not like acting in a movie where they would talk about where the camera would be focused on and where 'he' would be touching her. "How would you feel if…"

"David is not a man." Alexis said in one breath and rapidly walked towards the famous blonde. Listening to the famous blonde pouring out the details of what she was feeling at that moment, Alexis couldn't take it anymore. "He's…a…woman." She said in an apologetic tone, hoping by telling her the truth, it would help her erase all those bad memories. "he's...a...woman." Alexis expected the megastar to be in shock but saw no reaction.

Max too felt sorry for what the megastar went thru so she didn't stop Alexis from telling her the truth not that she could. She apologized for what she said earlier. "I hope you can finally get a good–night sleep." Max said in a genuine tone. Seeing bags under her eyes, she knew it must have bothered her to the point where she is probably getting nightmares. "Her name...is Skye." That was a hint to Alexis to be careful what she said in front of the megastar, knowing how one can become gullible and blindsided by love. It's late. She's exhausted. The only thing on her mind is sleep. Max said goodnight before leaving the suite.

After locking the door, Alexis turned around and saw that the megastar was no longer standing in front of the brunette. She was bending down in front of 'him', touching 'his' face, 'his' hair. Alexis didn't find anything wrong with her behavior. It was a lot to take in. If it was her, she probably would be thinking of everything that happened. Telling her the truth would make her feel better. But it would also pose more questions, questions she didn't feel like answering right now.

With fingers on her beard, Alyson could now feel the texture and realized how real it is. No wonder Blythe had no clue even after kissing 'him.' She ran her fingers thru 'his' hair and scalp and realized there was nothing underneath it. The long silky dark brown hair she had once laid hands on was cut to 2 inches. She wanted to hold her. She wanted to kiss her. But she knew she couldn't while knowing there must be a reason why the brunette came to her in disguise in the first place. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Looking down at the blonde, Lucy reached up to hold her hand that was caressing her face. "sorry...I'm so sorry." There was nothing she could do except apologize again and again.

Alyson wanted to continue but it wasn't the right time. Alexis was slowly approaching.

"it's very late." Alexis said while assisting the megastar up.

Lucy didn't like the idea of the megastar sharing a bedroom with Alexis who seems to be the happiest one. She realized later that she shouldn't be worrying about the megastar, she should have been worrying about herself because Amy locked her out.

"Ammy…" Lucy whispered against the bedroom door.

It took a moment for the door to open and when it did, she was ready to apologize again but before she could, her face was hit with a blanket, a pillow, pajamas and other night time necessities.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 64**

Lying on her side, looking at the one loved by millions, Alexis never thought she could be sharing a bedroom with the famous blonde. They're not sleeping on the same bed but it's one step closer to a deeper relationship. Lights were off but she could still see from the slit of light in the bathroom that the megastar had not fallen asleep yet. _She's talented, she's eloquent, she's kind, she's cool, she's hot…and she fooled everyone. _There is just one thing that's missing. She's not gay.

"Are you okay?" Alexis can't blame her for hitting the brunette. She had once been in that situation and understood how she must have felt at that moment. "She should've told you." She wasn't sure why Lucy didn't.

Remembering that moment, Alyson let out a deep breath. "It was very chaotic. I was pulled into an office. They talked and they agreed. Then we heard shouting and screaming outside. If it wasn't for her, it would have been…worse." She realized her response didn't answer Alexis' comment. "I don't know why she didn't tell me." She was left alone inside the office. Moments later, 'David' was led in and told her to give her best performance because her life and the lives of other women depend on it. After the performance, after an hour of waiting for the FBI to get what they wanted, she was finally able to control her body from shaking. When they were ready to leave, she was once again chosen to go with them but the brunette somehow was able to convince them to take her instead. Hostages were all tied, then locked into the same room as her and were told if anyone tries to open the door within 30 minutes, a bomb will go off. "She said…take care…" It was spoken as if those were the last two words that she will hear from 'him'.

Alexis could imagine how crazy it must have been, with children crying, people fearing for their life, and women fearing that it could be them next.

"take care…" Alyson mumbled to herself. It took more than a day to remember where she heard that before. The voice was different, the short hair, the beard, and the way she spoke, it was no wonder she couldn't recognize her. But it was the big dark brown eyes that she always felt there was something familiar about them. It wasn't just that. The feeling she got the moment she heard that 'he' was still missing convinced her that she could be right. She tried calling the number that was given to her years ago. Learning about 'his' death broke her heart. She thanked the Lord it wasn't true. Seeing 'him' up so close, touching 'him', she realized she was right and felt the need to slap 'him' for putting her thru that.

"Are you okay?"

"mhm…" Alyson is tired but her mind can't seem to stop thinking about the brunette in the next room. She had thought that last night would be their last time meeting each other but realized that the Lord has other plans.

On the night she found out about the brunette's legs, after escorting 'him' to the bedroom and giving 'him' a kiss on the cheek, she went back to her bedroom to make a few calls to find the best doctors for paraplegia. In the middle of doing so, she was interrupted by the brunette's girlfriend. The moment she opened the door, she couldn't control herself from turning into this other person, the jealous ex. It happened with her exes too. Each time she sees her exes with their girlfriends, her mind would spontaneously think that it could have been her. It's pathetic and immature. She knew that. But after meeting the brunette, she no longer thinks in that way. That is until she met the former criminal leader's girlfriend. It was her eyes, the way she was scanning her up and down, beaming with jealousy. _She's not as pretty, she's not as tall, she could be as smart, and she's definitely older._ She had no idea what the blonde wanted to talk to her about but one thought came to mind. _She's here to ask me to stay away_. _But that didn't make sense since she never showed any interest in David…unless she knows about us. Then that would make perfect sense._

That wasn't it. The blonde came to persuade her to take her advice, punish the two FBI guys anonymously and don't sue the government. She gave a very detailed description of what will happen if she does. Unlike Max who exaggerated that the secret service will make her look like she's involved, the blonde didn't say that. What she said will happen is that she will be looked upon as someone who is wasting government money, someone who is using this opportunity to boost her image, someone who is going against the government for her own purpose when there are more important issues to take care of. Some will believe that and there will be others who will stand by her side, victims of rape and her millions of fans. But at a time like this, it would be better to have the government acknowledge the flaws in their system and she will be praised upon as being an understanding person. All she has to do is give a speech, uniting the people of America, letting everyone know that terrorism is becoming a bigger issue. The blonde repeatedly apologized for what happened and said that she wouldn't know how it feels. But one thing she does know is that acting out of anger will not make her feel better. What it will do is cause more problems for the government and prevent them from focusing on the real issue. It sounded like she was speaking for the government until she began talking poorly about them. Just like large corporations, they have chains of command, rules to follow, and a lot of times things don't get done on time because of this structure. That's the way it is and it's not something that can be changed. What they can change is the people who are involved, teach them a lesson they'll never forget. There was more. Alyson found out there was another reason she came.

They stood for a long time, looking at each other in silence with 5 feet between them.

"He wanted to make sure you're going to be fine. Can you…tell him…you're going to be fine?"

It made her wonder if the blonde knows about their relationship.

"He's a big fan of yours, obsessed, you could say. He won't leave if you don't tell him to. He'd listen to you."

She would be lying if hearing about her plans of getting married and starting a family didn't hurt. When she heard, all she could think about was that it could've been her. A sense of self-denial consumed her for a moment. Does she know? There were no obvious hints that she does.

* * *

Next morning

Everyone woke up later than usual. Alyson, with her medium length hair tied in a ponytail, was wearing a pair of tight gym pants and a long sleeve gray hoody over a black sports bra and wasn't surprised to find that she wasn't the first one up but was very surprised to find the brunette sleeping on the couch. _Oh_…. If kicking her out of the bedroom is a result of touching her, she wonders what would happen if the blonde finds out that they did more than that. She took a glance at the blonde who was setting up the dining table for breakfast. Quietly moving the wheelchair aside away from the couch, Alyson sat on the coffee table and scanned the body head to toe before locking her eyes at the brunette's face. It had been years since she saw that gorgeous face. She didn't change much except for the bruises and the cut lip. Seeing her boyish short hair, she's not surprised that the brunette would do that. A lot of girls wouldn't. _You look better with long hair. _Slowly reaching out towards her face, she wondered if the brunette will grab hold of her hand. Remembering that moment puts a smile on her face. Her finger moved closer and closer and later realized that the brunette is not the same person she met years ago.

Fifteen feet away, Alexis didn't like what she saw. _Why is she touching her? _

"So what exactly happened last night?" She hoped to distract the blonde from noticing because if she did, she's not going to let the megastar stay with them. Hearing nothing else but an apology, she quickly realized what happened.

Last night, after leaving the room, after hours calming herself down and thinking of how to persuade the brunette to leave this place, one idea came to mind; persuade the megastar to leave the country temporarily. During their conversation, they were interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Lucas was surprised to see her there but Amy, being the perfect liar that she is came up with an explanation that satisfied his curiosity. Having heard about David's death, he offered his condolences which Amy could tell that it was as sincere as what a stranger would say. She left the room, allowing them to talk in private until she noticed vehicles with headlights on in the dark night, one car then another and another, passing by the front of the house as if they were being surveilled. The megastar was furious with Lucas after finding out who they are. There was nothing they could do since they weren't parking in private property. Amy later came up with an idea that could solve all their problems, at least temporarily. She called Max and Max, of course, let her have it for scaring the shit out of her. At that moment, for some reason, another idea came to her. It was immature; it was cruel; she decided to let the brunette continue to worry about her. Bringing the megastar here wasn't her plan, but after the encounter with that stranger, it made her realize that the brunette might be right; the megastar could still be in danger.

"Please don't do that again." Alexis found Amy to be mature and responsible, most of the time anyways.

Max came a moment later. All were eating breakfast except for the brunette who was still sleeping. The atmosphere was no longer as awkward as before. Alyson thanked them for helping her last night. They didn't have to nor did she have to leave but staying in that house surrounded by strangers made her feel like a prisoner in her own home once again.

Max started the conversation with some good news. "I let them know what you want and they agreed…but I didn't tell them the truth." Nobody needs to know and if she wants people to know, that would be up to her.

Nodding in appreciation, Alyson looked at the blonde and saw a fading smile. She knows how to handle the situation but is curious to hear her thoughts.

"Whatever you tell them, they already have their minds made up. The most important thing is let your love ones know and only tell them what they need to know."

Hearing her advice made her realize why the brunette chose her.

"…and I'm sorry for what happened…."

Hearing her sincere apology which she had no part in made Alyson realized how much the shorter blonde sitting in front of her loves the brunette. Everything that she noticed so far, the way she talks and thinks and the way she carries herself, she couldn't find anything unlikable about her. She has so many questions but it seems that they were all trying to avoid it because Max wanted to talk about more serious stuff.

"did you tell Lucas where you are?"

"No, of course not."

"Where's your phone?" Amy needed to make sure it wasn't bugged and learned that Max had that taken care of it. "How did you two meet?"

Thinking back to how they first met, Alyson didn't find anything wrong with him because she had guys do that all the time, pretending to bump into her by accident just to get a chance to talk to her. Unlike her exes, he didn't make her do things she didn't want to do. Unlike her exes, he's not as wild or immature. But there is one thing he did which none of her exes did; he wanted to move in with her.

Last night while Lucas was driving, Amy took the opportunity to learn more about him and found that he is a little like the brunette; his arrogance was clearly shown when she asked him about his job, he didn't hold back when she asked him about his love for the megastar. It was the way he was dressed, suit and tie, and what he brought with him, a dozen red roses, Amy didn't have to eavesdrop on their conversation to know what he went there for.

"He proposed?!" Alexis realized that her voice was a bit too loud when a thud followed by a yelp from the living room caught their attention.

"oh my god!"

* * *

It was a decision she made without her father's consent. Walking down the hall towards the room, seeing her father's worried look, she could only tried to assure her that it will work. There was no need to show his face to the one who has been looking for them.

"Will, from now on, do what I say." After he heard what she did last night, he realized that his orders were not taken seriously. If his own daughter disobeyed him, he is concerned that others might too.

"let's just wait." Having been told by the person who called himself 'David' that the megastar has no knowledge of who Anthony is, she expected the famous blonde to deliver the message to the public and could only hope that Anthony will believe them. It wasn't a warning. It wasn't a threat. It was a request spoken in a gentle tone.

"it's not going to work." Having dealt with criminal leaders, he is certain that Anthony will not let them go just because of what they said. If it was him, he wouldn't either. He would need detail. He would need proof. He would need to see him in person. Hiding would only show that they are the ones who killed his friend. Giving themselves up would be the only way. He took his key card and slid it in. "Call them over here." He opened the door and stepped inside. Walking towards the round table while taking off his coat, he didn't notice anything strange until he heard a click, then another.

"Pop" Standing still with a winter coat on, she realized she was one step too late in her decision to locate the megastar. A gun was pointed to her head. Another was aimed at his father.

Sitting inside the back seat of a car with an armed man next to him, looking around, he wasn't looking for escape. The only thought in his mind was his daughter in the car behind him. He tried but could not persuade them to take him only. For someone who has been in this situation before, he's not scared. Having been in prison for years, having been in numerous fights that placed him into the hospital, he used to wonder if that day would be his last. Death seemed to be just around the corner each time he was led back into the cell.

This is the first time she's been in this situation, taken to an unknown place unwillingly. Not knowing what will happen, not knowing if she will end up like the other member of her team caused her to think of ways to escape. She could try to knock the guy out sitting next to her with her elbow and jump out of the car, but then what. What about her father? At this moment, she regretted listening to him because what she had planned on doing after she got him out was drive as far away from the east coast as possible but realized her father had other plans besides living peacefully the moment she was asked about who her informant is and a list of people's whereabouts.

The location wasn't what she thought. She was expecting a warehouse. This is no warehouse. Tilting her head up, she couldn't see the top of the skyscraper in the dark. It was a good sign knowing that their bodies won't be left in a dirty deserted area, waiting to be found, but that doesn't mean they're not going to kill them. After being led to a room, she was surprised to find nobody there. On a second thought, it wouldn't be wise to show his face at all since Anthony is a well-known businessman. After being led to another room inside, then another and another, she realized that they are going to meet the infamous Anthony after all.

The hotel suite is not what she expected a man with his wealth to be staying at. There are no ceiling to floor windows, no panaromic view of the water, and no elegant furniture. Standing near the window is the man she has seen numerous times on television but never in real life. After being instructed to sit on the couch, two men stood at each end behind them. There is one standing in front of each door and all of them are dressed neatly and casually. Two wine glasses were placed on the coffee table in front of them. As each glass is being filled with dark purple wine, one thought came to her and that thought caused her heart to pound out of control. She's not afraid of death. One shot in the head, she wouldn't feel a thing. What she is afraid of is what every woman is afraid of. _He's going to do the same thing to me what we did to her._ She took a deep breath and slowly breathed out to calm her rapidly beating heart but that did nothing when she saw the face of the man with the look of someone who wants revenge. His unshaven face and his eyes showed how tired he was as if he didn't want to be bothered with them. _He might just came to see the person who assaulted the megastar and kill him himself. _

Taking a seat in the middle of the couch, Anthony took a sip of wine. "Helps...with...sleep." He glanced at the young woman with the medium-length dark brown hair, then glanced at the older man with the goatee.

She took a look at her father to see what he would do. What else could they do but to do as told? She followed her father's actions and took a sip of the wine and slowly put down the glass. There was total silence for a moment. She was waiting for questions to be asked but realized that they were expected to beg for mercy or give him a reason to let them go.

"I'm a very busy man."

The opportunity to get out alive and untouched is here so she gave a very detailed account of what happened inside the bank, making sure that he understands that the megastar was not touched inappropriately in any way, at least not by them as well as providing the reason why they wouldn't have kill 'David'. She blamed herself for speaking so fast because it looked like he was confused. "We didn't touch her. It was fake."

"Her? "

At this moment, she is as confused as he is because it sounds like he has no clue about the person whom she is referring to.

"What makes you think I would care what you do or didn't do...to her?"

"…because… he said that…you…love…her…" After she said that and seeing his face full of confusion, she quickly realized it was 'David' who loves her not him. "We needed him to tell you the truth. We didn't kill him. It wasn't us." But even if he died not by their hands, it would still be their fault for putting him in that helicopter. She's not sure what he's thinking when he let out a small laugh.

"Damn you, David…" Anthony took a gulp of the wine before looking deeply into the glass. "You always said you're willing to die for her."

The moment she saw him putting down the glass and standing up after letting out a big sigh, she realized their time is up and the reasons she gave aren't good enough. She quickly turned to her father but only saw him staring down at the coffee table. There was nothing else she could do except keep repeating that it wasn't them. She quickly reached down into her coat pocket and once she did, she saw 4 guns aiming at her and her father.

"wait…" She slowly took it out and placed it on the coffee table. She didn't want to do this but had no choice. "It's the video. There are no other copies." It was a hint that there could be. She hoped that he understands the meaning behind it. Now that she knows that the megastar meant nothing to him, whether she has 1 copy or hundreds of copies, this might not work but that's all she could think of right now. _It didn't work. _Anthony was putting on his coat. _It didn't work. Sh_e could see his men getting closer and Anthony was walking towards the door.

"Schaeffer"

What her father said had somehow stopped him from walking further.

"Torello"

She could see he was paying attention and signaling his men to put down their guns.

"Reynolds"


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 65**

Consequences. _Think about the consequences before you do anything._ Amy may not remember the first time she heard those words, but remembered who those words were from. This is one of those times she wished she didn't act on her emotions. Last night, she had thought about letting her lover back into bed, but ultimately decided not to. If she had, this would never have happened and both of them wouldn't be here, in a hospital room. That agonizing cry of pain she heard the moment the brunette fell on the floor face down sent chills thru her body. It sounded more painful than the time Janet was in labor. The moment she tried to pick her up, she was told not to touch her as if touching her makes the pain even worse. It wasn't until the brunette passed out did she realize that her condition was more serious than she thought.

Lucy is sleeping peacefully right now. But just a few hours ago, she was in a completely opposite state. Her eyes were shut tight as if trying to keep them from popping out. Her hands were grabbing onto her legs as if she felt pain. Her veins were popping out of her neck. Her screaming of pain could be heard from outside with the door closed. It took a shot of local anesthesia in her back to finally ease her pain with the addition of sedatives to put her to sleep.

A moment ago, when the doctor came by, she didn't have to be told that the brunette needed surgery. What she wanted to know is if surgery could heal her. Vertebrae dislocation, pressure on nerves, and paralysis were everything that Amy was expecting to hear. What she wasn't expecting was vertebrae fracture. The couch is only about 2 feet high. How is that possible?

After spending a night at the hospital, Lucy insisted on going back to the hotel suite since there was nothing the doctors could do except give her a shot of temporary relief. She had said many times that this isn't her fault but that didn't stop the megastar from blaming herself. If she had not move the wheelchair aside the night before, the wheelchair would have prevented her from rolling off the couch.

Lying flat on the couch with the spinal support wrapped around her waist, Lucy never could control herself when it comes to seeing a beautiful woman with teary eyes. She reached up and wiped one falling tear away from her face without thinking of how her lover would feel at this moment.

"Hey, I'm going to be fine." Lucy tried to sound convincing but knew nobody would believe her because she's not sure herself. What's important now isn't her health. What's important now is the one in front of her. "I know…I'm out of line…but…can I ask you to promise me..." It wasn't only Alexis' voice that woke her up. It was a nightmare, not the same one as before. She yelled at the top of her lungs when the minister asked if anyone objects but nobody could hear her. "Don't marry Lucas." She could see the megastar wiping her tears. She could see her cheeks lifting up into a smile.

"I didn't accept his proposal."

"not ever?" She might not accept now, but could later. With her huge dark brown eyes looking deeply at teary blue ones, Lucy absolutely hated the interruption at this moment. It wasn't Amy or Alexis. It's Anthony. Lucy placed the phone against her ear while keeping her eyes on the megastar, waiting for her response but after a very short moment, the response she was waiting for was no longer as important. All especially Amy and Max were curious to know what Anthony was saying because there was a long moment of silence before the brunette responded.

"I don't remember."

The call lasted about 10 minutes. Anthony did most of the talking. Max was very curious to know what caused the brunette to be in deep thought after the call.

"He wants to meet with us." Looking up at the ceiling, Lucy said calmly while thinking of what she just learned.

Max was the first one to reject to the idea. "He can't. He's being investigated right now. He'll lead them to you." Getting no response, Max couldn't understand why she's not worried. People may not recognize her but there could be a chance that some might. "Is he out of his mind?...Are you out of your mind?"

The only reason Amy could think of is that there must be something important he wanted to show the brunette in person. Amy took a seat next to the brunette's legs. "Did he say when?"

Lucy shook her head and closed her eyes, letting everyone know that she isn't in the mood to talk. Max didn't get the hint and continued telling them why it wouldn't be a good idea but nobody seem to be listening.

* * *

5 days later

Almost everything turned out the way Amy expected. A spokeswoman for the FBI publicly admitted the flaws in their system and apologized to the hostages for not being able to resolve the matter. She didn't focus on the megastar which it's what the megastar wanted. However, the reporters didn't let that pass by without mentioning the assault. Alyson responded online, thanking her millions of fans for their concern and did exactly what Amy suggested, what she felt it's the right thing to do. As expected, with or without mentioning the assault, people still asks. Her account was flooded with emails. Thousands of comments were made online. Her phone was filled with voice mails from her friends. She became the hot topic in everyone's conversation. Rumors of her committing suicide spread. Her mother couldn't stop crying over the phone. It took an hour to convince her without telling her the truth.

Alexis didn't want to but had no choice and went back to London first. Her job in London is waiting for her. Her father is worried about her. She has Lucy to blame for that.

Max was not impressed with Anthony's idea. Five days of planning and what he came up with is the most dangerous place to be with a lot of security guards and police; a conference room inside the JFK International airport with a large rectangular table, 14 office chairs, a large LCD tv hung on the wall, and three large windows.

"Are you out of your mind?" Her questions were disregarded, her presence rudely ignored, Max later came to understand why he wanted to meet because the moment Amy entered the room with the megastar, Anthony, with a new haircut, a clean shaven face, and a dazzling smile that could mislead anyone into thinking that he is a gentleman and a law abiding citizen, rapidly approached and gave the megastar a long hug as if he's her boyfriend. Max couldn't resist rolling her eyes when Anthony pulled the chair for the famous blonde. She looked around to see if there are any cameras installed inside the conference room and let Anthony know to hurry it up because she didn't feel safe. If anyone finds out that she's here with him and the famous blonde, she won't be to explain why.

Ignoring the impatient one and everyone else except for the megastar, Anthony smiled at the blonde sitting in front of him. "I have good news." That got everyone's attention and everyone was surprised with what he found.

"I checked him out. I can't find anything on him." Max said after noticing the look that the Perfect Score was giving her.

"Are you sure?" Alyson was shocked to learn that Stan, her bodyguard whom she had known for more than a year, was involved. "Why?" Stan had tried to protect her inside the bank and but was knocked out unconscious.

"for money?...I'm not sure." Anthony didn't have his men look into it and decided to let Max take care of him instead.

"If he needed money, he could've have asked me." It didn't make sense to her because she came to know a lot about him like they were friends, not just an employer-employee relationship. She trusted Stan to keep their conversation and location confidential. He was reliable. He was trustworthy. She turned to look at the brunette. _But people can change.  
_

"Shit…" Max quickly took out her phone and walked to the corner of the room.

Lucy did feel better knowing that Anthony is looking out for the famous blonde but wondered if there is another reason why he wanted to meet. He had already told him about the terrorists over the phone and the one he caught. All it took was a gun pointed at his groin to make him give up the location of his other members. What Anthony didn't tell her about was the video, there was another copy. When the megastar gave him another hug for destroying the last copy, Lucy wondered if that was the main reason for this meeting. It wasn't. She was left out of the loop and so was Max.

Amy expected the brunette to be upset because she planned everything without her knowledge. It was Anthony's suggestion after she told him about the brunette's condition. If her lover isn't so stubborn, she wouldn't have made the decision without her. Amy bent down and placed one hand on her thigh.

"She'll be coming with us." That's all it took to bring the smile back to her lover's face.

When Alyson heard her plan, she had to think about it. It was already difficult seeing the brunette with someone else for the past week. Years ago, they promised each other that they would acknowledge each other if they ever meet again. But who would have thought that it would be like this. She doesn't blame her. _She has a good reason. _After hearing the blonde's concern_, _Alyson decided to go with them for 2 reasons, one: to get away from reporters and paparazzis, and two is the most important reason_._

"Why didn't you tell me?" Max didn't appreciate being left out of the loop again.

"The less people know, the better. Besides, I'm wondering if we can trust your guys." The truth is she didn't want the megastar to go with them but knew it was the only way to get the brunette to leave this place willingly.

"So now you think it could be my guys?"

Letting out a smile, Amy shrugged her shoulders in response. _Anything is possible_.

Anthony placed his fake beard and glasses on before walking with them towards the departure area at Terminal 7. Alyson did the same, glasses, hair tied in a ponytail, a cap and a scarf wrapped around her neck to hide as much of herself as she can. There were a lot of people, walking around and waiting in line to check their bags in. Previously Alyson and Amy had already checked their bags in. Now they're waiting for the brunette. Max stood against the wall, looking around for people who are doing the same thing as her. Her eyes rolled at Anthony who had been chatting with the blonde the entire time like a teenager who has never seen a beautiful woman. Her eyes then turned towards the elevator, then at everyone who passes by her. It wouldn't be difficult to spot an agent if there weren't that many people. There, she noticed someone looking at Anthony. "no, he's holding a bag." What she's looking for is anyone not holding a bag and anyone looking around. Her eyes scanned from left to right and back again, then stopped. "What the…" She walked two steps forward and blinked a few times. "Shit…" A man dressed in casual clothing, looking nothing like an agent, was standing 40 feet away from Anthony. He wasn't looking at Anthony. What he was looking at, she totally didn't think it would happen. "…no….no…" Max did the only thing she could do and that is to block him from getting closer.

"I'm surprised to see you here."

"Max?"

"wow, I didn't think you'd remember me." It didn't work. If she is taller than him, then she would've been able to block his view. "So what's going on?"

"step aside…" He tried to side stepped her but was pulled back.

"I know you've always been a jerk, but I thought you've grown out of that by now. It's not polite to ignore someone who's talking to you." Max had no choice but to grab him by the shoulders, hoping to give the blonde a chance to get away. She could see how different he looked. If she had not notice the way he was looking at the Perfect Liar, she wouldn't have noticed that it was him. His messy hair, his unshaven face, he also gained a bit of weight. As strong as she is, she wouldn't be able to hold him back.

He twisted his upper body and turned his head. His eyes directed at the previous location but that person he was looking for was no longer there. His eyes moved rapidly from left to right, scanning for a person pushing a wheelchair. It wouldn't be hard to find her. He just needed to get Max away from him. "Step aside, Max." It was his last warning. He continued to walk ahead, but was again blocked by former DEB. Each move he made, Max moved in front of him. Their movement caught the attention of others. Both knew that's all they could do. If he didn't work for the government, he would've done something else.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked before but didn't get an answer.

"We're going to be late." Breathing heavily from the running, Amy slowly turned her head and let out of a sigh of relief after getting passed the security screening. If it wasn't for Max, she wouldn't have been able to recognize him. The moment she caught a glimpse of the one whom she never expected to see, she hurriedly pushed the wheelchair without providing an explanation. The last time she heard about Bobby Mathews was from Max. Will they let an FBI agent thru without a boarding ticket?

Sitting nervously next to the brunette, Amy took a look at the clock without being too obvious and pretended that nothing was wrong. At the end of the row, she could see the megastar with sunglasses on, holding a magazine in front of her to prevent anyone from recognizing her. Anthony had suggested to her to take his plane but Amy didn't think it's a good idea because in his current situation, the FBI is probably checking out anyone who's boarding his plane. The same goes for the megastar. She could have used her own plane too but knowing that everyone would know if she did, she got a better idea and called Blythe to take a trip in her plane to divert everyone's attention.

Fifteen minutes went by. She took a look at her cell phone, hoping to get a call from Max. Her heart had been pounding nonstop since the moment she saw her ex. Did he see me? Did he see her? Amy turned to look at the brunette who was wincing in discomfort. What would he do if he did? As long as she could remember, Bobby has always been someone with no integrity and someone who only thinks about himself and if he is still that same person…_I'm going to have to run again, she has to run again._

Her heart skipped a beat when the announcement came on. "It's time." Amy quickly stood up and took a look around. There was no sight of Max or Bobby. _Hurry. Hurry. _She pushed the brunette towards the entrance gate before being called. Once inside the plane, she kept an eye on those entering the cabin, praying that it wouldn't be him. What if it is? What could she probably do? How can they escape?

"Are you okay?" It didn't take a genius to notice that something is wrong. The blonde didn't even say good bye to Max. Her lack of speech and her behavior gave it away.

"Fine. How are you feeling?" Amy pretended as best as she could, keeping her smile and eyes at her lover. She was afraid that this would happen. It was a risk her lover was willing to take, going back to the US. It was a risk that she was willing to take to be with her. More passengers are coming in. The door will soon close. _Don't look back. Don't go back_. She couldn't help but wonder what will happen when that door closes. The cabin became dimmer as the window shades were being pulled down. Looking at the brunette who is already buckled in, Amy reached out, the moment her fingers came into contact with her lover's tan skin, a sharp pain pierced through her heart, a feeling that she had experienced before. The life she dreamed of having with the one in front of her seems to be getting more and more impossible. Most of the seats have been filled. Flight attendants are in the process of making sure the luggage holders are properly closed. The call that she has been waiting for is finally here. Her heartbeat stopped pounding a few minutes ago. She was no longer nervous, no longer afraid of whom she might see entering the cabin, and no longer afraid of what Max will say to her. Think about the consequences before you do anything. That's what she has been doing a moment ago, thinking about the consequences.

"Yes…okay….okay….Max." Amy shut off the phone and let out a smile towards her lover.

"What did she say?"

"She said take care of yourself." Amy placed a blanket over her lover's legs. "Comfortable?"

"First class would be more comfortable." Lucy had to say that because she always travels first class. Thank God it's only a two hour flight. With her condition, it's even more uncomfortable to sit in one of these.

"Sorry...no seats left...next time, okay?" Amy leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek before giving the brunette another pillow. Traveling first class, that's what her lover always wants. Amy had always believed that it was a waste of money, but after hearing the brunette's explanation of how the economy would be affected if nobody is willing to spend it, she found her argument convincing and accepted it. If there were any first class seats left, she would have bought it. Seeing her adorable pout, Amy couldn't resist and pressed her lips against hers before excusing herself to the lavatory.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 66

Many thoughts crowded her mind, thoughts of the past as she looked out the window on her right with sunglasses on. What Lucy learned from Anthony a week ago, she couldn't stop thinking about it. _You have to remember, Lucy._ She wished she could. She remembered the moment she got the news of her father's death. She remembered the hardship she endured while trying to escape from her father's enemies. She remembered her followers who died for her, the dangerous heists where she almost got caught, the crime bosses she dealt with, and of course, the redhead who almost died because of her.

* * *

_The last time Lucy saw the redhead who was believed to be dead was many, many years ago. It was inside a hotel room near the airport where they said their last goodbye. She apologized for what she had caused numerous times and she was forgiven the first time she said it. If she had known what was going to happen, she would have never sat next to her that day in the club._

_"If you didn't, I wouldn't be free."_

_Lucy placed her fingers on her face, touching her for the first time. Sitting in front of her isn't the redhead she once knew. The red is no longer there, bleached to blonde and straightened. The last time she saw her face was also the first time she met her in the club because her face was so badly injured, facial plastic surgery was necessary. It was like looking at a completely different person except for her voice. That sweet soft voice that captured her heart the moment she spoke is still there. _

_"You'll need to learn to change your voice." Her looks may be different but if she could recognize that voice, she is certain that bastard will too._

_"Like this." _

_Hearing her deep voice similar to a man's, Lucy smiled, feeling content of the outcome. It wasn't only her voice that made her heart melt, it was her blue eyes. The first time she noticed them, she thought her hair color wasn't natural or she was wearing contacts but realized later that she's as unique and rare as a red diamond._

_"How can I repay you?"_

_Lucy was hoping she would say that. With a small smile in place, with her eyes locked on hers, she remained still as she saw the once redhead moving closer. _

_"Close your eyes."_

_Lucy blinked once, then did as told._

_"Listen to my voice."_

_She had never heard anything sweeter. Her voice literally sends heat to her body, causing all parts to overreact. The moment their lips touched, Lucy opened her eyes. Knowing that the redhead isn't into woman, she would be satisfied with just a short kiss on the lips. _

_"Keep them closed."_

_Hearing her hypnotizing voice, Lucy kept them closed and was ready to receive. She allowed the new blonde take the lead and reciprocated with equal fervor. When she felt one hand on the back of her neck and another on the nape and kissing becoming deeper, she felt it's the right moment to take control, putting her arms around the blonde's waist, closing the gap between them, kissing her deeply and softly while her hand glided up, then stopped underneath her breast when the blonde pulled back. Her hands fell by her side when the blonde slowly stepped away. Her eyes followed every step she took as she walked towards the king size bed and sat on the edge._

_"My flight is in two hours." _

* * *

Lucy could still remember that day but yet she couldn't remember what Anthony wanted her to remember. She closed the shades and leaned back, then turned to her left and noticed the megastar, sitting 2 seats to her left, quickly turning away as if she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. Her plan didn't work out the way she wanted but she's happy, even with two unresponsive legs, she's happy that she was able to save her. Her brows then furrowed, she became even more confused when the announcement came on.

"Where's Amy?"

Amy had been gone for a while. She wasn't sure how long but it seemed like a long time. It could be possible that she is still in the lavatory, but something tells her that she isn't. The plane is moving. She pushed herself up and looked at the back. Everyone was seated. The lavatory signals were lit. The seatbelt signals were on. Seats began to tremble as the plane moved faster and faster.

"Where's Amy?"

She pressed the call button multiples times but nobody came. Of course nobody would because the plane is taking off, lifting itself off the ground. She looked to her left and wanted to ask the megastar but what she saw changed her mind. The megastar wasn't looking at her or anyone else. From the way she is sitting and holding on to the arms, she must have her eyes closed under those shades. If Lucy could walk to her to hold her hand, she would but that's not on her mind right now. What's in her mind is her blonde lover.

* * *

"It's the only way." A small smile appeared when the plane flew out of sight. Taking one step slowly at a time towards the direction where she came from previously, Amy looked straight ahead. She's not sure of what's ahead of her but hoped to see only her ex and nobody else. Her legs stopped moving. Her wish didn't come true. Max and two men dressed in security uniforms were also with him. There is nowhere to run. She could've just leave and hoped nobody finds them. But what about Max? _He's coming. Stay inside. I'll hold him off._ _How could I leave knowing that you will get in trouble?_ Standing in the middle of the busy hall with people heading to their destination, she could see her ex more clearly now. He has changed quite a bit, no longer the same man with the good looks. If Janet is here, she would've agreed because Janet had always found him to be good looking. What Amy had planned on doing doesn't seem possible anymore. From the look on his face, those eyes glaring at her at a distance, he looked as though he had been waiting a long time for this moment and now the time has come. Whether it was for revenge for breaking his heart or making a fool of him, he's not going to miss this chance to tell the whole world about me, how I betrayed the organization and left with a criminal. He's not going to miss this opportunity to stick it into my face. _You should've stayed with me. _That's what he's probably thinking right now. And what's even more important to him is that he's not going to miss this opportunity to get himself promoted.

_I love you. Lucy_. Her eyes remained opened as she waited for the inevitable.

* * *

Seatbelt signals were off. Flight attendants were in the process of serving drinks. Several passengers were walking around. Sitting next to the brunette, Alyson had never seen that look before; a look of defeat, powerless, and helplessness. There were no signs of the blonde. Her phone was shut off. They learned from the flight attendant that the blonde got off the plane before it took off. She had no idea what happened, why she chose to leave the brunette behind. But she heard enough from the phone call the brunette received from Scud to know that the blonde had a reason for leaving at the last minute. "Her ex?" That's what the brunette said. It made her wonder if her girlfriend decided to go back to her ex. It seemed strange, though, she didn't look like that type of person.

During the past week, Alyson saw how much she cared for the brunette, tending to all her needs. Whatever the brunette needed, her lover got for her. She massaged her legs, her back until the brunette had enough. She assisted her to the bathroom, to the shower, to anywhere she wanted to go. Even though it wasn't a good idea to go out in her condition, the blonde agreed because staying inside the hotel room drove the brunette nuts. She pleased her lover while putting on a smile. But at one point, Alyson noticed that smile was only a pretense. That smile faded after she closed the bedroom. Leaning against the door, her body sagged in exhaustion, her face dispirited. She had seen that look before many times while visiting children with illness to know that look is the beginning of defeat...and it's happening because of me.

* * *

New York

Sitting across from her ex in a hotel room, Amy could see that he has changed except for those eyes which still looked the same as before, arrogant and pervertic. With her back leaning casually and calmly against the chair, she sighed loudly, letting him know she's running out of patience. At the airport, she had thought she would be arrested, but was surprised when Bobby walked past her. She wasn't the only one. Max was too. Seeing those eyes looking straight at her made her feel uncomfortable. There must be a reason why he didn't arrest her and she could only think of one.

"What happened to you? They said you died."

Amy expected that. "Long story."

There was a moment of silence which told her that he was expecting more.

"What do you want?"

"What do I want?" His voice became stronger, letting her know that he was unsatisfied with her response. It broke his heart when she dumped him. He couldn't understand why she would leave with a criminal. Hatred consumed him to the point where he had thought about what he would do if he finds them one day. Those weren't the thoughts of a Homeland Security Agent who took an oath to serve and protect. Those were the thoughts of a person who felt betrayed and wants revenge. But when he heard about her death, all those thoughts disappeared. He even chastised himself for not doing enough to prevent it from happening years ago. But at that moment in the airport, when she saw her again, that feeling he had once felt, those evil thoughts he once had all came back. It was a lie. Everything was a lie. She's not dead. She's with her. He realized he once again fell for it. But not this time, this time will be different.

"Do you want an apology?"

That got him more even more upset because he was no longer sitting down.

"I'm sorry." It wasn't a lie. Amy did feel sorry and waited for his anger to subside. It took a moment before he sat back down.

"Are you still with her?"

"Who?"

"You know who." It was another quick response with a tone of frustration.

Amy wanted to see how much the man he once dated has changed over the years. It doesn't look like he has because all it took was some stupid responses to get him all fired up. "no"

"I don't believe you. Was that her in the wheelchair?" _She is still trying to protect her_. He couldn't see who that person is in the wheelchair. At that moment, all his attention was focused on the blonde.

_He saw her_. Amy was hoping that he didn't. _What would he say if I said it wasn't?_ He would never believe that.

"I'm dying, Bobby."

"What?"

Amy expected that but didn't expect Max to play along. "She's dying! She can die at any moment. She has brain aneurysm! Why can't you leave her alone?!" Max was very surprised with his action at the airport. She thought he would put those cuffs on her in front of everyone to humiliate her, to punish her for that day she ran away with the criminal leader, putting everyone in the law enforcement in shame. But he didn't. She wouldn't have been able to do anything if he did. _Why didn't he?_

"I don't believe you." _She hasn't changed a bit. Those hazel green eyes didn't blink. _He can't tell if she's lying but he's not going to believe her so easily this time.

"If you don't believe me, I could get an MRI and the doctor can show you where they are." She thought she got his sympathy but nope. _Not this time. _

"you didn't answer my question. Was that her?" At that moment in the airport, 20 feet away from the blonde, when he saw her standing there waiting for him, it got him confused. Why isn't she hiding? Why isn't she in the plane? If she had taken off with the plane, it would've taken him a while to find out where she was heading. It was already difficult getting clearance to search for a suspect inside the airport without any kind of document except a badge. She had a chance to escape but she didn't. Why? He had thought about handcuffing her and turning her in. But what will happen after that? He's not going to be able to get his questions answered. He might not be able to see her again since he's only an FBI with a low rank. She would be kept in a secured cell where she would be interrogated by higher ranking officials. The case would be handed to others and they would get the recognition for capturing the infamous Lucy Diamond, not him. _  
_

Different scenarios ran through her brain before she stepped off the plane. What her ex just said is one of them. _There is no other way but to take a chance. _Looking unsatisfied and disappointed, Amy looked straight into his eyes before taking a glance at Max who was standing, leaning her back against the wall. "Should we tell him?" Amy realized how much Max has changed. With her quick response, she sounded like she knows but she really has no idea what she's thinking.

"Amy, it's confidential. We're going to get in trouble for this. We can't."

It was never difficult to lie to her ex. But this time may be different. After what she did many years ago, she can't blame him to be cautious about everything she says. His eyes were darting from hers then to Max's, back and forth.

"I can tell you…"

"Amy…don't!"

Amy stood up and walked a few steps toward Max, stopping 3 feet away from her. "then what do you suggest I do? I spent too much time on this to have him screw it up now! It's not supposed to be like this! I'm tired, Max!" Her frustration ignited, her anger flared, she let them both know that she too is running out of patience and tired of the cat and mouse game.

Bobby had seen that look of anger before. That was when he tried to take advantage of her under the influence of alcohol. What he got in return, he never forgot what it would feel like to be kicked in his most sensitive area.

Max was confused as him but tried not to show it. She has no clue what the blonde had in mind but felt it was safe to respond with this. "We can't trust him. He's not going to believe you."

Max could be right about that. There is a chance that he might not believe me. But I have to try. There is no other way. Begging, Amy had never thought about doing. He is probably expecting her to. She's not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her in that way. The only time she ever begged, she was told, was when she, as Kristin, begged the brunette to stop searching for the fraudster. Threatening him came across her mind. All she had to do is get Anthony involved, but will that shut him up for good? He always has a big mouth and likes to flaunt his knowledge, hoping to give others the perception that he's not just a hunky guy who knows how to handle a machine gun. But all Amy saw him as is a person who likes to show off.

"Bobby, do you want to know the truth?"

She hoped it would work. His physical appearance clearly has changed; his head is as big as always but what about his brain? Did he get any smarter?

"The truth is…."

* * *

The destination of the 2 non-stop hour flight was Uncle Nick's residence, Canada. There are many top rated orthopedic spine surgeons in Canada and Anthony was hoping his former boss could help.

At the airport, Uncle Nick was surprised to see the unexpected blonde and the one he was expecting wasn't there. Something wasn't right and he knew when the megastar introduced herself, acting as if they have never met.

Inside his office in his home, lying down on the couch on her back, Lucy looked up the ceiling and explained what happened.

"She said don't come back."

Numerous thoughts appeared in her mind the moment she found out the blonde left the plane. She had thought it was strange that Amy kissed her in public but didn't think too much of it because they were sitting in the front row in the corner and nobody was around when she did it. And another thing that she should have picked up on was the apology. Amy would never apologize for such a silly thing as not getting first class seats. What she would have said was '_you're complaining about a seat when there are thousands of starving kids_.' Lucy always hated it when Amy responds with that.

"She said she'll find a way."

Everybody kept telling her that it was dangerous going back to the US. At this moment, she regretted for not listening. The moment she heard who recognized her, questions crowded her mind. How? Amy had glasses on. Her hair was tied in a ponytail. She should be unrecognizable at a distance. It had been so many years. How could he have possibly recognized her? She realized it might have been the same reason Max recognized her. He must have hated her to the point he'd never forget her face. Either that or he must have kept a picture of her in his wallet because he loved her. Lucy hoped for the latter because then there might be hope. He may not have turned her in. In either case, she'll need Anthony to help her. In her condition, there's nothing she could do but rely on others and at this moment, she felt like a cactus inside a small plot of soil; useless.

"I want to do the surgery as soon as possible."

She didn't want to feel so useless anymore. She wants to get back on her feet to save her lover. With every surgery, there may be a chance that she's not going to make it out alive, so she hopes that she could hear Amy's voice before the surgery but that may not be possible.

Uncle Nick agreed that there was no reason to wait. Before Lucy could continue with another thought, she was interrupted by the sound of a small bark outside the door. Once the door was opened, 2 dogs ran in, a big one followed by a smaller one.

"not now, Kato…" Lucy said as she patted his head. She had thought about bringing him to London years ago but decided it would be better to leave him with Oscar who jumped onto her legs. "Oscar, no…"

Alyson couldn't resist laughing at the brunette who was trying to avoid being licked on by 2 dogs. She took a seat next to the brunette's legs and took hold of the little dog and placed her down.

"Oh…yuck…I'm going to need a bath." What she heard a short moment later put her in a state of embarrassment. She didn't expect the megastar to offer assistance.

Lucy did need help even with the handicap accessories. It turned out that there were no female workers because Uncle Nick called everyone to go home except for his most trusted workers when he learned who else will be staying at his house. Sitting on the wheelchair, she watched the blonde turning on the faucet. Her blonde hair, her figure, and her back reminded her of Amy. She couldn't help but wonder what she would be doing right now. Is she in a cell surrounded by 3 walls and steel bars or in a small room being interrogated?

"all set."

Lucy looked up and saw the young beauty with a small gentle smile. _She has no clue_. She didn't think about it before but now wonders why the one in front of her who is known to millions of people all over the world would be here, with her, someone whom she barely knows.

"I can do it myself." Lucy stopped the blonde from lifting her sweater.

"I know you can…but it would be easier if you let me help…" There is also one thing Alyson noticed about the brunette during the past week. Her stubbornness hasn't changed. "That's all I can do for you."

The question Lucy had earlier was answered. _She came because of me. _After her sweater was taken off, she didn't allow the blonde to take off her bra or her boyshorts.

"I think I'll take a shower instead." Every bathroom in Uncle Nick's house has a modern design. The bathtub is not one of those you see in a motel. It's higher and thicker than regular plastic ones. A fall on the marble floor would be very painful. The shower, on the other hand, she could wheel herself inside. The difficult part would be getting herself fully dressed but she has an idea on how to do that. "Can you put the towels on the floor?" Back in her younger days, a request as simple as that would not have been ignored. Time has changed. No longer a powerful leader, she's just a civilian with 2 useless limbs immersed in a warm tub of water with a bra and boyshorts on.

After closing the door, Alyson laid on the bed. Over the past week, she learned a lot about the brunette's relationship with her girlfriend. She was told that they met many years ago. How long? They didn't say. What she wanted to know is did they meet before or after her. She has yet to find out the answer. She learned from Alexis that they went thru a lot of hardship to be together but she didn't elaborate on that. They may have arguments like every couple but their love is so strong, they're willing to die for each other. That was no surprise to Alyson.

It was fun spending the past several days with the brunette. She was charming as always. Even in her condition, she was still able to act like it's nothing. Maybe that was her way of comforting her because if it wasn't for her, this would've never happened. There was also something else that she found out from Alexis which sent her to a moment of shock. It seemed that her behavior towards the brunette had somehow caused Alexis to think that she may be interested in the former criminal leader. She, of course, let her know how ridiculous her thought was but learned that Alexis had a reason for thinking that.

_"Exactly how many girls have she dated?"_

_Alexis had no idea how many girlfriends she dated but told her about the girls who fell for her. "She can be very charming. If you count Blythe, that would be six."_

_…seven…_

_"I was told that there were a lot more when she was younger…"_

_A lot more? _Hearing that got her fuming because she felt like she gave her first time to a player. She, herself, had been called a slut by some magazines because of the number of men she dated but nothing happened between them. But as for the brunette, she is certain that she had sex with them if not all because it was obvious to her that her first time wasn't the brunette's first time. _She knew exactly what she was doing. _ Sleeping in the same room with her girlfriend confirmed what type of person the brunette is. Sex isn't a big deal to her. She remembered the moment when she willingly took it all off and went farther than she had ever thought she would. It was beautiful. It was love. It was the greatest feeling she had ever felt in her entire life. But just thinking about it, she felt like she is just a number.

That wasn't all she learned. That night, the night before Alexis' departure, she learned why the brunette was pretending.

"Should I tell her?" Many questions crowded her mind. If she can't remember me, then why come to warn me? A lot of things didn't make sense. Why didn't Scud tell her? Does he have amnesia too?

A long sigh escaped. Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter because her purpose of coming here is exactly that, help her get her memory back. But now doesn't seem like a good time. With the blonde gone, with the surgery planned, what the brunette needed now is not another surprise. What she needed now is someone to comfort her. Hearing a faint sound of a thud, she quickly sat up. Without the thought of even knocking first, she swung the door open and thanked god it wasn't what she thought. Alyson closed the door and picked up the shampoo bottle.

"I can do it myself."

"I know you can. But it would be easier if you let me help you." Alyson intends to repeat those same words and hopes the stubborn brunette stops resisting.

* * *

Amy took a seat after having explained her story, a story that she just came up with and it seemed to make sense except for one thing. She has no proof. _Will he believe me?_

"You're telling me everything is a lie from the beginning?" A laugh came out of him which Amy didn't expect. "Do you really expect me to believe you?"

"I told you he won't believe you." Sitting down, Max rolled her eyes but what she was really thinking is how Amy expects anyone to believe her ludicrous story. The Perfect Score, aka the Perfect Liar, had somehow made up a story that turned herself from a traitor to a mistaken traitor to a hero.

"I don't expect you to believe me. But I expected my friends to believe me." She turned towards Max. "traitor, criminal, sacrifices, my name...tarnished forever, I know what the consequences are." She turned back towards her ex, sitting in front of her. "I will wait for that day to have my name cleared, but even if that doesn't happen which I was told may not happen before I agreed to this mission, I have no regrets..." She could see his brows furrowing closer together. "…because you know why, Bobby?"

She waited for his response but there was none.

"…my life for thousands…"

Amy remained still and silent. There was no movement from anyone, not even a sound. They had been in this hotel room for 3 hours since she left the airport. _She's probably worrying sick about me right now_, _wondering where I am._ What she wanted to do is call her lover as soon as she can get her ex out of this room. What is he planning to do? Keep me here forever.

"Who knows about this?"

"That's confidential."

Bobby stood up, letting her know that's not acceptable. "I need a name. You can talk all you want, but I'm not going to believe you if…"

"Bobby! You know the rules. Missions are confidential. Nobody except the parties involved can know."

"Amy! you're not a DEB anymore. In case you haven't heard, it doesn't exist anymore…so stop lying to me!"

Amy didn't think it would be this difficult. He has changed. He could see his face turning red, his eyes no longer as gentle as before.

"Think about it."

"Amy, I swear to God, if you don't give me a name, I'll turn you in and …"

"She's not lying!" Max continued to defend the blonde.

Everyone was talking loudly at the same time, trying to get the other person to listen to them. There was total confusion. Amy had no doubt other guests outside would be able to hear them. It wasn't until Bobby took out his phone did Max and Amy stopped talking.

"Don't Bobby…" Amy said as she extended her right hand towards her ex and her left hand towards Max who had her gun pulled out the moment Bobby reached his hand behind his back. "Max, put the gun down."

"I'm not going to kill him. But if he moves his fingers, I'll shoot where it hurts." She lowered the gun and aimed at a specific spot near his upper thigh.

"You wouldn't" Bobby said in a daring tone.

"I would if you press that button." She switched the safety off to show she wasn't kidding. "Open your ears and you listen carefully. She wasted too many years in this mission to have you screw it all up. She lost her friends, herself, she sacrificed everything to make this world a better place. That's something you'll never understand…because you…Bobby Mathews, only cares about yourself. " Max took a step closer.

"Put the gun down." Bobby was afraid that an accident might occur when he saw her hands shaking.

"Shut up! " Max motioned him to put the phone on the table which he did. "Sit down. Put your hands on the table." She's not going to shoot him but can't let him know that. It's not a silencer. She would have a difficult time explaining why shots would be fired in a hotel room if she did.

Amy took a seat, feeling better that Max is in control but also knew that if she can't convince him, she'll have no choice but to get Anthony involved.

"I know it's hard to believe but think back to that day when you guys found me in bed with her. How did you guys find me?"

His eyes glanced at Max.

"I got a call and I told him." Max said, remembering those days when she went all crazy looking for her friend.

Amy doesn't know all the details but remembered what Janet told her.

"Do you really think you guys could find me if I didn't let you know where I am? I needed you guys to break in, so I don't have to…I almost…"

She didn't find it was necessary to continue with what happened, knowing that he would remember that moment.

"I had second thoughts about the mission after that night. It's a job and I certainly wasn't going to sacrifice myself for a job. I wanted out. I didn't want to do it anymore."

"Then why?" He's curious to know what the Perfect Score could come up with.

"because it was working…she returned all the money she stole. We could've put her behind bars many years ago. But then what? What do you think would happen then?"

He didn't need to be reminded of the time he almost capture the criminal leader. That kick to his groin, he felt it for days.

"Do you think we could hold her? Do you think her friends won't try to save her? Can you imagine how many people will die if that happened?...if, no, not if, when…because she always managed to get out…and when she gets out…she's going to continue doing what she does best…robberies, illegal arms, heists. How many of us have tried to stop her and failed?"

She paused, giving him a moment to think about all those MIA agents. Even if she told him that Lucy didn't kill them, he wouldn't believe it. Can't blame him, she didn't either when she first heard.

"She bypassed all the security in our house and got into my room one night while I was sleeping. She forced me to go with her to a secret place and nobody knew I was there." She didn't see the point of bringing up Janet in the story. She could see the surprise in his eyes. "I could've died that night…but I didn't….and you know why..." It wasn't a question. It was obvious to everyone at that time, she learned from Janet.

What's he's thinking, she's not sure, but noticed his expression has changed to concern.

"…She could've easily killed me that night, but she didn't. If I didn't leave with her, she wouldn't have left this place, she wouldn't have stopped, and today, we would still be trying to stop her, and most likely we would have failed again." She expected anyone with compassion would consider her story to be true. But Bobby Mathews always lacked compassion.

"Do you love her?"

_He's not buying it. _

"Jesus Christ, Mathews…" Max couldn't resist. "Do you think she would fall for a ruthless killer? The Stockholm syndrome only works for those with weak minds and…"

"Do you love her?!"

_He's smarter than I thought.  
_

"It wasn't supposed to be this way! This mission...was supposed to end years ago. I spent 7 months with her. Seven months, Bobby!...seven months with a ruthless, arrogant crime boss who has an overactive appetite for sex!" She sniffed in loudly, giving him the idea that it wasn't consensual sex. "I've succeeded. I made her fall in love with me. I stopped Lucy Diamond when no one else could." Her eyes gleamed with triumph. She took a deep breath and blew it out as if trying to hold in her tears from forming. She expected him to understand what it would feel like to complete a mission that nobody could. "But that day, I got off the plane in Paris like I was supposed to…I was told to go take a boat, make it look like an accident, an explosion in the middle of the English Channel. It would have worked. Nobody would be able to find me. I would've been free. She'll never know my real reason for being with her."

Max understood where she was leading to and continued with story. "She was in a car accident and she couldn't remember who she was."

"I lost years of my life not knowing who I really am."

Amy didn't feel the need to tell him about her life as Kristin but found it was necessary to tell him how she got her memory back after the brain tumor surgery.

"I didn't know until a year ago." Max had already put the gun down by her side. "She has brain aneurysm. Mathews." She said in a serious tone.

The moment of silence lasted for a long time. It was a good sign because it told her that he was giving it a serious thought.

"Then why stay with her? Why go back to her?"

Amy was hoping that she didn't have to go into that much detail because details is the key to finding out if someone is lying. That's what she learned as a DEB. That's what he would have learned as an agent.

"Because she found me, not the real me, the person I became. She didn't know it was me until after I had my surgery, when my memory came back."

She could see he was confused, looking as though if he was thinking of any flaws in her story.

"Where is she?"

_It didn't work. It didn't work. _She had thought about giving him a name, but didn't want to get Mr. P involved until it's absolutely necessary. This is, after all, a lie. All of them would get in trouble if the former Homeland Security agent spoke about it with others.

"Where is she?!"

Within 2 seconds, Bobby had his gun aiming at Max. Max did the same. He won't shoot and knowing that he has the upper hand, they will have no choice but to tell him.

"15 minutes…In 15 minutes, my partner will come up. He doesn't know why, but I'm going to tell him about you. So you have 15 minutes to tell me where she is. If you don't, don't blame me, Amy. You're just too good. I don't know if you're lying or telling the truth."


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own DEBS or any of the characters used from the movie. They belong to Angela Robinson. This disclaimer applies to all chapters in this story.**

**A/N: Sorry for the confusion. All other chapters after this one are blank. The reason I don't want to delete these empty chapters is because I don't want to lose the number of views.  
**

First story (Missing You) - Chapters 1 to 3 (I had to split this story into 3 parts because it takes a long time to load and update.)

Part 2 (still thinking of a name) - starts at Chapter 4

**Chapter 67**

Dinner time was quiet as Uncle Nick expected. He did most of the talking, telling them about the doctor who will be performing the surgery. After learning the condition the brunette is in from Anthony, he had everything prepared ahead of time.

"As good as he is, there will be risks."

There was no response. Only sounds from chewing could be heard. Lucy's behavior reminded him of what happened years ago, consumed with worry, just like right now, except that the one she is worrying about is another blonde, not the one sitting next to her. His eyes followed the brunette who excused herself to the bedroom on the first floor after eating half of her meal. His eyes then followed the blonde walking towards the door.

Standing at the door, looking long and deep at the brunette in the hallway, Alyson had previously asked about the blonde but didn't get a response that would explain what happened to her.

"What are you doing here?"

She understood the meaning behind that. If anyone should be here, it should be her friends not her.

Uncle Nick realized that his words might have been misinterpreted. "What I mean is why put yourself in this situation?" It's clear to him that the famous blonde still loves the brunette by the way she looks at her. It didn't make sense to him why she would follow her here. There are other options. If she wanted to stay away from the media, she could've gone somewhere else. Doesn't it hurt to see the one you love is with someone else? Her actions made him wonder if she knows about the brunette's amnesia. He felt the need to clarify. "She doesn't remember you."

"She does…here…" Alyson said as she placed her right palm on her chest.

* * *

Lucy had been waiting for hours for a phone call. The moment she heard what happened, she had Anthony looked into it but has not heard a word from him since then. It would be dangerous to call Max. What if she's being interrogated too?

"Please God, help her."

Her jaws instantly dropped when the phone suddenly rang. She wished she had asked for God sooner if all she had to do is just that.

It's Max's phone, but the voice belongs to a man. "Who is this?"

"I have Amy. So you listen…"

"No! You listen! If you lay a hand on her, you're going to wish you've never step inside that airport. I may not be there, but I have friends. They're looking for you right now and when they find you, they're not going to kill you, but I assure you it's going to be painful, so painful you'll wish they would." She had a lot more to say but stopped when she heard another voice.

"Lucy…"

Her voice instantly changed into a more gentle tone. "Amy?"

"I know you have powerful friends and all, but it's usually not a good idea to make threats when he has what you want."

"Amy, are you okay?"

"yes…for now."

It's the last two words that got her worried. It's a good sign that he didn't turn her in. If he did, she wouldn't have got a call because Amy would never betray her. If he didn't turn her in, then…

"What does he want?"

The sound of the background changed. The phone was placed on speaker. "ten million dollars." Came the voice of the blonde.

"Give me the account number." There was no hesitation. Ten million dollars is nothing to her. If that will set her free, then that's what Lucy's willing to do.

When five seconds passed by without a response, Lucy wondered if the line got cut off. She agreed. She didn't bargain. What else does he want? With her heart beating out of control, she's not sure if she should hang up because it sounded like there was no one on the other line.

"Amy?"

* * *

Inside a one-bed hotel room, Max, Bobby and Amy were all sitting down around the round table. Guns were placed back into their original place. Max's phone was placed in the middle of the table. 15 minutes isn't a lot of time. Amy wasn't sure if he's bluffing. But that wasn't her main concern. Even if he is, he could still turn her in. Her goal is to persuade him to stop going after the criminal mastermind. But how? She had no choice but to call her lover and hoped this time her plan will work.

With a look of disgust, Amy looked up at her ex. She had previously told him that her reason for going back to the brunette is to get access to hundreds of millions of dollars. She was appalled when he accused her of doing this for money, calling her a criminal. One offensive comment led to another. No matter what she says, he didn't believe the story she just told him. He needed proof that a higher up is involved. She's not willing to pull Mr. P into this yet.

"OWwww!"

Max snapped her head at the blonde and was confused with her sudden yelp until she heard a loud voice from the other end of the line.

"I swear to God! if you touch her, I'm going to break your legs, your hands! I'm going to cut your balls off, you hear me! I'm going to cut your balls off!"

It was a very detailed description of what she will do to him which sounded like she had done it before. Seeing her smirk, Max shook her head, smiling along with her. "She's fine. She…she just got a mosquito bite."

Amy hung up after assuring her lover once more that she is fine and telling her that he will call her later with the account#. She had two purposes of making that call. One is to let him know how easy it is to get money from the brunette. Two is to let him know the consequences if he continues to go after her. The brunette may not be the leader anymore and it seems that her ex has no idea what he's going up against. He hasn't changed in this aspect, act without thinking things through. He would have a better chance if he turns her in. That's what she's afraid of.

"She has friends everywhere, more powerful than she ever was. Even if you succeeded in capturing her, do you think they're going to leave you alone?"

If lies won't work, she hoped threats will.

"She knows about you now. She called her friends already. I wouldn't be surprised if there are guys waiting outside your apartment at this very moment." She could see his eyes glancing at Max, then to her, then down on the table as if thinking of what to do.

"If capturing her would solve everything, don't you think we would have done it years ago? How do you think we got to Barcelona?" He was never good at hiding his emotions. His silence, his loud breathing, and his eye movement were signs of defeat.

"It'll be over soon. I just need more time. Thousands of homeless, orphans, children with illnesses will be saved. Once I get access to her account, I will donate all of it." She's not going to give it to the government because they would only waste it. "People may not know the sacrifices that I've made, but God knows." She didn't intend to bring God into this but found that people would believe it if God is mentioned. _God will forgive me._

Bobby Mathews, as long as she could remember, has always been a person who knows when to stop when the risk of losing what he currently has is higher than what his goal would have brought him. His weakness, his flaw has always been focused on the prize instead of the details of the path that would lead to that, thus his plans, most of the time, end up in failure. Amy hopes this time wouldn't be any different.

There was a long moment of silence….very, very long. 15 minutes was up and nobody knocked on the door. His eyes were staring straight at her as if trying to see thru her. She knew there was very little chance of making him believe her because she was never known as that type of person who would stand up for something she believes in. Max is that type of person and every DEB knew not to mess with her because she'd make a little situation into a big one to make her point.

* * *

Another hour passed without a phone call. Lucy wondered what was taking him so long. Is he having second thoughts? He should be. He is after all an FBI agent. That big amount could get him in trouble if he doesn't know what he's doing. Her head shot up from the pillow when her phone rang. She quickly reached for the phone on the table. It's from Amy's phone this time. It's Amy.

Lucy was ready to write down the account# on a piece of paper but was confused when Amy began talking about something else. It sounded like she was saying her last words because that's what people usually say moments before their death; confessing her love, having no regrets being with her. Then it all made sense.

"he wants to turn me in."

"son of a bitch!" Lucy wondered what changed his mind. 10 million dollars isn't enough. _Greedy bastard._

Sitting on the end of the couch with legs crossed, Amy took a glance at her ex. "You want to talk to him? I warned him about you, but he wouldn't listen." Amy said in a sweet voice. "He doesn't think you're capable of doing anything." Once she puts the speaker on, all heard threats in the most descriptive way with cursing in between, similar to what she said before but with more gruesome details.

Max couldn't resist rolling her eyes because she doesn't agree with the way the former criminal leader is handling the situation. If her love ones had been captured, she wouldn't threaten the kidnappers. But then again, she doesn't have friends like Anthony. But still, she didn't think it would be wise to speak in that tone to someone who has the upper hand. Max raised her eyebrows up and down, hinting to the blonde to stop this charade because she's tired of hearing the brunette's threats and she's physically and mentally…tired.

An hour ago, they thought it worked because Bobby changed his behavior. He ordered dinner through room service and both didn't expect him to talk about his life and what he went through after she eloped with the criminal and when he heard about her death. Amy was surprised to find that it affected him the same way it affected Max. She sincerely apologized again and repeated the same lie; she couldn't tell anybody because it's a mission. There was a moment when she thought she had finally got thru to him until he asked a question which she didn't have an answer to. He wanted to know how she can persuade the ruthless criminal to give her access to her bank account.

_"I will." _That response didn't satisfy him. She and Max were shocked with what he said afterwards.

* * *

_"She already had her way with you. What else could you possibly do to have her give you access to her bank account? Unless…what you're telling me isn't completely true…because the Amy I know is not that easy, the Amy I know would never give up what she values most…not to her boyfriend of over a year, and definitely not for a mission..." Bobby was done with dinner. Max followed suit when Bobby stood up. Amy later followed. "Your story would have been more believable if you had told me that you never had sex with her…and your plan is to let her get down on you. Did you let her or is that something you will never do?"_

_It was disgusting. It was repulsive. Amy couldn't believe what he was saying. He sounded like what a criminal would say. He wasn't finished. There was more. "What does it feel like? Your first time. Did she force herself on you? Did you close your eyes every time and hoped she gets it over with quickly? Did you scream her name and beg for more so she wouldn't notice that you're pretending?! Or did you…**enjoy being fucked by her**?!" _

_The table shook, the clinking sound of silver utensils could be heard when Bobby slammed his palms down against the table._

_"what the hell's wrong with you?" There was no need to shout because that won't stop him from continuing. Max wondered what got into him. Having dealt with scums, she had heard more insulting words. She was surprised to hear it from him, talking to the one whom he once loved. _

_Amy had never heard that type of language from her ex when they were dating. The word Fuck, yes, many times when he gets upset, but never in that way. That doesn't mean he never talks in that way, just not in front of her. There was a time when she went out with him to meet his friends. The moment she stepped away, she heard them talking about sex as if it's a casual conversation, something like 'Did you get under her panties yet?, Was it great?'. For some reason, guys like to talk about that in public. Some girls do that too like Dominique who's the most sex crazed female she has ever met. As for her, what happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom._

**_"I want to know what happened! I want to know about the sacrifice you made for thousands of people! I want to know how it happened, what you were feeling at that moment when she got on top of you, what were you thinking when she kissed you, touched you, got inside of you. I want to know…the details!"_**

_Max finally understood. Amy knew what he was up to the moment he asked about it. He no longer believes in anything she says. He has become even more stubborn, more foolish. The words he used didn't bother Amy one bit because if she had let it, she would have fallen into his trap. That's how agents are trained to talk to criminals to get them to spill out the truth but it seems that he has forgotten who she used to be. If it was a sacrifice, he's probably expecting me to shout like him, tell him about the emotions that I went thru while having sex unwillingly, how I had second thoughts afterwards, how I had thought about disclosing her location to end this mission. He's probably expecting me to cry while giving him the details. He's probably expecting me to slap him for having no compassion for what I went thru. _

_He…never did understand what kind of person I was and still am. _

_Amy walked closer while looking at his face full of anger. _

_"here…" Amy extended her phone towards him. "go ahead…make the call…tell them about us…" _

_Standing still, his expression changed from anger to surprise to confusion. _

* * *

**Back to current**

"So quit your goddam job, take the goddam money and leave!" Lucy was running out of breath, running out of threats, and most of all running out of patience.

"Lucy….honey. He says he doesn't want the money." Talking in a sweet voice, Amy tried to calm her down because that always seems to work but not this time.

"Then what does he want?!" One thing came to mind and Lucy hoped she's wrong. _Amy_. Knowing how much Amy loves her, she probably will sacrifice herself to save her. "Whatever he says, don't promise him. I'll get you out." Her voice then changed from gentle to commanding. "Bobby, if you touch her, I swear to God tomorrow is going to be your last day unless you don't plan to go home or go to work, you understand me!…"

Wow. That was something that Amy never thought about, sacrificing her life to save her lover, yes, but her body, her dignity…hmm….

Getting extremely tired of this, Max pointed to her watch. A moment ago, she had no idea what the former agent had in mind when she gave the phone to the jackass but was completely surprised when Amy attacked him by diverting his attention on the phone she dropped on purpose as he was about to take it. Like she had thought, Bobby was in no shape to be able to move that quickly to defend himself especially when he wasn't expecting it and especially after eating a full meal. One quick twist on his right wrist followed by a kick to the back of his knee caused him to kneel on the floor. Then another stomp and push on his behind, he fell flat on his out of shape belly like a dead fish. Amy took his gun away and did the only thing she could do; she gave him two options; listen to what she has to say or get knocked out and suffer the consequences that the brunette previously described because nobody, not even her, would be able to help him once they find him.

"Lucy…this is going to sound ridiculous but he wants to know if you love me?"

"What? "

"just answer the question."

"Of course I do."

"He wants to know if you're willing to die for me."

A fast response was heard. Amy expected that.

"He wants to know if you're willing to give up all of your money for me?"

When Amy heard another expected answer, she smiled at her ex whose legs were bound together at the ankles and wrists tied together behind his back by the wire attached to the lamp. What she didn't expect was what Lucy said afterwards about how difficult it would be to wire him all her savings at once. It's not that she's not willing. It's going to take a long time to wire the money to avoid suspicion. It seems that she has a lot of excuses for not wanting to give up her millions but those reasons also seem logical.

"How long are you going to keep her there? Until you get all the money? That's going to take a while and that's not going to work. Ten million dollars. I can give you that, but I need her here with me. I need to know that she's safe. I can give you my word that nobody will go after you and I know you're smart enough to know what will happen if you break your end of the bargain." Her tone was calm and collective. There was no cursing, no descriptive threats, no shouting. She was speaking like a criminal leader as if negotiating to make a deal work. Nobody likes to be threatened and she knew that. But most of the time it works especially with the people she used to deal with and it seems that her lover's ex has more guts than she thought.

Amy put the brunette on hold and walked towards her ex. She then took the scrounged up towel from his mouth. "Well?"

"Well what?" Bobby said while moving his jaws to release the cramp.

Amy felt the urge to knock his head with the phone but instead just slap his head with her hand. "Weren't you listening? She's not going to give up all of her money so easily. Threatening her won't work. It will only get you killed." Amy let out a frustrated breath and felt the need to slap him again before shoving the towel back into his big mouth. _Stubborn fool._

With the way it's going, Max hoped she doesn't have to sleep there tonight.

Amy unmuted the phone.

"Lucy?"

"What happened?" came the anxious voice.

"He…he…" All Amy had to say is the truth and knowing if the brunette found out the truth, she would have Anthony's men send a warning to her ex, a beating most likely and torture. She didn't want to do that because Bobby, after all, doesn't deserve that. A beating would work for some but she's not sure it would work with him. There could be a chance that his hatred towards Lucy Diamond would raise to the point where his brain wouldn't be able to think logically, a small chance, but still a chance.

"He what?"

"He wants to know…when we're getting married." Amy expected a look of shock on her ex's face and he was. His jaws would have dropped if his mouth wasn't stuffed with the hotel's hand towel.

"Why the hell does he want to know?"

"Lucy, just answer the question"

"soon…but not right now…okay?" Lucy said, once again asking for her understanding.

"He asked…when?"

"What the hell?! Why is he being so nosy? What's going on?"

"Lucy….please…"

A loud huff of frustration could be heard. "5 months…I promise…" Her soft voice then turned into frustration. "Is there anything else he wants to know? Does he want a date? Does he want to come to our wedding? He can't. Okay? I'll give you the money. You leave us alone."

It's what Amy wanted to hear. The idea just came to her. She too didn't know how she will be able to persuade the brunette to give her access to her savings account. Scud has access to that. Not her. It made her wonder if her lover will give her access after marriage. That's something to think about, but not now. Amy placed the brunette on hold again. Standing two feet away from her ex who's sitting on the floor, she took the towel out of his mouth.

"Well?" She expected him to understand that she just answered his question. If he still doesn't, then she'll have to call Anthony.

"Will she give you access to her account after you marry her?"

"ugghhh!" Amy stomped hard on the floor with one foot , took his gun on the table and pointed at him. His head spontaneously ducked as if that will help.

"okay…Okay…I get it."

"Do you?!" Amy said in frustration as a warning to give him one last chance. "We're going to leave now. If you still think your plan will work, then go ahead. But know this, they know where you live, they know everything about you and I won't be able to stop them." She loosened the lamp wire on his wrists before taken a few steps back while Max was yawning loudly and stretching her arms up.

"Walk away, Bobby." That was his final warning. Whether he believes in her story or not doesn't matter. She stood near the door, waiting to get an answer from him so she doesn't have to call Anthony but it doesn't seem like he understands what she's waiting for. It's the way he was scanning her up and down that made her wonder what he was thinking of at a moment like this. "Bobby!"

"Okay…I'm going to walk away."

Amy let out a deep breath, feeling as though this has finally come to an end, at least until someone else recognizes her.

"smart man, Mathews, you just saved your own ass…and many others…" Max put her coat on and reached for the doorknob.

"Good bye, Bobby." She said in a serious tone, letting him know that this would be the last time. She hoped he would get the hint to pretend not to know her if they ever meet again.

"Amy…"

For one last time, Amy turned towards her ex who's still sitting on the floor with his legs bound at the ankle.

"Which part is true?"

Amy realized how big of an impact she had on him. What she did might be the reason that he is still single. It seems he no longer trusts anyone.

"my tumor, amnesia, brain aneurysm, giving it back to the community, all of it….Bobby..."

His look of concern made her think that she succeeded in getting him to believe her. It surprised her that she was able to do so.

After closing the door, both walked in silence towards the elevator. Amy didn't have to look at Max to know what she's thinking. A m_ission? Can't you come up with anything better? Yup, that's probably what she's thinking_ right now. It would have been more believable if she had said that the evil Lucy Diamond is threatening her to stay with her and the only reason she's staying with her is to get revenge and wait for an opportunity to get ownership of all her assets. That would have sounded more convincing_._

After stepping inside the elevator with just the two of them, Amy thought Max would be talking about how ridiculous her lie was but she was wrong.

"He doesn't believe you, you know."

"I know." A moment ago, Amy had thought that she succeeded but that moment of triumph only lasted for a few seconds. The last question he asked before she closed the door clearly indicated that he still had doubts.

When Max heard her response to his last question, it made her wonder if everything Amy said about her sex life with the brunette were all lies. "Is that really true? Because if it is, you and I need a serious talk."

There was no smirk, no smile, just one eyebrow cocked which made Max realize that she fell for it and if she did, then there's a chance that Bobby, who asked about her sacrifice, might too.

_"She's not a man, Bobby. She's a woman. It's tolerable."_

* * *

Lucy again lifted herself off the pillow when she finally heard her lover's voice. Her body and mind instantly relaxed, her head slowly laid back down on the pillow, and her heartbeat returned to a normal pace after getting the good news.

"I love you too…" Lucy said softly against the phone.

She had wanted to get more details of what happened but it wasn't the right place or the right time to talk since Amy had to get to another hotel and inform Anthony. Lucy hung up, placed the phone on the table, turned off the lamp and rested comfortably back on the bed, pulling the brown silk, cotton comforter above her chest.

"Is she okay?"

"yes, everything's fine now."

Turning her body to the right, Alyson turned off the other lamp and did the same, pulling the same comforter over her shoulders.


	21. Chapter 21




	22. Chapter 22




	23. Chapter 23




	24. Chapter 24




	25. Chapter 25




	26. Chapter 26




	27. Chapter 27




	28. Chapter 28




	29. Chapter 29




	30. Chapter 30




	31. Chapter 31




	32. Chapter 32




	33. Chapter 33




	34. Chapter 34




	35. Chapter 35




	36. Chapter 36




	37. Chapter 37




	38. Chapter 38




	39. Chapter 39




	40. Chapter 40




	41. Chapter 41




	42. Chapter 42




	43. Chapter 43




	44. Chapter 44




	45. Chapter 45




	46. Chapter 46




	47. Chapter 47




	48. Chapter 48




	49. Chapter 49




End file.
